Eight People Killed In Grisly Bangkok Tollway Accident

[random]

unfortunately right across Asia people drive their vehicles like kids who have just passed their test, showing off and having something to prove.

...and kids in non-Asian countries don't drive crazy? Kids in all countries drive like maniacs. It's hard work to keep them under control anywhere they drive.

in your haste to defend thailand and asia you seem to have completely missed the point of the post that you quoted. Well done.

[Neonben]

Just to clear up thats what i meant, Asian's drive their vehicles like kids who have just passed their test, regardless of where they come from.

unfortunately right across Asia people drive their vehicles like kids who have just passed their test, showing off and having something to prove.

...and kids in non-Asian countries don't drive crazy? Kids in all countries drive like maniacs. It's hard work to keep them under control anywhere they drive.

Edited December 28, 2010 by Neonben

[JackSterling]

My wife was killed by a drunk driver in 1973 after only 2 years of marriage..

I never found another quite like her.. I will never forget her.. I carry her in my thoughts daily..

May all rest in peace .. and to all the families never forget them..

[GM1955]

Two things:

Seat belts

Law-enforcement

actually you can make that ONE thing "education"

In the USA there are over 40,000 Road Deaths every year, is that down to lack of education too ?

[bangkokcitylimits]

Well judging by the photos "a good day out was had by all" and the accident ( hardly an accident for sure) made a dull day for the spectators much more exciting, of course all of them left thinking they must drive more responsibly.

Im sorry Thai drivers in the majority are IDIOTS and YES I am generalising and YES about Thais.

Truly, this nation has no future.

Edited December 28, 2010 by bangkokcitylimits

[ableguy]

Two things:

Seat belts

Law-enforcement

Also a third , avoid useing these death traps , I live in Hua Hin and when ever freinds visit I refuse to let them use these vans, I drive to the airport and pick them up a 6 hour round trip but at least I know I will get to see them walking and not in a shroud, all you recent residents be aware they are death traps, also I have no faith in the big buses as on a recent trip to the airport going we passed a bus on its side the cab had been minced all the windows gone, lo and behold on the trip back home passed another one in the same state, avoid them like the plague.

[BigBikeBKK]

All I can say is that I loath all drivers of all public vehicles.

What utter nonsense. You're painting with a pretty wide brush there, aren't you?

I drive all over this country and have noticed that in Thailand, as in every other country in the world, there are good drivers and there are bad drivers.

What's missing in Thailand is law enforcement to remove the bad drivers from the road.

As long as the Thai traffic police remain corrupt and ineffective I see no reason to expect anything to change.

Condolences to the poor victims of this terrible accident.

RIP

[ableguy]

Rest in peace. Horrific accident also in Korat Saturday. Sympathy to the families. In God we trust.

Yes of course, "Sympathy to the families" and to the survivors for the lifelong burden of horror they must endure.

"In God we trust" .. this is about burry your head in the sand, and relieve yourself of responsibility.

With great trepedation I have used those vans between Nakhon Sawan and Bkk. I am horrified by the speeds they fly at, and knew that I would see an accicident soon. An so it has come to pass.

SPEED KILLS !!!

When will the $hit-for-brains 'authorities' do something about it, and the shit-for-brains drivers take heed?

When I am asked how far North of Bkk my village is, I say "Approx 3 hours drive" .. or ... " 2 hours 'pod racing' in the vans". So what price do we pay for saving that hour? Today's news is the answer. But for as long as there is vested interest in speeding, with only the risk of death when something goes horribly wrong, the hazzard will remain. You need to hit Thais where it hurts most in this land of superficial Buddhism, > the wallet. And for the foreigner who speeds > the wallet and the Visa, with expulsion for serious offences and repeated minor offenses. And I mean expulsion with no chance of return.

"In God we trust"? .. no thanks. I'd rather see something real, like tightly controlled speed limits.

Don't agree, it isn't speed that kills.

As for telling the Thai's how to run their affairs, let us not forget that it is us (the ex-pats) that elected to embrace their way of life.

Are the roads dangerous, for sure and I hate to see meaningless loss of life, it is down to everyone to take care...Merry Christmas

Speed does not kill eh ? wow I am glad to know that just curious to know where you picked this theory from, if you got this info at a plce of education suggest you ask for your money back.

