Picture courtesy of Komchadluek.

 

A motorway toll booth cleaner was killed and two toll staff seriously injured when a ten-wheeled truck ploughed into a toll booth in Chonburi.

 

The crash occurred at around 14.30 on 1 September at the Panat toll plaza exit in Don Hua Lo, Mueang district. Highway Police and rescue teams rushed to the scene, where they found the truck’s cab crushed against a tree.

 

Rescue workers discovered two toll booth employees trapped beneath the vehicle. Both were pulled out alive with serious injuries and rushed to hospital. Another staff member, a 66-year-old cleaner, Mrs Malai, was pronounced dead at the scene.

 

The 45-year-old driver, who was also injured and trapped in the wreckage, told police he had been driving from Amata industrial estate when the truck’s brakes failed. He claimed he lost control of the vehicle as it sped down towards the toll plaza, slamming directly into the toll booth walkway, hitting and dragging the staff members, before careering off the road.

 

A toll worker who narrowly escaped the crash said it happened just as staff were finishing their shift. “The cleaner was a new employee and we were all walking, when we saw the truck coming at speed. I managed to jump clear, but they were hit,” he said.

 

Police are continuing the investigation into the crash and the condition of the vehicle, with brake failure cited as the driver’s initial explanation. 
 

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Khomchadluek 2025-09-02

 

 

 

Didn't something similar happen in Pong not long ago.

Some poor  worker killed and others injured by reckless driving......

39 minutes ago, Georgealbert said:

The 45-year-old driver, who was also injured and trapped in the wreckage, told police he had been driving from Amata industrial estate when the truck’s brakes failed.

 

As predictable as night following day… lying POS.

 

Drugs and drink? Test the driver. Check his phone records. Figure out how long he’d been behind the wheel.

Or, alternatively, fine the owner for a poorly maintained vehicle. Simple.

 

And yet, somehow, Police and authorities still entertain this childishly laughable “brake failure” excuse...

 

... The notion that authorities are so willing to shift blame from human recklessness and incompetence to inanimate objects does nothing but prolong this deadly stupidity. Enough already.

Brakes failed eh?  So turn off the engine.  Or just take foot off the gas.  Downshift, etc.  

There has to be a reason the brakes fail; poor/no servicing.  There has to be a reason why the driver was speeding in sight of the toll booth on a September afternoon.  A competent police force would discover which.

Alas we may never know.

2 hours ago, gk10012001 said:

Brakes failed eh?  So turn off the engine.  Or just take foot off the gas.  Downshift, etc.  

Hard to do when fast asleep!

Thailand needs to enhance the protection of toll booth workers.

As usual no body will check the brakes to see if the brakes are faulty, I guess it involves too much paper work   

A brake failure is 100% fault of the driver for not maintaining his vehicle properly

@richard_smith237 you sound as if you have just got off the plane. 

 

The Police don't want (nor care) to find out the real reason for the crash. 

 

If you know how this works in Thailand you will understand that they will determine a reason for the crash that ensures all parties get paid out money from the insurance and other liable parties. 

 

This is why the brake failure excuse is so common. It is nobody's direct responsibility. If they proved it was the driver being drunk or the vehicle was poorly maintained it becomes someones' responsibility and the insurance may not pay out!

 

Police and the lawyer will take a cut, the driver will get paid for sticking to the story, and the victims' families and loved ones get some meagre compensation.

 

This is the way it works.

20 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

@richard_smith237 you sound as if you have just got off the plane. 

 

The Police don't want (nor care) to find out the real reason for the crash. 

 

If you know how this works in Thailand you will understand that they will determine a reason for the crash that ensures all parties get paid out money from the insurance and other liable parties. 

 

This is why the brake failure excuse is so common. It is nobody's direct responsibility. If they proved it was the driver being drunk or the vehicle was poorly maintained it becomes someones' responsibility and the insurance may not pay out!

 

Police and the lawyer will take a cut, the driver will get paid for sticking to the story, and the victims' families and loved ones get some meagre compensation.

 

This is the way it works.

 

No... that’s only how it looks to someone who has ‘just stepped off the plane’ and hasn’t yet grasped how things really work here.

 

The so-called brake failure defence isn’t some orchestrated safety net ensuring everyone is taken care of – except, of course, the dead.

