Five Phuket Tourists Die In Cha-Am Horror Crash

[Pib]

I have been riding the busses and vans in this country for 12-years and never seen the police steal from anyone at a checkpoint inspection. FYI the inspections are to check traveler ID's because inter province travel is restricted for the native population. Your post is pure ignorant speculation. Typical.

Interprovince travel is restricted for the native population...inspections are to check traveler ID? I don't know where you came up with that restricted interprovince travel idea...you can travel freely in Thailand. They police check for much more than possibly ID, which a Thai is suppose to carry all the time but many don't. When it comes to checkpoints, especially in Bangkok and the surrounding provinces, the checkpoints look for a whole variety of things especially on trucks carrying things (legal and illegal things to include drugs)...does the bill of laden appear to match what the truck is carrying otherwise that raises the chance of it being stolen goods, does the driver have a license and the correct type...is the license expired...is the roadtax sticker expired...the motorcycle driver is not wearing a helmet...the traffic police say you crossed some double line or did some other traffic violation when approaching the checkpoint...checking tailpipe emissions on large trucks...the list goes on and on. And yes, there are plenty of driver and police window chats where a couple hundred baht change hands to make everything OK.

[scotbeve]

White minivans in Thailand are death traps. Commute in one at your own peril. I found driving around Baghdad in a pick up less nerve racking.

May..... have mercy on thier souls. :jap:

If you do have to rent a mini-van, make sure you take either a baseball bat or cricket bat for the finer persuasion of "SLOW DOWN A_Rsehool!"

[Nisa]

Now I know. Everytime they say 'tourists', it includes EVERYONE. Every kind of traveler foreign or domestic, inbound or outbound. A thai traveler back from a Europe tour is also a 'tourist'. The tourism revenue does not necessarily mean it is money coming 'into' the country.

May the dead rest in peace.

I don't think too many place define a tourist as needing to originate in another country unless they are specifically speaking about foreign tourism.

[dude007]

Another tragic van accident. May all RIP. When will something be done to reign in these reckless van drivers???

Have you ever seen a minivan driver driving at the left side of the road (where he should drive?); even including the police minivans... !

Have you ever seen a minivan driver giving way when you approach from behind to overtake (and therefore you have to drive already very fast)!

and these two questions already give you a good idea of their driving style...

Re-educate them! Zero-tolerance should apply when they transport passengers...

[fstarbkk]

At 5:30AM there's a better than average chance that the driver was taking a little nap behind the wheel, hence no brake-marks on the road. Really makes me appreciate the stringent rules and draconian penalties governing commercial driving in the west.

Why would I entrust my life to a complete stranger who may be completely sleep-deprived, unskilled and desperate/ greedy enough to put my life at risk, to eke out a few extra baht?

[sandgroper2]

The thais arnt the only fools here, everybody has tried and found the minivan driver guilty, with no evidence whatsoever, nuff said.

Totally true , but after a long time in this country I have seen and observed those mini vans ..I drive in Thailand for nearly 20 years and often avoid accidents involving ....mini vans, some might be ok but the majority are nuts.

I was in a bus crash about 8 years ago, i saw the driver drop off to sleep, 4 people died. (thailand)

[rufanuf]

As ever this has proved to be an opportunity for idiots who know nothing of the circumstances, reporting or in fact even driving in Thailand, to air their prejudices.

There is NEVER only one person to blame in a road incident - blame if you really need it can be apportioned by percentage.

A bit of a contradiction there. You accuse people of being idiots and then come out with an idiotic statement.

A bus drove into my car on New Years Eve. The car was stopped at a set of red traffic lights when the bus drove into our car & a number of other cars at full speed.

There WAS only one person to blame in that road accident - the bus driver.

In that case the aportionment of blame might be 100/0.... but most mathmeticians would find that improbable....like Thailand itself...."your fault for being there!" some might say (not me!)

[spectre324]

Too bad he does not have an influential family with relatives in the police force, then he would walk away scott free.<br>  As I recall, the young lady who slammed in the back of the mini van in Bkk causing it to go over the overpass killing 8 people did not get arrested or anything. I have heard nothing more about it because of the influence her family has.  Sad.<br><br>Justice should be done either way, equally for all.  Luckily I have a different kind of Thai Girlfriend, one who speaks her mind and will tell the driver to slow the hell down or she will vomit on his floors.....and she would too.  Ha ha ha!  True, and she usually gets what she wants.<br><br>And no, most Thais do not wear seat belts in the vans or Taxi's. I guess they feel safe enough holding the baby in their lap!!<br>

why would they wear sdeat belts when they grew up traveling four or more on a motorcycle with only the driver required to wear a helmet?

