Three students dead, 19 injured in nighttime smash on Lampang hill

[webfact]

Three students dead, 19 injured in nighttime smash on Lampang hill

 

Picture: Thai Rath

 

Three young students were killed and many were injured - six seriously - when a minivan collided with the back of a ten wheel truck in the early hours of this morning.

 

The accident happened on Doi Tat on Route 1, the Pahonyothin Road from Lampang to Bangkok at KM markers 671-672.

 

Koh Kha police found a destroyed van with Chiang Mai plates with three young women aged about 17-20 dead.

 

The 34 year old driver and 13 other passengers were taken to hospital. Six of these in a serious condition were transferred to Lampang Hospital. 

 

A ten wheel truck carrying corn was at the scene with damage to its rear. The 56 year old driver said he had been going along normally in the far left lane when he saw lights behind him then heard a loud noise as he was hit in the rear. 

 

Also at the scene was an MG with a damaged front. The driver was covered in white house paint. 

 

He said that he and his wife and three young sons had been travelling to Bangkok when they came on the accident scene. In trying to avoid the crashed van he hit a barrier. 

 

The paint was in his car, part of a number of household items as they were moving house to Bangkok. All the occupants of the MG were only slightly injured. 

 

Police said that there were a total of 17 technology students and driver in the van that was on its way from Moo Ban Khru Lamphun to Bangkok to pick up bursaries. 

 

Police are investigating the cause of the accident.

 

Source: Thai Rath

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-10-08

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[manicmike68]

I wonder if the truck had working tail lights. So many times I have seen these big trucks with tail lights that are not working or are so dim that you don't see them until you were right up on top of them.

[cyril sneer]

15 minutes ago, manicmike68 said:

I wonder if the truck had working tail lights. So many times I have seen these big trucks with tail lights that are not working or are so dim that you don't see them until you were right up on top of them.

truck probably did nothing wrong

 

have they blood tested the van driver?

[Vacuum]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

The 56 year old driver said he had been going along normally in the far left lane when he saw lights behind him then heard a loud noise as he was hit in the rear.

Let's say that he was doing 60-70 km/h, and looking at the state of the mini van suggests that the driver must have done some serious speeding.

[Rimmer]

Off topic post about pick up trucks and exhaust emissions has been removed

[webfact]

Three killed, 19 injured in Lampang smash

By The Nation

 

 

A van carrying students to Bangkok to receive scholarships crashed into the back of a 10-wheel truck in the early hours of Tuesday morning killing 3 and injuring 19, six of them seriously.

 

Police were alerted to the accident at 1am and rushed to the spot on Highway 1, Phahonyothin Road, just outside Lampang. Three female students aged between 17 and 20 were killed on impact. Among the 19 injured were 34-year-old Taechin Phochthong, the driver of the van, and two individuals travelling in a car that was caught up in the accident. Rescue teams rushed the injured to Koh Kha hospital, with the six most seriously injured, all of them students, later transferred to the Lampang hospital.

 

Somyot Thongsri, 56, the driver of the truck, told police that he was travelling in the left lane when he saw headlights in his mirrors and then heard a loud crash. He surmised that the van had pulled out to overtake but failed to complete the manoeuvre. The accident is now under investigation.

 

Police later learned that the van was taking students from Mubankru Technological College to receive scholarships in Bangkok.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30377189

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-10-08

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[richard_smith237]

2 hours ago, manicmike68 said:

I wonder if the truck had working tail lights. So many times I have seen these big trucks with tail lights that are not working or are so dim that you don't see them until you were right up on top of them.

Driving at night outside of the main towns and cities is highly risky because of this very issue - there are so many unlit hazards (slow moving farm vehicles, slow trucks, road works etc).

 

Driving within your headlights (i.e. at a slower speed at night) doesn't even help as some drunk tool will plow into the back of you.

 

If your journey is not time essential, drive within daylight hours only. 

[Nowisee]

Silver Vans of Death strike again.  

Speeding, texting or DUI.  

Plowing into the back of a slow moving vehicle requires some effort.  
Collectively speaking, all of us on here have driven millions of miles in various countries driving various types of vehicles.
Raise your hand if you've ever plowed into the back of a parked/slow moving truck at night.  
IF you did, please admit if you were speeding, texting or drunk.  

