Norwegian expat killed in collision of two pick-ups in NE Thailand - wife injured

[ezzra]

Don't you just love the post-mortem discussion of the laptop drivers as to whom is the guilty party here.. That's ok guys, i too sometime partake in similar discussion, what else we can busy ourselves with if if not with such concussions right?...

[Thaijack2014]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Police said that the collision happened at high speed on a bend notorious for accidents.

This accident is another confirmation in my believe that the majority of those Pick-up drivers are madmen. Last week on my bicycle I was almost hit by a passing pick-up. Again and again, over and over, it is most of the time pick-up drivers who seem to think that they can do with their vehicle as they seem fit. Driving 100 on a street where only 60 is allowed and pushing the other if he's driving between 80 and 90, already exceeding the maximum speed limit.

I'm far from jealous and even for free I would not want to have those monster cars. I have a normal car and think I drive normal. At least I don't push people aside and my car doesn't occupy the two sides of a road. 

Those pick-up drivers think that I have to get off the road, because they are the kings of the road. They sit high and dry, nothing can hurt them....

 

Yes it is tragic, this accident, but not surprising... 

[4MyEgo]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Police said that the collision happened at high speed on a bend notorious for accidents.

So they know this is a notorious bend for accidents, so what have they done to reduce the speed on this section, it would appear nothing, reminds me of a pot hole up the road that no one has fixed, even when it got so bad that a car hit it and the driver ended up in a rice field upside down in his ute, did he live, I don't know, was the road fixed, shortly there after.

 

The above said, I know of another of late, time will only tell when the next accident will happen.

 

Tragic accident.

[IamNoone88]

I drive quite regularly in the Ubon/Sisaket area. The roads are generally very good and 95% of people drive safely and I am the one usually overtaking/driving quite fast. However, I have seen more dead on those roads than anywhere else in the country in the past 24 months. It is the 5% that cause the tragedy and when those guys drive fast, they really do go and seemingly without fear. I have seen motorcycles hit and U-turning long vehicles on clear straight roads with vehicles wedge under them....... the list goes on.

[Catoni]

Anyone who takes a corner at too high of speed in the opposing lane is an total idiot at a criminal level. 
    Let’s see if my comment is censored for stating a fact. 
 

Requiescat in Pacé to those who lost their lives or injured. 

[IvorBiggun2]

6 hours ago, Pique Dard said:

a sign to indicate this  a dangerous bend and that the speed should be lowered might have helped, but in thailand drivers wouldn't pay attention to that sort of "details", it seems

Speed cameras at both sides of the bend may have helped.

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Police said that the collision happened at high speed on a bend notorious for accidents.

Speed kills again.

[poohy]

7 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

Any bet takers on who cut the corner?

Driving to 711 today theres a very sharp left hand bend on narrowish beach road

i was met  by sewage truck driving completely on wrong side of road cutting the corner, both of us luckily were going slowly

i stopped he blew his horn as if to assert he had right way......Git!

 

This guy  was not so lucky

[spidermike007]

On many occasions I have been in hilly areas, with major blind spots in the road, and a driver blows right past me at high speed, with absolutely no ability to see if there is oncoming traffic. 

 

I don't care how much of a hurry someone may be in. There is never a good reason to drive like a flaming idiot, and put other people's lives at risk. You want to commit suicide? You do not possess strong enough survival instincts? Do it on your own time, without taking others out, along with you. 

[DFPhuket]

I've sometimes wondered why lane lines are painted on the roads. At every curve you can find vehicles and motorbikes "cutting the corners" and going into the lane of the oncoming traffic. Staying in your lane is a foreign concept to most. 

[off road pat]

4 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

According to the linked article reporting the accident, the Ranger was being driven by the Norwegian, The Thai was driving the Mazda.

,...."Naew Na reported that behind the wheel of the Mazda was a Norwegian man Mr I.W. who had lived in Thailand with his Thai wife in Amnat Charoen for ten years."...

[keystonecoppers2]

 

                                      

 

                                Catoni!          Could you please give us a definition on 

                                                      your word "requiescat"?

                                                      On this forum we do write in english!

 

                                                     Cheers!

[TKDfella]

1 hour ago, Card said:

Don't imply that the bend is at fault 

Quite. The bends aren't dangerous it's the driver(s) of the vehicle(s) that is/are dangerous if driving is adjusted to the road conditions.

[keystonecoppers2]

 

 

                         Every time they tailgate me, 4 meters behind me,just to pass me, 

                         sometimes on bends, where they don`t even see what is coming ahead,

                         and then have to stop for a red light, and me coming up slowly

                         behind them, I just have to laugh. Sometimes I think they are just

                         in a hurry to get to the hospital, no matter if they will come there

                         with an ambulance.  Pure insanity!!

