Aussie Killed In Phuket Truck Plunge

[3100034]

What is the point when a Thai kills a westerner maximum 200.000 Thb when the same thing happens and a farrang kills a thai 1,000.000 where is the justice ! Thai motor insurance is set at 2000.000 THB per person ..

[denissr]

Could be driver tried to shift to lower gear and got cought out of gear. Brakes might not hold, if going too fast or not a great shape.

R.I.P.

[jupiler]

For some people is a holiday in Thailand, a holiday in hel_l!

RIP.

Edited January 15, 2010 by jupiler

[alfbondi]

I have driven behind these four wheel drives before and they are always overcrowded with people in the back which propably makes the vehicle very unsteady especially going down a steep road like the one their mentioning. No laws or laws being enforced again thats the tragedy of this and it will happen again.

[LPCustom69]

Very sad, and tragic. Condolences to the family.

[jimbo38]

I ride a bicycle over 1000 miles per month. The drivers that I fear the most are the "Tour Van" drivers. Of the tour van drivers, the worst are the 4 wheel drives. They are always driving way in excess of a reasonable speed. And that includes the tiny dirt roads going into the mountains.

The members who keep trying to absolve the thai people of any blame should remember that many lives that are lost in Thailand are human caused and could easily been saved.

There is no reason for these drivers to drive so d-amn-ed fast!!!! And, yes, I have seen many of them going downhill out of gear, relying on the brakes to slow them down. This kind of driving is criminal.

Stop making excuses. This young man's death was totally, completely unnecessary. I really feel sorry for him and his wife and family.

[PEP]

Stop making excuses. This young man's death was totally, completely unnecessary. I really feel sorry for him and his wife and family.

Jimbo, I am of a like mind. Totally sad.

I feel equally sad for the Parents and Family of the three Thai Teenagers who died here yesterday afternoon as result of Motorcycle Accidents. NO publicity, NO discussion, NO conjecture.

Is there anyone who wishes to speculate if Speeding, Alcohol, Drugs or lack of training was the cause. Why not have a go?

[Latindancer]

I abhor the clinical manner (eg. the discussion of the design of the braking system) that some of my fellow members refer to in this tragic incident and at the naivety of most of the other correspondents. The reality of this situation and the many other similar incidents lies in the complete inability of central government to govern. To spell it out further; if the government can't train drivers effectively and see that vehicle owners maintain the vehicles properly, then this incident (and many similar ones) will be the result. It is saddening that many of the kingdom's visitors are completely unaware of just how dangerous Thailand is on the road and at sea ( and in the air, if travelling with some airlines that have been banned from flying in EU space). I sincerely hope that International pressure is placed upon the Thai government to put effective enforcement into place to improve driving ability and to improve vehicle maintainance, but I doubt that anything will change. I doubt that any of the survivors or relatives of the deceased travellers on this vehicle are at all interested in reading this thread and therefore the condolences posted are facile. Better that these people write to their respective governments to pressure them to exert political pressure on the Thai government to start governing!

Unfortunately true. I second this post.

However it is the nature of men to want to discuss the technical side of things.

Unless the car in question is really ancient, it will have a split-circuit braking ystem. The front hydraulic braking system will be separate from the rear. If the seals deteriorate in the master cylinder, it is usually only on one circuit that they go. So you have either front brakes only, or rear only.

For there to be "vapour lock" due to overheating of the brakes, they would have to be using very poor-quality brake fluid.

The most likely explanation is that he veered due to inattention / inexperience and hit the other car, but a thorough examination of the steering and braking should be done first. It's a bit hard to prove vapour-lock in hindsight though. I doubt that they have facilities in this country for testing he quality of the brake fluid. So rather difficult to apportion blame if nothing more obvious is found.

[George4]

All accidents are unnecessary and can be avoided with extra care but the speculation on here is a disgrace. None of which is any consolation to those involved.

To be honest I have never come across so many ignorant know it all people in all my life.

