Pictures courtesy of Khaosod

 

A tour bus carrying 38 foreign tourists overturned on the Lampang–Chiang Mai highway, leaving over a dozen injured, including two in critical condition. The crash occurred around 20:45, on November 8, 2025, as the bus descended the Khun Tan mountain pass in Wiang Tan subdistrict, Hang Chat district, Lampang Police confirmed that all passengers were foreign nationals, mostly from Middle Eastern countries.

 

The Sri Thawong Tour bus driver, travelling from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, reportedly lost control after hitting an oil slick on the road surface. The vehicle skidded and flipped onto its side, blocking all southbound lanes and causing traffic congestion. Rescue workers and local authorities rushed to the scene to assist the injured and manage the traffic disruption.

 

According to a bus hostess, the driver struggled to regain control moments before the vehicle overturned. “The bus swerved and overturned across the road,” she told police. Emergency crews began treating the injured at the scene, with two passengers taken to hospital in critical condition and 12 others sustaining varying degrees of injuries.

 

Rescue operations were further complicated when an emergency response vehicle collided with a pickup truck while en route to the crash site. This secondary crash injured several more people and caused additional delays in both directions. Power lines were also brought down when a utility pole was struck, forcing crews to cut electricity temporarily while clearing debris.

 

Authorities worked through the night to reopen the highway, coordinating efforts between police, rescue teams and utility workers. Stranded tourists were escorted to a nearby highway service centre to wait for a replacement bus and medical evaluation. Officials have confirmed an investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing.

 

 

Key Takeaways

 

• A Sri Thawong Tour bus overturned on the Lampang–Chiang Mai highway, injuring 14 passengers.

• Two tourists remain in critical condition after the vehicle hit an oil slick and flipped.

• A secondary crash involving an emergency vehicle added to delays and injuries.

 

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  Adapted  by  Asean  Now from Khaosod 2025-11-09

 

 

 

 

Oil Slick ??  Ok 

That's a new one. I drive that route a lot , never seen an oil slick,  was through there last night at 17:00 , raining then, slow down.

I have encountered busses being driven by by incompetent drivers constantly though. 

Always an excuse... 

On 11/9/2025 at 3:28 AM, Georgealbert said:

reportedly lost control after hitting an oil slick on the road surface. The vehicle skidded and flipped onto its side,

Well the smoke some trucks billow out 'could' cause an oil slick.......

 

On 11/9/2025 at 3:28 AM, Georgealbert said:

Rescue operations were further complicated when an emergency response vehicle collided with a pickup truck while en route to the crash site. This secondary crash injured several more people

No reports on them discovering the 'oil' slick then. Quick blame an oil slick.

But please don't mention bad incompetent drivers, that could tarnish Thailand's name. save and trusted Thailand........................ 

If he had been driving slowly enough he would have seen the oil slick and been able to maneuver around it or stop.

 

Drive to fast and he would drive straight into it…..if indeed such an oil slick existed 

There is almost always a layer of grease on every road, more cars and trucks and more grease -- or oil.  Ride a large motorcycle and you will know this all too well.  Add some rain, and conditions can quickly become very slippery.  Perhaps the driver caused an error, perhaps some car swerved in front of the bus, perhaps he was going too fast downhill, but we should research the actual road conditions before attacking individuals.  Too many angry people on this site, always willing to attack someone.  

34 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

If he had been driving slowly enough he would have seen the oil slick and been able to maneuver around it or stop.

 

Drive to fast and he would drive straight into it…..if indeed such an oil slick existed 

... " The crash occurred around 20:45 " ...

On 11/9/2025 at 10:32 AM, CMFarang said:

Oil Slick ??  Ok 

That's a new one. I drive that route a lot , never seen an oil slick,  was through there last night at 17:00 , raining then, slow down.

I have encountered busses being driven by by incompetent drivers constantly though. 

Oil Slick my foot! Rain slick, I can understand with high speed maybe to many M-150's will definitely do it.

1 hour ago, Kat Hao said:

There is almost always a layer of grease on every road, more cars and trucks and more grease -- or oil.  Ride a large motorcycle and you will know this all too well.  Add some rain, and conditions can quickly become very slippery.  Perhaps the driver caused an error, perhaps some car swerved in front of the bus, perhaps he was going too fast downhill, but we should research the actual road conditions before attacking individuals.  Too many angry people on this site, always willing to attack someone.  

Absolutely correct. Thailand road government uses cheap materials and oils when making new asphalt and it sweats out a lot of grease when its hot and humid…..

 

That said its a lot of bad drivers out there with even badder excuses when something goes wrong..

On 11/9/2025 at 3:28 AM, Georgealbert said:

all passengers were foreign nationals, mostly from Middle Eastern countries.

 

First the Chinese, now the Arabs TAT has to guarantee Thailand is safe!😄😄😄

I guess they are lucky the oil slick only affected one vehicle.

9 hours ago, Mangkhut said:

Absolutely correct. Thailand road government uses cheap materials and oils when making new asphalt and it sweats out a lot of grease when its hot and humid…..

 

That said its a lot of bad drivers out there with even badder excuses when something goes wrong..