 

                                      Cheers!         

[yogi yogi]

4 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

According to the linked article reporting the accident, the Ranger was being driven by the Norwegian, The Thai was driving the Mazda.

was the mazda a pickup truck too?

 

[baz69er]

7 hours ago, robblok said:

My money is on the Thai and i normally don't Thai bash much. But find this one of the most scary things when I drove my car outside of BKK. At least in BKK you got one way traffic, but outside there are often roads like that with bends where Thais just go to the other side without knowing what comes from the opposite direction.

I agree to that for sure, rode my bike up to Nakon Si Thammaratt a week ago & was behind a pick up truck, twice he overtook on a blind bend, but what made it worse, is that he made no attempt to accelerate to get past in time......... (Clueless)

[wwest5829]

7 hours ago, Pique Dard said:

a sign to indicate this  a dangerous bend and that the speed should be lowered might have helped, but in thailand drivers wouldn't pay attention to that sort of "details", it seems

My observation over my decade here is the Thai roads are well marked. Approaching curves there are the yellow, arrow signs. The closer the signs, the sharper the curve. My Driver Ed Teacher taught us to enter the curve at reduced speed, feel the curve and then you can judge the speed that you can safely accelerate. But ... just my thought.

[Gecko123]

51 minutes ago, off road pat said:

,...."Naew Na reported that behind the wheel of the Mazda was a Norwegian man Mr I.W. who had lived in Thailand with his Thai wife in Amnat Charoen for ten years."...

The aseannow article mixed up who was driving which car. The Norwegian man was driving the Ford Ranger, and a Thai man was driving the Mazda pickup.

 

Google translation from the Thai language NaewNa article: https://www.naewna.com/local/633153

 

The 1st death was Mr. Rim Khong Rakthai, 50 years old, Nikhom villagers, Village No. 5, Khamphon Sub-district, Pathum Ratchawongsa District, Amnat Charoen Province, a Mazda pickup driver. BT50

 

As for the second case, Mr. Irnor Waternikulaisen, a Norwegian, came to live with a Thai girlfriend for about 10 years, residing at 319 Village No. 1, Huai Subdistrict, Huai District. Pathum Ratchawongsa, Amnat Charoen Province, the driver of a Ford ranger 4-door car, both of whom died on the steering wheel.

 

 

Edited February 4, 2022 by Gecko123

[rwill]

A lot of drivers in Thailand have a hard time staying in their lane no matter what.  On curves it is even worse.

[keystonecoppers2]

 

 

                                  In my home country everyone has to perform and

                                  learn (on the road) how to deal with various worst case (and ordinary)

                                  scenarios. It takes time, maybe 2-3 months, with a teacher

                                  sitting beside you, with him having full control, i.e., having

                                  decoupling and brake pedals on his side, so he can intervene

                                  rapidly if you are not up to it.

                                  Normally, after a few lessons, he/she can see if you are 

                                  doing the necessary manoeuvers that you need to do, according

                                  to the traffic situation, and what is coming up in front of you.

                                  And when he does, he will give you more freedom to do your own

                                  driving, not telling you to go "left here", "right here". He can see

                                  that you are in comfort and in full control of your driving.

                                  It is called "developing driving skills".

 

                                  The whole thing is "easy pieces", if you just read the traffic

                                  ahead/around you. It`s no rocket science at all. 

 

                                  Here in Thailand the learning of driving is a joke, you can get the

                                  licence on an afternoon, without even been out in the traffic!

 

                                  We all know this, it has been debated on this forum so much before,

                                  and will go on being debated for ever, mainly because nothing

                                  is being done about it.

 

                                  I`ve beeen driving in Thailand for more than 20 years,

                                  and have NEVER been out for any major stuff (touch wood!),

                                  and will continue on my journey, with MY knowledge on driving.

                                  I will NEVER fall into the pit of driving "Thai" style.

 

                                  Drive safe out there!

                                             Cheers!

 

 

 

[mancub]

All I will say, is that it's much easier to navigate such a bend heading the way the Ford appears to have been going.

High speed on the tighter inside of the corner makes it more likely to result in crossing the meridian. 

[itsari]

It saddens me to read of a Norwegian killed on a Thai road in this way . 

I have in the past driven for many years on Norwegian roads and have seen that the average Norwegian drives slowly and safely . 

Well worth noting that Norwegian roads are are full of bends due to the geography of the country .