He should have done this, he should have done that, he was going too fast the car wasn't serviced properly.

Unbelievable reaction from educated adults who seem more interested in Thai bashing than they do passing on sincere condolences.

We all know Thailand has more than it's fair share of accident, actually they are 72 in world listing out of 180 world so it's very easy to have a go.

It's the system to blame not the individual and anyone who has sat a Thai driving test will know exactly what I mean.

[topsecret]

For "lose control" read "bad driving".

I usually go down that hill, and steeper ones, in 2nd gear in my pickup. Didn't the driver know you are supposed to use the engine as a brake?

Drop the gear and handbrake on. Very sad but due to improper training rather than careless driving.

[jimbo38]

It's the system to blame not the individual and anyone who has sat a Thai driving test will know exactly what I mean.

It is NOT the "system". It IS the individual!!!! On the same roads that the tour vans speed excessively most of the rest of the traffic is driving sensibly and courteously. Thais know how to drive safely as well as anyone else. It's just that the "hire" drivers seem to think that they are immune to the rules of safe driving.

[hhiser]

For "lose control" read "bad driving".

I usually go down that hill, and steeper ones, in 2nd gear in my pickup. Didn't the driver know you are supposed to use the engine as a brake?

No, there is almost no such thing as driver's education. You would hope the people who are employed as driver's would have to go through some course on how to drive and not just learn how to shift gears. But after having been on many buses, songtoas, tuk tuks, etc. I know that they do not receive extra training, just have to pay more after they fail their driver's test!

[neverdie]

they pay him approx. 500 baht per day[/b] and he has to share the tips. He knows how to start the vehicle, put it in gear and go forward and backward.. what else does he need to know.. driving experience, pshhhh ... safety measures, pshhh... are you kidding.. you ever met a Thai man who didn't know how to drive...

He's probably actually being paid half of what you said, if not less per day.

[Navalator]

Just what is going on with Phuket these days? Seems like every 3 or 4 days a tourist dies there.

I have just returned from Phuket and in my opinion it is a shit hole. The Tuk Tuk thugs, jet ski thugs, over priced restaurant thugs, double pricing souvenir shop thugs and taxi thugs have turned a paradise into a swamp.

What terrible public relations for a country that depends upon tourism. I am advising my friends not to visit nor waste their money in Phuket. Kho Phe Phe is not far behind in becoming a cess pool as well.

[NedKelly]

There is a vague recollection that the same operator had the same accident just a few years back on the way up the big hill in Phuket where they have elephants and other tourist activities...........some pax injured but no deats I cn recall.....?

[happyinkathu]

All accidents are unnecessary and can be avoided with extra care but the speculation on here is a disgrace. None of which is any consolation to those involved.

To be honest I have never come across so many ignorant know it all people in all my life.

He should have done this, he should have done that, he was going too fast the car wasn't serviced properly.

Unbelievable reaction from educated adults who seem more interested in Thai bashing than they do passing on sincere condolences.

We all know Thailand has more than it's fair share of accident, actually they are 72 in world listing out of 180 world so it's very easy to have a go.

It's the system to blame not the individual and anyone who has sat a Thai driving test will know exactly what I mean.

So very true and i said the same when they first started posting their cr#p on here

Please RESPECT the victims and open another thread for your generalising Thai bashing comments, or to show your ''expertise'' on land rover..Wake up to your selves, put yourself in a victims place and see how you would react!!!

Once again, to all victims in this unfortuanate incident...My deepest sympathies to you all, and to my deceased country man..RIP

[NedKelly]

When you drive toyota troopy you can engage the gears and let the thing take itself down steep declines without using brakes.........perhaps they should reconsider their safety policy !

[webfact]

Phuket Governor visits Aussie accident victims

Dressed in formal attire, Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop (in white) meets one young victim of the accident in the Nakkerd Hills yesterday morning.

