17 Killed, 50 Injured In Road Accident In Korat

[ScubaBuddha]

Why don't the passengers confront the drivers? in over 3 years in Thailand I have been on one bus but have seen many being driven recklessly. As an ex policeman I tend to notice bad driving (even small things) as I generally look out for it, however here I have to let it go as I was close to exploding at the selfish and dangerous driving on Thai roads, also my gf was getting close to smacking me for pointing out bad driving which was normally every 10 seconds.

Back to confronting the drivers, why don't the passengers tell them to slow down and drive carefully, surely people power would cause the driver to slow, or do the passengers sit and accept the bad driving?

I have tried that, more than once. It doesn't work. It's his castle and he will drive as he pleases. Even had one guy pounding Redbulls nodding off, have to panic stop, narrowly avoiding a crash. I did tell him to slow down in Thai, but he didn't. I was almost to my destination so I stayed on to the end.

The only option you have is to tell him to slow down or stop so you can get off, which from what I've been told by friends who have done just that, the drivers are all to happy to have your bitchy ass off his bus, and potentially one less stop. No refund, just left on the side of any old road with your luggage. I have another friend that lost his leg in a Visa Run minibus crash in the rain.

[henryalleman]

IMHO, the main reason for this accidents its that buses are technical not OK due to poor maintenance and old age. Just look to most of the BMT buses.

You can only improve that the government set up an technical control system where all buses (include mini-buses, taxis, trucks and certainly those pick-ups who transport people, will be checked every 6 months. And if necessary give them a red card and take them out of traffic till the necessary improvements are made.

Every sedan should be checked after 5 years, and every year after that. Also it should be prohibited to sell a used car without a check up in such control center.

Also there should be a special drivers license for drivers who do paid transport or transport more than 7 people. Before you obtain such drivers license you should pass an medical exam and eye test , by an approved doctor or institute.

This will not only create a few ten thousand extra jobs, but will also improve road safety immensely.

This system exists in several European countries.

We can all express our condolences and compassion with the thousands of deadly victims on Thai roads, and fulminate against drivers, roads and so on, but this is helping nobody.

[redscouse]

in the UK we have a MOT test, vehicles over three years old are tested and must be certified, anything that fails needs to be repaired before it is certified. these vehicles need to be certified every year at garages licensed by the Ministry of Transport. however in thailand we know that would never work as the certificates would just be bought

[macduff]

Very sorry for the victims and their families but its not a surprise , we all know they drive way to fast most of the time and they don't have the brains to ajust to the prevailing road conditons . Travelling on a bus in Thailand is not much different to playing russian roulette .

This is why I do my own travelling on a motorbike folks.

And you reckon motorbikes are safe?. We are talking about Thailand here. My condolances to the familys of avoidable deaths

[dumball]

in the UK we have a MOT test, vehicles over three years old are tested and must be certified, anything that fails needs to be repaired before it is certified. these vehicles need to be certified every year at garages licensed by the Ministry of Transport. however in thailand we know that would never work as the certificates would just be bought

I was a mechanic in England when MOT was introduced , it started as a volentary test ,and the vehicles with the majority of defects were the later models , in those days many Brits were fastidious with cleaning and maintaining thier cars , there were many do-it-yourself shops who supplied all the tools and advice for a fee . Around the 60's I believe , they introduced a special electronic testing hoist that they put in a card and multiple systems were tested , even checked body panel for density/thickness due to rusting . We checked taxis on a monthly basis and believe me , age has little to nothing to do with serviceability or dependability , it all comes down to regular maintainace and repair .

[raro]

what a gross waste of lives! Is requiring seat belts, or at least having them with each seat - as an option of choice - feasible? Even if belts were required, they probably wouldn't work anyway - similar to seat adjustments not working half the time.

I was in another bus about 1 km behind the accident scene when it happened. We had to walk past the accident scene to get into minivans to continue our journey. The road was blocked more than three hours and from what I saw, seatbelts or not, it is a miracle to me that 50 made it out alive. The bus from Bangkok was up to the front wheels stuck in the side of the overturned bus coming from Korat.