I also know that it is not easy to pass a Norwegian driving test . 

 

 

 

[SunsetT]

8 hours ago, steven100 said:

my guess is the 50yr old thai had been going too fast and went wide on the bend ....

They dont need to be going too fast. There is no lane discipline here and many just drift all over the road without a care in the World! And thats without using a mobile phone while driving!

[brianthainess]

Maybe they both cut the curve. Just saying.

[Burma Bill]

6 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Probably the Norwegian.  Or the Thai.

With sincere respect and RIP to both drivers, for reference, driving in Norway is on the right hand side unlike Thailand's left hand side.

[Raff72]

It has been a while since I last drove or rode in the LOS. Amongst many close calls, I remember a wee sphincter tightener in Chang Mai. I was on a step through and riding through a curve on the road that was banked in a similar way to a bicycle velodrome. There was someone on the outside of me, indeed in a pickup and thanks to the curve his truck wandered across into my lane and pushed me off the road. Before I was finally knocked off my bike, I reckon I had punched his car, including his windows a good number of times but none of this made any difference. He didn't try to run away, maybe because there were witnesses who saw what happened and stopped to lend a hand afterwards. I wasn't hurt very badly, though I did lose a heap of skin, but as for getting his rego number??? Fraid not. I have never been great with written Thai so I didn't have the skills to copy his rego number down. I wanted to call the police, but no one at the scene would help me with this, plus of course he didn't happen to have any ID on him, let alone an actual license... Basically, he gave me a phone number that was fake and it seemed to me that all those at the scene sided with him and basically did their best to let him drive away without any chance of me having any way to report him. This did at least make me realize that riding without protective gear, even in the usual temperatures and humidity in LOS was just silly and I've made sure (more often than not) to at least wear a helmet, gloves  long pants and a jacket ever since. The scooter wasn't heavily damaged and it only took a visit to the market, then swapping a few pieces of fairing to get my full deposit back. The lesson to take from this? When riding a two wheeler, whether at home or anywhere else in the world (particularly Thailand), you should ride as if EVERYONE else on the road is actually trying to kill you. Do not EVER take for granted that others on the road are riding/driving in a way that is safe and/or vigilant. While it may seem a little unfair, you need to ride/drive in a way with the understanding that you are entirely responsible for your own safety. We all know that the roads in Thailand are FAR from being safe, OR logical and that often the skills of other users leave a touch to be desired.   So if you decide you want to be an active road user, then you need to take this into account. Oh and while the roads in Thailand can be a handful, just be thankful you're not riding or driving in India... 

 

Edited February 4, 2022 by Raff72

[Eloquent pilgrim]

1 hour ago, keystonecoppers2 said:

 

                                      

 

                                Catoni!          Could you please give us a definition on 

                                                      your word "requiescat"?

                                                      On this forum we do write in english!

 

                                                     Cheers!

 

“requiescat in pace” is a Latin phrase, which the phrase “Rest In Peace” originates from; often used in Catholic services ........ if that helps 

[Presnock]

This is horrible.  Yes BKK no problem but outside the city, especially in any mountain areas.  I now live in CM and have changed several times the routes I normally would take to where I am going because some of the corners are blind but that makes no difference.  Every day pickups going way too fast, large SUV's, etc can 't stand to wait behind a slower vehicle, especially a motor cycle and even if there is no slow vehicle, on every corner, that pickup or suv will cut the corner.  The only explanation I think is that most of those drivers learned to "drive" on a motorcycle and they always cut corners and ignore every other vehicle on the road.  Until the government recognizes that motor vehicles by definition should include motorcycles and those people should have proper drivers' training prior to getting a license.  They are excuse from almost all accidents involved with everything bigger than they are so they ignore common sense in driving.  Until the govt fixes this, 70-80% of those killed on the roads will be riding on motorcycles.  Hard to understand why the government refuses to accept this as they often talk about the road carnage and fixing the problems.

[The Hammer2021]

9 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

Any bet takers on who cut the corner?

Just because many foreigners are not used to driving on the left and often  cause accidents  by driving on the wrong side of the road I think its a bit premature to allocate blame. Its tasteless to take bets and turn death into a game.

Edited February 4, 2022 by The Hammer2021

[Montnoveau]

6 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

At the least in the Ford, safety belts and airbags (if any) could have helped?

Cabin looks quite intact.

 

To survive a head-on impact you need a 'soft' energy-absorbing vehicle. Frame-built vehicles are just too stiff in such collisions unless you hit a Honda Jazz. Airbags or seat belts does not help. It is not the speed that kills, it is the sudden stop. Even truer with frame built vehicles.