Nine Killed, 65 Injured In Thai Highway Accident

[cdnvic]

Personal attacks and troll calling deleted.

[Valentine]

Please tell me what are your sources. The Thai Visa story has been changed from the article quoted . What is your souce for these changes ?

The original story makes no mention of a "bus" only of a lorry whuch was hit. Presumably the workers were being picked up in the lorry.

Also, where do you get the information that they were "factory workers" ? The original article says that they are "migrant workers "

That is a substantially different story.

Oh, and please Brits, if you must use your native jargon, explain it for the rest of us, who were not similarly blessed/cursed with a an English upbringing . I now know after research that an HGV vehicle is actually an LGV vehicle -- thank you!

It is not substantially different at all. Have you considered they were migrant workers who worked in a factory. Trucks/lorries are often used to bus workers to & from the workplace. It is quite commonplace to see trucks packed full of workers being transported around which is why you can get 65 people on board as they have to stand up.

[Deeral]

THere are some incredibly inaccurate perceptions about road safety being expressed here about both about Thailand and abroad.It is unfortunate that many of these posters are displaying a huge lack of real understanding about the subject. Just regurgitating the same old cliches - mostly the sort of thing their mothers would have said 50 years ago..

It is probably nearer the truth to claim that ALL countries have the same percentages of hopeless drivers (some clearly posting here) and that a major part of road safety is not actually to do with the cars or drivers but actually keeping these people from colliding with other road users..

In fact US has pretty bad driving statistics, especially when you factor in advanced law enforcement and vehicle design, they still mange to run off the road and collide in prodigious numbers, so you have to conclude that driver training and safe cars are not the whole answer.

Edited April 5, 2011 by Deeral

[barrybankruad]

Anytime there is an accident in Thailand that is bad, there is a huge outcry from internet warrior Farangs, slating all Thai people, Thailand as a country.

They completely forget the fact that if the percentage of motorcycle riders in western countries was the same as it is in Thailand, those same Western countries would have the same percentage of accident deaths as Thailand.

It just seems easier for Farangs to label Thai people as being stupid when they are involved in accidents, yet when it comes to a Farang, he just happens to be involved in an accident, stupidity doesn't come into it, it's just an accident, happens everyday all over the world. !!

Gottta love these expat sites, they're the same the world over, The Expats are always better than the natives, The Expats are always disadvantaged and the natives are always out to get them, The Expats think the country they choose to be in couldn't survive without them etc etc etc.

WALOB!!!

Nonsense. To say that if a similar percentage of road users were motor cycle riders in say the U.K. the percentage of accidents would be the same as in Thailand is rubbish. The UK has strict road users laws and they are ENFORCED. All riders would have to be licensed and have passed a test that is difficult, not the pathetic showing that passes for a 'test' in this country. Road regulations are strictly enforced, no non wearing of helmets, six up on a little bike, cutting right had corners etc. etc. You try and bribe a traffic policemen in the U*K, your feet wouldn't touch the ground. That is why the UK has one of the safest road accident statistics in the world together with Sweden.

[bridge]

I am with MrsMillls and Carib

Having driven from Changmai to Katherine, in stages, not the wet bits, and seen much of the same kind of accidents as happened in UK 30-40 years ago except for the overnight parking of trucks and buses inside houses at speed caused by being on speed.

Arriving in the Land of Oz Darwin I was arrested for being drunk in charge of a parachute, when the Police established I was only drunk no real harm and gave up on the idea of searching 2 x 200 sq ft of chutes in their small place they decided to release me, being too drunk to walk properly they poured me into a rental car. Arriving late in the evening sober the wonderful guys there in Katherine put up a night jump for me with me. My condition in Darwin was nothing to the state of the Abbos in Katherine they have to live with..

Sounds like you are drunk now.

[jimbeam1]

We will read of these incidents again and again. It is about time that someone in power engaged their brain and started enforcing the laws, such as vehicle checks, driver checks, company checks and if they don't have Tachometers in the cabs, fit them. RIP the dead. Yet again.

jb1

Tachometers?? There sure is a bunch of silliness being posted in this thread

That's not just picking on your post, I couldn't be arsed to quote all the other rubbish posted, can't multi-quote that many in one post anyways....