 

It’s simply the first, lazy excuse a careless driver reaches for, copied from countless others before him, anything to avoid the one thing that is almost never done in Thailand: admitting fault.

 

 

Responsibility is a rare currency here, and nowhere is that more obvious than on the roads. To admit guilt would mean shame, loss of face, expense, and the possibility of being held accountable – all things people here go to great lengths to avoid.

 

As for the police, they don’t pursue truth or justice. They want the path of least resistance – paperwork closed quickly, no powerful toes stepped on, and preferably a little “tea money” to smooth the way - they are lazy.

 

Higher authorities care no more; their only interest is the occasional grand announcement of a “crackdown” before settling comfortably back at the trough.

 

This indifference breeds a culture where carnage on the roads is treated as background noise – a tragic but unremarkable fact of life, not a problem to be solved. Road deaths aren’t a crisis here, merely an inconvenience that briefly makes the news before everyone shrugs and moves on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

No... that’s only how it looks to someone who has ‘just stepped off the plane’ and hasn’t yet grasped how things really work here.

 

The so-called brake failure defence isn’t some orchestrated safety net ensuring everyone is taken care of – except, of course, the dead.

 

It’s simply the first, lazy excuse a careless driver reaches for, copied from countless others before him, anything to avoid the one thing that is almost never done in Thailand: admitting fault.

 

 

Responsibility is a rare currency here, and nowhere is that more obvious than on the roads. To admit guilt would mean shame, loss of face, expense, and the possibility of being held accountable – all things people here go to great lengths to avoid.

 

As for the police, they don’t pursue truth or justice. They want the path of least resistance – paperwork closed quickly, no powerful toes stepped on, and preferably a little “tea money” to smooth the way - they are lazy.

 

Higher authorities care no more; their only interest is the occasional grand announcement of a “crackdown” before settling comfortably back at the trough.

 

This indifference breeds a culture where carnage on the roads is treated as background noise – a tragic but unremarkable fact of life, not a problem to be solved. Road deaths aren’t a crisis here, merely an inconvenience that briefly makes the news before everyone shrugs and moves on.

 

The driver is 100% told what to say if there is an incident. I know this as a good Thai friend of mine used to own a large trucking company. All drivers are briefed on what to say and do in case of an accident. 

 

During the investigation a lawyer will get involved early on to negotiate what is going to happen. The Police will require their 'fee' to produce the acceptable investigation outcome to ensure the insurance pays out, the lawyer gets a cut of the money, and the family of the victims will eventually get compensated. This could be from insurance and an agreed upon payment from whomever has accepted liability. In this case probably the trucking company will have to pay some agreed upon compensation.

 

This will probably require an acceptance of responsibility somewhere on the food chain. It may be that the driver will change his statement later on to accept responsibility if required to do so. He will be paid for this. 

 

I have dealt with this process on a number of occasions, so I know first hand this is how it works. 

 

Your experience?

My most recent experience of the post accident process was the sister of a Thai friend was killed while undertaking a large trailer truck in Chonburi. A dangerous manoeuvre that ended up with her under the back wheels of the trailer and dead. 

 

Investigation showed that the truck was not at fault. CCTV footage showed her undertaking and the truck not doing anything wrong.

 

Victim's family were obviously distraught and in their grief, had a tendency to blame the driver of the truck, insist there was a Police cover-up to protect the trucking company etc. They could not accept that the victim was at fault. As a motorcyclist, she did not have insurance either, and as it stood, they were not going to get compensated.

 

However, in order to negotiate some compensation for the victim's family, the Police and lawyer suggested the driver accept that the accident was entirely his fault and the trucking company's insurance would then pay.

 

The Police and lawyer were paid an agreed upon sum from the insurance payout, the driver got 400,000thb from the payout to change his statement, and the victim's family split the rest.

 

It should be noted that in this particular case the trucking company was made to pay out a few hundred thousand compensation, as their driver had admitted responsibility. This trucking company is a well known 'brand' and thus fair game. 

13 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

 

The driver is 100% told what to say if there is an incident. I know this as a good Thai friend of mine used to own a large trucking company. All drivers are briefed on what to say and do in case of an accident. 

