Phuket Tour Van In Three-Way Accident On Patong Hill

[Lite Beer]

Phuket tour van in three-way accident on Patong Hill

Phuket Gazette –

PHUKET: A van carrying foreign tourists was involved in a three-vehicle accident on Patong Hill road this morning, causing a long traffic tailback into Phuket's most popular west coast resort town.

The accident happened on the hairpin turn descending into Patong where numerous other mishaps have occurred, including the crash of a tour bus full of Russian tourists in October last year and the fatal overturning of bus full of Patong-based Buddhist pilgrims in March of the same year.

An officer stationed with the Patong Department Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) unit told the Phuket Gazette that the accident occured just before 10:30am.

Two people suffered minor injuries in the accident, the officer reported.

“Three vehicles were involved: a tour van full of foreign tourists, a six-wheeled truck belonging Phuket Srisuchart Co, and a pickup truck with three men in the cab,” said the officer.

“The van, belonging to the Phuket Mai Khao tour company, was heading eastbound from Patong to Kathu Municipality, and the six-wheel truck and the pickup were heading west toward Patong.

“We still don’t know all the details. We’re looking into it now,” he said.

At last report, a motorist told the Gazette by mobile phone that westbound traffic was just starting to inch its way forward over the hill.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/archives/articles/2012/article12150.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-01-30

[monty1412]

what does it take for authorities to actually take control of the roads there..... why is it that island resorts like Phuket and Samui are simply the most dangerous roads anywhere. Twice there i have been forced off the road by the white or silver minivans who play up and down the roads hotel to airport and return.... I would say without an exaggeration that 80% of the drivers of these vans are absolute half wits who endanger not only their own passengers but also lives of others.. overtaking on wrong side around blind corners... how hard would it be to station police oficers for a few weeks at the black spots and book speeding and dangerous drivers.

The trouble is that nothing will be done until it gets to a point where it affects tourism.... even the big bus crashes which spurned a flurry of" we will ensure buses are checked" type BS which has all died away and I dam_n sure just resulted in a short term bonanza in tea money collections for those who were assigned to check .

Phuket one day stupid the next day worse.

I wonder if a collective action by all the families of tourists killed on the roads agaisnt Phuket governor for negligence in failing to ensure the road and traffic control are acceptably safe and within international standards might do something. One can only wish.

Thoughts and condolences extend to yet another set of families and friends who have lost loved ones who were supposed to be having a great holiday and not being unwittingly placed in mortal threat by the non existent management of the road and traffic safety in Phuket.

ps.. would love to someone like a 60 Minutes news crew do a story on Phuket.. get a few video cameras and radar guns on all the black spots... video of police more interested in collections and tea money than ensuring safety... a few tuk tuk skirmishes maybe even some footage of Tourist police actually helping tourists etc etc. Really portray Phuket for the dangerous and money oriented place that it is . Of course Im not advocating biased reporting here.. also should find a few companies who educate their drivers and who don't speed and who do regular safety checks on their vehicles...

Of course they may have more luck in getting video of Jim Thompson and Elvis having a beer together in Patong than finding companies that put safety first but who knows.

Im just sick of all the death and carnage of normal people who come trustingly and unwittingly to what is promoted as an Island paradise.

whats that old Eagles song.. call someplace paradise kiss it goodbye

[bunta71]

While transporting passengers, a driver has a responsibility to not only drive safely but also make the passengers feel relaxed and to not have to fear for their lives. That being said, if a company here could adhere to this concept, they would make a killing. Pun intended.

[joboss]

Van from Mae Pim to Victory Monument today.

Stopped 40 klm into the journey and told that the fare was 400 baht, not the 200 baht as quoted by the hotel.

Stayed polite and firm and refused to get out.

Other passengers paid up and I stayed quite.

Journey resumed in due course with 14 pax and piles of luggage.

I set my GPS and the max speed reached was 158 kph.

I considered this driver as smooth and safe and the max of 158 was on the motorway.

I survived and I will do it again

[monty1412]

While transporting passengers, a driver has a responsibility to not only drive safely but also make the passengers feel relaxed and to not have to fear for their lives. That being said, if a company here could adhere to this concept, they would make a killing. Pun intended.

Bunta 71 , but thats just the thing.. tell me the incentive for any company to drive safely... when drivers remuneration is based in number of trips they do to airport and back or similar how does this encourage the correct behaviour.. when doing safety checks properly mandates the vehicle being off the road for a day and ensuing revenue loss then how does this drive the behaviours that ensure safety.

Even in western countries, safety and minimum standards are ebnforced by fines.. very few companies practice these behaviours out of social or moral conscience.. they all do it out of fear of being fined or losing license. If all minivan and bus drivers were issued a licence with a points system like many countries do and if the police were activeley doing what they should then yes you may see some behavioural change but at present the incentive is for each and every driver to drive like a madman and maximise his dialy revenue..

