Man killed awaiting help at Bangkok roadside

By The Nation

 

 

The 35-year-old driver of a Honda car broken down at the side of a Bangkok expressway was killed when it was rear-ended by a Mercedes Benz early Sunday morning.

 

Police arriving at the scene on the Chalongrat Expressway in Wang Thong Lang district determined that Somkid Yenjai had pulled into the emergency lane, his Honda having problems.

 

 

He was found dead on the road. 

 

His passengers, Saijai Praman, 38, and Noppawan Pimthong, 47, were taken to hospital, along with the injured driver of the Mercedes, Sukrit Manasomjit. 

 

 

Sukrit’s blood-alcohol level was to be tested.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30371587

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-06-24

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Not surprised at all when you see how they drive on the emergency lane.. Boils my blood everytime I see them doing that. ????

Haven't seen a Black late model benze here yet without super dark tint including the windshield. I'm surprised they can see anything especially at sunset/night

11 minutes ago, madmen said:

Haven't seen a Black late model benze here yet without super dark tint including the windshield. I'm surprised they can see anything especially at sunset/night

Not an issue here. He drive a Mercedes. He is allowed to not look at the road and the traffic while driving.

14 minutes ago, madmen said:

Haven't seen a Black late model benze here yet without super dark tint including the windshield. I'm surprised they can see anything especially at sunset/night

Doesn't seem the case here... in the photo you can see inside the Merc - looks like the film / tint is not too dark etc.. 

 

Maybe the Merc Driver was drunk; not uncommon here, but yet to be determined, or had simply fallen asleep; again, not uncommon here and again, yet to be determined. 

 

At least the Merc driver hasn't claimed brake failure or something stuck under the pedal.

 

What of the poor deceased? can it be assumed he was outside of his car when it was hit and thus also hit at the same time? If so, his fatal mistake was to remain in a vulnerable position. 

 

There is a tragic lack of information and education for regular every day folk who use the roads, info-mercials (information commercials) at key times throughout the day (i.e. prime time) have the potential to reach millions of folk with the simplest of safety messages. When the RTA stats are so poor and damning I fail to understand why a government who care about the issue don't employ this tactic, unless of course they don't really give a damn.

We're not helped by the emergency lane often being narrower than the other lanes (cost saving), so it's impossible to, for example, safely change a tyre.

 

Does anyone ever think Thailand will see actual law enforcement? 

And here I thought the break down lanes were actually lanes to be used in case of excess traffic, thus redefining emergency traffic lane 

They're idiots on the freeways....there have been so many fatalities from idiots going flat out in the emergency lane....and as always, no-one cares.

Never get out of a broken down vehicle, and if on a freeway, expect to be rear ended!

1 hour ago, Crossy said:

We're not helped by the emergency lane often being narrower than the other lanes (cost saving), so it's impossible to, for example, safely change a tyre.

 

Do not change a flat tyre on a freeway....wait for police at least.

The last we will hear of that, never going to court. The M-B driver will just pay off the unfortunate dead man's relatives with a proportionate further payment going to the RTP and walk away.  This is Thailand where money matters more than a human life and where the value of a human life is dependent upon your social status or whom you know.  Shame. RIP to the poor Honda driver.

Word of warning....Never sit in a disabled car whether in the emergency lane or not.

4 minutes ago, ChrisY1 said:

Do not change a flat tyre on a freeway....wait for police at least.

Police on the highway, a bit of a rarity that.

I had a puncture once on the 7.  Pulled over and waited on the grass whilst making a phone call. Within only 5 minutes the Expressway services truck was there. Flashing lights, coned off.  I was certainly impressed with that.

But as for the police, waste of space unless they thought they could extort some money I suspect.

3 minutes ago, wisperone said:

Word of warning....Never sit in a disabled car whether in the emergency lane or not.

Generally that is the safest thing to do but in this instance the dead man was out of the car but the Honda's safety cell was more or less intact from the pictures.

1 minute ago, geoffbezoz said:

Generally that is the safest thing to do but in this instance the dead man was out of the car but the Honda's safety cell was more or less intact from the pictures.

Well  one can't stand in the roadway... get behind the guardrail.

12 minutes ago, wisperone said:

Well  one can't stand in the roadway... get behind the guardrail.

Not easy when on the expressway unless you plan to play spiderman. ????

