Six killed, three injured in pickup-crane collision in Prachuap Khiri Khan

[webfact]

Six killed, three injured in pickup-crane collision

By Piyarat Nildee 
The Nation

 

 

A pickup truck carrying seven people collided with a six-wheel crane truck at an intersection in Prachuap Khiri Khan province on Sunday, killing six people and leaving three injured.

 

Following the accident report at 11am, Muang Prachuap precinct inspector Pol Lt-Colonel Panasit Ritthirong led rescue workers to the scene where the Bo Nok-Dan Singkhon Road intersects Petchkasem Highway (Ban Nong Sua) in tambon Ao Noi.

 

They found the six bodies and one seriously injured pregnant woman trapped inside the wrecked Toyota Vigo pickup truck. Rescue workers had to use heavy tools to extricate them. Nearby they found the overturned crane truck whose unnamed driver and his wife were also seriously injured.

 

Initial police investigation found that the crane truck was returning after delivering metals to a check-dam construction site, located two kilometres from the scene, while the pickup was returning from a market and heading back to their hometown of Hua Hin district.

 

 

The cause of the accident was under investigation, but police suspected that the pickup driver was possibly not familiar with the road as the intersection created a blind spot for both parties and they could not see the other in time to slow down, resulting in the fatal collision.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30370779

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-06-10

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[neeray]

Too unnecessary.

Too sad.

[Chazar]

The  real  problems are  many, Thais are atrocious  drivers, road  layouts  are appalling, U  turns are  ALL death traps, total disregard for any road  rules, and selfishness.

[Wiggy]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

police suspected that the pickup driver was possibly not familiar with the road as the intersection created a blind spot for both parties and they could not see the other in time to slow down

In other words he was driving too fast.

[spidermike007]

Many Thais possess little in the way of driving skills, and when you combine that with a lack of common sense, it can be a lethal combination. Many take risks that are unfathomable to the rest of us, and often those risks result in catastrophe. Hard to know who was at fault here. But, it would not be the first time a pickup truck loaded with people traveling at very high speed lost control and crashed. 

 

One of the biggest factors is the toy police. Nobody takes them seriously, and they adamantly refuse to engage in any sort of traffic safety or preventative engagement, such as pulling people over for reckless driving. The highway patrol rarely patrol the highways. And this extraordinarily inept administration just does not care about the common Thai people. A perfect storm. One that allows Thailand to continue having some of most dangerous road conditions on the planet. 

[GreenerGrass]

The state of the pick up he must have been travelling at some speed! Horrific ammount of deaths on Thai roads, everyday of the week there are dozens of people killed and no one seems to give a toss?   Recently i read a news artical about horrific 3 deaths in total over a long bank holiday weekend in the whole of Australia, that's an hourly rate here! 

[30la]

It really seems that the goal is to keep the record of road deaths!

[Prairieboy]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

intersection created a blind spot for both parties and they could not see the other in time to slow down, resulting in the fatal collision.

Perhaps when approaching a 'blind' intersection the smart thing to do would be to slow down and proceed only when safe.  Oh, I forgot TIT.

 

[Borzandy]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

police suspected that the pickup driver was possibly not familiar with the road

Smart cop

[jesimps]

On the railway road in Pattaya I slow down for all the unsigned roads crossing the dual carriageway because I've seen a few accidents on these intersections. However, every time I reduce speed for them, several cars usually flash past me at high speed. Children in adult bodies.

[cardinalblue]

Not familiar with the road returning from the market.....yeah right....

 

they were locals doing a daily or weekly activity....

 

how about driving too fast and not driving to road conditions....

[Zack61]

15 minutes ago, Borzandy said:

Smart cop

You mean smart cops. Would have been a group effort. Too much for just the one 

[KKr]

imagine the impact to push a 6-wheeler off the road...
sad,
hope the families of the deceased find peace with such a stupid accident, and hope the injured recover fully.

