7 Students Killed When Their Vehicle Smashed By Train

[george]

7 students killed when their vehicle smashed by train

Buri Ram: -- Seven students were killed and many others were injured when their vehicle was cut into two by a speeding train Wednesday afternoon.

Police said the accident happened at 4 pm at the train crossing in Ban Nong Saeng village in Tambon Lamplaimas of Buri Ram's Lamplaimas distirct.

Police said the truck, which was modified into a student vehicle, was cut into two parts by the Bangkok-Si Sa Ket train.

-- The Nation 2009-01-15

[jim4pim]

as always another waste n loss of many young lives .. so sad

[goonerthegooner]

Very sad news,condolences too all the familys involved.

Yet more needless deaths every day in LOS.

A speeding train??,did the driver of the train flee the scene??.

[Seneque]

Unfortunately crossing a railtrack here is always at your own risk as there is no barriers or lights to warn off coming trains ... the SRT has not invested in anything for ages and it is sad that these young kids were victims of another careless government agency.

[prakhonchai nick]

We don't know the facts, but one would have thought the driver of the students bus (probably on a daily after school run) would have been aware of the approx times of trains.

[onnut]

its unreal, when will the transport authority wake up and put some barriers out on the crossings? this nearly happened to me and the wife last year in Kon Kaen. no lights or barriers so I drove very slowly and I was halfway across when my wife said there was a train. scary shi-t that was.

[ballpoint]

Unfortunately crossing a railtrack here is always at your own risk as there is no barriers or lights to warn off coming trains ... the SRT has not invested in anything for ages and it is sad that these young kids were victims of another careless government agency.

What a load of rot. More nanny state'ism at its worst. They don't put barriers up at major road intersections, it's up to each driver to slow down and make sure the way is clear before proceeding, so why don't drivers do it when crossing a railway track? Scared they'll waste a minute of their life by slowing down enough to check for trains? In any case, you'll find that whenever a main road crosses a railway track in Thailand it is usually far more protected than in any western country, with a man on the spot making sure the barriers and lights are working. This instance could have been on an unprotected minor road crossing - all the more reason to slow down and check, or they were racing under the barrier as it was closing to try and beat the train - a common cause of train car collisions over here. These kids were victims of another careless driver.

I don't think trains would be warned off by flashing lights anyway, what are they going to do, turn around and go back?

Edited January 15, 2009 by ballpoint

[hyperdimension]

It only takes a few seconds to cross railway tracks in a car, so I find it difficult to understand how a car can be hit by a train when the driver can clearly see that a train is approaching from a long distance away.

[Moonrakers]

The trains hardly travel quickly here either.

Perhaps the truck got stuck or something, although in which case I would simply get out of the truck before the train hit it.

Is their a chance that the track went around a bend and so the oncoming train was hidden? The news article doesn't give much away does it?

Regardless, very sad news indeed.

[JoeThePoster]

We don't know the facts, but one would have thought the driver of the students bus (probably on a daily after school run) would have been aware of the approx times of trains.

Thai trains don't exactly run like clockwork.

A sad loss of so many young lives.

SRT is in urgent need of an overhaul. But before any modernization project can take off, the parties have to settle on sharing the spoils. So for the time being, they can stick to promoting trips to see bridges in Kanchanaburi and viewing dead sunflowers in Lopburi.

[Seneque]

Unfortunately crossing a railtrack here is always at your own risk as there is no barriers or lights to warn off coming trains ... the SRT has not invested in anything for ages and it is sad that these young kids were victims of another careless government agency.

What a load of rot. More nanny state'ism at its worst. They don't put barriers up at major road intersections, it's up to each driver to slow down and make sure the way is clear before proceeding, so why don't drivers do it when crossing a railway track? Scared they'll waste a minute of their life by slowing down enough to check for trains? In any case, you'll find that whenever a main road crosses a railway track in Thailand it is usually far more protected than in any western country, with a man on the spot making sure the barriers and lights are working. This instance could have been on an unprotected minor road crossing - all the more reason to slow down and check, or they were racing under the barrier as it was closing to try and beat the train - a common cause of train car collisions over here. These kids were victims of another careless driver.

