Picture: Siam Rath

 

It is a road that many Thais called "Sai Morana" - Death Highway. The Mitraphap or Frienship Highway that runs from the NE of Thailand to the Thai capital Bangkok.

 

It is the scene of countless accidents. In January 11 died when a van burst into flames. Seven people in another van escaped death earlier this week. Both happened in Si Khio district.

 

The same district was also the scene of utter carnage yesterday when a Poh Teck Tung foundation Ford Ranger was hit by a Vigo pick-up after the latter crossed the central reservation into its path.

 

Traffic heading towards Muang district of Nakhon Ratchasima was tailed back for many kilometers after the accident in Lat Bua Khao sub-district near the entrance to the CP factory, reported Siam Rath.

 

Picture: Siam Rath

 

When Si Khio police and rescue services arrived they found a very badly damaged Vigo on its roof and six members of what was believed to be the same family trapped inside.

 

In the undergrowth off the road was a Bang Bon Poh Teck Tung vehicle.

 

The passenger Natthan, 43, from Bangkok survived and was able to say what happened.

 

The driver, his buddy Sakchai, 44, from Phijit was dead at the scene.

 

Natthan said that he and his friend were going to Muang district on private business when the Vigo crossed the central reservation into their path.

 

Picture: Siam Rath

 

An Isuzu truck following up behind was unable to avoid the wreckage and was slightly damaged and its driver had minor injuries.

 

Police shut the road - one of the main arteries to the north east - and issued advisories to avoid the area.

 

All the injured were taken to Si Khio hospital.

 

Road accidents in Thailand claim the lives of an estimated 20-25,000 people annually. A million are injured every year.

 

Around 80% of fatalities and the injured are motorcyclists.

 

Official figures in the region of 14-15,000 annually only include those dead at the scene, notes ASEAN NOW.

 

Politicians pay lip service to the carnage with crackdowns only ordered at New Year and Songkran.

 

Meanwhile the deaths continue to rack up, especially on Death Highway.

 

-- © Copyright  ASEAN NOW 2023-02-22

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

The most versatile and flexible rental investment and holiday home solution in Thailand - click for more information.

 

Get your business in front of millions of customers who read ASEAN NOW with an interest in Thailand every month - email [email protected] for more information

Lunchtime now, and that's the first wrecked pickup I've seen on AseanNow since breakfast.

1 hour ago, webfact said:

The same district was also the scene of utter carnage yesterday when a Poh Teck Tung foundation Ford Ranger was hit by a Vigo pick-up after the latter crossed the central reservation into its path.

It's not the road, it's the lunatic drivers.

"issued an advisory". For what? Snow? Ice? Fog? It's not "death highway".. it's stupid killer drivers!

 

RIP. Always so sad ????

hmmm....  to be honest all the highways in Thailand should be called "death highway"?

We should not refer to this sort of event as an 'accident.'    This implies that there was some sort of event outside human control.  This was a 'collision,' pure and simple.

This road is typical of the poor design of Thai roads and no wonder there are so many crashes.

One of the key elements here is the fact that vehicle crossed the central reservation.

A good road is designed so this CAN'T  happen...once it does the chances of fatalities soar.

Another problem is what is in the middle and on the sides of the road.... this has a profound effect on the damage I curred by a vehicle.

Remember too that in a 4 wheeled private vehicle inThailand the death rate is slightly lower than in the USA.

12 minutes ago, kwilco said:

This road is typical of the poor design of Thai roads and no wonder there are so many crashes.

One of the key elements here is the fact that vehicle crossed the central reservation.

A good road is designed so this CAN'T  happen...once it does the chances of fatalities soar.

Another problem is what is in the middle and on the sides of the road.... this has a profound effect on the damage I curred by a vehicle.

Remember too that in a 4 wheeled private vehicle inThailand the death rate is slightly lower than in the USA.

Rubber vehicles would be the answer that way they can bounce off each other.