And drivers, .....what will it take to improve their lot? I don't know.

perhaps more breaks and/or replacement drivers - in order to allow them rest time.

That might be rather the right approach. When I hired a bus to go to my wedding party in Isaan some years back, most companies could not understand why I wanted TWO drivers for ONE bus...

[brahmburgers]

How about all buses being required to have a large sign, in Thai and in English (and Chinese and Japanese also, why not) showing a phone number - to be called when anyone has a complaint. The phone# would go to a regulatory agency open 24-hours and staffed by at least one fluent English speaker. The same poster would have the driver's ID# and bus company name in large legible letters. Drivers and/or coach companies would get fined - based on number and severity of complaints.

Ok, this is Thailand, and it could never work - for various reasons. Even though nearly everyone has a phone, it would mostly be farang who would bother to call (Thais are taught that complaining is bad), and most Thais also learn to think that farang complain to much. Unscrupulous bus operators might make fake calls to competing businesses. The phone# wouldn't answer and/or the operators wouldn't understand the complaint and/or dismiss it as frivolous. The driver's ID would be wrong, the driver saying something like, "that's not my number, we forgot to switch the # at the change-over." .....or some other of 1,000 excuses.

Why don't the passengers confront the drivers? in over 3 years in Thailand I have been on one bus but have seen many being driven recklessly. As an ex policeman I tend to notice bad driving (even small things) as I generally look out for it, however here I have to let it go as I was close to exploding at the selfish and dangerous driving on Thai roads, also my gf was getting close to smacking me for pointing out bad driving which was normally every 10 seconds. Back to confronting the drivers, why don't the passengers tell them to slow down and drive carefully, surely people power would cause the driver to slow, or do the passengers sit and accept the bad driving?

For a farang to confront a driver or his assistant - even in the mildest tone, would most likely be met with either silence, indifference, anger or threats. When I've complained about too loud music (on nearly every bus trip I've ever taken in Thailand), I've got to admit that sometimes the music or video will get turned down a tad. About one out of six times. If I made a mention of dangerous driving, I venture it wouldn't do a bit of good. Even so, I'd rather be ostracized by driver and cabin crew, than a bloody heap of bones and flesh on the pavement.

[BigSnake]

Two weeks or so from a Major Hoilday, Songkran and things are already get crazy on the highways, RIP all. For the rest of us be extra careful if you must be on the road this holiday or at anytime for that matter.

Edited March 28, 2009 by BigSnake

[Netfan]

in the UK we have a MOT test, vehicles over three years old are tested and must be certified, anything that fails needs to be repaired before it is certified. these vehicles need to be certified every year at garages licensed by the Ministry of Transport. however in thailand we know that would never work as the certificates would just be bought

Exactly....the bus companies are owned by rich & influential families. so its highly unlikely a law / regualtions which would cost them money would be passed. And if one was, they'd just buy a stack of certificates and be good to go.

How many of these "accidents" have there been in the past few years? What got done? Remember the "vow of good driving" the bus drivers had to take a couple of years ago? Pathetic.

Edited March 28, 2009 by Netfan

[raro]

How about all buses being required to have a large sign, in Thai and in English (and Chinese and Japanese also, why not) showing a phone number - to be called when anyone has a complaint. The phone# would go to a regulatory agency open 24-hours and staffed by at least one fluent English speaker. The same poster would have the driver's ID# and bus company name in large legible letters. Drivers and/or coach companies would get fined - based on number and severity of complaints.

Ok, this is Thailand, and it could never work - for various reasons. Even though nearly everyone has a phone, it would mostly be farang who would bother to call (Thais are taught that complaining is bad), and most Thais also learn to think that farang complain to much. Unscrupulous bus operators might make fake calls to competing businesses. The phone# wouldn't answer and/or the operators wouldn't understand the complaint and/or dismiss it as frivolous. The driver's ID would be wrong, the driver saying something like, "that's not my number, we forgot to switch the # at the change-over." .....or some other of 1,000 excuses.