I don't think trains would be warned off by flashing lights anyway, what are they going to do, turn around and go back?

why are so angry ... everyone may have an opinion and if you don't approve of it you can state yr point of view without injuriating (nanny yrself by the way, nah)... and again sorry for the 'trains would be warned off' ... it should have been the cars ...

[jimbeam1]

7 students killed when their vehicle smashed by train

Buri Ram: -- Seven students were killed and many others were injured when their vehicle was cut into two by a speeding train Wednesday afternoon.

Police said the accident happened at 4 pm at the train crossing in Ban Nong Saeng village in Tambon Lamplaimas of Buri Ram's Lamplaimas distirct.

Police said the truck, which was modified into a student vehicle, was cut into two parts by the Bangkok-Si Sa Ket train.

-- The Nation 2009-01-15

Hi,

We went past the scene, shortly after it happened. It was on a crossing in Lam Plai Mat. The driver of the Bus was a woman. She aparrantly had an argument with her husband so she decided to drive the Bus. She had her young daughter in the cab with her, which was completly ripped from the chasis, taking the full impact of the train. When she tried to jump the barrier as it was coming down. She and her daughter were killed instantly. The passanger part of the bus was thrown about 20 meters down the track killing the seven + we are told 23 injured many with loss of limbs. As far as I can make out they were all aged from 4 to 5 yrs. A truly terrible incident

jb1

[TAWP]

7 students killed when their vehicle smashed by train

Buri Ram: -- Seven students were killed and many others were injured when their vehicle was cut into two by a speeding train Wednesday afternoon.

Police said the accident happened at 4 pm at the train crossing in Ban Nong Saeng village in Tambon Lamplaimas of Buri Ram's Lamplaimas distirct.

Police said the truck, which was modified into a student vehicle, was cut into two parts by the Bangkok-Si Sa Ket train.

-- The Nation 2009-01-15

Hi,

We went past the scene, shortly after it happened. It was on a crossing in Lam Plai Mat. The driver of the Bus was a woman. She aparrantly had an argument with her husband so she decided to drive the Bus. She had her young daughter in the cab with her, which was completly ripped from the chasis, taking the full impact of the train. When she tried to jump the barrier as it was coming down. She and her daughter were killed instantly. The passanger part of the bus was thrown about 20 meters down the track killing the seven + we are told 23 injured many with loss of limbs. As far as I can make out they were all aged from 4 to 5 yrs. A truly terrible incident

jb1

Jesus Christ... :/

[john b good]

7 students killed when their vehicle smashed by train

Buri Ram: -- Seven students were killed and many others were injured when their vehicle was cut into two by a speeding train Wednesday afternoon.

Police said the accident happened at 4 pm at the train crossing in Ban Nong Saeng village in Tambon Lamplaimas of Buri Ram's Lamplaimas distirct.

Police said the truck, which was modified into a student vehicle, was cut into two parts by the Bangkok-Si Sa Ket train.

-- The Nation 2009-01-15

All I can say is "what a pity"

I have just traveled 1,250 km's around the north and I would have witnessed dozens of life threatening acts of dangerous driving.

Thai's have goot to be the most "brain dead people" when it comes to driving.

Why do you think that there has never ever been a Thai who has made it in F1, Moto GP or anything else which requires a bit of brains behind the wheel.

I"m afraid my sympathy stocks are all used up for 2009 (the only event to stir me this year has been Santika)

[ballpoint]

Unfortunately crossing a railtrack here is always at your own risk as there is no barriers or lights to warn off coming trains ... the SRT has not invested in anything for ages and it is sad that these young kids were victims of another careless government agency.

