Aussie Killed In Phuket Truck Plunge

[LivinLOS]

I am not at all surprised. What with all of the bad press about jet ski thugs, the Tuk Tuk Mafia and the beatings of foreigners, too many murders, etc, it does appear that Phuket is a dangerous place to choose for a holiday. It was not always like this.....it used to be a true tropical paradise.

But all of these unacceptable incidents only goes to show what happens to a resort when the authorities derelict their duties. They have constantly decided, despite the daily clamour of protest, not to impose even the most basic of controls for safety and security for their tourist guests on the island. The more the authorities step back and do nothing the more the thugs and cowboys will take over. The more the authorities will become like the thugs they live off.

For sure, ALL public service vehicles should be checked....safari Jeeps, Tuk Tuk;s, taxis, buses, etc.

But unfortunately, the skimmers at the top who live off turning a blind eye would no doubt use theses vehicle check centres to fill their pockets and allow wrecks back on the roads with their certificate proudly displayed on their cracked windscreen..

Agreed.. Its nothing to do with grandstanding .. And everything to do with just small elements of responsibility.

[kennalder]

Poor sod. Can't begin to think what his wife will be feeling.

Wonder how much compensation the life of an Aussie is worth these days ? Bt100,000 ?

The point raised about the seatbelt is valid but I've been in those situations, you've booked the day before, the vehicle turns up and you feel you don't want to go with it but that would cause all kinds of seemingly big problems and then you just go with it and hope for the best. Until we refuse or better still make a point of refusing to book if safety is not taken seriously, then these types of "accidents" will continue.

Best response I have seen so far. Every darn Songthaew driver and tuk-tuk driver I have ever seen is on a hel_l-bent mission to nowhere. Put these same people in charge of serving a customer in a restaurant and they will sit on their lazy a*s's until well into tomorrow. Put them behind the wheel and all of a sudden they want to get in a G'dam hurry! I followed a tour bus down Doi Suthep one night and watched in horror as the driver over-steered 3-4 times. I will never ride in any kind of bus with a Thai driver again. I would rather ride my Honda scooter 500 miles than trust my life to one of these drivers.

The Aussie's life is worth next to nothing. Sorry to say it, but no-ones life is worth anything here. When you come to Thailand, you remove around 5 years from your life expectancy. Plain and simple. What you gain in return is great weather and a cheap lifestyle. Each of us has to weigh the risks-benefits. Sometimes you benefit, sometimes you don't. My commiserations to his family.

[kjhbigv]

Very sad, RIP young man

Could the 'bang' reported in the OP be the vehicle slipping out of gear (common in older manual boxes when on over-run), result is a vehicle that very quickly gets away from the driver, if the brakes aren't perfect you're not stopping

Very sad especially for his new wife he has left behind....what a nightmare for her.

I reckon you could be right, slips out of gear, steep hill, fair bit of weight in the back....woud pick up momentum pretty quick and if you don't get it back in gear quick, I reckon panic could set in real quick.

[Screws]

Older Land Rovers don't have a hand brake as most cars do, they have a transmission brake, which if were to be used whilst the vehicle is in motion, would not be safe (or sensible).

Right - transmission brake. Wrong - not safe in motion. Actually can be safer in motion as retarding torque is applied equally to rear wheels. NOT to one wheel.

Also safer again because completely independent from (hydraulic) foot brake system.

It is not the same as a transmission brake (park) on an automatic which simply locks up the transmission - which has no energy absorbing capacity like a drum or disc brake.

Landrovers have hand brakes.

[mythBuster]

They have to arrest the driver for careless driving.... Just like in the petrol truck in Bangkok a decennium ago. Even though the driver was just doing his job and the tank came of the truck firebombing and entire community, the company had nothing to fear. It is about time they look into the causes of an accident, if brakes fail, gear is messed up or whatever they should determine where the blame lies. Accidents happen but accusing an driver just because they want to show another crooked statistic, being solved cases it sucks! It sucks for the driver and it sucks for the victims and their family who have the right to know what really happened.

The blame game has already started.

[kennalder]

Very sad especially for his new wife he has left behind....what a nightmare for her.

I reckon you could be right, slips out of gear, steep hill, fair bit of weight in the back....woud pick up momentum pretty quick and if you don't get it back in gear quick, I reckon panic could set in real quick.

Oh Pha-lease! Quit making excuses for bad driving by ill-trained drivers! Next you are going to say all the trash by the roadside slipped off a truck on the way to a dump. These drivers are totally reckless on the road and need to be prosecuted. The sooner the Thai police start enforcing road rules the better it will be for Thailand. The more desirable tourists don't want to come to a lawless land.