[harleyclarkey]

Have just rode the Bkk-Cha-Am horror highway and it is a nightmare in these mini vans. The idiot driving nearly flipped us. The basic fact is most of the drivers should be driving in demolition derby's. They are no where near competent or fit to drive public vehicles full of people.

Have you seen the other latest news here on TV??

Fourteen teachers were killed and 18 other injured when their bus plunged into a roadside ravine Monday, police said.

and then.....Police suspected that the bus driver lost control because he was not familiar with mountainous road, causing it to plunge down the ravine.

Case rested.

God help them all having been into the hands of total nuts who have no idea of safety or regard for others lives. These "accidents" are avoidable.

May they all rest in peace.

[harleyclarkey]

There is NEVER only one person to blame in a road incident - blame if you really need it can be apportioned by percentage.

It occurs to me that it was dark when this accident took place.

Wecan also 99% sure that seat belts weren't worn and were probablyeither improperly fitted or not at all.

You are not correct when you say "never".

Of course there are plenty of accidents caused by the carelessness, inattention, reckless speed, drunkenness, etc, etc, of a single driver. They, and they alone are responsible for the accidents. There are in most cases totally innocent victims.

[Wavefloater]

Doesn't the bible say an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth?So,by my reckoning,he owes............

"Mr Uthen expressed regret over the accident".Gee,I guess so,as he hopes to reduce his already lenient sentence from Thai (joke) judiaciary.Is this negligent homicide x5?He won't see 10 years in prison for murdering 5 innocent folks.May they all rest in peace.

Probably, but the Bible says a lot of bizarre things.

Don't get me wrong. If the guy was negligent he deserves to be punished.

[potters]

How many more people must die before somebody does something.

I have to travel to Hua Hin every 3 months and i fill my pants every time.

Dont sit next to me.

The last time i got out of the bus in Petchburi and my friends came to fetch

me as the driver was just being a nut-job behind the wheel.

Sad to see more innocent people having to pay the consequences

of irresponsible idiots.

[Kilgore Trout]

I must admit I don't often agree with you sorrow lot's of condecending notions on how this country should be run. But on traffic and the culture of driving here I fully agree: If the laws are lacking, it is the Governments duty to implement them, and now! And then wait and hope to survive another generation or three for them being enforced. Where are the emoticons in uniform, by the way? - A necessity in most threads these days

If you as a foreigner feel the laws are lacking you are certainly free to go to another country. I for one don't think the Thais need falang telling them how to run their own country

[tropo]

The front of the Toyota minivan was crushed in the collision, which threw some of the passengers out onto the road.

No seatbelts in the van or were the passengers unbuckled?

How did the driver survive if the front of the minivan was crushed to the point of 5 others being killed? Were their airbags to protect him?

[Frenchtouch]

I took a van this afternoon from Victory monument to Ayyutaya. Of course, I was unable to fasten my seat belt ( and I was sitting on the seat next to the door...) becuase all the safety belts had been REMOVED from the van. Can someone tell me why?

[Misterwhisper]

Another great example that many of these minivan drivers have absolutely no common sense for steering a vehicle nor regard for their passengers' (and their own) lifes.

A sensible driver would immediately hit the brake when blinded by oncoming lights.

[Tokay]

I won't ride in a mini-van. They are maniacs.

[andrewfenn]

Amazing only the passengers get hurt and die. The driver that caused the whole mess, with his reckless driving, walks away without a scratch. He does regret the accident though???

The passengers never wear seat belts whereas the driver is forced to by law.

[LisuLover]

Driving vehicles at night is safe if you do it regularly. Then the body is acclimatised. This guy was probably not a regular night driver and after very many hours on the road from Phuket and just before dawn at 05.30am, his body had to sleep. The driver and whoever decided on the schedule, will be doing a lot of soul searching.

