Nine Killed, 65 Injured In Thai Highway Accident

[oldsailor35]

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!

what's an LGV?

Large Goods Vehicle -- the EU claasification for HGV

Oh yes, i forgot, UK cannot use their own rules any more can they

[thailand49]

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

In the USA, there are Vehicle checks, Driver checks, Company checks, and Tachometers, the roads are well policed and everybody has to pass a stringent test.

On average, over 40,000 people die in traffic accidents annually in USA, how is that so ?

Add to that that the vast majority of Thai people that die are on motorcycles, as opposed to the USA where a very small percentage ride motorcycles, motorcycles are much more dangerous, so again, why are the death rates so high in USA ?

Sir,

Have you ever consider the size of the countries and population and the number of vehicles owned? There are 49 States located in North America and Thailand is like the size of pea compare to USA. Last year it was reported by Thailand government that there approximately 12,000 accident death, sixty percent of those death come from motorscooters and those dying are in the age of 15-19 years of age.

I have been driving for 45 years in the USA, and have a A class, passenger endorsement, hazmat, airbrakes, and teaching certification along with a license to tow and park aircrafts the size of a 747, I have never been even in a fender bender in the USA, but living here in Thailand for over 5 years I was rear ended by a Thai for following to close. I have a five year Thai driver license and live next door to a owner of a driver school with a course down the Soi. I watch drivers and wonder what are they learning driving in circles? Everyday I read and see accidents and there isn't one that couldn't be avoided. When this government decides to stop giving lip service to this problem and actually have the balls to do something Thai's will continue to die needlessly and I will just standby and consider it to be a form of population control. The problem starts at the top and when they decide to enforce the laws that are on the books nothing will change! We in the USA consider driving a privilege they consider it here to be their right!

[hhgz]

"That's those cultural flaws hampering progress again folks."

Culturally as Thais, or as Buddhists? Drivers leave the scene of accidents in all countries - it's not isolated to Thailand.

Actually, the current law is part of the problem. Leaving the scene of an accident, whether fatal or not, is only punishable by a 500THB fine. If it was 500,000THB fine, a mandatory 2 year jail sentence, and the forfeiture of a driver's license for 10 years, a driver has an incentive to stick around.

[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: It was Tanganyika in those days.We pulled into Dar E Salaam many times , right after Mogadishu where the pirates are now .

Edited April 4, 2011 by oldsailor35

[jhwest]

Oh how sad and RIP for all those unfortunate to have been killed and my heart goes out to the relatives.

Every day at any time of day there are so many inconsiderate drivers on the road and why or why do they get so close to the vehicle in front of them, having overtaken and forcing the car driver behind to break sharply.

As I say one sees it every day when someone passes you at at least 120 and then have to put their brakes on for 100 yards and the following driver catches up and not even having to use his/her brakes once.

Ofcourse it is horrendous for all those rubber neckers ( meaning drivers slow down to look at the carnage and yes the person directly responsible(if that is the right word) flees from the scene. Absolutely disgusting and not all drivers on drink and drugs, but many are. such bad drivers.

[Soutpeel]

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...

[Boater]

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 !!!

[tigermonkey]

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!

what's an LGV?

Large Goods Vehicle -- the EU claasification for HGV

Oh yes, i forgot, UK cannot use their own rules any more can they

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.

[webfact]

Nine dead, dozens hurt in Thai road accident

BANGKOK, April 4, 2011 (AFP) - Nine people died and dozens more were injured after several trucks, one packed with migrant workers, crashed in central Thailand on Monday, officials said.

The smash in Samut Sakhon province near Bangkok occurred when a six-wheel truck slowed down to pick up workers and was hit by a 10-wheel lorry that tipped it over, police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Chaipat Charoenwai said.

Seven people were killed in the collision.

"There were people waiting at the roadside. That's why there were so many people dead and injured," Chaipat said.

Soon afterwards, two trucks on the other side of the road collided after one slowed down to look at the first accident, leaving two more dead.

In total 66 people were injured in the two crashes, with three in intensive care, he said.

Seven of the dead and 65 of the injured were migrant workers, reportedly from Myanmar, who were employed at a local seafood supplier.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-04-04

[metisdead]

Some posts have been removed as the poster is copying and pasting from somebody's post rather than replying directly to the post. To reply to a post:

Or click on the multiquote button.

Incorrect replies will continue to be removed.

[tigermonkey]

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.

[blackthorn2005]

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?

A similar thing happened in Phuket not so long ago. Truxk went through a red light, at one of the busiest intersection on the island. Driver fled the scene. Police later decided it was brake failure!. Wonder what that cost? Apart from the lives of the students killed.