32 minutes ago, kwilco said:

A good road is designed so this CAN'T  happen...once it does the chances of fatalities soar.

 

oh they'll find a way trust me.

1 hour ago, 1happykamper said:

"issued an advisory". For what?

As the OP, very clearly, stated, for drivers to avoid the area.

1 hour ago, fantom said:

We should not refer to this sort of event as an 'accident.'    This implies that there was some sort of event outside human control.  This was a 'collision,' pure and simple.

An accidental collision.  It was certainly out of the control of the rescue foundation's personnel...pure and simple.

12 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

Rubber vehicles would be the answer that way they can bounce off each other.

Vehicles are designed with built in shock absorption characteristics. These are designed to protect the occupants - and those outside - by minimising the damage inflicted.

Pickup trucks are inherently less effective at doing this than modern sedans.

You often hear of people boasting that their truck received virtually no damage whilst the other car was crumpled to sheet. This of course actually shows that the cars shock absorption  crumple zones were doing their job, whilst the truck had very little safe zones.

In a crash, when the car comes to a sudden halt.... e.g. against a tree or in this case, an oncoming vehicle,  the occupants will continue going forward until something stops them. The object of shock absorption is to decelerate the occupants as safely as possible without a sudden jarring halt. Usually seat belts and airbags help with this but the outside crumple zones are also crucial.

It is also vital that the edges and middle of the road are designed to bring a vehicle to a halt as safely and gradually as possible. Thailand's roads, even new ones often fail to achieve this.

 

 

10 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

oh they'll find a way trust me.

Please explain.

Just now, kwilco said:

Please explain.

Have you seen these people drive? Your road stands no chance.

2 minutes ago, kwilco said:

Vehicles are designed with built in shock absorption characteristics. These are designed to protect the occupants - and those outside - by minimising the damage inflicted.

Pickup trucks are inherently less effective at doing this than modern sedans.

You often hear of people boasting that their truck received virtually no damage whilst the other car was crumpled to sheet. This of course actually shows that the cars shock absorption  crumple zones were doing their job, whilst the truck had very little safe zones.

In a crash, when the car comes to a sudden halt.... e.g. against a tree or in this case, an oncoming vehicle,  the occupants will continue going forward until something stops them. The object of shock absorption is to decelerate the occupants as safely as possible without a sudden jarring halt. Usually seat belts and airbags help with this but the outside crumple zones are also crucial.

It is also vital that the edges and middle of the road are designed to bring a vehicle to a halt as safely and gradually as possible. Thailand's roads, even new ones often fail to achieve this.

 

 

I have to disappoint you in this one, the cars manufactured in Thailand have a much lesser crumple zone.

A car damage company once showed me that, especially with a Honda Civic.

57 minutes ago, fantom said:

We should not refer to this sort of event as an 'accident.'    This implies that there was some sort of event outside human control.  This was a 'collision,' pure and simple.

It WAS an accident unless it was intentional.

Just now, ChrisKC said:

It WAS an accident unless it was intentional.

You wold almost get that impression.

9 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

As the OP, very clearly, stated, for drivers to avoid the area.

So what exactly is wrong in that area besides idiot drivers? 

7 minutes ago, 1happykamper said:

17 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

As the OP, very clearly, stated, for drivers to avoid the area.

So what exactly is wrong in that area besides idiot drivers? 

That there was a fatal accident blocking the road is what was "exactly wrong" in that area at the time of the advisory.

13 minutes ago, Tubulat said:

cars manufactured in Thailand have a much lesser crumple zone.

Cars manufactured in Thailand meet all current international safety requirements.

As they say, "Speed kills."

1 hour ago, bbbbooboo said:

hmmm....  to be honest all the highways in Thailand should be called "death highway"?

No. All the drivers should be called death drivers

46 minutes ago, Tubulat said:

I have to disappoint you in this one, the cars manufactured in Thailand have a much lesser crumple zone.

A car damage company once showed me that, especially with a Honda Civic.