[ultime]

R.I.P

All my condoleance for his wife, familly and friends, he was so young and just married that's so sad.

[tingtongfarang]

Older Land Rovers don't have a hand brake as most cars do, they have a transmission brake, which if were to be used whilst the vehicle is in motion, would not be safe (or sensible).

Right - transmission brake. Wrong - not safe in motion. Actually can be safer in motion as retarding torque is applied equally to rear wheels. NOT to one wheel.

Also safer again because completely independent from (hydraulic) foot brake system.

It is not the same as a transmission brake (park) on an automatic which simply locks up the transmission - which has no energy absorbing capacity like a drum or disc brake.

Landrovers have hand brakes.

It would only apply equal braking to both rear wheels if there was a difflock engaged on the rear axle and also on both front wheels if it had an engaged difflock on the front axle and 4x4 turned engaged,

Its also an older model as i can see it has free wheeling hubs on the front so obviously its not permanent 4x4, btw way the 90.110,127,130 does,nt denote the year of manufacture but only the wheel base,

[christhenation]

The Thai driver said truck's brakes failed, causing him to lose control of the vehicle, which flipped over in the accident.

And couldnt grab the handbrake ??

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

i'm consistently confused by a large majority of the posters on this site. it was an accident - they happen. it's not just to think 'thailand' or 'thai people' are automatically at fault for the accident. hand brakes or 2nd gear is secondary to the reality that - in tough situations - normal humans lose the ability to think clearly and rationally; asian people are no different in this regard than non-asians. some of you might do a scan of your birth country's newspapers to investigate the number and causes of vehicle accidents and see that, each day, regardless of nationality or race, people die due to accidents.

[moskito]

I see these drivers nearly every day, driving like Evil Knivel, King of the roads. Everything fine as long as nothing happends. Obviously he never heard of handbrake and using lower gears to bring the car to a stop, btw. there is always another side to the downhill.......

RIP Aussi, my condoleces to his wife, Family and friends

[lioness]

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..

Would be nice if all the rest of you anti ,everything-thai brigade, didn't use this sad time in the same disgusting way as linlos has.

A new low has been reached IMO.

Well said. I couldn't have put it better myself.

Very sad, may the young man RIP, my thoughts are with his wife and family.

Hope the other accident victims recover.

[Scott]

My deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the deceased, most especially the wife. It is so very sad when people embarking on the beginning of their life together, get cut short.

My thoughts are with those that are injured and I hope they make a complete and speedy recovery.

[NamSod]

Anyone who has been with a hired driver in Asia knows that they are careless AND reckless. My family and I narrowly escaped a horrible accident when our driver (large van) was driving 145 KPH (90+mph) and had a very difficult time stopping for traffic but luckily was able to swerve away at the last moment. I came close to beating the sh*t out of him.

[LivinginKata]

Please lets have some respect for the family and lets not have TV members start bitching about about the mechanics and blame for this accident. Lets all leave that for another day.

Please use this topic to pay your respects to the surviving new wife and family, thank you.

RIP

[featography]

Very sad, RIP young man

Could the 'bang' reported in the OP be the vehicle slipping out of gear (common in older manual boxes when on over-run), result is a vehicle that very quickly gets away from the driver, if the brakes aren't perfect you're not stopping

That would be my guess too, drawing on 28yrs professional truck driving, and prior to that, owning such old trucks with manual transmissions...

[Stone]

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

After 15 years in Thailand this is just another story how dangerous it is to get on Thais trafficked roads.

This is not only in Phuket.

This will most probably never change, and we will have many thousands more stories like this.

Tourists may should be warned how dangerous it is to be on a road where vehicles are moving here.

Thailand is and will be one off the third world countries when it comes to roads, quality and standard for ever.

I love this country and hope live my life out here. I can cope with the standards here, but most tourists can't.

Have been sending home several friends in tin and zinc boxes after traffic jammed; have been close a dozen times my self. But it still don’t stop me traveling bye those roads.

Hurts me to hear that a young man on his honeymoon was killed, my thoughts to everyone who are hurted regarding this tragic accident, and his wife that her life have changed so dramatically rest off her life.

[crazygreg44]

My deepest condolences to the bride and the family of the deceased, may he rest in peace.

It is sad , and what can we do, these accidents happen anywhere in the world. I think the driver did what he was supposed to do in this situation . . downhill and brakes giving up on them . .hitting the vehicle up front . . and sadly, the maneuver failed.