 

During the investigation a lawyer will get involved early on to negotiate what is going to happen. The Police will require their 'fee' to produce the acceptable investigation outcome to ensure the insurance pays out, the lawyer gets a cut of the money, and the family of the victims will eventually get compensated. This could be from insurance and an agreed upon payment from whomever has accepted liability. In this case probably the trucking company will have to pay some agreed upon compensation.

 

This will probably require an acceptance of responsibility somewhere on the food chain. It may be that the driver will change his statement later on to accept responsibility if required to do so. He will be paid for this. 

 

I have dealt with this process on a number of occasions, so I know first hand this is how it works. 

 

Your experience?

 

Every Thai driver on the road is briefed this way ??..    the excuse 'brake failure' is used for so many crashes from busses, trucks through to cars.... 

 

 

I'm sure some companies may advise their drivers to make up excuses to protect the 'driver' - but brake failure places the company itself at fault for not operating road worth vehicles.. 

 

 

the brake-failure 'excuse' is a cultural response rather than an orchestrated or plane for 'company response'... 

 

 

I am amused by the manner in which some folk on here shoe-horn these sort of conspiracies out of what is simply juvenile response to avoid blame of poor driving - using phones, driving too fast, falling asleep etc.. 

 

2 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Every Thai driver on the road is briefed this way ??..    the excuse 'brake failure' is used for so many crashes from busses, trucks through to cars.... 

 

 

I'm sure some companies may advise their drivers to make up excuses to protect the 'driver' - but brake failure places the company itself at fault for not operating road worth vehicles.. 

 

 

the brake-failure 'excuse' is a cultural response rather than an orchestrated or plane for 'company response'... 

 

 

I am amused by the manner in which some folk on here shoe-horn these sort of conspiracies out of what is simply juvenile response to avoid blame of poor driving - using phones, driving too fast, falling asleep etc.. 

 

 

They are told what to say, either by their company or by police at the scene.

 

This is a truck related incident, and there is a reason so many truck drivers use the brake failure excuse.

 

Of course accidents are often down to poor driving. I have just given you one such anecdotal example in the post above.

 

The post-accident process as I have clearly described is no conspiracy, although I can see how some tourists and expats would believe it to be so, being out of touch and disconnected with the way things actually work in Thai society.  

8 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

My most recent experience of the post accident process was the sister of a Thai friend was killed while undertaking a large trailer truck in Chonburi. A dangerous manoeuvre that ended up with her under the back wheels of the trailer and dead. 

 

Investigation showed that the truck was not at fault. CCTV footage showed her undertaking and the truck not doing anything wrong.

 

Victim's family were obviously distraught and in their grief, had a tendency to blame the driver of the truck, insist there was a Police cover-up to protect the trucking company etc. They could not accept that the victim was at fault. As a motorcyclist, she did not have insurance either, and as it stood, they were not going to get compensated.

 

However, in order to negotiate some compensation for the victim's family, the Police and lawyer suggested the driver accept that the accident was entirely his fault and the trucking company's insurance would then pay.

 

The Police and lawyer were paid an agreed upon sum from the insurance payout, the driver got 400,000thb from the payout to change his statement, and the victim's family split the rest.

 

It should be noted that in this particular case the trucking company was made to pay out a few hundred thousand compensation, as their driver had admitted responsibility. This trucking company is a well known 'brand' and thus fair game. 

 

I too know a very senior member of a major haulage company (well known) widely used through Asia and in Thailand.

 

Drivers breathalysed every day, regularly drugs tested. 

Camera's in the cabin facing inwards (on the driver) and outwards. 

Strict timings for drivers, duration and rest times.

 

This is ALL about protecting the company....    If a driver falls asleep and kills / hurts someone, the company's insurance is liable and the driver would (likely get fired), if found to be using the phone he'd be fired and have no company defence, and the company insurance would still be liable. 

If it was clearly shown to be the 'other drivers fault' - the company will not defend the driver, police can file charges if they wish.

Their corporate social responsibility does not extend to compensating the families of people who drove poorly, killed themselves and potentially cost the company a lot of money in failure to deliver goods, which may well become perishable.

 

 

What we both understand (Meeseeks) is that different companies will handle things differently - but it does not mean each driver is taught to outright lie - companies have their own investigations to carry out...  At least the professional ones who ensure their haulage trucks are fully maintained and driven by qualified professionals.

