Tourist minivan crash in Mae Hong Son injures seven: steep route and driver inexperience blamed

[webfact]

 

A tourist minivan lost control on a curve in Mae Hong Son, crashing into guardrails and a tree, leaving multiple passengers injured. The crash took place yesterday, in the Ban Rak Thai area.

 

The minivan, carrying seven tourists from Sing Buri province, was travelling back from Ban Rak Thai, a popular Yunnan Chinese tourist village.

 

The vehicle, a Toyota with a Suphan Buri license plate, was severely damaged to the extent that the front doors wouldn’t open.

 

The driver and the passenger sitting beside him suffered injuries and were rescued through the window. In total, two people suffered severe injuries and five others sustained minor ones. All injured were taken to Sri Sangwan Mae Hong Son Hospital for treatment.

 

The accident occurred near the Pha Suea Waterfall on a steep, curvy downhill road. The driver, unfamiliar with the route, lost control of the minivan causing it to hit the guardrail and a tree before it came to a halt. Besides the front passengers, the back passengers only sustained minor injuries, reported KhaoSod.

 

by Nattapong Westwood

Picture courtesy of KhaoSod

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2023-10-21

 

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[FolkGuitar]

What a surprise! I guess there must be a couple of curves on the Mae Hong Son loop...
Too bad the driver didn't know that or that perhaps the 'alert encouragement' he swallowed to help him stay awake for 11 days so he could earn more money didn't really keep him alert.

[scubascuba3]

Feels dangerous going to MHS by minivan plus you have to contend with feeling sick the whole journey

[Chris Daley]

Whatever primitive lifeforms drive those vans should be taken off the road.

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The minivan, carrying seven tourists from Sing Buri province, was travelling back from Ban Rak Thai, a popular Yunnan Chinese tourist village.

 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The accident occurred near the Pha Suea Waterfall on a steep, curvy downhill road. The driver, unfamiliar with the route, lost control of the minivan causing it to hit the guardrail and a tree

Another day in paradise.

[brianthainess]

So what was his inexperience, driving downhill,

and taking curves ? no mention of his age.

I have driven on many unfamiliar roads like this in 4 countries, and some in pouring rain, and never had a crash. some roads were unsealed, also in 2 of those countries HGVs.

[heybruce]

It looks like a combination of seat-belts and airbags would have allowed everyone to walk away from the crash.

[RobU]

My wife passed her driving test earlier this year. She still can't drive, but she's passed her test yay! I think 'inexperienced' is probably too mild when people are allowed to just pass the test and drive.

[Wiggy]

20 hours ago, brianthainess said:

So what was his inexperience, driving downhill,

and taking curves ? no mention of his age.

I have driven on many unfamiliar roads like this in 4 countries, and some in pouring rain, and never had a crash. some roads were unsealed, also in 2 of those countries HGVs.

Brain failure.