17 Killed, 30 Injured In Bus Accident In Krabi

[churchill]

17 killed, 30 injured in bus accident in Krabi

KRABI: -- A chartered bus taking officials of the Samut Prakan Provincial Administrative Organization for field trips overturned here Friday morning, killing 17 and injuring 30 passengers.

The accident occurred at 6:30 am on the Phanom-Khao Tor Road in Ban Bang Hoi village in Tambon Khao Tor of Krabi's Prayphaya district.

Twelve passengers of the bus died at the scene and five more died at hospitals.

Thirty other passengers were injured and rushed to the Krabin and district hospitals nearby.

About 400 officials were travelling in 12 buses. They left Samut Prakan Thursday evening.

Police said the drive of the bus, which overturned, might doze off, causing the accident.

-- The Nation 05/06/09

[Scott]

How very sad. My condolences to all those close to the victims.

[TAWP]

Shit... :/

RIP, how very sad and somewhat typical. *sigh*

[leedstony]

[arnoldjr]

thats horrible

[AleG]

Doubly tragic, in the terrible loss of lives and the easily preventable cause of the accident.

[PingManDan]

17 killed, 30 injured in bus accident in Krabi

KRABI: -- A chartered bus taking officials of the Samut Prakan Provincial Administrative Organization for field trips overturned here Friday morning, killing 17 and injuring 30 passengers.

The accident occurred at 6:30 am on the Phanom-Khao Tor Road in Ban Bang Hoi village in Tambon Khao Tor of Krabi's Prayphaya district.

Twelve passengers of the bus died at the scene and five more died at hospitals.

Thirty other passengers were injured and rushed to the Krabin and district hospitals nearby.

About 400 officials were travelling in 12 buses. They left Samut Prakan Thursday evening.

Police said the drive of the bus, which overturned, might doze off, causing the accident.

-- The Nation 05/06/09

Very Sad- This is why i do not take transportation like that, they are all well over worked.

[MyphuketLife]

what a sad way to go... may they rest in peace.

How about the nation proof reading though???

"Police said the drive of the bus, which overturned, might doze off, causing the accident"

[jfchandler]

Condolences to all involved....

Sure like to know what charter bus company was handling this trip??

Sure like to know how often the Samut Prakan local government sends "400 officials" on field trips to Krabi...

Thai taxpayer dollars, hard at work.

One might hope that because this is a Thai caper, some regulatory good might come from it. But, I'm afraid, that might be being a bit too optimistic.

[steve187]

I wonder where they traveling in convoy, If so this tragic accident could have been on a larger scale, My thoughts go out to all concerned.

No mention of the drivers injuries!

[middlepath]

Sad very sad.

I made a bus trip to Mai Sai last week. Across the isle sat two cute Thai ladies. They giggled at me as I put

on my seat belt. I just smiled. I looked around and NO one had a seat belt on.

I know seat belts are not going to save everyone but I wonder how many had their belt on during this deadly crash and how many it MIGHT have saved if they would have been buckled up?

[Netfan]

Very sad, sorry for the families who lost someone, and hope the injured recover. Unfortunately this will soon be forgotten along with the other terrible "accidents" and the carnage will continue.

[TVmonitor]

Now that a large number of people have died, maybe the authorities will look into the design of coaches and buses that is permitted in Thailand

[wackysleet]

Does anyone know if the authorities here have rules about how long a driver can drive in a 24hr period as if he so are they enforced. R.I.P and my condolences to all.

[asiawatcher]

Having driven millions of kilometres in heavy vehicles - fatigue and possibly speed in keeping up are always a recipe for disaster. I slept only once at the wheel and woke in a muddy ditch still on my wheels thankfully. I was lucky! As there are no log book systems in place in Thailand for heavy vehicle drivers - impossible to police times driven, distances travelled and if there were relief drivers also on board.

I hope the authorities table this as a priority.

[liloldspirut]

What is more tragic is the fact that no one in authority will do anything about it. This is very common here. Lives are precious.

[Tonyks]

That is very sad indeed. Condolences to all the families involved.

[orosee]

Driver may be among the injured or dead? Because there is no metion of "the driver fled the scene"

[Navalator]

Now that a large number of people have died, maybe the authorities will look into the design of coaches and buses that is permitted in Thailand

.............and look into the excessive hours these guys use to increase their revenues. In addition, I have seen these guys, while driving, gulp those small bottles of pure caffeine to stay awake for those long hours and then just drop suddenly from exhaustion when the body decides to rebel and shut down. No wonder the driver "dozed" off. He probably collapsed.