Why don't the passengers confront the drivers? in over 3 years in Thailand I have been on one bus but have seen many being driven recklessly. As an ex policeman I tend to notice bad driving (even small things) as I generally look out for it, however here I have to let it go as I was close to exploding at the selfish and dangerous driving on Thai roads, also my gf was getting close to smacking me for pointing out bad driving which was normally every 10 seconds. Back to confronting the drivers, why don't the passengers tell them to slow down and drive carefully, surely people power would cause the driver to slow, or do the passengers sit and accept the bad driving?

For a farang to confront a driver or his assistant - even in the mildest tone, would most likely be met with either silence, indifference, anger or threats. When I've complained about too loud music (on nearly every bus trip I've ever taken in Thailand), I've got to admit that sometimes the music or video will get turned down a tad. About one out of six times. If I made a mention of dangerous driving, I venture it wouldn't do a bit of good. Even so, I'd rather be ostracized by driver and cabin crew, than a bloody heap of bones and flesh on the pavement.

Disagree. Years ago I shouted from the third row to a wanna-be F1 driver "phom chop chivit, kap cha kwa" (I love my live, drive slower) and the Thai passengers around me showed their sympathy to my plea. Mr. driver lost face big time but complied with the peer pressure.

[C-sip-degree]

in the UK we have a MOT test, vehicles over three years old are tested and must be certified, anything that fails needs to be repaired before it is certified. these vehicles need to be certified every year at garages licensed by the Ministry of Transport. however in thailand we know that would never work as the certificates would just be bought

Exactly....the bus companies are owned by rich & influential families. so its highly unlikely a law / regualtions which would cost them money would be passed. And if one was, they'd just buy a stack of certificates and be good to go.

How many of these "accidents" have there been in the past few years? What got done? Remember the "vow of good driving" the bus drivers had to take a couple of years ago? Pathetic.

I don’t think you would be saying that if you owned a bus.

Very interesting to hear more about buying certificates, do you have any personnel experience or are you just being an exhaust here.....

In the UK…..… well in Thailand there is also a compulsory six month inspection for Buses/Trucks you may or may not be aware. Jan and June is the period for our province and penitently will cost, if you don’t comply.

Not every bus company is owned by rich influential families and some may take your comment too heart as their transport business has been built up over-time and hard work from their family.

Very Sad to hear about this accident.

Regards C-sip

[NanLaew]

we hired a bus for the staff to take them on some day trip out of Bangkok and I told the driver if any of my staff complain about bad driving he would not get the 1000 Baht I was showing him. sure enough my staff all got back and apparently he drove very nice. its ashame that is the only way to get them to drive safe, but I guess that is the way it is over here. for the record, I would never step foot on a bus over here. nearly all buss drivers are mad.

Put it in perspective though. On average, a bus leaves Bangkok headed for Khorat, and Khorat, headed for Bangkok every 10 minutes - 3 companies leaving at 30 minute or less intervals. That's a lot of bus trips every week. When one, or two in this case, but it was coincidental that the out of control one hit another bus, have an "incident" it's still uncommon enough for it to be big news. And that's just between two cities. Factor in all the others, and the chances of being on a bus in a collision are low, and of being killed even lower. Doesn't excuse bad driving, or poorly maintained vehicles, but it does, as I said, put it in perspective.

Good post. Placing this terrible accident in perspective considering the millions of safe passenger miles completed by airconditioned bus services each year.

By the same token, there's no defense for lack of driving skills. I was headed to Chantaburi last Tuesday and just after a short rain shower, we counted no less than 6 accidents involving at least a dozen vehicles, mostly pick-ups within a few kilometers. It's the hottest season of the year and the rubber and oil that builds up on hot road surfaces turns real slick with only a few sprinkles of rain. If a moderately speeding pick-up loses traction, there's no hope for these nice looking, hand-built buses which are nothing more than a light, fiberglass body on a truck chassis.

