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

[z12]

Tourists transports should all be armored troop carriers on Thai roads.

Edited February 3, 2012 by z12

[normac44]

Once again one has to ask the same questions about the driving ability of the truck driver, did he in fact have a licence, do the Companies do any checks...obviously not.like a lot of the bus drivers, just leave the scene and come back in a few months.

RIP to the victims.

[MTH]

According to Swedish media, a 27-year old man suspected of driving the truck has been arrested.

He’s currently held at the police station in Phang Nga. A remand hearing is expected to take place this afternoon.

RIP and condolences to families and friends.

[Lite Beer]

Phuket update: Swede horror smash driver surrenders

Phuket Gazette –

The tire tracks show where the Phuket-bound truck crossed over the median strip before crashing into the Toyota passenger car.

The wreckage of the Phuket-registered Toyota Altis.

PHUKET: The reckless truck driver who killed four Swedish holidaymakers in Phuket as well as their Thai driver on Wednesday morning surrendered to police in Phang Nga yesterday.

The driver, 27-year-old Muhummadyukee Jehyusoh, was held in a cell at Phang Nga Provincial Court yesterday. He has since been transferred to Phang Nga Provincial Prison.

Media access to the Narathiwat native was restricted by Khok Kloy District Police after he turned himself in at about 10am yesterday.

Despite the confession, Khok Kloy Duty Officer Capt Santi Prakobpran told the Phuket Gazette this morning that they still don’t know what caused Mr Muhummadyukee’s six-wheel truck to cross a median strip and crash head-on into a Toyota Altis driven by Wichit Phromluang, a 26-year-old from Udon Thani Province.

Capt Santi said he expects Mr Muhummadyukee to request a bail release from Phang Nga Provincial Court.

He has already confessed to police charges of reckless driving resulting in loss of life and property damage, Capt Santi said.

Police are still investigating whether he was under the influence of alcohol or fell asleep at the wheel, he said.

Mr Muhummadyukee, who fled the scene after the accident, surrendered himself after conferring with his employers at the Chotepatama Company.

He abandoned the company’s six-wheel refrigerated truck at the scene of the accident, which killed all five in the car instantly and ripped the axle off the front of the truck.

Mr Muhummadyukee was unhurt.

He was on his way to Phuket to collect a shipment of fish when the accident occurred, Capt Santi said.

Both vehicles are now on the grounds of Khok Kloy District Police headquarters, about five kilometers from the accident scene.

An examination of the Altis wreckage revealed that airbags had deployed.

Gazette reporters yesterday visited the accident scene, where tire tracks left by the truck were still clearly visible in the drainage ditch the truck crossed before hitting the Altis head-on.

A shirt, pair of shorts, blanket and some flowers were laid out at the scene where the Altis came to rest, presumably put there in memorial by relatives of the late Mr Wichit.

The accident, like ones before it, turned the Swedish media spotlight on the safety of Thailand as a tourist destination.

A report on the Swedish website Svenska Dagbladet listed Thailand and Turkey as the two tourist destinations with the largest number of Swedish fatalities in both 2009 and 2010.

The report quoted Swedish road safety expert Niklas Stavegård as saying that traffic conditions in Thailand “differ significantly” from those in Western Europe and North America.

“It runs a completely different way, with many pedestrians, mopeds and other kinds of vehicles, and they do not follow traffic rules in the way we are accustomed to here,” he said.

Karl von Schoultz of the Swedish Automobile Association advised Swedes in Thailand from getting behind the wheel until they had “been here a while” and were familiar with the “prevailing culture” on Thai roads.

“Sure there are traffic laws and police to enforce them, but the traffic culture is casual. They do not have the same respect for rules or the safety consciousness that we have at home, or in Europe,” he was quoted as saying in another report about the accident.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...ticle12207.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-02-04

[softgeorge]

RIP, Vila i Frid

an excellent dual lane highway, been driving it more than 100 times, wonder how it could happen?

a whiteplated car, thus not a legal taxi, with driver from Isarn 1300km away

as for road casualties, in Phuket its down to 1/3 of what it used to be a decade ago, despite double the traffic

Condolences to all five families. This Thai character flaw of running from the scene of an accidental homicide or any accident is a serious national issue. Whether it is a simple injury or deaths, as in this case, the act of running is inexcusable. It says a lot about the culture. What further compounds the issue in Thailand is how they "rationalize" and seek to gain some sort of pardon by dreaming up a story. We saw it in the drunken hammer murder yesterday. Thais can never accept responsibility for their behave. A serious cultural flaw.