PHUKET: Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop rushed to Bangkok Hospital Phuket yesterday afternoon to comfort the 26-year-old widow of the young Australian killed in a jeep crash on Big Buddha Hill today.

Gov Wichai told Aimee Malonzo, who married her husband Michael just a week ago, how sorry he was for her loss.

The governor offered Mrs Malonzo and the other survivors ‘all the help they need from Phuket’.

He also pledged to tell island tourist businesses to be more careful, especially on the hill that claimed Michael’s life.

Mrs Malonzo, who works as a dance teacher in Camden, dislocated her hip in the accident.

“My parents are flying here for me,” she said, holding back tears.

“They’ll arrive in Phuket tomorrow and stay with me. The doctors say I can fly home after a week in hospital.”

Some of the eight other Australian passengers were also injured.

Brothers Tylar and Tori Giles, aged 11 and 14 respectively, sustained head and chest injuries.

The hospital will keep them under observation.

Dannet Roberts, 49, is undergoing surgery for a broken shoulder bone and ear injury.

Damrong Tiamsameu, the 36-year-old driver of the jeep, and local elephant trainer Uthai Nhaichaona were also injured in the accident.

-- Phuket Gazette 2010-01-16

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[Sabre]

And couldnt grab the handbrake ??

Yet again, slipshod attitudes to servicing and maintenance causes loss of life.. Same like the boat sinkings etc..

Wouldn't it be nice if for one in your life you left your GRANDSTANDING out of it and offered commisserations first?!! OMG man!!

You need to take a long hard look at yourself bud..

A very sad and tragic incident and even more so when on honeymoon..RIP]

You're so right. I HATE it when people grandstand first, and then commiserate later. Disgusting. Totally, a new low. I'm sickened.

Oh yeah ... RIP.

[Garry]

Video taken of the accident site. Apologies if its already been posted

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories...and_417990.html

[mickba]

Its also an older model as i can see it has free wheeling hubs on the front so obviously..............................

The only obvious thing I saw was that it's a File Photo' i.e. not the one in the crash.

So you and the other Landie Anoraks are probably wasting your time and space on here debating its door handles, windows, free wheeling hubs and chassis length. Perhaps a different thread?

Is there no photo'of the wreck out yet?

Oops - just saw the post above mine - off you go then.............

Edited January 16, 2010 by mickba

[thaiozy]

Yeh ok all over the news here in oz,

So all this brake stuff, in gearboxes ect. so if not in gear surley the pedal brake works. but he heard a big bang maybe the tail shaft broke leaving him free falling & paniced

[sunray69]

Sincere condolences for the family of the victim...

[Atmos]

For now, my thoughts are with the families of all those injured and particularly the surviving wife, truly tragic.

None of us know the facts; i live on the slopes of BB hill, not far from where accident occurred, and we had been photographing elephants by the crash site early yesterday morning. We see the SS jeeps go past every day. I'm very aware how steep it is and the dreadful condition the road is in - I run it as well as take the scooter up. Doesn't make me any kind of expert on why this accident occurred.

Easy to criticise Thai drivers - there's not a bad ex-pat driver on the road is there, who ignores the rules? Or are all posters here oh-so-perfect?

Criticise the construction/design and maintenance of that LandRover - easy!

Another 70 posts and we'll have it solved, for sure!

[happyinkathu]

For now, my thoughts are with the families of all those injured and particularly the surviving wife, truly tragic.

None of us know the facts; i live on the slopes of BB hill, not far from where accident occurred, and we had been photographing elephants by the crash site early yesterday morning. We see the SS jeeps go past every day. I'm very aware how steep it is and the dreadful condition the road is in - I run it as well as take the scooter up. Doesn't make me any kind of expert on why this accident occurred.

Easy to criticise Thai drivers - there's not a bad ex-pat driver on the road is there, who ignores the rules? Or are all posters here oh-so-perfect?

Criticise the construction/design and maintenance of that LandRover - easy!

Another 70 posts and we'll have it solved, for sure!