[coalminer]

IMHO, the main reason for this accidents its that buses are technical not OK due to poor maintenance and old age. Just look to most of the BMT buses.

You can only improve that the government set up an technical control system where all buses (include mini-buses, taxis, trucks and certainly those pick-ups who transport people, will be checked every 6 months. And if necessary give them a red card and take them out of traffic till the necessary improvements are made.

Every sedan should be checked after 5 years, and every year after that. Also it should be prohibited to sell a used car without a check up in such control center.

Sorry to contradict you, but that happens in Thailand as long as I have been driving.

I need to bring my car to the car inspection every year and pay the Viriyah insurance before I can get the Tax-ID to glue on the window.

Long ago, the inspection was done at the traffic department, but nowadays you can chose between 2 agreed inspection centers.

For buses, the inspection center is located at a company who is constructing buses and have al the necessary equipment.

Off course, the car inspection is a joke and doesn't include the same inspections as in Belgium or any Western country.

I have seen pick-up's without brakes, lights, suspension, etc. and whose body is completely rusted away pass the inspection with "summa cum laude".

Also there should be a special drivers license for drivers who do paid transport or transport more than 7 people. Before you obtain such drivers license you should pass an medical exam and eye test , by an approved doctor or institute.

This will not only create a few ten thousand extra jobs, but will also improve road safety immensely.

That is also in place in Thailand.

For my drivers license, I had to pass a medical control which included the eye sight and other factors.

Off course, here again a brownie will get you the doctor agreement.

This system exists in several European countries.

After all, this is Thailand and is it not that we all love this country for the cheap price of buying any official?

We can all express our condolences and compassion with the thousands of deadly victims on Thai roads, and fulminate against drivers, roads and so on, but this is helping nobody.

[Scott]

My very deepest sympathies to the many people who have been negatively affected by this tragedy--family, friends, loved ones, employers, neighbors--a great deal of loss involved in this accident.

[JRinger]

Why don't the passengers confront the drivers? in over 3 years in Thailand I have been on one bus but have seen many being driven recklessly. As an ex policeman I tend to notice bad driving (even small things) as I generally look out for it, however here I have to let it go as I was close to exploding at the selfish and dangerous driving on Thai roads, also my gf was getting close to smacking me for pointing out bad driving which was normally every 10 seconds.

Back to confronting the drivers, why don't the passengers tell them to slow down and drive carefully, surely people power would cause the driver to slow, or do the passengers sit and accept the bad driving?

Some years ago I was traveling in a mini-bus full of people traveling from Hatyai to Surat. Several of the female passengers were in tears and scared to death from the way the driver was speeding in and around any vehicles in front : Two male (French) passengers both lit up cigarettes even with a clear sign that says "No Smoking". They lit up thinking it would get the driver to slow down !! The driver told them to put them out; they refused and what happened next was pretty scary. He pulled over very abruptly, reached in the glove box and pulled out a knife and held it next to the man's throat while telling him "No Smoking" !!

of course they put the cigs out and we were on our nightmare ride again.......I later found out that many of the drivers gamble between themselves to see who makes the best time from point to point.....I took the driver's picture with the idea of reporting him as the other passenger's suggested but I knew nothing would be done and without witness protection I'd probably have problems so I shrugged it off.........Over the years I used to travel to Malaysia every three months and it was always the same with the mini-bus drivers and large bus drivers.....and I'm always wondering why nothing is ever done...except a few baht to the family of the deceased....It's been many years since I've been in any kind of bus....I refuse to ride on them.

[LTGTR]

Any Westerners on board?

[LTGTR]

we hired a bus for the staff to take them on some day trip out of Bangkok and I told the driver if any of my staff complain about bad driving he would not get the 1000 Baht I was showing him. sure enough my staff all got back and apparently he drove very nice. its ashame that is the only way to get them to drive safe, but I guess that is the way it is over here. for the record, I would never step foot on a bus over here. nearly all buss drivers are mad.