[sammieuk1]

It will all be forgotten tomorrow when the next wipeout hits the headline. lessons learnt none????RIP 

[worgeordie]

13 minutes ago, cardinalblue said:

Not familiar with the road returning from the market.....yeah right....

 

they were locals doing a daily or weekly activity....

 

how about driving too fast and not driving to road conditions....

That's it, they went through the intersection without slowing down,

umpteen times in the past,so why would they slow down and

look this time,that's how they think,but this time a crane was

there !  

regards worgeordie

[moonseeker]

And nothing will ever change, sadly. MS>

[Vacuum]

8 minutes ago, KKr said:

imagine the impact to push a 6-wheeler off the road...

Maybe he was trying to swerve to avoid the collision?

[bristolgeoff]

Where did that big crane come from,I did not see that on the road

[malt25]

An activity I partake in when riding or driving. Watch all intersections on the left. Main roads, Sois & small alleys. Look for cars, bikes & cycles entering. I guarantee 99% will NOT look for oncoming traffic. Just blindly merge with the traffic flow. They have absolutely no clue as to any possible, probable collision. I guess it's taken several generations to inbreed this condition into the Thai DNA.

[thaiguzzi]

4 hours ago, Chazar said:

The  real  problems are  many, Thais are atrocious  drivers, road  layouts  are appalling, U  turns are  ALL death traps, total disregard for any road  rules, and selfishness.

Disagree with all the above.

Sure there are some idiots on the road, prolly more here than in the West, but generalizations like the above do nobody a favour.

As for U turns - great idea - we should have them in my home country.

Oh, and i've been driving here full time for 16 years.

And riding big bikes here full time for 16 years.

And riding the missus's Honda stepthru off and on for 19 years here.

[soistalker]

A lot of driving consists of observing and anticipating other vehicles and the terrain. Thai drivers dont seem to do this. They like to tailgate a car length behind another car driving about 80 to 100 kph. This is insanity. Obviously they cant see past the other vehicle. Excessive speed around blind corners, because..hey, nothing bad can happen, right?

And wasnt there a law that passengers cant drive in the back of a pickup? They must have been catapulted out of the truck bed.

[bluesea]

What Road Rules!! what driver Training?? None at all shame shame sham.

[Jack P]

People with too low of an IQ should not be in control of heavy machinery in a public place and if they are they should pay an excessive premium on their insurance. And of course realistically they generally won’t afford it.

 

Unfortunately until courts really start to cane insurers realistically for the damages actually caused, this will not happen.

[lvr181]

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

One of the biggest factors is the toy police.

Led by "toys" (or is that 'tools'?). ????

 

So sad, so unnecessary and such a crash should have never happened. RIP to those killed (except maybe the idiot driver/s that caused it?) and condolences to families and friends. 

[HHTel]

1 hour ago, thaiguzzi said:

Disagree with all the above.

Sure there are some idiots on the road, prolly more here than in the West, but generalizations like the above do nobody a favour.

As for U turns - great idea - we should have them in my home country.

Oh, and i've been driving here full time for 16 years.

And riding big bikes here full time for 16 years.

And riding the missus's Honda stepthru off and on for 19 years here.

For someone who says they've been driving here for so long, I'm surprised by your comments.  Just to pick one.  U-turns (they do have them in my country but using a much safer design).  Most u-turns here are constructed in such a way that they are 'shared' by traffic travelling in both directions.  This means that, when making a u-turn, the chance is your view of oncoming traffic is blocked by traffic queuing or making a u-turn in the opposite direction.  U-turns are fine if there is a slip lane both for entering a u-turn and leaving it.  Sadly, this is not the case and results in lots of accidents. 

 

And as you seem the need to show your qualification, I've been driving here on bikes and cars for around 20 years.  As well as the UK, I've driven and lived all over the world.  In the UK, I've passed advanced driving tests and was a member of the IAM.  So I'm pretty au fait regarding driving techniques and road design!