Unless you change the consequences you wont change the behaviour.

a good example of this and its off topic but we have all seen in hotels the sign about saving plant earth by re-using your towel or not having bed sheets changed... do any of us believe hoteliers actually give a rats about planet earth.. no it saves money by not having to do as much washing per day.. reduced wtaer and electricity costs.... would this happen if for example its more expensive for the hotel to do this..answer is hell no.. one of the rare occasions where the outcome benefit actually drives the right behaviours.

So how precisely would a driver or transport company benefit from providing a safe, educated driver who obeys road rules and provides his passengers with the experience you describe.... do you pay him more for lesser and longer duration trips ? Do you spend money on your drivers to educate them.. speed limiters with fine system... I cant see how the killing you describe can be changed from the killing that is at present.

[stevenl]

<snip>I wonder if a collective action by all the families of tourists killed on the roads agaisnt Phuket governor for negligence in failing to ensure the road and traffic control are acceptably safe and within international standards might do something. One can only wish.

Thoughts and condolences extend to yet another set of families and friends who have lost loved ones who were supposed to be having a great holiday and not being unwittingly placed in mortal threat by the non existent management of the road and traffic safety in Phuket.<snip>

While I agree with some of your sentiments, you're overdoing. There was no one killed in this accident.

Also, what vare 'international standards' with regards to road safety?

[bunta71]

While transporting passengers, a driver has a responsibility to not only drive safely but also make the passengers feel relaxed and to not have to fear for their lives. That being said, if a company here could adhere to this concept, they would make a killing. Pun intended.

Bunta 71 , but thats just the thing.. tell me the incentive for any company to drive safely... when drivers remuneration is based in number of trips they do to airport and back or similar how does this encourage the correct behaviour.. when doing safety checks properly mandates the vehicle being off the road for a day and ensuing revenue loss then how does this drive the behaviours that ensure safety.

Even in western countries, safety and minimum standards are ebnforced by fines.. very few companies practice these behaviours out of social or moral conscience.. they all do it out of fear of being fined or losing license. If all minivan and bus drivers were issued a licence with a points system like many countries do and if the police were activeley doing what they should then yes you may see some behavioural change but at present the incentive is for each and every driver to drive like a madman and maximise his dialy revenue..

Unless you change the consequences you wont change the behaviour.

a good example of this and its off topic but we have all seen in hotels the sign about saving plant earth by re-using your towel or not having bed sheets changed... do any of us believe hoteliers actually give a rats about planet earth.. no it saves money by not having to do as much washing per day.. reduced wtaer and electricity costs.... would this happen if for example its more expensive for the hotel to do this..answer is hell no.. one of the rare occasions where the outcome benefit actually drives the right behaviours.

So how precisely would a driver or transport company benefit from providing a safe, educated driver who obeys road rules and provides his passengers with the experience you describe.... do you pay him more for lesser and longer duration trips ? Do you spend money on your drivers to educate them.. speed limiters with fine system... I cant see how the killing you describe can be changed from the killing that is at present.

I respectfully disagree with each point you've made minus the hotel stuff and here is why I disagree.Firstly the company would have the incentive of having full occupancy after the right advertising and eventual reputation as a reliably safe company. Less lawsuits for another. The fast driving gets the van to the destination only a few minutes faster than one like I describe. Not enough time saved to add up to another trip in a day.Some folks like myself would even pay more money for the peace of mind and comfort. No need to take a full day for inspections. No revenue lost really. I know a little about this after driving every kind of truck imaginable in my 35 plus years of professional driving. ( See my post an hour ago in the "best pickup to buy thread) I have been through some of if not THE most stringent inspections countless times by authorities and by company mechanics and most importantly by myself. Daily checks by drivers in America where I am from and required by the Dept. of Transportation take only minutes, not hours or days. A well maintained vehicle saves money in the long run in several ways. In my dirt hauling days there was a saying that "Steady always beats fast driving" and at the end of the day, it was always correct. And yes you pay a good driver more and you will give him the incentive to do a better job. Fire any driver not holding up the reputation of the company immediately. I have driven for some very professionally handled companies that did take pride in their proffesionalism rather than fear of fines. Why? Because they make more money in the long run. I have also worked for gypo outfits as you describe and they never were successful in the long term.

There are two kinds of peopl in this world. Those that always find an excuse for not doing something and others who will find a way to excel.

[richard_smith237]

.... I would say without an exaggeration that 80% of the drivers of these vans are absolute half wits who endanger not only their own passengers but also lives of others..

Agreed !... While working in Thailand last year the company Policy was no driving. We were assigned a communal driver and car, however. Regardless of complaint, I ignored the policy - After 15 years of driving here, I am a safer and better driver than a 20-30 year old old with limited education and lacking in the concept of consequence'.....