Well rather than posting a rubbish reply. Maybe you could be arsed to give us the benefit of your superior wisdom.

jb1

Edited April 5, 2011 by jimbeam1

[Deeral]

Anytime there is an accident in Thailand that is bad, there is a huge outcry from internet warrior Farangs, slating all Thai people, Thailand as a country.

They completely forget the fact that if the percentage of motorcycle riders in western countries was the same as it is in Thailand, those same Western countries would have the same percentage of accident deaths as Thailand.

It just seems easier for Farangs to label Thai people as being stupid when they are involved in accidents, yet when it comes to a Farang, he just happens to be involved in an accident, stupidity doesn't come into it, it's just an accident, happens everyday all over the world. !!

Gottta love these expat sites, they're the same the world over, The Expats are always better than the natives, The Expats are always disadvantaged and the natives are always out to get them, The Expats think the country they choose to be in couldn't survive without them etc etc etc.

WALOB!!!

Nonsense. To say that if a similar percentage of road users were motor cycle riders in say the U.K. the percentage of accidents would be the same as in Thailand is rubbish. The UK has strict road users laws and they are ENFORCED. All riders would have to be licensed and have passed a test that is difficult, not the pathetic showing that passes for a 'test' in this country. Road regulations are strictly enforced, no non wearing of helmets, six up on a little bike, cutting right had corners etc. etc. You try and bribe a traffic policemen in the U*K, your feet wouldn't touch the ground. That is why the UK has one of the safest road accident statistics in the world together with Sweden.

BB - THe "facts" you state are" true" - for want of a better expression, but you are not seeing the whole picture - and neither are many other posters - enforcement and training are only a art of road safety, and in Thailand there are much bigger problems - people learn how to drive intuitively and adapt to the road conditions - regardless of country - it is the roads themselves that are mostly to blame.

If you look at countries with high and low accident rates, you will see also that the standard of road design and traffic engineering are correspondingly high or low. It is surprising how few people take this not account when making "judgments" on driving - and drivers - in other countries.

Implying that drivers in thailand are any less or more skilled than anywhere else is really barking up the wrong tree.

[jimbeam1]

We will read of these incidents again and again. It is about time that someone in power engaged their brain and started enforcing the laws, such as vehicle checks, driver checks, company checks and if they don't have Tachometers in the cabs, fit them. RIP the dead. Yet again.

jb1

Begging your pardon, but WHO exactly do you expect to enforce the laws in Thailand??? :jap:

Someone who can engage their brain. Oops sorry I forgot.

I was watching this on the news last night. One of the trucks that was on it's roof, was running on slicks? Tyres absolutely bald.

jb1

[harrycallahan]

I am with MrsMillls and Carib

Having driven from Changmai to Katherine, in stages, not the wet bits, and seen much of the same kind of accidents as happened in UK 30-40 years ago except for the overnight parking of trucks and buses inside houses at speed caused by being on speed.

Arriving in the Land of Oz Darwin I was arrested for being drunk in charge of a parachute, when the Police established I was only drunk no real harm and gave up on the idea of searching 2 x 200 sq ft of chutes in their small place they decided to release me, being too drunk to walk properly they poured me into a rental car. Arriving late in the evening sober the wonderful guys there in Katherine put up a night jump for me with me. My condition in Darwin was nothing to the state of the Abbos in Katherine they have to live with..

Sounds like you are drunk now.

Haha, I read on to see if anyone else could make sense of it. "drunk in charge or a parachute", on the ground??

[dunkin2012]

We will read of these incidents again and again. It is about time that someone in power engaged their brain and started enforcing the laws, such as vehicle checks, driver checks, company checks and if they don't have Tachometers in the cabs, fit them. RIP the dead. Yet again.

jb1

Begging your pardon, but WHO exactly do you expect to enforce the laws in Thailand??? :jap:

Someone who can engage their brain. Oops sorry I forgot.

I was watching this on the news last night. One of the trucks that was on it's roof, was running on slicks? Tyres absolutely bald.

jb1

This reflects the road safety condition in LOS. The improvement is needed on many segments.

[oldsailor35]

Do drivers of HGV vehicles have to have a special licence for such a vehicle? YES

Is it regulated?NO

Are companies with these HGV vehicles checked regularly for who their drivers are? NO

Nothing more to be said

Well if the company cannot produce evidence of their drivers qualification to drive such a truck, they must be very heavily fined and held responsible. After this happens a few times they will be very wary of whom they employ.

if you bring this in , who will drive for them? quicker thailand brings in HGV licences and MOT's , the better for thailand, would even bring down the price of cars !!!