Put it in perspective though. On average, a bus leaves Bangkok headed for Khorat, and Khorat, headed for Bangkok every 10 minutes - 3 companies leaving at 30 minute or less intervals. That's a lot of bus trips every week. When one, or two in this case, but it was coincidental that the out of control one hit another bus, have an "incident" it's still uncommon enough for it to be big news. And that's just between two cities. Factor in all the others, and the chances of being on a bus in a collision are low, and of being killed even lower. Doesn't excuse bad driving, or poorly maintained vehicles, but it does, as I said, put it in perspective.

Good post. Placing this terrible accident in perspective considering the millions of safe passenger miles completed by airconditioned bus services each year.

By the same token, there's no defense for lack of driving skills. I was headed to Chantaburi last Tuesday and just after a short rain shower, we counted no less than 6 accidents involving at least a dozen vehicles, mostly pick-ups within a few kilometers. It's the hottest season of the year and the rubber and oil that builds up on hot road surfaces turns real slick with only a few sprinkles of rain. If a moderately speeding pick-up loses traction, there's no hope for these nice looking, hand-built buses which are nothing more than a light, fiberglass body on a truck chassis.

Thailand is a festering Third World shitehole and that will never change.Accept it for what it is and don't expect anything else.Many don't see this country in that manner because in a small sliver of daily life,Thailand does show a hint of upgrading.

[stevehaigh]

i was driving from Khon Kean to Nong Khai last week. i was maintaining about 100km/h most of the way. a bus passed me multiple times, going at least 130. several times he stopped to pick up people and then drove like a crazy guy to make up speed, often driving within inches of my back bumper to get past me.

i let him past as usual and then while he was trying to squeezed between 2 cars in front, he clipped the back of a honda civic and sent it spinning out of control. luckily no one was hurt but that was some crazy shit!

[OxfordWill]

I think the reason these buses often travel in the "fast" lane is because, the "normal" lane is typically in very bad condition, some surprise pot holes etc. Its very rare to see a bus heading to or from Esarn using the normal inside lane on any two lane roads for this reason.

[Netfan]

in the UK we have a MOT test, vehicles over three years old are tested and must be certified, anything that fails needs to be repaired before it is certified. these vehicles need to be certified every year at garages licensed by the Ministry of Transport. however in thailand we know that would never work as the certificates would just be bought

Exactly....the bus companies are owned by rich & influential families. so its highly unlikely a law / regualtions which would cost them money would be passed. And if one was, they'd just buy a stack of certificates and be good to go.

How many of these "accidents" have there been in the past few years? What got done? Remember the "vow of good driving" the bus drivers had to take a couple of years ago? Pathetic.

I don't think you would be saying that if you owned a bus.

Very interesting to hear more about buying certificates, do you have any personnel experience or are you just being an exhaust here.....

In the UK…..… well in Thailand there is also a compulsory six month inspection for Buses/Trucks you may or may not be aware. Jan and June is the period for our province and penitently will cost, if you don't comply.

Not every bus company is owned by rich influential families and some may take your comment too heart as their transport business has been built up over-time and hard work from their family.

Very Sad to hear about this accident.

Regards C-sip

You're right- i'm basing my idea on what is business as usual in Thailand - for example there was that small disco that burned down New Years Eve, killed more than 60 people- the owners had connections so they didnt need permits- same idea here, only with buses. But i'm happy to know now that the bus business is different. Only thing is, I've seen and been on those buses - orange ones and blue ones- that are on the roads in the country here- exactly what inspection did they pass? Tires? Suspension? Exhaust system? Brakes? Windshield wipers? They are a joke and so is any so-called inspection system they might pretend to have. And if I have offended any hard working family who has built up an honest, safe transit system with qualified, courteous and safe drivers, and full insurance, i whole-heartedly apologize.

[Happy Jack]

Very sorry for the victims and their families but its not a surprise , we all know they drive way to fast most of the time and they don't have the brains to ajust to the prevailing road conditons . Travelling on a bus in Thailand is not much different to playing russian roulette .