[sausageandmash]

I have a truck. I'll take you next time. Don't know why I didn't think of this before.

For anyone that has taken one of those mini-vans this scenario can be all too real. The other day I had to have myself and all the other passengers converse with the driver just to keep him awake. This was when it was just getting dark and I was seeing the driver's eyes starting to close. Obviously it worked out ok.

Rest in Peace passengers. Very sad.

.....oh' yes... if ever I can avoid using their services I will... Visa-Runs...

Irresponsible ego-maniac-caffeine-taurin freaks, who think they can do "it all"... if only a very small thing goes wrong.... well, end of the story!

[xtr3mx7]

People who drive rashly should be banned from driving.

The traffic regulations should be very harsh, e.g. if getting caught driving crazily, get the licensed removed and blacklisted forever from driving. If getting caught driving with a valid license, 10 years imprisonment with hefty fines. The thing here is the authorities are too laxed and you know what I mean... $$

I've seen drivers in Thailand don't even have the consciousness of the heavy responsibility of being a driver. They just drove as if these people life ain't worth anything.

Anyhow, RIP and sincere sympathy for the families and friends.

[BigBikeBKK]

Two things:

Seat belts

Law-enforcement

actually you can make that ONE thing "education"

In the USA there are over 40,000 Road Deaths every year, is that down to lack of education too ?

Well, there are certainly a lot of morons in the US with drivers licenses...

You don't have to be intelligent or be a good driver to get behind the wheel in the US.

No different from Thailand really except that in the US the police might actually ticket you and eventually take away your license if you are a dangerous driver.

[alexboy]

Why all this "Thai bashing again"? it is just an accident and it can happen anywhere!

[vahack]

i cant believe how many lunatics are starting to flood this forum. i thought Immigration was cleaning these crazies out of Thailand.

* stop the murder? speed kills? its Thailand's fault?

give me a break. this is daily in every country, including the clean hi-so west. i saw lots of dead stupid people in the US when i was a firefighter. vehicle death happens a lot more in LA every day than it does in all of Thailand. they just don't put dead bodies on the front of USA Today.

* in god we trust?

i dont normally say it, but that clown is in the wrong country.

* mini-vans are dangerous?

not all of them. if u have a crazy driver and you dont have the balls to tell your driver to slow down, or u aren't brave enough to get out at the next gas station, then you put this risk on yourself. i fired a driver halfway to Pattaya one day because he wouldn't slow down. we waited a few hours and eventually secured another ride. survival of the fittest. if u put your life in the hands of a crazy driver then u are obviously not the fittest. there will always be another van. come to think of it, there will always be another life too

thx for the photos. as Dexter would say, awesome blood trails.

[BigBikeBKK]

People who drive rashly should be banned from driving.

The traffic regulations should be very harsh, e.g. if getting caught driving crazily, get the licensed removed and blacklisted forever from driving. If getting caught driving with a valid license, 10 years imprisonment with hefty fines. The thing here is the authorities are too laxed and you know what I mean... $

I've seen drivers in Thailand don't even have the consciousness of the heavy responsibility of being a driver. They just drove as if these people life ain't worth anything.

Where are you from? Sounds like you would like Thailand to become a police state like most of the West? No thanks! :jap:

My friends and I love the freedom to drive and ride at whatever speed we like here in Thailand.

Sure, there are more road hazards than back home, but the FREEDOM to do whatever we like (within reason) is one of the biggest attractions Thailand has to offer.

Let the Good Times ROLL!

Tony

[Wossnext]

Dear God! what a horrendous scene, I used the link to view the pictures and then the next thing I did was to email my wife at work to tell her that we will not ever use those mini vans again for a low cost weekend away. I too like the another poster have sat in those vans too many times enduring a white knuckle ride whilst the driver erratically swaps lanes at a 120k's with one hand on the wheel and the other on his cellphone!! I should also add that I was disgusted with the amount of exposure the dead bodies were given to the general public for photo opportunities <deleted>!! maybe I dont have the facts quite right about that but that is how it looked.

