Thirty one teachers injured - driver dead - as bus slams into rear of gas tanker

[webfact]

Thirty one teachers injured - driver dead - as bus slams into rear of gas tanker

 

Picture: Daily News

 

Daily News reported that a large group of teachers from a north eastern university were lucky to escape being burned alive after a bus crashed into the back of a gas tanker in Nakhon Pathom earlier today. 

 

Kamphaeng Saen police and rescue services responded to a call at daybreak after the accident at a U-turn on the Kamphaeng Saen - Prathaen Road.

 

Fire services fearing an explosion hosed down the area as fuel gushed out of the back of the tanker. 

 

Thirty one teachers and educational staff from Rajabhat Mahasarakham University were taken to hospital. 

 

Rescue services used large axes to break windows to get to the injured. 

 

Picture: Daily News

 

The driver from Mahasarakham - named as Sasatra, 42 - was pronounced dead at the scene. 

 

The teachers were on their way to Kanchanaburi and were mostly asleep at the time of the accident. 

 

Police think that the driver fell asleep at the wheel or didn't see the tanker as it is a very dark area of road. 

 

The tanker was stationary at the time preparing to make a U-turn heading for a gas depot. 

 

Source: Daily News

 

 

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[VocalNeal]

Gasoline tanker. Not a gas tanker.

 

Driver RIP.

Edited October 17, 2019 by VocalNeal

[keith101]

6 minutes ago, webfact said:

Police think that the driver fell asleep at the wheel or didn't see the tanker as it is a very dark area of road. 

Pretty much the reason why so many buses are involved in accidents . I had a friend tell me he was on a bus in the middle of the day and the driver was asleep and when he mentioned it to a Thai she said its ok not worry about .

[alan grice]

Gasoline tanker. Not a gas tanker.
 
Driver RIP.

Thank You,we would never had guessed that.[emoji67]‍[emoji310]


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Isaanbiker]

12 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

Gasoline tanker. Not a gas tanker.

 

Driver RIP.

A collision with a gas tanker could have killed many in the bus. RIP, tired driver and a speedy recovery for the injured ones. 

[Yinn]

41 minutes ago, keith101 said:

Pretty much the reason why so many buses are involved in accidents . I had a friend tell me he was on a bus in the middle of the day and the driver was asleep and when he mentioned it to a Thai she said its ok not worry about .

So the bus driver drive the bus sleeping? 

 

You believe this story? Impossible.

[Isaanbiker]

10 minutes ago, Yinn said:

So the bus driver drive the bus sleeping? 

 

You believe this story? Impossible.

Perhaps a bad wording. Sleeping bus drivers will crash. Guess he meant that he fell asleep for a second, or two. 

[sillyfool]

come on give the guy a brake. maybe he did fall asleep after working a very long shift. 

[Chazar]

Seeing the  photo with benzene/gasoline/petrol  pouring out the back Id  be nowhere near that bomb waiting to go off. Just more appalling driving from the worst drivers in the world.

I like the way they do their u turns  by using half  the outer  lane to swing out wide which is totally unnecessary and half  blocks  or  fully  blocks  that outer  lane.

Combine all of that with the lack of  rear  lights, drivers who are already half  asleep and the mindset and this is the result...................dont bother with the "happens in other countries cack either" This is something Thailand excels at

Edited October 17, 2019 by Chazar

[Chazar]

1 minute ago, sillyfool said:

come on give the guy a brake. maybe he did fall asleep after working a very long shift. 

No he doesnt get a break, he could have cremated  all of those passengers and fire is the worst way to die.

[Chazar]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

or didn't see the tanker as it is a very dark area of road. 

utter  BS no excuse at all unless  tanker had NO  lights and I would  not be the least bit surprised

Edited October 17, 2019 by Chazar

[sillyfool]

8 minutes ago, Chazar said:

No he doesnt get a break, he could have cremated  all of those passengers and fire is the worst way to die.

brake vs break in context to a thai accident. ????

 

 

[sensei]

1 hour ago, keith101 said:

Pretty much the reason why so many buses are involved in accidents . I had a friend tell me he was on a bus in the middle of the day and the driver was asleep and when he mentioned it to a Thai she said its ok not worry about .

I have experienced this too! I was in a van and the driver was nodding off. I was almost behind him and I would nudge him whenever I see his eyes closing. The lady sitting in front said he wasn't sleeping at all. clearly, he was.

[Colabamumbai]

Only sympathy for the devil. 

[CanterbrigianBangkoker]

1 hour ago, Yinn said:

So the bus driver drive the bus sleeping? 

 

You believe this story? Impossible.

Please, open your eyes!! Don't bury your head in the sand. Same old boring story  - one bit of criticism of a Thai person's aptitude and you dismiss it as even being possible! It is being offered as one of the possible reasons for the crash by the RTP no less, why do you think that is so? Because it is apparently relatively common here and across the region. Driver was doing a long haul trip and possibly had a turnaround within the same 24hr period (not uncommon), fella drifts off at the wheel for a few seconds and that is all it takes for disaster... I mean come on, of course these things happen. Wake up na krup. ???? 

Edited October 17, 2019 by CanterbrigianBangkoker

[30la]

When some of you responsible understand that many of these drivers are criminals without conscience!
Time to do something, and fast!

[mberbae]

A Dimly Lit area at a U Turn on a Highway. Says it ALL doesn't it ?!!