What's an MOT ? Where I come from it is Ministry of Transport.

"Who will drive for them" well, what is to be done. 1) Just bury your head in the sand and carry on as usual. OR

2) Govt must set up a training and licensing scheme and get on with it

Get rid of the old Mai pen rai attitude. If Thailand wants to progress, this is one of the things that must be done. In other words 'Get better government'

[OzMick]

Do drivers of HGV vehicles have to have a special licence for such a vehicle? YES

Is it regulated?NO

Are companies with these HGV vehicles checked regularly for who their drivers are? NO

Nothing more to be said

Well if the company cannot produce evidence of their drivers qualification to drive such a truck, they must be very heavily fined and held responsible. After this happens a few times they will be very wary of whom they employ.

Agree almost totally, except that in case of fatality the owner should get to share a cell with the unlicenced driver - and none of the usual crap paying the families to avoid prosecution.

Semi off topic - has it been made public who was the key-holder of the Honda driven by the 16 year-old mass-killer in BKK?

[oldsailor35]

What's an MOT ? Where I come from it is Ministry of Transport.

In Blightey (Britain), MOT means "Made 'Orrible Tea" whenever the PG Tips brand is not employed.

Seriously though, Road Safety TV campaigns are needed. We still have those in the west because we still have so many young drivers who aren't careful.

"Road Craft" is what my dad advised me to learn, don't simply follow the rules of the road, assume all other road users including pedestrians are idiots, maintain awareness of what's going on in front and behind etc, and try to be ready to react to stupid manoeuvres.

"Road craft" If you are an experienced driver, i would have thought that would be natural reaction.

[oldsailor35]

I do drive by car sometime in Thailand but you need extra eyes (left ,right,front and back.) Traffic is dangerous and speedlimits are unknown for cars, trucks, busses and motorbikes!

and they want nuclear power

And you wanna live here

There are many of us who do, and love it here.

Edited April 5, 2011 by oldsailor35

[oldsailor35]

I am with MrsMillls and Carib

Having driven from Changmai to Katherine, in stages, not the wet bits, and seen much of the same kind of accidents as happened in UK 30-40 years ago except for the overnight parking of trucks and buses inside houses at speed caused by being on speed.

Arriving in the Land of Oz Darwin I was arrested for being drunk in charge of a parachute, when the Police established I was only drunk no real harm and gave up on the idea of searching 2 x 200 sq ft of chutes in their small place they decided to release me, being too drunk to walk properly they poured me into a rental car. Arriving late in the evening sober the wonderful guys there in Katherine put up a night jump for me with me. My condition in Darwin was nothing to the state of the Abbos in Katherine they have to live with..

Errrrrrrrrr! are you still drunk ?

[rammis35]

Won't the police find out who the driver was? After all, it was a big truck (10 wheels). Or is it that in Thailand, the truck owner does not keep track of who is driving his truck?

The driver usually doesn't get caught, what I have seen before is the company will call the police after the accident and report the truck stolen.

[fma]

Another tragedy, and more to come. Shit happens, but in Thailand shit happens more often than necessary. There is no point in beating up on the people involved in this incident, it will not change the past, and will have no constructive effect on future road safety. Since the truck driver most likely do not have a rich daddy, he will eventually go to jail for manslaughter.

I can see no fundamental differences between this incident and the Porsche/girl accident though.

We do need to beat up on the authorities responsible for regulating traffic. The traffic police have not done their job for years. Nobody respects the speed limits, drinks and drives, tailgating, etc. The rules are not enforced, the police is, deservedly, not respected, and this will only get worse.

Everybody gets influenced, my own driving habits have become a lot worse since moving to Thailand. Trying to keep proper/safe distance to the car in front is impossible, it gets filled by another car immediately. Driving in line with speed limits leave you in the right lane, together with the trucks and the clunkers - not a safe place. Ignoring the speed limits is very easy when you know that at worst (not including accident) it will cost you 500 baht. 'Anything goes' on the roads in Thailand - and that is the challenge.

[oldsailor35]

Anytime there is an accident in Thailand that is bad, there is a huge outcry from internet warrior Farangs, slating all Thai people, Thailand as a country.

They completely forget the fact that if the percentage of motorcycle riders in western countries was the same as it is in Thailand, those same Western countries would have the same percentage of accident deaths as Thailand.

