The Buri Ram Provincial Court on Thursday ordered the State Railway of Thailand to pay compensation amounting to 14 million baht to relatives of eight schoolchildren and a driver killed in an accident involving a train and a school bus in January this year.

The accident took place on Jan 14 when the train hit the bus at a railway crossing in a municipality of Lam Plai Mat district of Buri Ram province. Eight schoolchidren of Bamrung Witthaya and Thanthong Witthaya schools and the bus driver were killed and many other people injured.

The SRT was found guilty of recklessness not placing barriers and an official at the crossing where traffic was usually busy, causing deaths and injuries.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/14...14-million-baht

-- Bangkok Post 23/07/09

thats a start.

The Buri Ram Provincial Court on Thursday ordered the State Railway of Thailand to pay compensation amounting to 14 million baht to relatives of eight schoolchildren and a driver killed in an accident involving a train and a school bus in January this year.

The accident took place on Jan 14 when the train hit the bus at a railway crossing in a municipality of Lam Plai Mat district of Buri Ram province. Eight schoolchidren of Bamrung Witthaya and Thanthong Witthaya schools and the bus driver were killed and many other people injured.

The SRT was found guilty of recklessness not placing barriers and an official at the crossing where traffic was usually busy, causing deaths and injuries.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/14...14-million-baht

-- Bangkok Post 23/07/09

What happened was very sad.

I have no idea what will be the Railways law, if Thailand has one, tells us about crossings,

Most of the time the train has the right of way on road traffic.

That being the case, the train has an obligation to pass a crossing carefully and with slow speed.

But, even on a slow speed of 10 km.h a train needs maybe 50 meters to come to a standstill.

If I see car and motorbike drivers cross the railway line in Khon Kaen, I just wonder if the bus driver checked if he could cross the railway line safely.

I guess not!

Reading through the article, I presume the crossing guard was not there, for whatever reason.

The train driver was not condemned, but the railways, for not supplying the guard.

However, the bus driver should have used his eyes and his brains.

The train driver will have this accident troubling him for the remainder of his life.

Even if he was not to blame.

And I assure it will!