4 Young Swedes, 1 Thai Dead In Horror Smash Near Phuket

[cuddleypete]

RIP and condolences to the families

[walkertalker]

Very tragic.

So young, it makes me think about my own kids, I could cry, truly I could.

All these Thai bashers on here. As yet we are not in possession of all the facts and are not able to assume anything.

The problem is that many tourists are not familiar with the Thai system of driving, different road rules and so on. I can remember the very first time I hit the roads in Thailand, it came as an awful shock, and it was a miracle that I survived the first year. But eventually I learned to drive defensively in Thailand, but it took time.

I believe that young inexperienced tourists like these should not be let loose on the roads here without first being briefed on the dangers of Thailand’s roads. At least the travel agencies should issue leaflets just to make them aware.

Please read the report again before you have another "brain fart" , no swede was driving !

[walkertalker]

Thailand roads are not safe.

I repeat for the white people looking to visit here - Thailand roads are not safe.

Every single road in the Kingdom is crazy dangerous. I risk my life driving my car 15 minutes to Macro. At least 10 speeding pickup trucks, buses, or 10-wheelers fly past me on every trip (at 130-150km+).

Thailand roads are not safe.

Agreed, Thai roads are not safe, because Thai people refuse to take responsibility for their actions, whether driving, work habits, or lack of ability.

However, it was a very strange comment for this reason: Are the roads any safer for brown people or black folks..??

It's unusual that the Author writes as if American, but adds a racist comment....

Agreed , comments like that only come from ignorance and have no place here !

[IMA_FARANG]

I don't know the circumstances of this.

But consider this fact:

I know that many of the drivers for such vehicles are paid per trip...not a daily salary...but per trip.

Many times, they don't own the vehicles...they work for the actual owner.

The owners, who don't drive, like it that way. It saves them money and increases their profits.

As the driver is only paid by trip, it is to his or her advantage to start early in the morning for his or her first trip, drive as fast as possible, and return for another trip as soon as possible. Also the later in the day they work, even when tired. the more they make. Also, they often take stimulants to keep them "alert".

All that makes their driving unsafe....which I admit is bad.

But who is really wrong here, the drivers or the owners?

Think about it.

[webfact]

Four Swedish tourists die in Thai road smash

BANGKOK, February 2, 2012 (AFP) - Four young Swedish tourists and their driver died after a head-on collision between their rented car and a lorry near Thailand's southern resort town of Phuket, police said Thursday.

The two couples, all in their early twenties, died instantly along with their 26-year-old Thai driver. The lorry driver fled after the crash early Wednesday and is being sought by police.

The holidaymakers were travelling to Chumphon province on the Gulf of Thailand to go diving when the lorry swerved across the road and hit their vehicle, said police in Phang Nga province, where it happened.

"All five died at the scene," case officer Captain Santi Prakobpran told AFP.

The Swedish Embassy in Bangkok confirmed that the families of four of the country's nationals had been informed of the fatal accident, without giving further details.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2012-02-02

[binjalin]

Horrible and tragic RIP

[khaan]

Thais have always struck me a low on peripheral awareness, you see this with pedestrians and supermarket trolley users. I have wondered if this is partly due to the fact that most Thais seem to start their day with a Red Bull or M100, ultra high caffeine drink. This does concentrate the mind but often to the extent of mental tunnel vision.

I have often thought this also. Even as pedestrians they don't seem to have much road sense.

Anyway all I know in Thailand you have to be an extremely defensive driver almost anticipating well in advance who is going to make the next silly manoeuvre.

With more and more cars being added I just wish they would raise their driver training standards.

[bobl]

I've seen (personally, not including news reports) more road death in a few short months in LOS than in 35 years of driving. Millions of accident free km's - London, Paris, Mumbai, Miami, Dar es Salaam, Johannesburg (to name a few of the more frantic places), UK, Europe, Africa & USA. First time (driving) in Asia but I find it impossible to relax and enjoy the drive in LOS...

Sincerest condolences to the families...

[metisdead]

An inflammatory post has been removed.

[warfie]

R.I.P. Tragic loss, senseless waste.

Heartfelt condolences to those left behind.

[Colin Yai]

Condolences to family and friends.