Even if well lit, U Turns in LOS are VERY dangerous. Were the Gasoline

Truck's rear lights functioning ? If he was making a U Turn, he would  be

on the brakes as well. More lights.  The bus driver probably fell asleep

would Not be an unreasonable guess.

[CanterbrigianBangkoker]

1 minute ago, mberbae said:

A Dimly Lit area at a U Turn on a Highway. Says it ALL doesn't it ?!!

Even if well lit, U Turns in LOS are VERY dangerous. Were the Gasoline

Truck's rear lights functioning ? If he was making a U Turn, he would  be

on the brakes as well. More lights.  The bus driver probably fell asleep

would Not be an unreasonable guess.

More working lights and fewer of these ridiculous U-turn fiascos. Flyovers work fine and of course good ol' roundabouts are a far better idea, but hey - if the yanks struggled with understanding how to use them correctly doesn't seem the Thais would fair much better? ????

[worgeordie]

I think the tanker must have been carrying Diesel,as if it had been

Petrol it would most likely explode,

"were mostly asleep at the time of the accident.",something I could

never do on a bus,if I had to travel,sit behind the driver and watch

him like a hawk.

Regards Worgeordie

[xerostar]

Why can't there be two drivers on every bus ? 

For these long journeys they should have a maximum of one or two hours behind the wheel before swapping places.

Plus warning alarms built in.

The technology is available to detect inattention or sleepiness - they use them in Australian trucks.

I wish all the injured a speedy recovery but from the photos I would guess many were severely injured .  ????

[helloagain]

At least driver can't kill anybody else now. Dark road or not...... How can he not see, yes fell asleep, when feal like that pull over

[chang1]

1 hour ago, Chazar said:

No he doesnt get a break, he could have cremated  all of those passengers and fire is the worst way to die.

Don't just jump on the easiest target. Look more at the real problems that contributed to this accident. The picture shows a red light still on, on the tanker so assuming that the lights were working and the driver had fallen asleep at the wheel, let's consider why. Most likely the driver had not rested sufficiently. You just want to blame him, whereas I would be asking why he had not had enough rest. I have been injured due to a sleeping bus driver so know it is a serious problem in Thailand. I put the blame on the bus company owner/bosses. They are ultimately responsible for that man behind the wheel. They control most of the factors that should safeguard passengers.

Was he vetted, license checked etc.?

Was he regularly drug tested?

We're his hours limited?

Was a tachograph fitted to the bus?

Did he have a second job?

Did he have a history of passengers complaining about his driving?

Did he have regular medicals?

Was the journey too long for a single driver?

Was there enough breaks on the journey?

 

These are just a few of the checks and procedures that the company should do and they will only be done if the owner/bosses want them done. 

If the company does everything right and the driver went to work without resting even though he had plenty of time, then he gets the blame.

 

If a new to the job, window cleaner falls off a ladder do you blame him or his boss for not teaching him to use the ladder properly?

 

Are you sure the company took the drivers welfare seriously?

 

[ttrd]

2 hours ago, keith101 said:

Pretty much the reason why so many buses are involved in accidents . I had a friend tell me he was on a bus in the middle of the day and the driver was asleep and when he mentioned it to a Thai she said its ok not worry about .

Hmmm - maybe he should have mentioned it to the driver … ????

Edited October 17, 2019 by ttrd

[legend49]

1 minute ago, chang1 said:

Don't just jump on the easiest target. Look more at the real problems that contributed to this accident. The picture shows a red light still on, on the tanker so assuming that the lights were working and the driver had fallen asleep at the wheel, let's consider why. Most likely the driver had not rested sufficiently. You just want to blame him, whereas I would be asking why he had not had enough rest. I have been injured due to a sleeping bus driver so know it is a serious problem in Thailand. I put the blame on the bus company owner/bosses. They are ultimately responsible for that man behind the wheel. They control most of the factors that should safeguard passengers.

Was he vetted, license checked etc.?

Was he regularly drug tested?

We're his hours limited?

Was a tachograph fitted to the bus?

Did he have a second job?

Did he have a history of passengers complaining about his driving?

Did he have regular medicals?

Was the journey too long for a single driver?

Was there enough breaks on the journey?

 

These are just a few of the checks and procedures that the company should do and they will only be done if the owner/bosses want them done. 

If the company does everything right and the driver went to work without resting even though he had plenty of time, then he gets the blame.

 

If a new to the job, window cleaner falls off a ladder do you blame him or his boss for not teaching him to use the ladder properly?

 

Are you sure the company took the drivers welfare seriously?

 

A nice list if you were talking about UK, USA etc , remember where you are living most of those criterion dont exist here.

[chang1]

2 minutes ago, legend49 said:

A nice list if you were talking about UK, USA etc , remember where you are living most of those criterion dont exist here.

My point exactly. So why just blame the driver?

[Xonax]

Time to have two drivers on Thai busses, just like on an airplane.  Better chances that one of them will stay awake.

[chang1]

The government and law enforcement must also take some responsibility for companies getting away with such poor safety standards.

[chang1]

3 minutes ago, Xonax said:

Time to have two drivers on Thai busses, just like on an airplane.  Better chances that one of them will stay awake.

I guess you have never driven a vehicle on a road.

[PatOngo]

1 hour ago, Colabamumbai said:

Only sympathy for the devil. 

Please allow me to introduce myself!

[Moonlover]

Looking at the road markings, it appears that the tanker was stationary in the middle of the road. It is actually straddling the yellow divider. It's my understanding that this would render a U turn illegal at that point.

 

So, although the bus driver is primarily to blame, the tanker driver's behavior is really should be called into question.