I confess to enjoying speed immensely but it must be controlled to some degree, and this type of speed is about as uncontrolled as you could ever hope to get. I have a million ideas and thoughts in my head about the various traffic management and road policing systems I have witnessed over the years, back home in the UK I hated the zillion cameras and endless police patrol cars that were always watching you (made it very hard to speed) and again in the USA and NZ cameras and Police cars everywhere, all fitted with highly sophisticated detection and information systems. Well, maybe it is time to review my attitude to all this effort and expense expended in the pursuit of keeping the death toll down on the roads in western countries, not forgetting revenue collecting! but we wont go into that now.

I have only just stopped thinking about that other horrendous crash with the minivan a short while ago nr Chaeng Wattana, and now here we are again! for goodness sake let's bring in some regulations to deal with these idiot wannabe boy racers. Yeh yeh I know easier said than done, Rome wasn't built in a day either so if the authorities do actually care about this situation can they not at least send out some teams from the dept of transport with police escorts to breath test these drivers before they pull out and maybe a licence check too. Of course if the authorities do not really care then ok as plenty of people have already said simply remove the risk for yourself by not using them.

I am all hyped up and redy to rant about this subject, but hell what's the point, this is Thailand right! this is how it is and most likely will be for sometime to come. I still like it here and will resist complaining too much about it because my home country is no paradise isle either and has plenty of things wrong with it. Maybe the Thai authorities should adopt a Police exchange program with some of the EU countries, could you imagine that......maybe not.

[Colabamumbai]

Im sorry Thai drivers in the majority are IDIOTS and YES I am generalising and YES about Thais.

The problem is one of enforcement and education, not of driving and mental capacity. In any country they will drive like this if laws aren't strictly enforced and even then serious accidents still occur.

The cops in Thailand spend too much time scamming for money and aren't concerned about the carnage.

Driving my motorcycle I actually turn and look at the lanes beside me before making a move, I have never seen a Thai do this they rely only on their mirrors.

[Deeral]

I take it no-one was wearing a seat belt.trying to suggest that one or other of the drivers is to blame is a simplistic attitude and a pretty pointless exercise - anyone who has any driving experience at all will no that most "incidents" are the result of shared blame

[a51mas]

Well judging by the photos "a good day out was had by all" and the accident ( hardly an accident for sure) made a dull day for the spectators much more exciting, of course all of them left thinking they must drive more responsibly.

Im sorry Thai drivers in the majority are IDIOTS and YES I am generalising and YES about Thais.

Truly, this nation has no future.

Please enlighten us about your wonderful homeland.

[bangkokcitylimits]

Maipenrai, the backbone of society, so who cares ?

Not even the family of the victims because they drive the same.

(the only thing that's always reviewed and up-to-date are visa- and immigration rules, the rest will stay the same, forever)

[bangkokcitylimits]

Dear God! what a horrendous scene, ..................... (shortened)

Beautiful typo however !

[bangkokcitylimits]

Please enlighten us about your wonderful homeland.

Why always defending Thais/Thailand whatever the facts ? Are you maipenrayed too ?

Have a nice day, I go enjoy the rest of the day with a smile and enough of those TV discussions for today (and maybe for the rest of the week too)

God bless you.

Edited December 28, 2010 by bangkokcitylimits

[BigBikeBKK]

I take it no-one was wearing a seat belt.trying to suggest that one or other of the drivers is to blame is a simplistic attitude and a pretty pointless exercise - anyone who has any driving experience at all will no that most "incidents" are the result of shared blame

Did you see the pictures? I don't think seatbelts would have made much difference...

[BigBikeBKK]

Truly, this nation has no future.

Yet you choose to live here. Interesting...

[a51mas]

Please enlighten us about your wonderful homeland.

Why always defending Thais/Thailand whatever the facts ? Are you maipenrayed too ?

Have a nice day, I go enjoy the rest of the day with a smile and enough of those TV discussions for today (and maybe for the rest of the week too)

God bless you.

Please enlighten us about your wonderful homeland.

[webfact]

Eight Killed in Van Tragedy

Eight people were killed and seven were left seriously injured in a car accident on an elevated highway in Bangkok yesterday.

On Monday night, a white Honda Civic slammed into the back of a passenger van on the Don Muang Tollway, killing eight people and injuring six.

An initial investigation suggests that after the collision, the van's doors popped open, and the passengers were flung from the five meter high tollway on to a pedestrian bridge and canal below.

Police said the driver of the car, an 18 year old woman, was among those injured.