It really is high time that ALL drivers fleeing the scene following ANY accident, regardless of death, damage or injury should be sought and a prison sentence automatically imposed along with any other penalties they may incur as a result of the accident.

Yeah Nick quite correct , the penalty you mention should be automatic ,same as drinking and driving in the UK ,hardly a day goes by that we read of "accidents" on Thailand,s roads ,the laws are only as good as the police who are paid to enforce them , for Instance as no doubt you are well aware the so called one way system near to Prakonchai Market, its a complete and utter joke!.

[Skywalker69]

My heart goes out to family and frends, rest in peace. (Vila i frid)

[oldsailor35]

I believe most flee as they need to find money for bail. Involved in a mortal accident bail is needed to not stay in jail.

If he shows up at Policestation within 24 hours of accident, he is within Th law

I personally think the reason most flee the scene is that they are high on something, talking with a few people that are "alledgedly in the know" with some logistic co's many drivers take on double shifts and are at times put under extreeme presure to cover absentee drivers, these Thai people I chat to about this say that having drivers on the roads with speed/yabba and other drugs in their bodies is common place, although they know of this when asked why do they tolerate this type of behaviour from companies/drivers you get that blank stare. my condolances to all the familes concerned, a shocking tragedy....R.I.P

There is probably much truth in what you say. For that reason alone, there should be a custodial sentence for those that flee the scene.

YES! and you can bet on it that by the time the driver is caught or decides to do the "right thing" all signs of drugs or alcohol are well and truely out of his system. Any driver who flees must be considered high on either of these two at time of accident and the consequent be , double the normal punishment rate. No excuses whatever to be considered.

[metisdead]

A post advocating violence has been removed as well as the replies. An inflammatory post has been removed as well.

[witsawakorn]

sincerest condolences to the families of the victims.

but yet another senseless tradgedy caused by irresponsible driving. so commonplace in Thailand that it's hardly news anymore.

"the driver fled the scene". nothing new about that. that's standard practice. Where I'm from that would result in two things: 1) Carges of vehicular manslaughter. 2) Fleeing the scene of an accident involving death. The driver WOULD be found and, and most likely spend a minimum of 20 years in prison.

But TIT where "responsibility" is unheard of, and even if the driver feels "remorse" and turns himself in, very little will happen to him.

You might think that where you are from justice would be served and nobody flees because the people are so responsible but I think you'll find that life isn't so perfect. My personal experience of hit and run goes like this:

Crossing the well lit city centre road late one night with my 21 year old female friend

Speeding car blows a red light and hits us both dead centre.

Driver stops the car looks back then flees the scene. Friend scratches the plate number on a curbstone before car leaves.

Police inform that they have located driver who had been drinking. Police say that Forensic experts have sufficient evidence to charge driver with causing death by reckless driving as driver was DUI at the time of accident. Such a charge normally results in jail time they say

24 hours later friend is taken off life support and dies. I am a lucky survivor but injuries result in 6 months of work, 1 year of physiotherapy and no more sports ever!

End result. DUI and "causing death" charges against driver are dropped. He is charged with driving without due care and attention and failing to stop and report an accident gets 6 points on his license and walks out of court laughing ( no kidding).

Where did all this take place? Thailand? No Philppines? No. UK? Yes How did the driver manage to get off? His father had a good connection to the Police Chief in the area where the accident occured. The connection was that they were both Freemasons. There is no corruption in UK ha! Just join the FM and your new friends will take care of you. There is plenty of incentive to flee an accident if you are drunk. If you refuse a breath or blood test you are automatically convicted of DUI but if you flee you get off with a couple of points and a fine. I have to rely on Karma for my justice!!

when driving in India I recall that the police recommended not stopping at road accidents involving pedestrians in rural areas to avoid on the spot lynch mobs. They recommend driving to the next town and reporting to the police station

Edited February 2, 2012 by witsawakorn

[Soupdragon]

The right tyre shown in the bottom picture has exploded and has a large section (looks at least 15cm) missing. Damage suffered in the accident or the cause of it ??

[oldsailor35]

Sounds like a typical over pass overtake, where the thai just assumed the other car would get out of the way.

