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

[johnarth]

7 hours ago, Matzzon said:

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

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

very easy a lot of trucks dont have working tail lights if you are traveling on a divided highway and have your headlights on dip you do not see the truck until you are about 30 meters from them

[The Theory]

“I wonder if the truck had working tail lights.” 

 

 

They usually have dozens of head lights in front and decorated, but who cares about the rear or they just switch the horse. Not all trips with same flatbed or attachment. 

[wazzupnow]

i think cause of death number 2 in thailand traffic, telephone ?

[Jaxxper]

RIP for the victims. Too young to die.

[Jmcla]

Another issue apart from drink, drugs and being sleepy is that they like to put a dark film on there windscreens to protect from sun but when driving at night or on rain you can not see much. 

I get rid of film on the windscreen so I can see at night. 

[JaiLai]

Just now, Jmcla said:

Another issue apart from drink, drugs and being sleepy is that they like to put a dark film on there windscreens to protect from sun but when driving at night or on rain you can not see much. 

I get rid of film on the windscreen so I can see at night. 

normally it's only the top 8"

[Mingomania]

10 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.

Drove to Don Muang from Pattaya once in a mini van while I caught the driver dozing off behind the wheel no lees than three times. There seems to be little control or no enforcement as to the amount of hours the driver puts in on any given watch, mucho scary...

 

[smew]

Truck driver hit from

behind will claim tail lights worked but now not because of rear end collision, van driver drove too fast or sleeping behind the wheel, check both for alcohol level... 

RIP young people , sad as they did nothing wrong except being on the wrong van 

 

[Trevor Collins]

Three daughters have died just as they were starting out on life with a good education...

RIP all those concerned.

[Benmart]

The tragedy is overshadowed by the need of some to broadcast their quasi-accident investigation experience via a keyboard. So sad that more lives are snuffed out on the pathetically unsafe roadways.

[Captain 776]

Sad.   Very sad.   That van was FLYING to do that amount of damage.

[Russell17au]

This is not one of the normal passenger vans that run a normal service, this is a silver van which is owned or on contract to a school or other education department. This driver would only be doing school or education runs. One poster on here said these are goods designed vehicles, sorry, but the commuter bus is designed and built as a passenger carrying vehicle but they do not have a seating capacity that this van was carrying. This trip would have been organised by the school that these young ones attended. Why did the school allow too many passengers on this van? I do a lot of night driving and even if the vehicle in front of me has no lights I can still see the shadows of the vehicle. If the truck was in the far left lane then why didn't the van driver swerve to the right to avoid the back of the truck? I would guess that because of the time of the accident that the van driver would not be used to driving at that time and his body clock would be telling him it is time for him to be asleep thus an accident waiting to happen. R.I.P. young ones.

[Stargeezr]

How big is this van? I thought vans were for 12 people, so very overloaded?

 Any seat belts being used, not likely. Sad story.

Geezer

[bronzedude]

Grin and bear it. The driving habits of Thais will never change. The government will never do anything substantial to lessen the road carnage. The police can't be bothered to be out on the roads. Again, the driving habits of Thais will never change--get used to it. And if you drive--stay vigilant and anticipate dangers with a 360 degree awareness level.

[stevemac]

When I saw how appallingly easy the driving test was in Thailand, it explained everything.

Sent from my SM-G965F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Janner1]

14 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.

I understand the point you make but have to ask what headlights are for?

It was already dark and the lights must have been on ......OR WERE THEY

[Kohkah]

I bet the driver could not see the truck because the minivan had tinted windscreen and the truck bad backlights.

Dark windscreen are always a problem at night time. Because of this, tinted windscreens are forbidden in most European countries.
On my Thai car I had to change to a less dark foil, as I couldn't see proper at night time.

The faster you drive, as farther ahead you must be able to see. This is not possible with dark windscreen at night time.