This is why I do my own travelling on a motorbike folks.

I gave up riding motorbikes in Thailand after the third time someone pulled out in front of me. The first two I somehow managed to miss - but the third one I hit - a kid on a bike who decided to cross the road in front of me. And of course I was hurt worse than him - I got a crushed hand and he got a graze and bruising - and even more predictable it was also my fault for failing to toot like a mad idiot as I passed by. So now I do my travelling in LOS encased in a nice secure metal box - which is best fitted with off road tires for the times you have to take to the grass to avoid various mad B*stards!

One time when we were on the way to Wee Wifey's village she told me to be careful because "In Thailand SOMEONE is a bad driver!"

Only SOMEONE????????????

[IssanDM]

Just a little over 2 weeks till Songkran and I'll be going to Udon Thani from deepest Issan by bus. This will be a 200k trip and I'll be going the Friday night before the start of Sonkran. I hope I make in one piece.

[tocliffy]

THE SAD FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT ONLY 'POOR ' PEOPLE TRAVEL ON BUSES, AND THE GOVERNMENT, AND THE OTHER LOT WHO CONTROL POWER IN LOS, REALLY COULDN'T CARE LESS!

ITS A SHAME THAT A WESTERN TYPE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT HAS NO COMPARABLE HERE..........UNLESS YOU ARE RICH, HAVE LIGHT SKIN, ARE A MEMBER OF THE ARMY OR POLICE, AND A THAI, YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN SOMEONE WHO CAN BE REGARDED AS IRRELEVANT AND DISPENSIBLE........... WHAT THE COUNTRY REALLY NEEDS IS FOR EVERYONE TO HAVE CONSIDERATION, THOUGHT, AND COMPASSION FOR EACH OTHER, PERHAPS WE SHOULD ALL CONSIDER BECOMING BHUDDISTS!!

[gbt71fa]

Why don't the passengers confront the drivers? in over 3 years in Thailand I have been on one bus but have seen many being driven recklessly. As an ex policeman I tend to notice bad driving (even small things) as I generally look out for it, however here I have to let it go as I was close to exploding at the selfish and dangerous driving on Thai roads, also my gf was getting close to smacking me for pointing out bad driving which was normally every 10 seconds.

Back to confronting the drivers, why don't the passengers tell them to slow down and drive carefully, surely people power would cause the driver to slow, or do the passengers sit and accept the bad driving?

Some years ago I was traveling in a mini-bus full of people traveling from Hatyai to Surat. Several of the female passengers were in tears and scared to death from the way the driver was speeding in and around any vehicles in front : Two male (French) passengers both lit up cigarettes even with a clear sign that says "No Smoking". They lit up thinking it would get the driver to slow down !! The driver told them to put them out; they refused and what happened next was pretty scary. He pulled over very abruptly, reached in the glove box and pulled out a knife and held it next to the man's throat while telling him "No Smoking" !!

of course they put the cigs out and we were on our nightmare ride again.......I later found out that many of the drivers gamble between themselves to see who makes the best time from point to point.....I took the driver's picture with the idea of reporting him as the other passenger's suggested but I knew nothing would be done and without witness protection I'd probably have problems so I shrugged it off.........Over the years I used to travel to Malaysia every three months and it was always the same with the mini-bus drivers and large bus drivers.....and I'm always wondering why nothing is ever done...except a few baht to the family of the deceased....It's been many years since I've been in any kind of bus....I refuse to ride on them.

Just the opposite for me. My wife and I were in one of the bus/taxi thingies and he was driving like crazy through Bangkok. I asked him to slow down and he ignored me. When it got worst my wife said something he just waived her off. She is Thai and SHE was starting to get scared. Finally, I took out my knife, stuck it in his against his ribcage and he finally got the picture. I am usually pretty controlled under those circumstances but my wife was terrified. When we stopped I took his keys, tossed them as far as I could. He grabbed for his tire iron and when i went back to him he ran away looking for his keys. I don't understand their mentality. In europe and america, they work hard to do their job and and give the best possible service, knowing you will tip their work. If a thai tax does a good job, I always tip well. Crazy.