Route 11, the main road that goes from Chiang Mai to Lampang over the Khun Tan Pass is a concrete road - or it was when I last travelled it about a year ago.

It wasn't asphalt then, and to my knowledge never has been.

Any oil would have to be spilled on the surface, not coming up from within.

 

13 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Always an excuse... 

 

Indeed - those 'suddenly appearing oil slicks' can be lethal...   although, all other vehicles travelling beforehand managed not to find themselves in such a slippery situation !!!... 

 

Speeding drivers should also start getting charged for miscarriage of justice when they lie so openly when placing the lives of innocent others in danger.

 

 

22 hours ago, KhunLA said:

... " The crash occurred around 20:45 " ...

The bus did have headlights, right? 
 

An oil slick may well be even more evident at night with oil reflecting off headlights.

 

And I don’t see any photos of said purported oil slick. I would have thought a slick sufficient to cause such a crash would have warranted a photo and speculation as to what caused it. Oil doesn’t just disappear because a bus slipped on it.

 

IMHO, speed is the critical factor that causes this crash. Pure speculation on my part, no evidence to prove it, not mentioned as a factor in the report. But that doesn’t change my mind.

1 minute ago, wensiensheng said:

 Pure speculation on my part ...

 

You got that part right.   

 

How anyone can hypothesize what why how and when something happens in Thailand from a Thai news report is simply mind boggling.

 

I agree with you ... going too fast for conditions is usually the reason of almost all accidents or simply not paying attention.

Clearly the bus was well maintained looking at the condition of the roof !

 

14 hours ago, DeaconJohn said:

Route 11, the main road that goes from Chiang Mai to Lampang over the Khun Tan Pass is a concrete road - or it was when I last travelled it about a year ago.

It wasn't asphalt then, and to my knowledge never has been.

Any oil would have to be spilled on the surface, not coming up from within.

 

There was no oil on the road surface - if there had been, other vehicles would have been affected and we would be looking at a multi-vehicle incident, not a solitary bus sliding into a ravine. 

 

Addtionally, this would not be such a regular event - a bus rolls down a ravine in Thailand with such regularity the fault can only be with the standard of driving and vehicle maintenance. 

 

In this case, it was a lone accident, and the driver simply reached for an excuse without considering the basic logic of cause and effect. He may as well have claimed there was a crater in the middle of the road. The explanation is so absurd it borders on self-parody.

 

This highlights the juvenile mindset not only of the driver, but of the wider system passengers are exposed to when travelling by bus in Thailand - and, more broadly, when attempting to survive the country’s roads. Many individuals in charge of vehicles, whether buses, lorries, delivery trucks, private cars or motorbikes, demonstrate a stunning inability to assess risk realistically.

There is an almost total absence of self-reflection, replaced instead by an instinctive urge to blame anything except themselves - regardless of how implausible the excuse:

“Oil slick”
“Wet road”
“Brake failure”
“Steering suddenly locked”
“Tyre exploded”
“Motorbike cut across my lane”
“Dog ran out”
“Sunlight blinded me”
“Truck in front stopped without warning”
“Road was uneven”
“Engine lost power”
“Someone distracted me”

... Just Insert whatever nonsense suits the moment.

 

What makes it worse is the way the authorities enable this childish behaviour by accepting such excuses without challenge. It is easier for them to nod along than to investigate properly and identify the genuine cause - and that complacency keeps the cycle of incompetence firmly in motion.

 

On 11/10/2025 at 8:38 AM, hotchilli said:

Always an excuse... 

A reason. 
Buses don’t flip for no reason.

6 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

There was no oil on the road surface

And would you know?

 

Any excuse to go on a long winded Thai bashing rant.

 

Get over yourself.

This thread really has brought out all the Thai bashing conspiracy theorists.

Because buses never have accidents in our countries right?

1 hour ago, MalcolmB said:

This thread really has brought out all the Thai bashing conspiracy theorists.

Because buses never have accidents in our countries right?

 

Ah... the 'it also happens in other countries' excuse... 

 

But no, the number of incidents / bus crashes does not happen in 'our' countries to the same extent it occurs here.

 

Maybe there is just far less bus transport in the UK (for example) than in Thailand...   or maybe the penalties for poorly maintained vehicles and reckless driving in the UK are sufficient enough to be effective in minimising the incidence of such incidents. 

 

Thats not a Thai bash - its an observation - there seems to be a disproportionate amount of bus accidents here.... Boat accidents too.

 

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, MalcolmB said:

A reason. 
Buses don’t flip for no reason.

 Absolutely in agreement.

In the UK there are tilt mechanisms to test for and prevent flips. 

I wonder how many Thai double deck buses would pass this test?

 

4 hours ago, MalcolmB said:

A reason. 
Buses don’t flip for no reason.

Speed usually

On 11/11/2025 at 9:21 AM, KhunLA said:

 

You got that part right.   

 

How anyone can hypothesize what why how and when something happens in Thailand from a Thai news report is simply mind boggling.

 

I agree with you ... going too fast for conditions is usually the reason of almost all accidents or simply not paying attention.

Interesting post. Both ridicule my open declaration that I was speculating, and also agree with me. 😂

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence 🤗