Happens all the time in Koh Samui, and it's a daily scare if you don't keep your eye on the road,

and move out of the way quickly. Since thai's hate to face responsibilty for their mistakes, it's not to surprising that the driver fled. All the passanger were young and had a whole life ahead of them, it really is a shame for their families, and if this was a local thai accident, all hell would break loose for their loss.

Very sad indeed for the tourist.

A most dangerous time on Samui is early morning on ring road at Maenam when all those idiotic mini bus drivers taking passengers from hotels to Lompraya ferry for trips to Koh Phangan and Koh Tao. They only know one speed..............flat out ! ten mins to the ferry and the boats not going for another hour ? Then it all starts over again when they come back in late afternoon. Why in the hell are these mini busses allowed such speed on a small island. They should all be governed to do 60 klm. thats plenty fast enough. One day i saw a middle aged german lady jump out of the van almost before it stopped, screaming and waving her arms about. The driver just said "She crazy" but all the other passengers were almost in shock. Yep, you've got it SPEEDING !

[balo]

I see its big headline news in the Scandinavian newspapers today .

I think it will be better for any tourists coming here to think twice before they drive on the roads here.

I would prefer to take the bus instead , at least you have a better chance to survive in an accident....

[notime]

Of course the driver fled out of the shock and remorse for what had happened. This would have nothing to do with him being totally pissed and needing time to get rid of the alcohol in his veins, would it? But I've heard from Thais that that's what one must do when something like this happens. He'll probably get 2 years suspended sentence and will be on the roads again very soon. Plus of course the "fishy" business doesn't have money to pay any compensation to the victim families. So sad for the victims, most of them only guilty of choosing Thailand as a holiday destination. RIP

[flap48]

Condolences to all to all concerned. R.I.P

Fleeing drivers will continue to happen in Thailand for all eternity unless the government made punishments severe,

e.g. automatic death penalty for fleeing drivers and automatic 20yr prison termfor the transport company owners and managers.

Then you would see some serious changes to driver and transport company owners in this country. Of course for this to happen you would also have to keep the graft and corruption out of the picture totaly.

[notime]

Condolences to family and friends.

It really is high time that ALL drivers fleeing the scene following ANY accident, regardless of death, damage or injury should be sought and a prison sentence automatically imposed along with any other penalties they may incur as a result of the accident.

Time for Thai law to allow the owners of these vehicles to be held accountable. I am in now way condoning the actions of the driver but these guys on meagre salaries are under undue pressure to meet unrealistic time-lines. If goods are not delivered on time they don't get paid. To meet these deadlines the exceed speed-limits, drive carelessly often consuming red bull or drugs to keep themselves awake. A recipe for disaster.

Can the Swedish families pursue a 'civil case' in Thai courts????

Of course they can. They need a very good lawyer and a lot of money for him, I'm talking maybe 500,000 THB. Two years down the track of numerous court hearings involving the attendance of the families they will hear lots of lies and excuses from the defendant and the judge telling them that the defendant has no money. Maybe they can get up to 50,000 THB per victim from the Public Liability insurance though. That of course providing there is any left after involvement of the local agents/lawyers.

[slim]

No doubt the driver will be caught, fined, and released to kill again.

He'll absolve himself of blame and go to temple and maybe put a 100 baht note in the collection box like a good Buddhist.

[slim]

I see its big headline news in the Scandinavian newspapers today .

I think it will be better for any tourists coming here to think twice before they drive on the roads here.

I would prefer to take the bus instead , at least you have a better chance to survive in an accident....

If you're not being ironic which I suspect you aren't, you need to check out the safety record of a typical Thai bus company.

Edited February 2, 2012 by slim

[12DrinkMore]

Sounds like a typical over pass overtake, where the thai just assumed the other car would get out of the way.

Happens all the time in Koh Samui, and it's a daily scare if you don't keep your eye on the road,

and move out of the way quickly. Since thai's hate to face responsibilty for their mistakes, it's not to surprising that the driver fled. All the passanger were young and had a whole life ahead of them, it really is a shame for their families, and if this was a local thai accident, all hell would break loose for their loss.

Very sad indeed for the tourist.

Very quick with the analysis and judgement, aren't we?

There are no details about how the accident happened.

[Mugg]

why would the story print the names of the deceased but not the name of the driver? seems tasteless.