[mitrapaap]

Too bad he does not have an influential family with relatives in the police force, then he would walk away scott free.<br>  As I recall, the young lady who slammed in the back of the mini van in Bkk causing it to go over the overpass killing 8 people did not get arrested or anything. I have heard nothing more about it because of the influence her family has.  Sad.<br><br>Justice should be done either way, equally for all.  Luckily I have a different kind of Thai Girlfriend, one who speaks her mind and will tell the driver to slow the hell down or she will vomit on his floors.....and she would too.  Ha ha ha!  True, and she usually gets what she wants.<br><br>And no, most Thais do not wear seat belts in the vans or Taxi's. I guess they feel safe enough holding the baby in their lap!!<br>

Tha Nation today: The parents of an underage driver involved in a road accident that killed nine van passengers in late December were Monday accused of illegally allowing her to drive without a licence.

Law lecturers of Thammasat University, who lodged the police complaint on behalf of all 13 victims, including four injured passengers, also named the unidentified owner of a white Honda sedan in their complaint.

Associate Professor Narong Jaiharn, who filed the complaint, said the parents and the sedan's owner were automatically liable under the 2003 Child Protection Act, as were those whose children were arrested for street racing.

He said the parents could also possibly be held responsible under the Criminal Code, as deaths and injuries resulted from their alleged negligence under the 2003 law, but he did not file criminal complaints against them.

[ignoramus]

Was in a minivan, with other foreign tourists, some years back heading to Phuket airport. Driver thought a cute trick would be to overtake approaching the crest of of a hill. Nobody squeaked, but I screamed rather loudly at the dumbass driver -- he complied. Think the other passengers were Europeans. They were obviously still in holiday mode. Pathetic all around. Is it the religion I wonder. Self-preservation sure ain't the first rule in the dear old LOS

[mitrapaap]

I must admit I don't often agree with you sorrow lot's of condecending notions on how this country should be run. But on traffic and the culture of driving here I fully agree: If the laws are lacking, it is the Governments duty to implement them, and now! And then wait and hope to survive another generation or three for them being enforced. Where are the emoticons in uniform, by the way? - A necessity in most threads these days

If you as a foreigner feel the laws are lacking you are certainly free to go to another country. I for one don't think the Thais need falang telling them how to run their own country

It's not about farangs or thais, it's about ignorant, irresponsible individuals killing innocent people. Suggest you widen your horizon and get over the "you falang don't tell me thai what I have to do". If you think it doesn't matter when your own citizens get killed (I suppose you are Thai here), then that's fine, but personally I think your attitude is deplorable.

[denishuahin]

I'm from the UK i had a Taxi company in Milton Keynes for 20 years with 22 minibuses without one accident. We would not let our drivers drive more 6 hours in one day, but there is no restriction on driving time in the UK either on under 3 tonne transport be it minibuses, taxi's, vans. But i did leave the UK 7 Years ago. When you come down to it it's the owners of the company who should make the rules. That's never going to happen in Thai the only thing that counts is make money any rule that gets in way way of that is broken. They don't care about the deaths only how much it has cost them. Money rules!

Sorry for all who died, not the first and 100% not the last.

[appropriate]

These drivers really can't be blamed, with the rising cost of amphetamines it's simply not easy to drive a van for such hours.

[mitrapaap]

Let's be honest this crash like hundreds that preceded it are a factor of many things.

One contract drivers have no binding regulations that they have to observer. They drive for too few baht. If there where standards that enforced licencing then perhaps they could make a decent wage and be regulate to drive fewer hours. Next the design of Thai highways is simple madness. I know that driving from Bangkok to Korat, I can be doing XXX km/h and suddenly I have an 18 wheeler changing directions via a stupid U-turn. The Thai government should be the one being sued here, they need to implement more over-passes instead of these stupid U-turn locations.

Responsibility is not a matter of the paycheck. If it was it would mean that whenever I give you a lift for free I can drive like an insane.

[harleyclarkey]

I must admit I don't often agree with you sorrow lot's of condecending notions on how this country should be run. But on traffic and the culture of driving here I fully agree: If the laws are lacking, it is the Governments duty to implement them, and now! And then wait and hope to survive another generation or three for them being enforced. Where are the emoticons in uniform, by the way? - A necessity in most threads these days

If you as a foreigner feel the laws are lacking you are certainly free to go to another country. I for one don't think the Thais need falang telling them how to run their own country

Yes for sure there is a whole lot lacking in this jolly, happy, smiling land of Thailand. It sucks as far as their total disregard for road laws. There are no rules and laws as far as most of the drivers are concerned. The enforcement of the rules are totally arbitrary and subject to the whims of the local thugs in brown, and their financial needs on any particular day..