[Richb2004v2]

I see these convoys of coaches quite often. They are often being driven like racing cars with little regard for their own or anyone elses safety.

Is there any point at all in offering condolences in this forum? I very much doubt that anyone involved in the accident reads this.

[dougieboy]

Terrible waste of life, but unfortunately not so surprising, some of those bus drivers are the craziest drivers I have ever seen and not just buses. I once visited Koh Chiang and and we rode in a song touw (not sure about spelling) and the driver scared the hel_l out of me. Overtaking when he clearly couldn't see the road ahead for bends. My wife and I hired a small motornike (I didn't ride one of these for about 20 years) but I felt alot safer on this than on their public transport.

R.I.P. and condolencies to all those connected.

Edited June 5, 2009 by dougieboy

[tezzainthailand]

Sad very sad.

I made a bus trip to Mai Sai last week. Across the isle sat two cute Thai ladies. They giggled at me as I put

on my seat belt. I just smiled. I looked around and NO one had a seat belt on.

I know seat belts are not going to save everyone but I wonder how many had their belt on during this deadly crash and how many it MIGHT have saved if they would have been buckled up?

Yes, but I seem to find that as I get to travel with Thais in their cars they more often than not put on their seat belts, whereas ten years ago it may have been a novelty to do so.

[wackysleet]

I see these convoys of coaches quite often. They are often being driven like racing cars with little regard for their own or anyone elses safety.

Is there any point at all in offering condolences in this forum? I very much doubt that anyone involved in the accident reads this.

Does it really matter that they're not read, people are voicing their thoughts thats all.

[oops]

 Very sad and most likely could of been could of been prevented.  I hope that there weren't any children involved.     Sleeping or not, it is very dangerous when these police escorted buses come flying by at speeds well above manufactures warrenty.  

No mention of the Drivers....?

[Artisi]

Now that a large number of people have died, maybe the authorities will look into the design of coaches and buses that is permitted in Thailand

Sure they will - in your dreams.

Death such as this are not accidents or the result of poor design but one of incompetance on the part of the company and the drivers. Sort out the initial problem of drivers and company expectations first and then good design will go a long way in helping to save lives in the case of a "real" accident.

Edited June 5, 2009 by Artisi

[PlaShadow]

Now that a large number of people have died, maybe the authorities will look into the design of coaches and buses that is permitted in Thailand

.............and look into the excessive hours these guys use to increase their revenues. In addition, I have seen these guys, while driving, gulp those small bottles of pure caffeine to stay awake for those long hours and then just drop suddenly from exhaustion when the body decides to rebel and shut down. No wonder the driver "dozed" off. He probably collapsed.

I am amazed at this attitude of over work of drivers. Do you really think this lot goes to bed after driving their hours? Anyone here seen the whiskey stalls spread all over this country? Well, that's were most drivers spend their time after shifts.

No wonder a bit of caffeine and Burma meds are needed.

[Happy Jack]

Didn't you run the story about the horrific bus accident last month? ..and the month before? ..and the month before that? ..and the month before that? ..and the month before that? ..and the month before that? ..and the month before that? ..and the month before that? ..and the month before that? ..and the month before that? ..and the month before that? ..and the month before that? ..and the month before that? ...................................

[deprogrammed]

Most of the bus drivers I have been so unfortunate to encounter are absoulute nutters. They drive full speed at bends and rarely use low gears. I am really suprised that there aren't more accidents

[Robert44]

Does anyone know if the authorities here have rules about how long a driver can drive in a 24hr period as if he so are they enforced. R.I.P and my condolences to all.

There are lots and lots of rules concerning driving in Thailand - basically follow UK but who is going to enforce them - the BIB?

Most people in Thailand do not even know the basic rules as the only learning they get is by word of mouth (if that),they can buy their licence without ever having sat behind a wheel. Until that is stopped there will be little if any improvement to road safty.

When I first went for my licence (did not even care or check if I had an EC licence) here my company sent a translator along with me as I was new to Thai, my test consisted of looking at a colour chart and telling them in English what the colours were they pointed to. This was then translated to Thai.

[kangeroo]

i have taken a bus to Korat a few times and wondered if i would ever make it. music loud , young driver playing around with his mates not paying attention to the road and yes been driving all day, add all that up and its a big problem . sorry for all of the people involved .