There should be no specific "Thai-bashing" in this topic . . . inexperienced drivers are world-abound and mistakes or wrong maneuvers happen to all of us in a critical situation.

To the few here who wail about the reckless driving of most Thais in daily traffic. . yes it looks like it is true, but as far as I have experienced, there is a self-efficient driving style which helps anyone pass you without scratching any dent into your vehicle, on the assumption that you drive like them - in a constant flow uninterrupted unlike one of them - and that you are as "reckless" as they are, hitherto your actions can be accounted for. It sems that Thais must actually believe in their amulets and so behave like trapez-artists on the roads. It really works and many are great drivers !

I must now tell my thing. On a minibus from Bangkok to Cha Am, I experienced something really hair raising. My driver was going Evil Knievel way, trusting through the traffic like a sword. Never ever slowing down, just maneuvering past slower vehicles. Something caught my attention, as this was a very unique driving style. My driver NEVER took the foot from the gas lever !!! When he had to slow the vehicle a bit in quite many situations, he Never ever let go ! Just stepped onto the brake while the other foot was still accelerating !! It actually slowed the minbus down , but I started wondering on how many brake pads this bus would use up during it's lifespan, and where and if our f&%$§ driver ever got taught on how to drive properly . . . I could almost not believe it !!!

[Jonathanpattaya]

Speculation abounds as usual.

Sincere condolences to the bride, family and friends.

[kgncc]

"Chalong Police Inspector Col Chana Sudtimas said, "We will have to arrest the driver for causing death by careless driving.

"He may have to spend as much as 10 years in jail, depending on what the judge decides," he added."

Without questioning the company and checking the vehicle for faults ???

I would guess going by the statements of the survivors.

poor man and family!

nothing will happen to the driver - i witnesses a thai man shoot a husband in front of his wife and kids and 100 people in a restaurant for a "lewd act" in the shared toilet after the murderers wife complained - the murded's wife accepted 200,000 baht from the murderer and avoided jail and arrest.

i see a local young lady back here after 6 months in jail after been arrested for drug dealing which originally was a 8 year sentence.

the injured will pay their medicals - the company will do nothing to assist - they signed the contract and accepted all responsibilities i bet...just like the rented motorbike been stolen back from the renter outside my hotel.

land of fake smiles !

[HughJampton]

very sad indeed.

[DickFarang]

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?

Indeed, even a child knows you have to use the engine as a brake when you drive in the mountains.

Even on automatic cars, you can change to a lower gear.

If you go down a hill in a high year and use your brakes all the time, your brakes risk to get hot and finally fail.

[DickFarang]

And couldnt grab the handbrake ??

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

A hand brake is not really an emergency brake, but rather a parking brake.

[Glynnski]

RIP my heart breaks for his new wife and his family. A sad loss indeed and I only hope his wife can come out the other side of this tragedy. It will take a long time, you are in my thoughts.

[khaowong1]

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?

He's a Thai driver.. they pay him approx. 500 baht per day 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...

[DickFarang]

No always put in neutral.

Put in neutral ?! To go faster ?!

[goggsie]

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!

[munmick]

One day i was driving my Izuzu pick up back to Chaing Mai fron Udon thanny,I felt tired and my Thai passenger said he would drive .He not use gears to go down hill just bakes,I never will go as a passenger again. My condolances to the Lady and familey

[thaitanic]

When I was in my teens I had my brakes fail on me when I was going down a very long steep hill. Despite passing my driving test, nobody had taught me to change down and use engine-braking for a long steep downhill, and I was too thick to work it out. When the brakes get to a certain temperature they literally just stop working, no matter how hard you press down on the pedal. That's a hel_l of a hill down from the Big Buddha. I came down it the other day and used plenty of very low gears. If you don't use engine-braking down there you could well get into brake temperature problems like I did. Pure speculation, but this may be what the driver means as his brakes failing, as opposed to a foot-to-the floor leakage type of failure.

[robanywhere]

sincerest condolences to the deceased, injured, and surviving bereaved...

driving a paying passenger vehicle (bus, limo, tourcar, etc) should require additional training and licensing. drivers should be held accountable for checking the state of their vehicle before they get behind the wheel at the start of every dutyshift or journey. driving licenses are too easy to get in thailand (i gave a friend three lessons, and she just passed for her auto license!).

i have had "professional" drivers the whole time i have lived in SE Asia 12 years, and few have any sensibility with regard to speed, braking, downshifting, headlamps, etc. only after my company puts them through smith system driving training and installs driver monitor devices do they finally become reliable safe drivers....

[Spoonman]