 

 

[elektrified]

What I don't understand is why students are being transported places at 1:00 A.M. or even later? This is the 2nd or possibly 3rd serious accident I have read about in the last 2-3 weeks where students were killed or severely injured while being transported to/from school related trips in the middle of the night. It does not make any sense. Clearly it is much more dangerous to be on the roads in the middle of the night.

[Samuel Smith]

5 minutes ago, elektrified said:

What I don't understand is why students are being transported places at 1:00 A.M. or even later? This is the 2nd or possibly 3rd serious accident I have read about in the last 2-3 weeks where students were killed or severely injured while being transported to/from school related trips in the middle of the night. It does not make any sense. Clearly it is much more dangerous to be on the roads in the middle of the night.

Probably needed to be in Bangkok in the morning?

[Matzzon]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

when a minivan collided with the back of a ten wheel truck

How is it possible to hit the rear of another driving truck and cause such damage?
 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Police are investigating the cause of the accident.

I guess we are all happy and hopeful to hear the result.

[richard_smith237]

8 minutes ago, Matzzon said:

3 hours ago, webfact said:

when a minivan collided with the back of a ten wheel truck

How is it possible to hit the rear of another driving truck and cause such damage?
 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Police are investigating the cause of the accident.

I guess we are all happy and hopeful to hear the result.

 

Having driven here for a number of years, having read the news of similar occurrences on an almost daily basis (at least weekly) a fair assumption would be: 

- MiniVan driver Drunk or Sleepy

- MiniVan driver speeding (at least driving very fast)

- Lorry either Unlit or very poorly lit

 

Rate of closure between the mini-van and truck too fast, MiniVan notices the poorly lit truck too late to brake in time, panics, attempts to swerve round the truck and hits it with tragic consequences. 

 

A following family car also outdriving their headlights also panics when they see the accident and crashes with 'paint spillage'.

 

(of course, the above is just an assumption and someone will soon be along with a smart arsed comment about CSI crash investigation or something similar - the above is just a guess, but one based on probability of what has occurred numerous times before on Thailands roads)

 

 

[trainman34014]

RIP those lost.

 

Must be fair to say the Minibus was overloaded for a start, no doubt being driven at the usual lightening speed by a reckless/drunk/drugged up/ plain useless driver.  Drivers of Public Utility Vehicles here just don't seem to have any thoughts about the safety of their passengers; like did he tell everyone on board to fasten their seatbelts before setting off ?

 

You would think the amount of carnage they see on TV would make them think twice about their driving techniques, but it just doesn't seem to sink into whatever small amount of grey matter they have.

 

The family in the MG have painted an entirely different picture  !   Lol.

[Matzzon]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Having driven here for a number of years, having read the news of similar occurrences on an almost daily basis (at least weekly) a fair assumption would be: 

- MiniVan driver Drunk or Sleepy

- MiniVan driver speeding (at least driving very fast)

- Lorry either Unlit or very poorly lit

 

Rate of closure between the mini-van and truck too fast, MiniVan notices the poorly lit truck too late to brake in time, panics, attempts to swerve round the truck and hits it with tragic consequences. 

 

A following family car also outdriving their headlights also panics when they see the accident and crashes with 'paint spillage'.

 

(of course, the above is just an assumption and someone will soon be along with a smart arsed comment about CSI crash investigation or something similar - the above is just a guess, but one based on probability of what has occurred numerous times before on Thailands roads)

 

 

Yeah, of course I get all that and it sounds like probable. For me, though, it´s still an impossibility to hit the rear of another truck, as long as my car have lights. Have also been driving here for many years, and it´s unfathomable what you see on an everyday basis on Thai roads.

[JaiLai]

Driving at night is fine so long as your alert, one could argue it's even safer due to much fewer vehicles on the roads...

[dpeti73]

as I know maximum 15 person can sitting in this van?

[AhFarangJa]

R.I.P. to the young lives so senselessly lost as usual. Why were there 16 passengers in there in the first place. I thought the new government controls did away with overloading, or was that in a parallel universe I only dreamt about. 

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, JaiLai said:

Driving at night is fine so long as your alert, one could argue it's even safer due to much fewer vehicles on the roads...

 

The issue is people with no lights stopped on the road. 

 

Yes, theoretically if you are 100% alert 100% of the time and drive within your headlight vision 100% of the time - but who really is 100% perfect when behind the wheel ?

 

Opinions obviously vary and I agree that less traffic around would reduce the risk of another idiot near you doing something daft which could impact you, however, there is the ever present risk of plenty of other idiots just parked up without light, road works without lights etc... 