Are you referring to the driver of the truck or the man driving the car ?

[TechnikaIII]

Thailand roads are not safe.

I repeat for the white people looking to visit here - Thailand roads are not safe.

Every single road in the Kingdom is crazy dangerous. I risk my life driving my car 15 minutes to Macro. At least 10 speeding pickup trucks, buses, or 10-wheelers fly past me on every trip (at 130-150km+).

Thailand roads are not safe.

Agreed! I spent the last 2 years behind the wheel while living outside of Bangkok and I eventually lost count of the near death experiences I narrowly escaped. Most of the time it was the commercial vehicles (buses, trucks, and vans) I had to watch out for as the majority of the drivers operate their vehicles like they were in Formula One.

"operate their vehicles like they were in Formula One"

Your point is clear and I agree of course, except that Formula 1 drivers are among the most skillful in the world. These mad-arse, Thai commercial transport drivers are, as I repeat a comparison I have made before, more akin to "pod racing" lunatics from Star Wars, the first movie.

It's time for a serious Global exposure of the dangers, and a moritorium on tourism to Thailand. In the absence of political will, only hitting where it counts, in the money gut, will have any meaningful effect.

Tragic for the five families. .. really an unimaginable shock they must all be in now. .. as I dare to contemplate my own 20 year old son being wiped off in such a manner. It is heart breaking. I can't bear it, .. the worst fear in the world, that of harm coming to one's own. I am so sorry for their loss.

This morning on a bus in Norway, unaware of this story, I was observing the driver, appreciating the standard of the vehicle, and well, everything, and comparing my relaxed sense of security here with the fear and dread I experience on roads in Thailand. .. all as I prepare for my return to Nakhon Sawan. My mind flashes over a news item a few months ago, where the journalist takes us into a workshop where they were fabricating buses. I was glued in horror at how shoddy and slap-up the construction was. But what do you expect .. you want 'cheap'? You get what you pay for.

So another driver does a runner. ...

[12DrinkMore]

No doubt the driver will be caught, fined, and released to kill again.

He'll absolve himself of blame and go to temple and maybe put a 100 baht note in the collection box like a good Buddhist.

So which Thai driver was responsible for the accident?

The truck or the dead taxi driver?

We have no information in the above article.

[NilsBlaneVogt]

RIP - A Tragedy that should not be allowed to happen. It burns my heart.

Unfortunately it seems to me, as a driver in Thailand, that Thai Police are simply as in-effective as one can be re. reducing road accidents. There seems to be little or no attempt to stop "crazy driving" - only the 'obligatory' "catch a motorbike" stoppings and occasional "check for seat belt lunch money attempts". But then, when you watch a Thai Police Officer drive against the traffic in the dark on a motorbike wihout lights,or have been 'shaken for lunch money' by a dilligent Thai Cop pointing to a smudge on the License Plate, one realizes that unfortunately - they are only representatives of the "average" citizen. With more and more tourists, also driving themselves, Thai Police need to seriously upgrade their efforts to stopping "crazy driving" (incl. Farangs Drunk & Crazy Driving on Motorbike !) and simply fine, take driver licences (not bribes), confiscate vehicles, and jail drivers that exhibit unacceptable behaviour: And 'Yes" - I know I'm a silly dreamer (or stupid), but somehow, somewhere, someone has to remove the 10+% suicidal drivers [and maybe educate the 25% who simply don't know how to drive....]. Only by improving Thai Traffic Culture will it be possible to reduce the absolutely unneccesary killings that happen all too frequently !

[PoodMaiDai]

How is it the Thai drivers almost always live and are able to flee, while most everyone else in the accident dies? That honestly is incredible.

Could it be because they are drunk? I do know many drunk drivers live because they are more relaxed and limber which sometimes allows them to survive such crashes. That would also make sense as to why they flee, to sober up.

[ajarnmarc]

If it's reported as being a head on collision what more details do you want or need?

Who got in the wrong lane and who was passing another car. Just look who fleed,

and the fact that it was reported as a head on collision, and there aren't any other witnesses coming forward to dispute what has already been reported. If you've ever been in this situation you would know that it's a matter of timing, to get the hell out of the way. The passangers at least appear to have had a driver, that was local people.