Did the driver of this fish truck get knocked out and then on awakening examine the bodies before running? How did he know they weren't still alive, critically injured, and might be saved with proper action? Sad commentary on Thai society and lawlessness that he will eventually "surrender" after having a big man "negotiate" conditions and payoffs with the police. The Thai press should take this "running" as a serious issue and campaign fervently against. Thai laws should be examined, and penalties enforced. Thai society has to change in order for this to happen. For example, regardless of whose son or daughter you are or what "club" you go to, running from the scene of a crime escalates it. The Swedish embassy should see that the companies responsible for manufacturing or catching the tuna and distributing it are made to substantially compensate all five families for this act of multiple vehicular homicide and illegal flight from a crime scene. It starts with the companies, parents, teachers holding their charges accountable from the outset.

This fish company truck driver who fled the scene is merely a product of his Thai culture, but somewhere along the line, one of these rogues has to be punished severely as an example backing up enforcement of law. This applies to every fat cat or "connected" person's son and daughter as well. What do you think the penalty would be if a farang had fled the scene after something like this in Thailand or in their own country?

In Australia it would be 1. Dangerous driving causing death 2. Failing to render assistance 3. Leaving the scene of an accident and 4. Failing to report an accident. All of these combined would result in the driver's liscence being cancelled either for at least a year or cancelled for life, the driver received a hefty fine for each offence, possible lengthy jail time and substancial compensation being paid to the families by the relevant government insurance agency.

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

N# 1 Culpable driving and you forgot fail to exchange name and address, possibly use vehicle which does not comply with standards of registration and at least 5 other other offences. A minimum of 11 charges you could load him up with, commonly known as a hamburger with the lot. careless, fail to have proper control etc

[animatic]

RIP, Vila i Frid

an excellent dual lane highway, been driving it more than 100 times, wonder how it could happen?

a whiteplated car, thus not a legal taxi, with driver from Isarn 1300km away

as for road casualties, in Phuket its down to 1/3 of what it used to be a decade ago, despite double the traffic

Condolences to all five families. This Thai character flaw of running from the scene of an accidental homicide or any accident is a serious national issue. Whether it is a simple injury or deaths, as in this case, the act of running is inexcusable. It says a lot about the culture. What further compounds the issue in Thailand is how they "rationalize" and seek to gain some sort of pardon by dreaming up a story. We saw it in the drunken hammer murder yesterday. Thais can never accept responsibility for their behave. A serious cultural flaw.

Did the driver of this fish truck get knocked out and then on awakening examine the bodies before running? How did he know they weren't still alive, critically injured, and might be saved with proper action? Sad commentary on Thai society and lawlessness that he will eventually "surrender" after having a big man "negotiate" conditions and payoffs with the police. The Thai press should take this "running" as a serious issue and campaign fervently against. Thai laws should be examined, and penalties enforced. Thai society has to change in order for this to happen. For example, regardless of whose son or daughter you are or what "club" you go to, running from the scene of a crime escalates it. The Swedish embassy should see that the companies responsible for manufacturing or catching the tuna and distributing it are made to substantially compensate all five families for this act of multiple vehicular homicide and illegal flight from a crime scene. It starts with the companies, parents, teachers holding their charges accountable from the outset.

This fish company truck driver who fled the scene is merely a product of his Thai culture, but somewhere along the line, one of these rogues has to be punished severely as an example backing up enforcement of law. This applies to every fat cat or "connected" person's son and daughter as well. What do you think the penalty would be if a farang had fled the scene after something like this in Thailand or in their own country?

In Australia it would be 1. Dangerous driving causing death 2. Failing to render assistance 3. Leaving the scene of an accident and 4. Failing to report an accident. All of these combined would result in the driver's liscence being cancelled either for at least a year or cancelled for life, the driver received a hefty fine for each offence, possible lengthy jail time and substancial compensation being paid to the families by the relevant government insurance agency.

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

Agreed, but it would also be

1. Dangerous driving causing death ... that's a given.

But also typical driving by many, if not most.

2. Failing to render assistance ,

because you are pretty much clueless about rendering assistance.