What a load of rot. More nanny state'ism at its worst. They don't put barriers up at major road intersections, it's up to each driver to slow down and make sure the way is clear before proceeding, so why don't drivers do it when crossing a railway track? Scared they'll waste a minute of their life by slowing down enough to check for trains? In any case, you'll find that whenever a main road crosses a railway track in Thailand it is usually far more protected than in any western country, with a man on the spot making sure the barriers and lights are working. This instance could have been on an unprotected minor road crossing - all the more reason to slow down and check, or they were racing under the barrier as it was closing to try and beat the train - a common cause of train car collisions over here. These kids were victims of another careless driver.

I don't think trains would be warned off by flashing lights anyway, what are they going to do, turn around and go back?

why are so angry ... everyone may have an opinion and if you don't approve of it you can state yr point of view without injuriating (nanny yrself by the way, nah)... and again sorry for the 'trains would be warned off' ... it should have been the cars ...

Knee jerk reactions to stories with minimal facts are not the answer. The points of my post were:

Blaming the railways for these deaths is a pretty strong statement. There may or may not have been barriers and lights at this crossing, the story doesn't say. I used to travel by train regularly along that section of track, between Buri Ram and Khorat, and twice the train has hit a vehicle. On both occasions it was at a regulated crossing with the drop down barriers, lights and siren. On both occasions the driver had thought he could ignore these and cross before the train came. I also frequently drive along highway 226 which crosses that same stretch of railway a number of times. You still see idiots trying to race the train, squeezing under the barrier as it is almost touching their car. I don't know the facts in this case, but most crossings on that line are regulated, as are most, if not all, on major roads in Thailand. In addition, over the past few years many of the busiest crossings have had overpasses built. I've also noticed that the barriers seem to come down a lot earlier now, making you wait a number of minutes before the train actually arrives, probably to prevent the train racing idiots from damaging the front of the trains. Accusing the SRT of not investing in anything and having no barriers or lights at any of its crossings is therefore simply not true.

It is the responsibility of the car driver to ensure that the line is clear before crossing. You say that crossing the railway lines here is at your own risk, it's at your own risk everywhere in the world. An unregulated crossing should be treated as a compulsory stop sign, yet how often do you see cars treating it only as a small speed hump, slowing down just enough to avoid damage to their vehicle, but without checking for trains?

This life contains a lot of dangers and you can't blame the goverment for not making everything and everywhere totally safe, people need to look out for themselves. That is where the nanny state part came in. I wasn't calling you a nanny, although you may well be one. Nothing to be ashamed of if you are, my wife's one and so is my mother.

And I'll repeat, whether the crossing had barriers or not these kids were killed by a careless driver.

[Steve2UK]

Unfortunately crossing a railtrack here is always at your own risk as there is no barriers or lights to warn off coming trains ... the SRT has not invested in anything for ages and it is sad that these young kids were victims of another careless government agency.

What a load of rot. More nanny state'ism at its worst. They don't put barriers up at major road intersections, it's up to each driver to slow down and make sure the way is clear before proceeding, so why don't drivers do it when crossing a railway track? Scared they'll waste a minute of their life by slowing down enough to check for trains? In any case, you'll find that whenever a main road crosses a railway track in Thailand it is usually far more protected than in any western country, with a man on the spot making sure the barriers and lights are working. This instance could have been on an unprotected minor road crossing - all the more reason to slow down and check, or they were racing under the barrier as it was closing to try and beat the train - a common cause of train car collisions over here. These kids were victims of another careless driver.

I don't think trains would be warned off by flashing lights anyway, what are they going to do, turn around and go back?

Any signal might have a chance to get the train to stop before the impact - get the picture? Your views are up to you - but I have to wonder at how someone can use that smiley on that post given this thread's subject.

Here's one for you:

No argument with your follow-on post - IMO you make fair points.

[john b good]

Unfortunately crossing a railtrack here is always at your own risk as there is no barriers or lights to warn off coming trains ... the SRT has not invested in anything for ages and it is sad that these young kids were victims of another careless government agency.