For context, you should know when I post stuff like this here, as a 33-year expat with permanent residence and having lived in Bangkok and Chonburi, working closely with Thai government bodies, that I kinda know what I am talking about, and I am not here just to troll or argue with random people on the internet.  🤣

2 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

I too know a very senior member of a major haulage company (well known) widely used through Asia and in Thailand.

 

Drivers breathalysed every day, regularly drugs tested. 

Camera's in the cabin facing inwards (on the driver) and outwards. 

Strict timings for drivers, duration and rest times.

 

This is ALL about protecting the company....    If a driver falls asleep and kills / hurts someone, the company's insurance is liable and the driver would (likely get fired), if found to be using the phone he'd be fired and have no company defence, and the company insurance would still be liable. 

If it was clearly shown to be the 'other drivers fault' - the company will not defend the driver, police can file charges if they wish.

Their corporate social responsibility does not extend to compensating the families of people who drove poorly, killed themselves and potentially cost the company a lot of money in failure to deliver goods, which may well become perishable.

 

 

What we both understand (Meeseeks) is that different companies will handle things differently - but it does not mean each driver is taught to outright lie - companies have their own investigations to carry out...  At least the professional ones who ensure their haulage trucks are fully maintained and driven by qualified professionals.

 

And of the millions of trucks operating in Thailand as a whole, what percentage have in-cab cameras, operate breath-alcohol testing, adhere to strict timing for drivers etc?

 

1% ?

1 minute ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

They are told what to say, either by their company or by police at the scene.

 

This is a truck related incident, and there is a reason so many truck drivers use the brake failure excuse.

 

Of course accidents are often down to poor driving. I have just given you one such anecdotal example in the post above.

 

The post-accident process as I have clearly described is no conspiracy, although I can see how some tourists and expats would believe it to be so, being out of touch and disconnected with the way things actually work in Thai society.  

 

You are suggesting that in every truck accident, at least where the 'brake failure' excuse is used, the drivers have been coached by the company, or by the local police attending the scene to claim brake failure...   and this is why the excuse is so common.

 

I disagree - the excuse is so common because people of this mental intellect have no imagination and simply copy what they have heard others say... and thats why is so commonly used in car accidents too, I've even heard it used in motorcycle accidents...    its a national / cultural phenomenon...  'copy catting'... 

 

 

Just now, Mr Meeseeks said:

And of the millions of trucks operating in Thailand as a whole, what percentage have in-cab cameras, operate breath-alcohol testing, adhere to strict timing for drivers etc?

 

1% ?

 

Unknown of course - but given that insurance companies offer better premiums for such camera's...   a smart company would be using them and I 'know' that International haulage companies in Thailand use them.

 

The rough and ready Thai companies working on the lowest budgets - not at all likely...   but I'm surprised if they are even insured and drivers are adequately licensed.

 

 

27 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

For context, you should know when I post stuff like this here, as a 33-year expat with permanent residence and having lived in Bangkok and Chonburi, working closely with Thai government bodies, that I kinda know what I am talking about, and I am not here just to troll or argue with random people on the internet.  🤣

 

I welcome your comments - good info and a good perspective....   

I, as someone who's been here a similar amount of time, with extended family who run (ran) a large factory (previously ran by the Wife) and with close friends who 'Run' internationally known haulage companies in Thailand I can recognise some flaws and assumptions in your comments... (as there are flaws and assumptions in my comments that imply the same response applies across the whole).

 

The better companies - do not lie or cover up: thats could be too damaging to their reputation and trade links.

The sketchier companies - well, they are sketchy and cut corners everywhere.

13 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

It’s simply the first, lazy excuse a careless driver reaches for, copied from countless others before him, anything to avoid the one thing that is almost never done in Thailand: admitting fault.

Yes, I tend to go along with that. Falling asleep or avoiding a child in the road would not have been credible for the motorway. 

On 9/1/2025 at 11:42 PM, actonion said:

As usual no body will check the brakes to see if the brakes are faulty, I guess it involves too much paper work   

I seem to recall that in the USA any operator that has a Commercial Driver License (CDL) is supposed to check the brakes before driving.  Does Thailand even have such a CDL license that is at least required by law in order for a person to drive and operate a truck?