[gbt71fa]

Just the opposite for me. My wife and I were in one of the bus/taxi thingies and he was driving like crazy through Bangkok. I asked him to slow down and he ignored me. When it got worst my wife said something he just waived her off. She is Thai and SHE was starting to get scared. Finally, I took out my knife, stuck it in his against his ribcage and he finally got the picture. I am usually pretty controlled under those circumstances but my wife was terrified. When we stopped I took his keys, tossed them as far as I could. He grabbed for his tire iron and when i went back to him he ran away looking for his keys. I don't understand their mentality. In europe and america, they work hard to do their job and and give the best possible service, knowing you will tip their work. If a thai tax does a good job, I always tip well. Crazy.

and no comments from you passifists exclaiming about what if he had a gun. If we had crashed, than the gun would have been a moot point. Also, I am not allowed to drive the car, my wife has her Uncle do it because she says I drive too good???? What she means is that I drive like I am obeying rules of the road, or at least applying them to Thailand, and it doesn't work here. But how far is too far? If this had happened in the U.S., that bus company wold have been sued into the poor house....LOS

[Asianrider]

Sorry to read this tragic story, but have had a few hairy rides on thai bus's, especially in the South. On one overnight journey the driver was driving with one hand, and whiskey bottle in the other !

[jamesjdaly]

I make a point of never travelling on a minivan or inter provincial bus here. Train all the time. I even sold my car last year as I was sick and tired of the scummy animals on thre roads here. Let them all fly headlong into a stone wall and kill themselves.....but the innocent/more careful drivers always get caught up. RIP to all innocent road victims and to hel_l with the reckless ones.

[robenroute]

Very sorry for the victims and their families but its not a surprise , we all know they drive way to fast most of the time and they don't have the brains to ajust to the prevailing road conditons . Travelling on a bus in Thailand is not much different to playing russian roulette .

This is why I do my own travelling on a motorbike folks.

One can be as careful as one might possibly be. However, a while ago a was taking a cruise on the motorbike together with the missus, somewhere in the sticks around Phitsanulok. Taking a right turn, a lorry coming from the opposite direction swerved a bit wide and forced us into the ditch, missing a few sharp metal signs by a cat's whisker. Due to the fact we were barely doing 10 mph, we got away with torn jeans, a sore foot (the missus got away completely unscathed, luckily), a few bruises and some minor scratches on the bike. Point is, being on a motorbike, one can be more vulnerable than in a car. And just remember, it might be not your own doing...

Happy cruising!

[animatic]

I assume ever vehicle, living entity and inanimate object is actively trying to kill me.

From the road bed and sandy sides to the cocoanut trees and falling leaves,

from soi dogs to police on motorcycles doing 10kph checking for graft opportunities.

I feel no more safe driving a track than a bike, because with the bike I can avoid the

cement truck passing on the inside of a blind corner at me at full speed.

With the truck no where to go.

And if it's a bike hitting me, for driving like a soon to be deceased twit,

Their family will sue me for driving in my lane at a proper arte of speed

and not going off the road to avoid their drunken prodigals death wish.

I also assume any driver with more than 2 large, good luck 'amulets',

has taken for granted he has purchased enough good luck to drive as he sees fit.

Which is most often with no regard for ANYTHING like safety.

I won't ride with them for love nor money.

999 busses are barely any safer, but keep the country running.

But every time the Mrs. insists on riding one I cringe till the trip is done.

And curse Bangkok Air for their exorbitant prices forcing most people to take these buses from hel_l.

[gburns57au]

Funny....I was just talking to a mate about that road......I was on a bus going down that route a number of years ago.....the driver overtook a car on a bend and suddenly another bus was in front of us....How the driver squeezed back into the left lane, I will never know. I was in the front left seat and had a good view of how close it was. Scared the bejesus out of me.