They added that they are working to identify the bodies of the victims who perished in the crash.

The site of the crash was between Kasetsart University and the Office of Atoms for Peace.

-- Tan Network 2010-12-28

[theanimaster]

I'm speechless. Our family occasionally makes these long trips and we hire these van drivers. Granted, there is always one of us (on the Thai side of the family) in front chatting with the driver. The last driver we had was alright. He drove at a moderate speed, but I can't help thinking of what those people must've went through -- what me and my family could possibly be facing if we are unlucky enough to have the wrong driver.

Well, fortunately my sister in law does the planning and chooses wisely... But I'm still going to be bringing up this news with the wife (if she hasn't already seen it).

We have 3 cars btw, but on long trips with lots of people we hire em vans.

RIP to the victims and I hope the survivors can cope with the emotional shit that follows. That can't be too easy.

[smiling mantis]

In the past week here in Chiang Mai I've see...

Yeah, I'm in Chiang Mai now but I'm getting out, and it's because of the drivers. Was originally considering staying here because of the condo glut. Now I see why there is a glut.

It's like everybody here has a death wish. And as a pedestrian, you are at their mercy.

[cleakyboi]

I take it no-one was wearing a seat belt.trying to suggest that one or other of the drivers is to blame is a simplistic attitude and a pretty pointless exercise - anyone who has any driving experience at all will no that most "incidents" are the result of shared blame

Did you see the pictures? I don't think seatbelts would have made much difference...

Although if they were wearing seatbelts the 8 who died after being thrown out of the vehicle would probably not have been (when the doors opened whilst the an was 5 meters in the air). Their bodies probably wouldnt have to have been taken from hanging off public flyovers and picked out the nearby canal. At least if they remained in the van they would of had more chance of surviving like the 7 who did mange to survive inside the van.

Horrible way to go

R.I.P to the victims

[jcartermad]

I have used Mini Buses severl times. Living in Roi-Et and with weddings / funerals all over the place, the family does need 12 seaters from time to time. Without exception i have been frightened to death in these vehicles. They have they potential for high speed and their drivers make full use of them! I only know or have experience one fitted with belts. That driver drove carefully, we felt safe and he and his van were the exception. One nightmare trip was recently experienced. I flew into BKK from England via Dubai. We left the airport at around 9.00pm for the 7 hour drive to Roi-Et. Just past Korat my wife and I were awoken by an almightly clonk on the nearside / left side of the vehicle at the front. T though he had hit a kerb but thinking about it that would have flipped us at speed. My wife thinks that the driver hit a person, animal or scooter / bike. Either way the driver carried straight on. We were not sure if he had left a person or animal injured or indeed dead! We stayed awake for the rest of the way. The driver was clearly falling alseep and weaiving from side to side. I offered to drive but he refused. At one stage i said to my wife "lets get out and take our changes at a fuel stop." Her view said no lets carry on. We did but it was the most frightening drive ever taken. I was a wreck when i got home and could not sleep thinking about the impact. The driver did not help unload the minibus...he just stayed near the point of impact...surely hiding his crime. I agree...take the plane. Come back PB Airways!

[sstuff3]

I totally agree with the moron theory, very sad for the passengers but based on the theory that if you gave millions monkeys typewriters and enough time you'll have the works of Shakespere, if you gave millions of monkeys vehicles in a relatively short amount of time they'll start driving like this and killing one another.

A truly grim story.

R.I.P.

here are some pictures of the accident, only look if you are not easily upset, especially at the poor guy hanging from the bridge

http://newsreport.tr...og2/entry/24679

judging by how those van drivers act on a daily basis the assumption that he has some blame for the accident would not surprise me, every day when I drive to work, and on my return journey, I run the gauntlet of these morons.

Condolences to all the families involved. I believe a similar accident (if that's what one wants to call these) happened a month or so ago which killed about 8-9 people in BKK after the van plunged from the elevated highway near Rama 5 Road. Education and enforcement are the only things that will stop this..... and an increased "value of life" in Thailand. By the looks of this guy in the picture, I would say he has no business working (or volunteering) in the paramedic field. Imagine if this was your family member's body in front of him.... how would you feel? Sickening, really......

May the deceased rest in peace and the injured fully recover quickly.

Edited December 28, 2010 by sstuff3