It just seems easier for Farangs to label Thai people as being stupid when they are involved in accidents, yet when it comes to a Farang, he just happens to be involved in an accident, stupidity doesn't come into it, it's just an accident, happens everyday all over the world. !!

Gottta love these expat sites, they're the same the world over, The Expats are always better than the natives, The Expats are always disadvantaged and the natives are always out to get them, The Expats think the country they choose to be in couldn't survive without them etc etc etc.

WALOB!!!

Nonsense. To say that if a similar percentage of road users were motor cycle riders in say the U.K. the percentage of accidents would be the same as in Thailand is rubbish. The UK has strict road users laws and they are ENFORCED. All riders would have to be licensed and have passed a test that is difficult, not the pathetic showing that passes for a 'test' in this country. Road regulations are strictly enforced, no non wearing of helmets, six up on a little bike, cutting right had corners etc. etc. You try and bribe a traffic policemen in the U*K, your feet wouldn't touch the ground. That is why the UK has one of the safest road accident statistics in the world together with Sweden.

How many 10 yr old kids can ride a motorbike to school in UK Barry ? (or is it Colin )

[oldsailor35]

WHAT ????..................where in the west do you come from Zimbabwe ?

Geography is not your strong suit is it ?...remind me not to get in a boat with you....

Look again, Zimbabwe is west of Thailand, as for the boat, i was many years at sea from age of 15. Saw 32 countries by my 21st birthday, so geography is really no problem. :jap:

You would hard pressed getting to Zimbabwe by boat though wouldnt you...

Not at all. Take a boat to the East African Coast, if you can find it. Then overland . By the way , just so that you dont get lost, do not turn north or south, just keep going west.

[newermonkey]

that is why in most countires drivers have to take an LGV licence and there trucks are regulated to a max speed to avoide this !

and yet again the driver fleed the scene !

Totally agree, unfortunately it seems most Thais have an aversion to education of any sort.

[canuckamuck]

six times the population millions more autos Americans live in their cars, I could go on but its a no brainer.

Luckily the majority of the population of USA, unlike Thailand, aren't on motorcycles, the death toll would be horrendous.

Lucky the population of Thailand doesn't have to drive in winter conditions half of the year. There would be no one left.

And if Thailand had America's population count their death toll would be 72,000 per year. compared to 40,000 in the US.

And if America had Thailand's population count the death toll would be 6600 per year, without winter, probably 4000.

[Emster23]

Well, another case of blah blah blah

They should blah blah blah

Things will never change til they blah blah blah

In my country they blah blah blah

And so forth

[spectrumisgreen]

'Police said the truck driver smashed into a lorry parked on the side of the highway to pick up the workers when he tried to overtake another vehicle.'

No! What '..smashed into a lorry parked on the side of the highway..' means is the truck driver was trying to UNDERtake (NOT OVERTAKE!!) another vehicle, which in Thailand - yes, in Thailand, apologists and soothsayers prove me different!!! - is just another way to get past the vehicle in front.. NOONE here considers UNDERtaking a vehicle as a (far) more dangerous a way of passing someone.. everything just goes and every Thai driver assumes that what is not immediately in evidence (like another as yet unseen vehicle blocking your path through) therefore doesn't exist, just like when the same people cut across into the opposite lane when turning a corner, simply because they see noone else coming round the other way, in that instant, and so don't even bother to consider that such an oncoming (or parked!) vehicle may well be there just BEYOND their immediate vision!!! Sorry, Thais, there ARE many lovely, caring people here, but this inability to even consider what is not currently staring you right in the face IS A NATIONAL FAILING!!!!!!!

Edited April 5, 2011 by spectrumisgreen

[newermonkey]

I do drive by car sometime in Thailand but you need extra eyes (left ,right,front and back.) Traffic is dangerous and speedlimits are unknown for cars, trucks, busses and motorbikes!

and they want nuclear power

And you wanna live here

There are many of us who do, and love it here.

I love it here too. So easy to take advantage sometimes, for example...

If you want to drive fast ie. 250Kph+ try keeping in the left lane and hard sholder its usually deserted because farmer Somchy and his friends are all hogging the right lane because they think that they are going very fast in pick up trucks at 100K.

[rammis35]

Everyone has their own homeland jargon. I'm sure if I called the 10 wheeler by its North American jargon, which is "dump truck" , there would be similar confusion.