 

The fact is that here in Thailand, there is no real driving test and no requirement for proper driver training resulting in untrained drivers on the road with very little knowledge of driving regulations and, it seems, zero common sense.

Edited June 10, 2019 by HHTel
correction

[mserror]

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Many Thais possess little in the way of driving skills, and when you combine that with a lack of common sense, it can be a lethal combination. Many take risks that are unfathomable to the rest of us, and often those risks result in catastrophe. Hard to know who was at fault here. But, it would not be the first time a pickup truck loaded with people traveling at very high speed lost control and crashed. 

 

One of the biggest factors is the toy police. Nobody takes them seriously, and they adamantly refuse to engage in any sort of traffic safety or preventative engagement, such as pulling people over for reckless driving. The highway patrol rarely patrol the highways. And this extraordinarily inept administration just does not care about the common Thai people. A perfect storm. One that allows Thailand to continue having some of most dangerous road conditions on the planet. 

Good analysis. And a key point is these roads are dangerous for everyone, including the franchised and their loved ones; unfortunately they do not understand this, so the inaction continues.

[connda]

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Many Thais possess little in the way of driving skills, and when you combine that with a lack of common sense, it can be a lethal combination. Many take risks that are unfathomable to the rest of us, and often those risks result in catastrophe. Hard to know who was at fault here. But, it would not be the first time a pickup truck loaded with people traveling at very high speed lost control and crashed. 

 

One of the biggest factors is the toy police. Nobody takes them seriously, and they adamantly refuse to engage in any sort of traffic safety or preventative engagement, such as pulling people over for reckless driving. The highway patrol rarely patrol the highways. And this extraordinarily inept administration just does not care about the common Thai people. A perfect storm. One that allows Thailand to continue having some of most dangerous road conditions on the planet. 

But the authorities are wonderful at making excuses.

"The intersection created a blind spot for both parties and they could not see the other in time to slow down, resulting in the fatal collision."
Oh Buffalo pucky!!!  Intersections are intersections.  The average Western driver negotiates an intersection, especially if unmarked, by slowing down and applying knowledge of right-of-way laws to negotiate the intersection. If they are marked, then they apply their knowledge of right-of-way and yield signage and give way to those with the right-of-way - while still proceeding with caution.

Thais, with their "I'm In Front so I Win" and "Me Me Me Me Me Only Me" attitudes combined with a complete lack on knowledge regarding right-of-way on the roads cause - carnage!  
"Damn the intersection and Full-Speed Ahead."  It's a self-correcting problem.  Unneeded tragedy due to aggressive driving and abject stupidity.  Even the cops drive this way and it's my observation that even they have no idea what right-of-way laws are.  It's an institutionalize problem that is baked right into the Thai culture and is not ripe for change anytime in the near future.
Personally I truly believe that outside of the engineers at motor vehicle departments and engineers designing the roads, no one other than those engineers understand right-of-way laws.

 

 

[mercman24]

see how many were in the pick up, ? 

[TMNH]

2 hours ago, jesimps said:

On the railway road in Pattaya I slow down for all the unsigned roads crossing the dual carriageway because I've seen a few accidents on these intersections. However, every time I reduce speed for them, several cars usually flash past me at high speed. Children in adult bodies.

Hence- a deficiency in driving skills. "If" you can not possess basic driving skills, then get the <deleted> off the road as your deficiency contributes to other people losing their lives. And the enforcement from the so-called Junta inspired , lack of common sense? Just go about your business while people lose their lives. Idiots. Enforce the f... laws you idiotic excuse for monitors.

[TMNH]

If I were an official AND was aware of the rating for fatalities (Thailand close to #1), besides the fact that it would deter any tourists with half- a -brain, what is amazing is the fact that whoever is in charge re: safety, you surely are in need of a "farang". Why? Because you're too dense- for whatever reason(s).