[AsianAtHeart]

I've been driving in Thailand for years, much of it at night.  I've driven that stretch of road at night many times.  If the news report is accurate, traveling southbound at that kilometer post means they would have just crested a 2-kilometer long grade, uphill, where trucks often travel quite slowly, about 32 km. south of Lampang.  The truck may well have been traveling more slowly than 30 kph--even 15 kph is possible, depending on how loaded the truck was and how tired its engine or driver. That said, even at 30 kph, the truck can present quite a hazard if its rear lights were not working well. 

 

One possibility is that the truck was drifting out of its lane, perhaps to avoid some bad pavement, and was not leaving adequate space in the passing lane.

 

In my experience, even the most alert Thai drivers have slow response times, especially to sudden hazards.  Where a trained driver can respond almost instinctively and reflexively to an emergent circumstance, a Thai driver will often require more than two seconds before acting.  This hesitation is often perilous.

[bristolgeoff]

the minivan is half gone,the driver whacked the truck for sure.speed played a part i think and not paying attention

[Derek B]

Need to check the phone records of both drivers too...............perhaps not driving with due care & attention whilst sober.

[bbbbooboo]

Hmmm... Another day in paradise.TIT

[Denim]

23 hours ago, webfact said:

Police are investigating the cause of the accident.

 

I'd put my money on speeding mini van plus dim rear lights on slow truck.

[AhFarangJa]

16 hours ago, Chazar said:

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?

A couple of years ago my Wife was on a minibus to Hua Hin from Surin. He too would not stop at the station, dropped her off across from Market Village so I had to drive round from the station to collect her. I guess it is too much hassle to u turn into the bus station then another u turn out to continue to Pranburi. 

[Prairieboy]

23 hours ago, webfact said:

e a total of 17 technology students and driver in the van

I wonder what size van - 9 passenger, 12 passenger?  Not sure if there are any minivans designed for 17 passengers.

[Henryford]

I never drive at night in Thailand.

[Vacuum]

13 hours ago, Mingomania said:

Drove to Don Muang from Pattaya once in a mini van while I caught the driver dozing off behind the wheel no lees than three times.

And still you didn't get off? Lucky to be alive.

[lvr181]

17 hours ago, moe666 said:

Poor driver his fate has been signed sealed and delivered by the know it alls on this forum. Why not wait until you know about the driver before declaring him drunk, on drugs, or asleep. Seen it here a few times when the jump the gun boys had someone in Bangkok Remand prison before any investigation. Calm down boys

Fair comment BUT it was not the fault of the kids or the motorvehicle - so that only leaves the driver/s!

[Crocbait]

23 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.  

 

 

I'll raise my hand. When I was young I did exactly that. Unlit winding highway in Australia and was blinded by an oncoming bus and plowed into the back of an old farm truck carrying tomatoes. Truck had no lights on the back. i wasn't speeding, drunk or on drugs! Luckily not hurt, but the car was mess.

[Elzear]

Good thoughts, Qoo10. One tends to feel more for the families of the deceased than for those survivors in a shattered state.

Thank you for reminding of them.

[LetsCleanUpTHAILAND]

SOLUTION #1: Do you guys think that all mini-vans should have a governor (speed cap) installed to max speed of vans at 90kmh? Surely, someone could get a change.org petition drafted for Thai citizens to sign. Of course, it would be important to detail how many people have died or been injured by mini-vans in the past 5 years and to give stats on what percentage of those accidents were due to speeding? 

 

According to the State of Thai Society (Q2/2019), Thailand still ranks #1 for road accidents in SE Asia with 50% of accidents caused by cutting off drivers, speeding and tail-gating (driving very close). 

 

The problem in Thailand is the process of getting a drivers license. Unlike the West, where you can only take your written Drivers License exam at a government office of transport, in Thailand you can take the written test at a PRIVATE driver school. The problem with this is that the instructors give you the answers to the test!!! This is why Thai's are so reckless. Many of them are willing to pay the 4000-5000THB to pass the written (and driving test) easily at a private driving school instead of actually studying and taking the test at a government building.

 

SOLUTION #2: Ban all driving schools from testing/certifying. Driving schools should only be for "tutoring" about driving and test taking, but all people should be required to take the written and demonstrative driving exams at a government building. 

 

Agree or Disagree?