Accident Another Construction Mishap on Rama II Road Causes Vehicle Damage

[snoop1130]

File photo for reference only

 

In yet another construction-related incident on Rama II road, a cable from an overhead construction site fell, damaging a trailer truck and a pickup filled with seafood shortly after midnight last night. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, as confirmed by Naewna newspaper on May 6.

 

The accident took place near central Mahachai in Samut Sakhon province at 1.05 a.m. The driver of the seafood-laden pickup, which departed from Thai Talay market bound for Bangkok, reported following a trailer truck when a cable unexpectedly snapped and descended from the construction area. It first struck the trailer truck, then struck the front of his vehicle with significant force, dislodging the grille and licence plate and causing severe damage to the vehicle's front end.

 

Although the driver was unharmed, the incident left him shaken and questioning the safety protocols of the construction site. He has called on relevant authorities to address this issue and investigate the frequent accidents along this route.

 

Construction workers mentioned that while they were operating a rotating machine to position the cable, which had been hooked, the concrete platform led to the cable's unexpected descent just as the vehicles were passing through. This situation highlights the negligence which led to property damage, with the construction contractor agreeing to cover all repair costs.

 

This incident follows another tragic event on April 29, where an engineer suffered a ruptured liver and later died after chunks of concrete fell on his pickup truck while passing under a flyover on the same road. This series of accidents calls for urgent action to improve safety standards and prevent future occurrences on Rama II road.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Thai Newsroom 2025-05-06

 

 

[petermik]

An urgent investigation will be ordered with the outcome being the same as before....we hear nothing about the outcome once again......

[ukrules]

This is getting to be a real serious issue now.

 

I am informed by the Mrs that many Thai people are 'outraged' about this situation and they will not drive near to this road any more and that was a week ago.

 

This comes from Thai language gossip channels which Thai women love so much on facebook.

 

I have been informed that when we return to Thailand from Cambodia the chauffeur must be instructed to drive an alternate route on our way to Hua Hin from the airport, a route that goes nowhere near this road.

I told her she can handle it by speaking Thai to them when we book it.

When something like this comes up I say it's a Thai problem - so needs a Thai to sort it out - seems to work 😜

[Ctkong]

Nothing will ever change until they instill stiff penalties on the offenders. Maybe jail time is necessary to knock some  sense into their thick skulls. 
thai safety standards leave much to be desired. Life is cheap here. 
 

[Gandtee]

18 hours ago, ukrules said:

This is getting to be a real serious issue now.

 

I am informed by the Mrs that many Thai people are 'outraged' about this situation and they will not drive near to this road any more and that was a week ago.

 

This comes from Thai language gossip channels which Thai women love so much on facebook.

 

I have been informed that when we return to Thailand from Cambodia the chauffeur must be instructed to drive an alternate route on our way to Hua Hin from the airport, a route that goes nowhere near this road.

I told her she can handle it by speaking Thai to them when we book it.

When something like this comes up I say it's a Thai problem - so needs a Thai to sort it out - seems to work 😜

A bit over the top methinks. While not demeaning the seriousness of the construction accidents on this road, there is a greater chance of having a traffic accident and more chance of it by increasing the miles to be travelled. Have a safe journey. I am using that route to Hua Hin tomorrow.

[spidermike007]

This is probably the greatest failure in the history of highway construction anywhere in the world in the last century. Thailand has been given an F grade, and what is happening on Rama II is an absolute abomination. Everyone should be fired, all heads should roll, and the executives of the contractor, as well as the top ranking people in the transportation department should be locked up as soon as possible. 

[hotchilli]

19 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

In yet another construction-related incident on Rama II road, a cable from an overhead construction site fell, damaging a trailer truck and a pickup filled with seafood shortly after midnight last night. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, as confirmed by Naewna newspaper on May 6.

Another warning issued and another day in Thailand...

[klauskunkel]

20 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

damaging a pickup filled with seafood shortly after midnight last night. Fortunately, no injuries were reported,

as the seafood was dead already.

[richard_smith237]

3 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

This is probably the greatest failure in the history of highway construction anywhere in the world in the last century. Thailand has been given an F grade, and what is happening on Rama II is an absolute abomination. Everyone should be fired, all heads should roll, and the executives of the contractor, as well as the top ranking people in the transportation department should be locked up as soon as possible. 

 

I'm not so sure... I'm looking at this news from a different perspective.

 

In many countries - particularly across Europe - a road beneath such a project would typically be closed entirely for the duration of the work. In other words, full traffic disruption would be the norm.

 

As a result, any such 'drops' or incidents in those scenarios would have no real effect on the public and would likely go unreported.

 

Construction, manufacturing, and the oil and gas industries all operate with rigorous safety and incident-reporting procedures. Serious events do happen - most often due to human error rather than mechanical failure - but they rarely make the headlines unless there's a fatality or severe injury.

 

In the case of the Rama II road construction, previous incidents have led to a kind of media feeding frenzy, a pile-on. It’s a classic case of the 'contagion effect': once the media has latched on, even the slightest mishap, they're all over it like GottFrid nursing wood over a Brit-bashing thread.

 

The truth is, while these incidents should rightly be scrutinised; particularly if patterns emerge - they wouldn’t attract media coverage in the West unless they had a tangible impact on the general public. Here, however, we’re seeing the 'Streisand effect' in action: the more one tries to carry on quietly, the more attention even the most minor issue receives.

 

That said, Spidermike, you're absolutely right - there are clear shortcomings in this project. But I’d wager they’re no worse than those found in many other developments across Thailand. It’s just that, at this point, even someone tripping over on Rama II has become headline material.

 

 

 

 

[rwill]

19 hours ago, ukrules said:

I am informed by the Mrs that many Thai people are 'outraged' about this situation and they will not drive near to this road any more and that was a week ago.