3. Leaving the scene of an accident

to save your life from being beaten todeath by survivors and by standers.

A common occurrence in Thailand. Even BiB recommend not hanging around,

because they have a better chance finding the facts if you live to tell them to them.

4. Failing to report an accident.

Till it is safe to report the accident.

The consistently main reason given, and accepted by police,

for leaving the scene of an bad accident is survival to tell about it later.

Character flaw?

or

Cultural flaw,

making the character flaw normal, and thus not a flaw?

Edited February 4, 2012 by animatic

[transam]

It is my understanding that commercial drivers involved in a prang are told to leg it as the BiB then have a BIG problem and their system doesn't work. .

[Oberkommando]

A report on the Swedish website Svenska Dagbladet listed Thailand and Turkey as the two tourist destinations with the largest number of Swedish fatalities in both 2009 and 2010

So Thailand is now the most dangerous tourism destination for Swedes, as well as for Brits and Aussies.

The truth is slowly coming out.

Edited February 4, 2012 by Oberkommando

[Colin Yai]

RIP, Vila i Frid

an excellent dual lane highway, been driving it more than 100 times, wonder how it could happen?

a whiteplated car, thus not a legal taxi, with driver from Isarn 1300km away

as for road casualties, in Phuket its down to 1/3 of what it used to be a decade ago, despite double the traffic

Condolences to all five families. This Thai character flaw of running from the scene of an accidental homicide or any accident is a serious national issue. Whether it is a simple injury or deaths, as in this case, the act of running is inexcusable. It says a lot about the culture. What further compounds the issue in Thailand is how they "rationalize" and seek to gain some sort of pardon by dreaming up a story. We saw it in the drunken hammer murder yesterday. Thais can never accept responsibility for their behave. A serious cultural flaw.

Did the driver of this fish truck get knocked out and then on awakening examine the bodies before running? How did he know they weren't still alive, critically injured, and might be saved with proper action? Sad commentary on Thai society and lawlessness that he will eventually "surrender" after having a big man "negotiate" conditions and payoffs with the police. The Thai press should take this "running" as a serious issue and campaign fervently against. Thai laws should be examined, and penalties enforced. Thai society has to change in order for this to happen. For example, regardless of whose son or daughter you are or what "club" you go to, running from the scene of a crime escalates it. The Swedish embassy should see that the companies responsible for manufacturing or catching the tuna and distributing it are made to substantially compensate all five families for this act of multiple vehicular homicide and illegal flight from a crime scene. It starts with the companies, parents, teachers holding their charges accountable from the outset.

This fish company truck driver who fled the scene is merely a product of his Thai culture, but somewhere along the line, one of these rogues has to be punished severely as an example backing up enforcement of law. This applies to every fat cat or "connected" person's son and daughter as well. What do you think the penalty would be if a farang had fled the scene after something like this in Thailand or in their own country?

In Australia it would be 1. Dangerous driving causing death 2. Failing to render assistance 3. Leaving the scene of an accident and 4. Failing to report an accident. All of these combined would result in the driver's liscence being cancelled either for at least a year or cancelled for life, the driver received a hefty fine for each offence, possible lengthy jail time and substancial compensation being paid to the families by the relevant government insurance agency.

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

An excellent post , Although I concur with your thoughts 110%, but have you any idea just how many "Thai drivers" have no licence so therefore have no insurance there are on Thailands roads today? and if stopped by the BiBs at a checkpoint a simple 200 baht "backhander" leaves them as free as a bird to add to the truly horrendous carnage we see day in day out on Thailand,s roads ,this in essence is the crux of the problem ,the laws are only as good as the people who are paid to uphold them.

[Colin Yai]

Sad indeed. But also sad to see all the barstool-judges around here. You don't know what happened, but you are all ready to put the blame on the truckdriver. What about an unexperienced Swedish driver, new driverslicence, rental car and driving (for a Swede) on the wrong side of the road ?? OR

a Thai driver in the Swedes car, trying to impress the young ladies ??

Well done, Sir. I was waiting for the first poster to try to shift the blame onto the victims, even if you have to fabricate the evidence to suggest that the car might have been driven by one of the Swedes!

Yep his remarks are truly pitiful ,and without foundation, as it was a Thai who was driving the Swedes Car.