Actually 10 wheelers are called 10 wheelers here in the USA. They are not called dump trucks unless they have beds that lift up to dump their load out the back or side. 18 wheelers are called 18 wheelers or semi trucks.

[reason1]

I am with MrsMillls and Carib

Having driven from Changmai to Katherine, in stages, not the wet bits, and seen much of the same kind of accidents as happened in UK 30-40 years ago except for the overnight parking of trucks and buses inside houses at speed caused by being on speed.

Arriving in the Land of Oz Darwin I was arrested for being drunk in charge of a parachute, when the Police established I was only drunk no real harm and gave up on the idea of searching 2 x 200 sq ft of chutes in their small place they decided to release me, being too drunk to walk properly they poured me into a rental car. Arriving late in the evening sober the wonderful guys there in Katherine put up a night jump for me with me. My condition in Darwin was nothing to the state of the Abbos in Katherine they have to live with..

Sounds like you are drunk now.

Haha, I read on to see if anyone else could make sense of it. "drunk in charge or a parachute", on the ground??

Oh Ye of such dull lives - never hand carried a full parachute rig on a plane have you? Dare you to try it and jump it too - Cos a guy did from a scheduled plane after a robbery one gets more attention than is deserved and police get involved real quick if something is wrong like drinking the duty free

[reason1]

I am with MrsMillls and Carib

Having driven from Changmai to Katherine, in stages, not the wet bits, and seen much of the same kind of accidents as happened in UK 30-40 years ago except for the overnight parking of trucks and buses inside houses at speed caused by being on speed.

Arriving in the Land of Oz Darwin I was arrested for being drunk in charge of a parachute, when the Police established I was only drunk no real harm and gave up on the idea of searching 2 x 200 sq ft of chutes in their small place they decided to release me, being too drunk to walk properly they poured me into a rental car. Arriving late in the evening sober the wonderful guys there in Katherine put up a night jump for me with me. My condition in Darwin was nothing to the state of the Abbos in Katherine they have to live with..

Sounds like you are drunk now.

Haha, I read on to see if anyone else could make sense of it. "drunk in charge or a parachute", on the ground??

Oh Ye of such dull lives - never hand carried a full parachute rig on a plane have you? Dare you to try it and jump it too - Cos a guy did from a scheduled plane after a robbery one gets more attention than is deserved and police get involved real quick if something is wrong like drinking the duty free

Also I don't expect many have sen the drunken Abbos all over the town streets passed out day or night in Katherine - maybe they have been cleaned up now - was a sad sight

[random]

Implying that drivers in thailand are any less or more skilled than anywhere else is really barking up the wrong tree.

This has to be one of the funniest, most blinkered posts I have ever seen on ThaiVisa, well you certainly brightened up my day, well done.

:lol:

[WarpSpeed]

We will read of these incidents again and again. It is about time that someone in power engaged their brain and started enforcing the laws, such as vehicle checks, driver checks, company checks and if they don't have Tachometers in the cabs, fit them. RIP the dead. Yet again.

jb1

Tachometers?? There sure is a bunch of silliness being posted in this thread

That's not just picking on your post, I couldn't be arsed to quote all the other rubbish posted, can't multi-quote that many in one post anyways....

Well rather than posting a rubbish reply. Maybe you could be arsed to give us the benefit of your superior wisdom.

jb1

Actually Deeral already did that for me saved me the irritation...

OR perhaps you can impart more of your superior wisdom on us and explain what a tachometer in a truck (and how you know there wasn't one?) would have to do with making it safer or the driver avoiding other vehicles?

I'm perplexed as to how that would make any difference in this or any accident over the driver just being properly trained and alert as he should be behind the wheel of such a large truck..

Edited April 5, 2011 by WarpSpeed

[harrycallahan]

Oh Ye of such dull lives - never hand carried a full parachute rig on a plane have you? Dare you to try it and jump it too - Cos a guy did from a scheduled plane after a robbery one gets more attention than is deserved and police get involved real quick if something is wrong like drinking the duty free

I've never hand carried a parachute anywhere, they don't have them on the Jetstar flights I usually get but you have to buy your own food as well, budget airlines get what you pay for.

Maybe that was Patrick Swayze you saw jumping out of the plane after the robbery? If he looked anything like Richard Nixon it would have been him. They caught up with him at Bells beach but by that time the drunk abos had been cleared out.