American Tourist, 7 Thais Killed In Phitsanulok Bus Accident

[sangfroid]

these bus drivers are the worse breed ( taxi drivers, lorrydrivers and Tuk Tuk Drivers following in second place )

I do the trip between Phuket and Samui, and have seen on sevral occasions near bus crashes, which are always caused by the driver overtaking with on coming traffic or on a blind corner........

I was once so shocked by one bus drivers actions on the road, i rang the bus company to complain about the driver as i feared he would crash with the way he was driving, and surprise surprise the company was not interested!!! even the police seem to want to do nothing!

They need to bring in stricter rules for coach and bus drivers!!!

Does anyone know whether they have to take a seperate test in Thailand to drive a bus ??? as many bus drivers seem to judge the speed and distance and motions of the bus as if they where driving a pick up......??..........

Amongst other reasons for fleeing the scene is the fact that some of these guys have been involved in other fatal accidents. Drivers are in short supply in Thailand and it's very easy for a guy to get a job behind the wheel with few questions asked. If this guy doesn't turn himself in or isn't found by the police he could quite easily be driving a taxi in Bangkok within a few days.

[ronthompson]

Any death is reason is reason for sadness, the accidental death of one so young is even sadder.

[siamerican]

It's just normal people now, so nothing will change. Just praying that it will be someone important next...important enough to be a catalyst-- a politician, movie star...ah who am I kidding. TIT.

RIP...

[manjara]

I used to do that bus trip all the time, every friday night up from BKK, and sunday night back down again.

If it was 11:45 and they weren't already in Phitsanulok (it stops for food and watering there) then they were late. The driver was probably trying to make up time.

The buses always drive too fast and take a lot of risks, but probably no more than the average Thai driver.

My condolences to the families of all the dead and injured.

[Greenside]

Sadly, travelling by public road transport is dangerous in all third world countries and I'd nominate the Chinese as a close second to the Thais in this respect (actually they may be worse). While the dangers posed by the general lack of road skills can only be addressed by education and enforcement over a period of time, it puzzles me as to why the insurers don't insist on some sensible level of standards for drivers of these big inter city buses. I appreciate that under Thai law the compensation paid to the family of a deceased or incapacitated passenger is peanuts but you'd think that the cost of replacing a brand new 36 seater double deck Mercedes bus would make them a little more careful about who's left in charge.

It's not comforting to think that the human cost comes other than at the top of the list but I bet it's the way the insurers think about things. I've spent over 24 hours on buses in the last ten days and would rather have avoided it but practically speaking it's very hard to do. One thing I'd echo is the poster who said that you should be ready to not get on (or actually get off) a bus that looks as if it's going to be dangerous. It takes a lot of self confidence to do this (especially if you're travelling with one or more other people) but the bottom line here is that life is cheap and you have to look out for yourself because you can be sure that the authorities and service providers simply don't care.

Condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.

[Tony Clifton]

They may do something serious about it the day a bus driver finally manages to plunge off the elevated expressway and kill himself along with all the passengers on board. From what I've seen up there, it's only a matter of time.

[jonniebkk]

Come on everyone...let's stop all the Thai bus driver bashing. I don't really think traveling on a Thai inter-city bus is any more dangerous than any other mode of transportation or traveling on such a bus in most other countries. Even ones in the EU...I mean, just in today's Post, there is a snipit on a Portugese tour bus full of Finns having a smash-up and I think it was 13 killed. So there...accidents happen in all countries.

[Rhys]

Yikes I'm headed that way in a week...

[ericg1953]

My sympathies to all the families who lost loved ones. There were 2 passengers on this bus that worked at Thai Blind Massage here in Jomtien and both were killed. One of them, his name was Jakit, I have known for many years.May he rest in peace

[3NI9MA]

these bus drivers are the worse breed ( taxi drivers, lorrydrivers and Tuk Tuk Drivers following in second place )

I do the trip between Phuket and Samui, and have seen on sevral occasions near bus crashes, which are always caused by the driver overtaking with on coming traffic or on a blind corner........

I was once so shocked by one bus drivers actions on the road, i rang the bus company to complain about the driver as i feared he would crash with the way he was driving, and surprise surprise the company was not interested!!! even the police seem to want to do nothing!

They need to bring in stricter rules for coach and bus drivers!!!

Does anyone know whether they have to take a seperate test in Thailand to drive a bus ??? as many bus drivers seem to judge the speed and distance and motions of the bus as if they where driving a pick up......??..........

Boater

It seems that they do not need to pass a separate test – a friend of the family works as a local driver. I asked him once.

But there again the Thai driving test is easy enough to pass. Just enough Bht to the right person.

The state of some of the older bus scares me, balding tyres, crabbing down the road with tracking out of alignment. Maintenance does not seem a top priority.

I always seem to encounter them while I am overtaking a slow queue of traffic (usually the driver is madly flashing the headlamps for me to get over as there is a small gap in front of me – basically I am not tailgating the vehicle in front of me).

I now have a sticker in the back in the back that says in Thai – “I want to go quick too. Apparently! But it may say something else for all I know

The other drivers who offend are the “professional” pick-up drivers with a consignment. Then the Thai Elite, with the Status Symbol – Benz BMW Volvo, etc.

My condolences to the family and friends of all the victims too.

[Tony Clifton]

A local motorcycle taxi driver wasn't showing up at our village entrance anymore.

I asked the other guys where he'd gone.

Jail

He was caught with drugs by the local boys in brown.

He spent a few weeks in jail.

I saw him yesterday.

He now drives a taxi.

Next time he graduates to a bus?