[Colin Yai]

RIP, Vila i Frid

an excellent dual lane highway, been driving it more than 100 times, wonder how it could happen?

a whiteplated car, thus not a legal taxi, with driver from Isarn 1300km away

as for road casualties, in Phuket its down to 1/3 of what it used to be a decade ago, despite double the traffic

Condolences to all five families. This Thai character flaw of running from the scene of an accidental homicide or any accident is a serious national issue. Whether it is a simple injury or deaths, as in this case, the act of running is inexcusable. It says a lot about the culture. What further compounds the issue in Thailand is how they "rationalize" and seek to gain some sort of pardon by dreaming up a story. We saw it in the drunken hammer murder yesterday. Thais can never accept responsibility for their behave. A serious cultural flaw.

Did the driver of this fish truck get knocked out and then on awakening examine the bodies before running? How did he know they weren't still alive, critically injured, and might be saved with proper action? Sad commentary on Thai society and lawlessness that he will eventually "surrender" after having a big man "negotiate" conditions and payoffs with the police. The Thai press should take this "running" as a serious issue and campaign fervently against. Thai laws should be examined, and penalties enforced. Thai society has to change in order for this to happen. For example, regardless of whose son or daughter you are or what "club" you go to, running from the scene of a crime escalates it. The Swedish embassy should see that the companies responsible for manufacturing or catching the tuna and distributing it are made to substantially compensate all five families for this act of multiple vehicular homicide and illegal flight from a crime scene. It starts with the companies, parents, teachers holding their charges accountable from the outset.

This fish company truck driver who fled the scene is merely a product of his Thai culture, but somewhere along the line, one of these rogues has to be punished severely as an example backing up enforcement of law. This applies to every fat cat or "connected" person's son and daughter as well. What do you think the penalty would be if a farang had fled the scene after something like this in Thailand or in their own country?

In Australia it would be 1. Dangerous driving causing death 2. Failing to render assistance 3. Leaving the scene of an accident and 4. Failing to report an accident. All of these combined would result in the driver's liscence being cancelled either for at least a year or cancelled for life, the driver received a hefty fine for each offence, possible lengthy jail time and substancial compensation being paid to the families by the relevant government insurance agency.

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

An excellent post , Although I concur with your thoughts 110%, but have you any idea just how many "Thai drivers" have no licence so therefore have no insurance there are on Thailands roads today? and if stopped by the BiBs at a checkpoint a simple 200 baht "backhander" leaves them as free as a bird to add to the truly horrendous carnage we see day in day out on Thailand,s roads ,this in essence is the crux of the problem ,the laws are only as good as the people who are paid to uphold them.

Thanks for that "Ober" actually I am quite flattered when I receive an approval from you with my thought's, especially bearing in mind few can argue that your eye here in Thailand is not well and truly "on the ball" .

[Johpa]

. My guess is the truck driver was briefly asleep at the wheel. Oh yes, Thai drivers usually run away for the same reason dogs can lick their balls.

Thai commercial drivers are insructed by the owners of the trucks to flee the scene. This is really little different from being instructed to say nothing until you have a lawyer present. In Thailand, it is not to get involved with the police until the phu yais have begun a conversation with the police. Although I can very easily imagine here in Thai Visa Land that some posters instruct their dogs on how to lick their balls.

[osiboy]

What would have been the outcome if the truck driver had been a Swedish farang and the car passengers Thai.

the farang would be locked up until he paid around 1-2m baht to each of the thai families ,...... thai price is around 3-500,000b

[osiboy]

'Takua Thung District Police are now hunting the driver, who fled the scene.'

what a shock, that never happens

The Fish Transport Firm will obviously disclose the "drivers" name to the police, and they will no doubt find him in due course, the rest is up to the law.

yes , they will find him , but justice will not be done cos the driver cannot now be charged with ''driving under the influence'' of drink or drugs , ........ a madatory jail sentence of 3 yrs or so before the charge of causing death by dangerous driving would help IMO.

[catmac]

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.

Actually they were passengers in a vehicle driven by a Thai, don't bash the tourists simply because they were seated in the vehicle.

So true, softgeorge.

All these Thai apologists here, doing their best to switch the blame onto the victims. The facts are clear enough for a reasonable judgement of blame to be made onto the truck driver. The fact that he fled the scene is further proof of his guilt.

[Colin Yai]

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.