[Screws]

Easy to criticise Thai drivers - there's not a bad ex-pat driver on the road is there, who ignores the rules? Or are all posters here oh-so-perfect?

Criticise the construction/design and maintenance of that LandRover - easy!

Another 70 posts and we'll have it solved, for sure!

All the commiserations in the world will do nothing to reduce the chance of a repeat event. Trying to determine the actual cause might.

Did you see poster slinging off at discussions of vehicle mechanics - then starts discussing the mechanics of government, himself!

[MiG16]

polite requests have been made to leave discussions of the causes, who is to blame etc out of this thread.

Im going to ask that again. any further comments along that line will be deleted, and likely earn a warning.

if you wish to discuss road safety issues in general, I suggest to start a thread for that purpose. I know that an untimely loss of life will bring out all sorts of emotions in each of us, but seriously, this is NOT the place to air your anger.

please keep in mind that family and friends of the deceased and injured could likely be reading this. please show respect.

regards, and speedy recovery to those affected.

[sqrz]

Honeymoon tragedy ... Michael Malonzo, pictured with wife Aimee, was killed in Thailand.

A Sydney woman whose husband was killed in a four-wheel-drive accident on their honeymoon in Thailand said he died while trying to shield her from harm.

Aimee and Michael Malonzo were in the vehicle with seven other Australian tourists and two Thai guides when their local driver hit a parked car on a bend on Friday morning. The vehicle plunged 10 metres down an embankment. Mr Malonzo died instantly.

"The last thing that Michael did was just embrace me in the car," Mrs Malonzo told The Sun-Herald yesterday from her bed at Bangkok Hospital Phuket, where she is being treated for a fractured pelvis. "He's just the type of person to worry that I'm safe. He just cuddled me and said, 'Aimz, be careful.' That was the last thing that he said to me.

The Camden couple, both 26, had been on their fantasy honeymoon: riding elephants, shopping and island hopping, with plans to go to Phi Phi yesterday.

Mrs Malonzo, a dance teacher, said she was still in shock. "[My injury is] very painful. But the worst thing is I can't be by Michael's side. I just want to see him."

The pair had been together for eight years. Mr Malonzo, worked for ANZ Bank and was a bodybuilding champion.

- Sydney Morning Herald

[Nio]

"Mrs Malonzo believed the driver missed a gear change or the gear slipped on a steep descent. " (from Sydney Morning Herald)

I have seen this happen 100 times in Thailand but not resulting in catastrophy

It appears many Thai drivers have problems when either descending or ascending a steep hill to shift the gear properly

My Moo Ban entrance is up a steep bridge

I cannot count how many vehicles make the left turn and either get caught between gears or else the vehicle starts rolling backwards

I have learned if it is a large truck to simply wait on the main road until I can be assured the truck will make it up the grade without rolling back

[moetownblues]

A Sydney newlywed has spoke of how her she embraced her husband just before he died in a car crash on their honeymoon in Thailand.

Aimee and Michael Malonzo were in a vehicle with seven other Australian tourists and two Thai guides when the car crashed into a parked vehicle and fell 10 metres down an embankment.

Mr Malonzo died almost instantly. His new wife is being treated in Bangkok Hospital Pucket for a fracture pelvis, the Sun Herald newspaper reports.

"The last thing that Michael did was just embrace me in the car," Mrs Malonzo told the newspaper.

"He's just the type of person to worry that I'm safe. He just cuddled me and said, 'Aimz, be careful.' That was the last thing that he said to me.

The couple, both aged 26, had been enjoying their “dream honeymoon” shopping and swimming on Thailand's southern islands when the deadly accident occurred.

Mrs Malonzo, a dance teacher, had been with Mr Malonzo, an ANZ bank employee, for eight years.

They were married on January 9 after a two-year engagement.

Mrs Malonzo said she was still in shock.

"[My injury is] very painful. But the worst thing is I can't be by Michael's side. I just want to see him."