What on eartth are you talking about???? - lesser than what?

There seems to be a general attitude on this thread that Thai people are inherently bad at driving - this is not true, it is however a racist attitude.

 

The truth is that we are ALL bad drivers - humans are not designed to move at the speeds cars are capable of.

There are crappy drivers everywhere in the world - road safety is a public health issue that governments address with varying amounts of success - the Thai authorities are abject failures in this.

 

There is also a perception that "bad driving" causes accidents - the concept of "bad driving' is totally subjective and males baseless assumptions.

Again the truth is that most crashes are caused by "human error" but most people don't actually understand what human error is. It isn't "reckless driving" etc. it is the range of slight errors that ALL of us make from time to time. Unfortunately one can see by the responses on this thread that people have no real understanding of what road safety entails and have an unjustified sense of superiority over Thai drivers.

 

A nations road safety policy can only be  as effective as it's government. They have in Thailand a massive job to correct the errors of the past 3 or 4 decades.

Enforcement, Engineering Education Emergency and Evaluation need to be addressed holistically. Trying to blame divers for their shortcomings is not a solution - as can be seen for the past 30 years there has been no significant change in road safety in Thailand at all....until the government like those on this thread actually understand what road safety is all bout there can be no change.

28 minutes ago, Reigntax said:

No. All the drivers should be called death drivers

Totally wrong approach - road safety left that behind over 50 years ago.

29 minutes ago, kwilco said:

What on eartth are you talking about???? - lesser than what?

It's true, I talk about 10 years ago a car repair shop show me the construction from a Honda Civic and told me the differents is between cars manufactured for domestic other than for export.

The Ko Tao Chamber of Chaos is preparing a cease and desist order to prevent misuse of the the "Death" moniker.  

While they acknowledge that it is a terrible stretch of road, they are concerned that there will be a negative effect on adventure tourism on Death Island.

 

1 hour ago, kwilco said:

Vehicles are designed with built in shock absorption characteristics. These are designed to protect the occupants - and those outside - by minimising the damage inflicted.

Pickup trucks are inherently less effective at doing this than modern sedans.

You often hear of people boasting that their truck received virtually no damage whilst the other car was crumpled to sheet. This of course actually shows that the cars shock absorption  crumple zones were doing their job, whilst the truck had very little safe zones.

In a crash, when the car comes to a sudden halt.... e.g. against a tree or in this case, an oncoming vehicle,  the occupants will continue going forward until something stops them. The object of shock absorption is to decelerate the occupants as safely as possible without a sudden jarring halt. Usually seat belts and airbags help with this but the outside crumple zones are also crucial.

It is also vital that the edges and middle of the road are designed to bring a vehicle to a halt as safely and gradually as possible. Thailand's roads, even new ones often fail to achieve this.

 

 

It wasnt meant to be a serious reply, surely you realised that?

Several years ago in the Bangkok Post one of the heads of DLT,  stated there is nothing wrong with the designs of their roads. 

Then you got head of police with this type of thinking which actually exist throughout their leadership. There was an accident 10 years ago a Porsche driver 120 km/h went down a Soi, tops 50 would have been unsafe a girl 16 step off the curb struck cut in half there were question of course about the speed the head of police had no problem with it because the technology of vehicle today are better. 

You look at some of these accident in Thailand not in my live time can a car be build here or anywhere that would prevent such negligence driving habits. 

Look at the damage here,  truck crosses the center,  most likely we'll above any speed limits the truck following assume pedal to the metal not looking ahead enough. 

I've driven nearly all corners of Thailand roads regardless of the poor designs if taught the basics one can still navigate safely.

The best thing for this country is to scrape the whole system and start new with an outsider in charge. 

11 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

It wasnt meant to be a serious reply, surely you realised that?

Top me it just illustrates how little people understand about road safety. Rubber has shock absorption qualities if correctly used but you seem to think road safety in Thailand is a joke.