What a load of rot. More nanny state'ism at its worst. They don't put barriers up at major road intersections, it's up to each driver to slow down and make sure the way is clear before proceeding, so why don't drivers do it when crossing a railway track? Scared they'll waste a minute of their life by slowing down enough to check for trains? In any case, you'll find that whenever a main road crosses a railway track in Thailand it is usually far more protected than in any western country, with a man on the spot making sure the barriers and lights are working. This instance could have been on an unprotected minor road crossing - all the more reason to slow down and check, or they were racing under the barrier as it was closing to try and beat the train - a common cause of train car collisions over here. These kids were victims of another careless driver.

I don't think trains would be warned off by flashing lights anyway, what are they going to do, turn around and go back?

why are so angry ... everyone may have an opinion and if you don't approve of it you can state yr point of view without injuriating (nanny yrself by the way, nah)... and again sorry for the 'trains would be warned off' ... it should have been the cars ...

Knee jerk reactions to stories with minimal facts are not the answer. The points of my post were:

Blaming the railways for these deaths is a pretty strong statement. There may or may not have been barriers and lights at this crossing, the story doesn't say. I used to travel by train regularly along that section of track, between Buri Ram and Khorat, and twice the train has hit a vehicle. On both occasions it was at a regulated crossing with the drop down barriers, lights and siren. On both occasions the driver had thought he could ignore these and cross before the train came. I also frequently drive along highway 226 which crosses that same stretch of railway a number of times. You still see idiots trying to race the train, squeezing under the barrier as it is almost touching their car. I don't know the facts in this case, but most crossings on that line are regulated, as are most, if not all, on major roads in Thailand. In addition, over the past few years many of the busiest crossings have had overpasses built. I've also noticed that the barriers seem to come down a lot earlier now, making you wait a number of minutes before the train actually arrives, probably to prevent the train racing idiots from damaging the front of the trains. Accusing the SRT of not investing in anything and having no barriers or lights at any of its crossings is therefore simply not true.

It is the responsibility of the car driver to ensure that the line is clear before crossing. You say that crossing the railway lines here is at your own risk, it's at your own risk everywhere in the world. An unregulated crossing should be treated as a compulsory stop sign, yet how often do you see cars treating it only as a small speed hump, slowing down just enough to avoid damage to their vehicle, but without checking for trains?

This life contains a lot of dangers and you can't blame the goverment for not making everything and everywhere totally safe, people need to look out for themselves. That is where the nanny state part came in. I wasn't calling you a nanny, although you may well be one. Nothing to be ashamed of if you are, my wife's one and so is my mother.

And I'll repeat, whether the crossing had barriers or not these kids were killed by a careless driver.

Totally agree.

And he (the driver) should be strung up just the same as if he was convicted of murder (cos that is what he did, he murdered those students)

[ballpoint]

Unfortunately crossing a railtrack here is always at your own risk as there is no barriers or lights to warn off coming trains ... the SRT has not invested in anything for ages and it is sad that these young kids were victims of another careless government agency.

What a load of rot. More nanny state'ism at its worst. They don't put barriers up at major road intersections, it's up to each driver to slow down and make sure the way is clear before proceeding, so why don't drivers do it when crossing a railway track? Scared they'll waste a minute of their life by slowing down enough to check for trains? In any case, you'll find that whenever a main road crosses a railway track in Thailand it is usually far more protected than in any western country, with a man on the spot making sure the barriers and lights are working. This instance could have been on an unprotected minor road crossing - all the more reason to slow down and check, or they were racing under the barrier as it was closing to try and beat the train - a common cause of train car collisions over here. These kids were victims of another careless driver.

I don't think trains would be warned off by flashing lights anyway, what are they going to do, turn around and go back?

Any signal might have a chance to get the train to stop before the impact - get the picture? Your views are up to you - but I have to wonder at how someone can use that smiley on that post given this thread's subject.

Here's one for you:

No argument with your follow-on post - IMO you make fair points.

The point of the smiley was to show it was a tongue in cheek comment in that I knew what he meant to say, but because "of" was misspelt it sounded like trains would be warned off by flashing lights and so run away and hide somewhere. I believe that is the done thing to do on forums such as these. It was in no way intended to make fun of the topic here, and I'm surprised that the vehemence of my post didn't reveal how seriously I was taking it. Maybe I am a sick man, but I believe the ability to find a little humour in however tragic a situation is one of the things that makes us human.