And yes, the poster has every right to make his point without the usual bull of telling him/her to get lost and go elsewhere. What rubbish.

And yes yet again....the Thais need foreigners to help them run their country because they do a cr*p job it it themselves. The hospitality/hotel industry, as just one example, would in my opinion collapse without foreign input.

[mitrapaap]

These drivers really can't be blamed, with the rising cost of amphetamines it's simply not easy to drive a van for such hours.

I do not really like your sarcasm as I think it's a bit unfortunate in regards of people having lost their lifes. But you actually raise a good point, which is the question why somebody would hire a (a = one) bus driver to drive from Phuket to Bkk. The group or tour operator should well be aware that the trip takes 12 hours or more and that this is too much for one driver alone in one piece. So why hire this kind of trip in a first place? How much is the difference between a Mini Van trip BKK - Phuket -BKK and the ticket for an airplane?

[jimbeam1]

A terrible crime not an accident in my opinion.

Are they actually licenced to drive a vehicle carrying passengers?

I totally agree with you, when you say a crime. For sure it is manslaughter.

As for licenced. I doubt he even had one.

jb1

[jaywalker]

I must admit I don't often agree with you sorrow lot's of condecending notions on how this country should be run. But on traffic and the culture of driving here I fully agree: If the laws are lacking, it is the Governments duty to implement them, and now! And then wait and hope to survive another generation or three for them being enforced. Where are the emoticons in uniform, by the way? - A necessity in most threads these days

If you as a foreigner feel the laws are lacking you are certainly free to go to another country. I for one don't think the Thais need falang telling them how to run their own country

It's not about farangs or thais, it's about ignorant, irresponsible individuals killing innocent people. Suggest you widen your horizon and get over the "you falang don't tell me thai what I have to do". If you think it doesn't matter when your own citizens get killed (I suppose you are Thai here), then that's fine, but personally I think your attitude is deplorable.

On the subject of "Me Thai, you falang. I do what I want to do......."

Took my life in my hands last week on a moto-taxi from Bali Hai Pier (Pattaya) to Soi Khaotalo on a Saturday evening at 6:00PM.

Usually I tell them "Cha-cha"and they slow down. I had no sooner said cha-cha than his phone rings & he starts digging in his pocket, so I told him to stop. I wanted off. "Phone motorbike mai dee" He starts screaming "F&*k you! F*&k you! I do what I want!"

Fair enough, but not with me on the back.

We'd gone maybe 300 meters when this happened. I was mellow as could be and offered him 30% of his fare, even though we'd only gone 10% of the way.

He kept up his profanities. I gave him his 20 baht and politely said "Well, F&*k you too". He started trying to kick me.

I guess it's all customer service and Safety First over here.

Yeah, yeah he was one bad apple in an otherwise decent barrel, but that's all it takes to kill you.

Have been on hundreds of mot-taxi's

[lee68]

Apparently there is an Englishman running the country.lol

I must admit I don't often agree with you sorrow lot's of condecending notions on how this country should be run. But on traffic and the culture of driving here I fully agree: If the laws are lacking, it is the Governments duty to implement them, and now! And then wait and hope to survive another generation or three for them being enforced. Where are the emoticons in uniform, by the way? - A necessity in most threads these days

If you as a foreigner feel the laws are lacking you are certainly free to go to another country. I for one don't think the Thais need falang telling them how to run their own country

Yes for sure there is a whole lot lacking in this jolly, happy, smiling land of Thailand. It sucks as far as their total disregard for road laws. There are no rules and laws as far as most of the drivers are concerned. The enforcement of the rules are totally arbitrary and subject to the whims of the local thugs in brown, and their financial needs on any particular day..

And yes, the poster has every right to make his point without the usual bull of telling him/her to get lost and go elsewhere. What rubbish.

And yes yet again....the Thais need foreigners to help them run their country because they do a cr*p job it it themselves. The hospitality/hotel industry, as just one example, would in my opinion collapse without foreign input.