 

 

Example at hand - just from todays news on ThaiVisa.com

 

 

 

[JaiLai]

3 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

The issue is people with no lights stopped on the road. 

 

Yes, theoretically if you are 100% alert 100% of the time and drive within your headlight vision 100% of the time - but who really is 100% perfect when behind the wheel ?

 

Opinions obviously vary and I agree that less traffic around would reduce the risk of another idiot near you doing something daft which could impact you, however, there is the ever present risk of plenty of other idiots just parked up without light, road works without lights etc... 

 

 

Example at hand - just from todays news on ThaiVisa.com

 

 

 

Most of the news about these wrecks do not involve farangs, it coz the majority of us know how to drive properly, adjust to the conditions etc.

 

I would say most farangs are at least 10000000000000000 times better drivers than the average Thai.

[webfact]

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[transam]

Where I come from the streets are packed with rides of all sizes parked up with no lights, strange how most of us can avoid them. Though some do plough into them, usually drunks, phone use or showing off...

[richard_smith237]

3 minutes ago, JaiLai said:

Most of the news about these wrecks do not involve farangs, it coz the majority of us know how to drive properly, adjust to the conditions etc.

 

I would say most farangs are at least 10000000000000000 times better drivers than the average Thai.

 

Can't disagree with that, without wishing to 'Thai-bash' even as a generalization the spatial and vehicular situational awareness of the majority of Westerners in Thailand exceeds that of the majority of Thai's - it is a generalization which unfortunately fits often with tragic consequences.

 

 

 

 

[Crusader]

The carnage on the roads is totally unacceptable to those of us who are from countries with proper driving tests, policing and punishments for wrongdoers.  Unfortunately, this is where we choose to live so we have to accept it - I see idiot drivers everyday, I see police not stopping the idiot drivers everyday - and to be honest, the punishments and fines are just a joke.  There are so many families made to suffer because people are not respectful of driving practices, and not enough is being done to try and prevent such fatalities happening.

[phantomfiddler]

2 hours ago, Nowisee said:

Silver Vans of Death strike again.  

Speeding, texting or DUI.  

Plowing into the back of a slow moving vehicle requires some effort.  
Collectively speaking, all of us on here have driven millions of miles in various countries driving various types of vehicles.
Raise your hand if you've ever plowed into the back of a parked/slow moving truck at night.  
IF you did, please admit if you were speeding, texting or drunk.  

 

 

Or asleep ? Wasn,t there a Thai Rock Band called "Asleep at the Wheel" ?

[cyril sneer]

2 hours ago, Matzzon said:

I guess we are all happy and hopeful to hear the result.

I can’t remember there ever being a follow up story to similar incidents which described the condition of the van driver beforehand 

[Searat7]

Three dead and 19 injured = 22 minus 2 in car behind still leaves the van with 20 people so there is no way most of them could have fastened seatbelts. The driver should be jailed for a long time.

[30la]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

 

Police said that there were a total of 17 technology students and driver in the van that was on its way from Moo Ban Khru Lamphun to Bangkok to pick up bursaries. 

19+1??? I thought it was forbidden more than 13 pax in total!
Let these idiots (drivers) continue to kill your human resources!
R.I.P. guys it's not your fault!

[Chazar]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

In trying to avoid the crashed van he hit a barrier.

Try  looking ahead  farther next time

[Chazar]

1 hour ago, AhFarangJa said:

R.I.P. to the young lives so senselessly lost as usual. Why were there 16 passengers in there in the first place. I thought the new government controls did away with overloading, or was that in a parallel universe I only dreamt about. 

Wife was in a  van yesterday BKK  Hua  HIn one of the new  bigger  minivans, she said  as she sat next to the driver, driver did  not wear his seat belt and the   alarm for this bong bong  bong  bong going the entire  trip, also he was  talking to himself  all the time? Yaba? He  failed to stop at Hua  Hin bus  station  and then told my Wife "we  don't stop there anymore" so dropped  her off close to Market  Village where she had to get a motorbike to meet  me at the bus  station but she said they do stop there he  was  just too  lazy to stop.

Seats  on this new  bus were like planks of wood  and very  hard. The  bus  eft an hour late as they didnt  have enough passengers to  fill it. She wasnt impressed.......not sure what speeds  he was  doing as  thought now they had gps etc so 90kmh max?

[crickets]

Speed+fatigue+tinted front window+no tail lights