[Thunder26]

Only 2 days ago I had a car drive into me and then they got out switched drivers and drove off while I was trying to wave them to stop , this happened right next to a police seat area with 2 of the finest bib and when I ran to him they said to me to go to the main police station even though I could still see him driving off

All I had was a scuffed wheel and arch and it still pi&@ed me off even today

There really needs to be something done with the way the driving is done here most of these drivers shouldn't be in control of a bicycle , I just got a 5 year driving licence for sitting in a room for an hour watching a Thai language safety video?

Rip these accidents can mostly be avoided

Same happened to me when a car hit me from behind while I was waiting the green light and drove off. I was very upset trying to stop him, he just waived and drove off. The damage was quite significant. What's wrong with these people? It happened in October 2010, nu justice so far.

[EdDantes]

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.

[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....

Edited April 4, 2011 by WarpSpeed

[travelmann]

Same same, what will be etc etc no change.................wonder if it ever will??????

[Deeral]

"'This is a good warning against stopping to look at accidents,' I sincerely hope that this quote is a mistranslation and that a member of the police couldn't make a statement like this that would shame the simplest of simpletons.

Edited April 4, 2011 by Deeral

[KKvampire]

So is it not a crime to flee the scene of an accident in which you have been involved? Jeeeez

[Arkady]

Sad but the same principles apply as to the 19 year old punk who sliced the Lao girl in half and fled the scene with her upper body in the passenger seat of his dad's Porsche, the 17 party girl with no drivers license who knocked off the Thammasat Uni staff and students in her Honda Jazz and the moron that mowed down the people in the bus queue with his Benz. The people who died and were injured are unimportant and without influence or money. The driver and/or vehicle owner are important and have both influence and money. The cases are all settled with a token amount of blood money for the lives of the people considered worthless and a commission of about as much again to the police. The well connected criminals follow this up with a brief merit making ceremony and feel as right as rain again and as ready to go out and commit sin again as a good Catholic coming out of the confessional. Of course it would be different if the family or a politician, senior civil servant, military or police got wiped out and things can get interesting if both victim and perpetrator are well connected. This a feudal society and there is no point in viewing it through the eyes of Western liberal democracy.

[Seismic]

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.

It is also in the UK, but it is a commonly used TLA for the test certificate required to prove that the vehicle is safe to use on the roads. All UK vehicles of a certain age must pass the MOT before being allowed on the roads.

[Pulle]

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!

[fenny99]

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

[MrsMills]

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.

Edited April 4, 2011 by MrsMills

[MrsMills]

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

[MrsMills]

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!!!

Edited April 4, 2011 by MrsMills

[Carib]

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!!!

A truer word has not been spoken...

Some expats are so full of their " own" country that it is hard to imagine there should be just one small reason to leave it and go to some ghastly third world country full of danger sickness stupidity and of course xenophobia.... sometimes I do not wonder about the latter.

[Gaccha]

Sad but the same principles apply as to the 19 year old punk who sliced the Lao girl in half and fled the scene with her upper body in the passenger seat of his dad's Porsche, the 17 party girl with no drivers license who knocked off the Thammasat Uni staff and students in her Honda Jazz and the moron that mowed down the people in the bus queue with his Benz. The people who died and were injured are unimportant and without influence or money. The driver and/or vehicle owner are important and have both influence and money. The cases are all settled with a token amount of blood money for the lives of the people considered worthless and a commission of about as much again to the police. The well connected criminals follow this up with a brief merit making ceremony and feel as right as rain again and as ready to go out and commit sin again as a good Catholic coming out of the confessional. Of course it would be different if the family or a politician, senior civil servant, military or police got wiped out and things can get interesting if both victim and perpetrator are well connected. This a feudal society and there is no point in viewing it through the eyes of Western liberal democracy.

Bold highlighted to offer author time of self-reflection that his argument may not be altogether that convincing.

The family, although they had the famous family name, as do hundreds of other families, were not that wealthy, and their daughter received the typical punishment.

[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..

[diehard60]

"'This is a good warning against stopping to look at accidents,' Samut Sakorn Police Lieutenant Colonel Chaiyaphat Charoenwai told Thai TV.

Or maybe a good warning to LEARN HOW TO DRIVE!!.... seriously? warning to not stop for accidents but by default it is ok to go as fast as you want, change lanes with abandon, run away from an accident you caused, not follow any safely rules...etc. etc.?

I feel so bad for those workers. I say this in all honesty and because I drive these roads quite frequently and see in any given second accidents and death ready to happen.

Very sad...RIP

Driver education, training and enforcement are definitely lacking. Too bad this type of thing still happens and especially with Songkran approaching. Families will unfortunately be burying their dead instead of celebrating the hliday.

Lacking???????????? Wrong. There is NONE. And the Police AKA BIB just colect their pay checks every month and do NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[diehard60]

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!!!

V ery true Mrs. Mills, but you forget one thing. These other countries have laws and real driving tests and the drivers have LICENCES??????????????? here they don't have any of these. So now what are you going to say. I think all of us Expats want things to be better here but no one listens to us so that is why we let out our frusrations here on the net.