The real issue here is that this so called 80% simply do not consider what could happen...

However, In this case and with many others involving trucks I suspect the issue is a mechanical fauilure (i.e. brakes) and the truck simply couldn't make the hairpin...

[Mrjlh]

158 KM/H is 100 MPH! In a loaded van? Not safe by any means on any of the roads in Phulet even the one going to the airport! Idiots born and bred every day! Never ceases to amaze me the intellegence of some people. And then get ripped off by the driver!

[Soupdragon]

The question is will the minibus drivers have enough sense to remove their sunglasses as they enter the new tunnel at mach 2.

[sirchai]

what does it take for authorities to actually take control of the roads there..... why is it that island resorts like Phuket and Samui are simply the most dangerous roads anywhere. Twice there i have been forced off the road by the white or silver minivans who play up and down the roads hotel to airport and return.... I would say without an exaggeration that 80% of the drivers of these vans are absolute half wits who endanger not only their own passengers but also lives of others.. overtaking on wrong side around blind corners... how hard would it be to station police oficers for a few weeks at the black spots and book speeding and dangerous drivers.

The trouble is that nothing will be done until it gets to a point where it affects tourism.... even the big bus crashes which spurned a flurry of" we will ensure buses are checked" type BS which has all died away and I dam_n sure just resulted in a short term bonanza in tea money collections for those who were assigned to check .

Phuket one day stupid the next day worse.

I wonder if a collective action by all the families of tourists killed on the roads agaisnt Phuket governor for negligence in failing to ensure the road and traffic control are acceptably safe and within international standards might do something. One can only wish.

Thoughts and condolences extend to yet another set of families and friends who have lost loved ones who were supposed to be having a great holiday and not being unwittingly placed in mortal threat by the non existent management of the road and traffic safety in Phuket.

ps.. would love to someone like a 60 Minutes news crew do a story on Phuket.. get a few video cameras and radar guns on all the black spots... video of police more interested in collections and tea money than ensuring safety... a few tuk tuk skirmishes maybe even some footage of Tourist police actually helping tourists etc etc. Really portray Phuket for the dangerous and money oriented place that it is . Of course Im not advocating biased reporting here.. also should find a few companies who educate their drivers and who don't speed and who do regular safety checks on their vehicles...

Of course they may have more luck in getting video of Jim Thompson and Elvis having a beer together in Patong than finding companies that put safety first but who knows.

Im just sick of all the death and carnage of normal people who come trustingly and unwittingly to what is promoted as an Island paradise.

whats that old Eagles song.. call someplace paradise kiss it goodbye

Looks like you haven't been to the Isaan yet. Buffaloes, some of them on two legs, cows, dogs, Kubotas, anything can suddenly cross the road. If you think Phuket is dangerous come to Sisaket or Ubon Ratchathani please....

[Dorkers]

I was frequently getting the mini bus trip Chanthanburi to Bangkok - driver got to 150km an hour, overtaking on the edge of the road - outside of the lines. Horrific. Tall skinny guy, next time I went there - i refused to get on his bus, waited for the next one - the driver looked about 16 years old - did a great job, careful and didn't speed - maybe I got him on a good day. Have a car now, whenever I see a minibus come up in the rear view - just get out the way - they drive like they are in a video game.

[swerver]

Never a day goes by of at least one (1) Van crash reported.

Having worked and lived all over the world it should be known that Thailand isn’t the only country in the world with Russian Roulette – 3-bullets in the cylinder - motor vehicle drivers. I do not want to name the countries because it would not make any improvement.

Missed the housekeeping supervisor for a couple days and there she was today with bandages on her face. What happen? Car accident, been to the temple last Tuesday on the way back as a front seat passenger a drunk – from Chinese New Year - on a motor cycle hit the car head on he was going North in the South bound lanes. The other girl the owner of the car and driver slammed on the brakes when seeing the motorcycle coming head on. Passenger, typical Thai style sitting with her legs crossed under her ass on the seat instead of legs on the floor and no seat belt catapulted straight into the Windshield bursting it all to hell with glass splinters all over her face. Now I have named her Scar Face.

[stevenl]

158 KM/H is 100 MPH! In a loaded van? Not safe by any means on any of the roads in Phulet even the one going to the airport! Idiots born and bred every day! Never ceases to amaze me the intellegence of some people. And then get ripped off by the driver!

Good then that that was not on Phuket but on the way to Bangkok.

[Mrjlh]

100 MPH is still not safe anywhere in Thailand. The roads just aren;t built or maintained for that speed. And you can't trust the actions of the other "drivers" around you. Comon sense that many if not all don;t have. It's not the Autoban here.