[Steve2UK]

The point of the smiley was to show it was a tongue in cheek comment in that I knew what he meant to say, but because "of" was misspelt it sounded like trains would be warned off by flashing lights and so run away and hide somewhere. I believe that is the done thing to do on forums such as these. It was in no way intended to make fun of the topic here, and I'm surprised that the vehemence of my post didn't reveal how seriously I was taking it. Maybe I am a sick man, but I believe the ability to find a little humour in however tragic a situation is one of the things that makes us human.

Fair enough - and I appreciate you taking the trouble to explain it.

[ballpoint]

The point of the smiley was to show it was a tongue in cheek comment in that I knew what he meant to say, but because "of" was misspelt it sounded like trains would be warned off by flashing lights and so run away and hide somewhere. I believe that is the done thing to do on forums such as these. It was in no way intended to make fun of the topic here, and I'm surprised that the vehemence of my post didn't reveal how seriously I was taking it. Maybe I am a sick man, but I believe the ability to find a little humour in however tragic a situation is one of the things that makes us human.

Fair enough - and I appreciate you taking the trouble to explain it.

Sometimes when surrounded by tragic stupidity you have to find something to laugh at to stay sane. A good number of years ago, when our neighbours oldest son was about 13, they had him take his grandmother home one night on the back of the family motorbike. Coming back, a dog jumped out at him and he fell off, breaking his nose and badly cutting his face - he still has the scars from the stitches. I was called to drive him to the nearest hospital amongst great wailing and anguish and he swore never to ride a motorbike again, and the family swore they'd never let him ride one again. Earlier this week their third son, who was again about 13, was sent to the local shop on the family motorbike. He was hit by a truck and killed. Yesterday a drunken teenager was coming back from the funeral on his motorbike when he hit a schoolgirl, fracturing her skull. Whether she'll live or not is still unknown. And to top it all off, I just walked out the gate and saw the wife of the eldest son, who's now 19, carrying their 4 month old baby up the road on a pushbike, child in one arm, handle bars in the other. What can you do?

[Maigo6]

Hi,

We went past the scene, shortly after it happened. It was on a crossing in Lam Plai Mat. The driver of the Bus was a woman. She aparrantly had an argument with her husband so she decided to drive the Bus. She had her young daughter in the cab with her, which was completly ripped from the chasis, taking the full impact of the train. When she tried to jump the barrier as it was coming down. She and her daughter were killed instantly. The passanger part of the bus was thrown about 20 meters down the track killing the seven + we are told 23 injured many with loss of limbs. As far as I can make out they were all aged from 4 to 5 yrs. A truly terrible incident

jb1

Jesus H Christ.......

Sad sad story.

[munirkn]

Allah....what's going on

its totally local authority responsibility and it must be sentenced

[dumball]

Steve2UK , your comment is commendable , but are you aware how long it takes a train to stop ? They can run more than half a mile past a collission before they come to a stop , most likely why the trains are on the rails , sorry , the vehicle driver has the responsibility to act RESPONSIBLE , people cannot expect government to be responsible for all individuals stupidity or carelessness .

There is a motor-cycle racer in GP from Thailand , has been doing well also , finishing as high as 10th , name is Withowat I think ????

[ClaytonSeymour]

I have just traveled 1,250 km's around the north and I would have witnessed dozens of life threatening acts of dangerous driving.

Thai's have goot to be the most "brain dead people" when it comes to driving.

The roads in Thailand are lethal. When I'm at the in-laws, I typically motorcyle around 1000 km a week & it goes without saying, when travelling the busier routes i.e Buriram > Korat, there's always a sense of relief when reaching my destination.