The safe lane is notoriously dangerous everywhere in the world! My father in law regularly gets out to take a leak after drinking his changs, while i sit in the back seat with my heart in my throat  I have mentioned it to him on many occasion but falls on deaf ears. Now the wife and I take separate cars on all family outings. So sad to read this first thig Monday morning RIP

Sukrit’s blood-alcohol level was to be tested.

 

Was it to be tested at a later date????RIP

3 hours ago, kotsak said:

Not surprised at all when you see how they drive on the emergency lane.. Boils my blood everytime I see them doing that. ????

Jai yen yen

   A Benz? No problem for the driver. Protection is included in the luxury tax, innit? RIP, poor fella. 

post 11 all very well and good. to say that , but 99% there is nowhere else to go to be safe on a freeway, most are elevated, so if you jump the concrete wall, you will fall 50 feet to the ground.below not like other countries where one can get away from the vehicle up an embankment,

3 hours ago, Crossy said:

so it's impossible to, for example, safely change a tyre.

On most Bangkok Expressways the breakdown crew do it for you, free.

Do not stay in the vehicle, if you cannot climb a guard rail stand about 10 - 20m in front of the broken down vehicle, which should have hazard lights on, and prepare to jump out of the way if it gets rear ended. Expressways anywhere are really dangerous places especially outside a vehicle.

A troll post using a disallowed reference to the PM has been removed. 

1 hour ago, wisperone said:

Well  one can't stand in the roadway... get behind the guardrail.

This is good advice--it's always best to get off the road from a disabled car if you can but looking at the photos there is a wall so I think the best thing would have been to stay in the car in this case.  It happens far too often that disabled cars are then hit by another car.

1 minute ago, Classic Ray said:

Do not stay in the vehicle, if you cannot climb a guard rail stand about 10 - 20m in front of the broken down vehicle, which should have hazard lights on, and prepare to jump out if the way if it gets rear ended. Expressways anywhere are really dangerous places especially outside a vehicle.

But even that is not too safe on most highways as there are numerous instances everyday where vehicles are driven the "wrong way" on the hard shoulder simply because the drivers are too damned stupid to continue to the next U turn because the retards think it will save them time,  and that includes the so called police also.

3 minutes ago, Classic Ray said:

Do not stay in the vehicle, if you cannot climb a guard rail stand about 10 - 20m in front of the broken down vehicle, which should have hazard lights on, and prepare to jump out of the way if it gets rear ended. Expressways anywhere are really dangerous places especially outside a vehicle.

Yep. There is a series on Youtube called A1 Britains Longest Road. The above is what they say there. Out of the vehicle to safer place.

1 minute ago, Classic Ray said:

Do not stay in the vehicle, if you cannot climb a guard rail stand about 10 - 20m in front of the broken down vehicle, which should have hazard lights on, and prepare to jump out if the way if it gets rear ended. Expressways anywhere are really dangerous places especially outside a vehicle.

 

Exactly that... 

 

I broke down on the Expressway in Bangkok a few years back.

 

I pulled over on to the hard-shoulder, but it was narrow, I had to pull over so far to the left My Wife couldn't exit the car, I also couldn't get out as the cars passing me on the first lane were so frequent and so close that I was unable to open the door - I felt quite vulnerable, the only thing we could do was stay put and keep our seatbelts on. 

The BiB arrived within a few mins, parked his bike with the flashing lights about 10m behind our car, the free recovery vehicle had us off the expressway within about 15mins - all rather efficient, but in the city the 'emergency lane' is quite tiny and begs the question, why so narrow (as someone earlier wrote - cost savings). As with so many things in Thailand, safety takes a back seat. 

1 hour ago, wisperone said:

Word of warning....Never sit in a disabled car whether in the emergency lane or not.

Then what? Jump off the elevated expressway? 

2 minutes ago, newnative said:

This is good advice--it's always best to get off the road from a disabled car if you can but looking at the photos there is a wall so I think the best thing would have been to stay in the car in this case.  It happens far too often that disabled cars are then hit by another car.

 

If you can get out of the car safely, do so and stand 'up traffic' of the car which is a bigger target that you are and in an impact could get shunted on to you if you are 'down traffic' from it. 

Being 'up traffic' of the car you are a smaller target should anything drift off the driving lanes. 

 

Just now, shady86 said:

Then what? Jump off the elevated expressway? 

I always carry a rope in my car.  More useful to use it for abseiling than as a tow rope...1