It's more like they think it is cursed by bad spirits.  At least that is what my relatives say.  They go out of their way to avoid it.

[richard_smith237]

7 minutes ago, rwill said:

19 hours ago, ukrules said:

I am informed by the Mrs that many Thai people are 'outraged' about this situation and they will not drive near to this road any more and that was a week ago.

It's more like they think it is cursed by bad spirits.  At least that is what my relatives say.  They go out of their way to avoid it.

 

Does that mean 'we' (Thailand) needs another road, so everyone can avoid this road...   a new construction which of course will be plagued by further incidents !!! 

 

 

There is another reality here - recently Thailand was struck by the amplification to approximately ~6.0 MW (Richter equivalent) from the 7-9 to 8.1 Richter-scale earthquake in Myanmar - The road structure in general, and new recently constructed overpass on Rama II held up remarkably well.

 

It could be argued that this is a strong testament to the building standards in place. 

 

It seems that every failure in this this projected is not one of poor construction, but someone circumnavigating some safety regulation or doing something dumb with machinery through poor training.

[Aussie999]

Again and again, no safety measures in place

[ukrules]

1 hour ago, Gandtee said:

A bit over the top methinks. While not demeaning the seriousness of the construction accidents on this road, there is a greater chance of having a traffic accident and more chance of it by increasing the miles to be travelled. Have a safe journey. I am using that route to Hua Hin tomorrow.

 

Indeed, I understand the math, there's probably more chance of crashing on the flight into Bangkok that having a lump of concrete landing on the car - but it's the Thai Mrs who is insisting on this.

She's not alone - from what she's saying that route must be the fastest highway in the country these days as half the country are now actively avoiding the route for 'reasons'. Bad spirits, bad mojo - you name it - it's all there!

 

[ukrules]

1 hour ago, rwill said:

It's more like they think it is cursed by bad spirits.  At least that is what my relatives say.  They go out of their way to avoid it.

 

Yep 100% - there are people out there who will never drive on or near that road again.

 

[thesetat]

2 hours ago, Gandtee said:

A bit over the top methinks. While not demeaning the seriousness of the construction accidents on this road, there is a greater chance of having a traffic accident and more chance of it by increasing the miles to be travelled. Have a safe journey. I am using that route to Hua Hin tomorrow.

Not a very good comparison. An accident caused by a driver can be averted possibly. Something falling from above can not be so easily averted. 

They need to do some serious tests on the manufacturing equipment and construction like they did for the building collapsing from the earthquake. They also need to have inspectors on hand 24/7 to ensure they are using proper safety protocols. It is obvious the problem will only get worse. 

[Sydebolle]

OK, so this week's news is in - we can be relieved and get ready for next week's "mishap" - as reliable as the sun rise in the morning 😞 

[somchaiq]

My wife already told me not to use Rama 2 Rod, also if it may take longer. My Life is more important.

 

[factual monk]

I said so many times before already... 

it's spooky 👻 

[Watawattana]

2 hours ago, thesetat said:

Not a very good comparison. An accident caused by a driver can be averted possibly. Something falling from above can not be so easily averted. 

They need to do some serious tests on the manufacturing equipment and construction like they did for the building collapsing from the earthquake. They also need to have inspectors on hand 24/7 to ensure they are using proper safety protocols. It is obvious the problem will only get worse. 

I think I know what you are trying to say, but proper safety standards, planning and execution of those plans would minimise the risk of any construction accident either happening, or causing death or injury if it did happen. 

 

But your point about a driver causing an accident is good.  A construction person can equally cause an accident.  Humans screw up; regularly.  

 

On a building site, for example during crane operations, it is normal practice to have a "kill zone" set up where nobody below said crane operations can enter.  Someone screws up the tethering of the load and it falls?  Nobody dies.  Someone enters when they shouldn't?  Crane is stopped.  Sounds simple?  Yes it is.  But it needs a culture of safety and accountability to be in place.  Does that exist in Thailand?

 

I'll leave that question unanswered by me.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 5/6/2025 at 7:17 PM, ukrules said:

I am informed by the Mrs that many Thai people are 'outraged' about this situation and they will not drive near to this road any more and that was a week ago.

 

 

I've skipped several what otherwise would have been vacation trips to Hua Hin lately -- specifically because I simply won't drive or be driven on that road anymore, so long as the ongoing carnage continues there unabated.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

This is probably the greatest failure in the history of highway construction anywhere in the world in the last century. Thailand has been given an F grade, and what is happening on Rama II is an absolute abomination. Everyone should be fired, all heads should roll, and the executives of the contractor, as well as the top ranking people in the transportation department should be locked up as soon as possible. 

 

I agree with your general comments above, SpikerM....

 

It's not just the fact that there have been SOME construction mishaps there resulting in fatalities. That's something that can and does happen at times.

 

it's the fact that there CONTINUE to be mishap after mishap over a long period of many months, signaling that despite authorities' promises to "investigate" and take some unspecified action, NOTHING really has changed, and the same dangers remain unabated.

 

The people responsible need to be held accountable, and the ongoing problems fixed. But clearly, that's simply not happening at all...

 

 

 

[Gandtee]

5 hours ago, ukrules said:

 

Indeed, I understand the math, there's probably more chance of crashing on the flight into Bangkok that having a lump of concrete landing on the car - but it's the Thai Mrs who is insisting on this.

She's not alone - from what she's saying that route must be the fastest highway in the country these days as half the country are now actively avoiding the route for 'reasons'. Bad spirits, bad mojo - you name it - it's all there!

 

Buy her a new amulet from the Wat. And make sure the monk doing the blessing tells her it will protect her on Rama 2 road.😉