Take a trip to a driving test centre (especially up country) & it's easy to understand why. I think I'm being generous in saying that at least a third of them would never becoming proficient enough to pass a driving test here in the UK. Combine this with the poor road conditions, poor vehicle maintenance, general ignorance/lack of respect for even the most basic rules of the road, lack of law enforcement & so on. Fortunately, I can afford to fly, so I only take buses as a last resort, I pity those who are less fortunate.

I know the crossing where this happened & without question, driver error/incompetence would have been the cause & I'm not talking about the train driver.

[Numbnuts]

7 students killed when their vehicle smashed by train

....W

Buri Ram: -- Seven students were killed and many others were injured when their vehicle was cut into two by a speeding train Wednesday afternoon.

Police said the accident happened at 4 pm at the train crossing in Ban Nong Saeng village in Tambon Lamplaimas of Buri Ram's Lamplaimas distirct.

Police said the truck, which was modified into a student vehicle, was cut into two parts by the Bangkok-Si Sa Ket train.

-- The Nation 2009-01-15

All I can say is "what a pity"

I have just traveled 1,250 km's around the north and I would have witnessed dozens of life threatening acts of dangerous driving.

Thai's have goot to be the most "brain dead people" when it comes to driving.

Why do you think that there has never ever been a Thai who has made it in F1, Moto GP or anything else which requires a bit of brains behind the wheel.

I"m afraid my sympathy stocks are all used up for 2009 (the only event to stir me this year has been Santika)

[Numbnuts]

7 students killed when their vehicle smashed by train

....W

Buri Ram: -- Seven students were killed and many others were injured when their vehicle was cut into two by a speeding train Wednesday afternoon.

Police said the accident happened at 4 pm at the train crossing in Ban Nong Saeng village in Tambon Lamplaimas of Buri Ram's Lamplaimas distirct.

Police said the truck, which was modified into a student vehicle, was cut into two parts by the Bangkok-Si Sa Ket train.

-- The Nation 2009-01-15

All I can say is "what a pity"

I have just traveled 1,250 km's around the north and I would have witnessed dozens of life threatening acts of dangerous driving.

Thai's have goot to be the most "brain dead people" when it comes to driving.

Why do you think that there has never ever been a Thai who has made it in F1, Moto GP or anything else which requires a bit of brains behind the wheel.

I"m afraid my sympathy stocks are all used up for 2009 (the only event to stir me this year has been Santika)

[Numbnuts]

7 students killed when their vehicle smashed by train

Buri Ram: -- Seven students were killed and many others were injured when their vehicle was cut into two by a speeding train Wednesday afternoon.

Police said the accident happened at 4 pm at the train crossing in Ban Nong Saeng village in Tambon Lamplaimas of Buri Ram's Lamplaimas distirct.

Police said the truck, which was modified into a student vehicle, was cut into two parts by the Bangkok-Si Sa Ket train.

-- The Nation 2009-01-15

All I can say is "what a pity"

I have just traveled 1,250 km's around the north and I would have witnessed dozens of life threatening acts of dangerous driving.

Thai's have goot to be the most "brain dead people" when it comes to driving.

Why do you think that there has never ever been a Thai who has made it in F1, Moto GP or anything else which requires a bit of brains behind the wheel.

I"m afraid my sympathy stocks are all used up for 2009 (the only event to stir me this year has been Santika)

[Numbnuts]

Re John B Goods comment that no Thais have been in F1./Moto gp....How about Prince Bira Chackaabongse ? Pattaya race track named after him !!

[philipm]

so sad............ 4-5yrs old omg....

i also have had a friend last year who passed away as the train hit there car... so sad he was only 22yr he had alot going for him.

[dumball]

Re John B Goods comment that no Thais have been in F1./Moto gp....How about Prince Bira Chackaabongse ? Pattaya race track named after him !!

Not quite moto GP I am afraid .

Should Thailand be content to continue this type of transport due to cost , the least they could do is legislete a roll-bar system and mandatory seat belts for all school chidren . Have you seen those converted trucks where students travel ON TOP of the roof , only for an extra buck , students seem to be easily replaceable , what a crime .

My sincere condolences to the parents for an avoidable disaster .