Actually they were passengers in a vehicle driven by a Thai, don't bash the tourists simply because they were seated in the vehicle.

So true, softgeorge.

All these Thai apologists here, doing their best to switch the blame onto the victims. The facts are clear enough for a reasonable judgement of blame to be made onto the truck driver. The fact that he fled the scene is further proof of his guilt.

Admit Guilt? this is tantamount to saying that you are wrong! ,and owing to this insane Thai trait that doing so will cause "Loss of Face" is the reason why Thai people will never ever learn from their mistakes, cos to admit you have actually made one in the first place is regarded as deeply shaming for the person involved ,with a mindset like this it is totally impossible for them to improve in anything as they already think they are 110% in anything they do especially when behind the steering wheel.

[phuturatica]

Rest in Peace and my condolences to all families who have lost a loved one.

[jackr]

"...Police are now hunting the driver, who fled the scene."

It seems this is true in the majority of tragic motorway accidents. And 99% of the time the driver is found, usually within a few hours. Why do they do it? It's a mystery to me.

I personally think the reason most flee the scene is that they are high on something,

For the type of person that runs, probably what you say, and the culture of not wanting to take the blame (and subsequent loss of face) and probably because they'll get beaten up and that they are WEAK.

[ALFREDO]

I once road in a mini-bus from Chumpon to Ranong, for a visa run. It was terrifying, the van/bus driver kept passing other cars on blind corners as it was a windy route. I was so afraid of dying. I wanted to sleep because I was really tired, but no way that was going to happen being thrown from side to side going around corners so fast. I also used to drive a lot myself to a province outside BKK and saw some absolutely insane driving and a few horrible accidents with one van smashed from driver seat back to the last seat. Saw people under sheets on the side of the road, even a few kids across from my school. Thailand's roads are so unsafe and it's despicable the lack of appreciation for human life in the country.

And why not stop with that Visa and Borderruns, with Tens of Thousands of Kilometers for nothing and flying miles! by Bus ect to Ranong-on this same road, Penang-crazy long drive, Aranyaprathet-Poipet, Phnom Penh, Nong Khai, Vientiane ect!!!

Why not make it same in -Cambodia- can pay your Visa Extension inside country-Official and even with agents, without moving your ass from the beachchair!!! Convinient and not same dangerous same in Thailand! And the Thai Goverment gets the money, not the border taxes have to be paid to Lao, Cambodia or Myanmar!

As soon as you have TESCO Lotus, SuperCheap, BigC and Central shopping mall plus some proper hospitals and girls for more decent prices as Baankok or Pattaya or Phuket you will hate it to make such big advertisement here in ThaiVisa (((: but btw, OFF TOPIC

Surprisingly how good you can life in that underdeveloped country -Cambodia- without all your mentioned shopping temples and without Mc Donalds, Pizzahut and Subway ect. At least Kfc has arrived with a few Outlets in PP and SR.

[KeyserSoze01]

Sad indeed. But also sad to see all the barstool-judges around here. You don't know what happened, but you are all ready to put the blame on the truckdriver. What about an unexperienced Swedish driver, new driverslicence, rental car and driving (for a Swede) on the wrong side of the road ?? OR

a Thai driver in the Swedes car, trying to impress the young ladies ??

You are joking, aren't you?

[KeyserSoze01]

"...Police are now hunting the driver, who fled the scene."

It seems this is true in the majority of tragic motorway accidents. And 99% of the time the driver is found, usually within a few hours. Why do they do it? It's a mystery to me.

1 ) Because they don't like taking responsibilty for their actions

2 ) It could invariably involve paying some form of compensation.

3) To sober up before facing the police.

[moonbarman]

RIP, Vila i Frid

an excellent dual lane highway, been driving it more than 100 times, wonder how it could happen?

a whiteplated car, thus not a legal taxi, with driver from Isarn 1300km away

as for road casualties, in Phuket its down to 1/3 of what it used to be a decade ago, despite double the traffic

I find that very hard to believe where are your figures from

[webfact]

Swedes from Horror Crash on Their Way Home

Dennis Krog

PHUKET: -- The bodies of the four young Swedes who were killed in a crash last week will be placed on a flight from Phuket to Bangkok tonight. Then it will be a matter of connecting with an aircraft bound for Stockholm.

The young Swedes were killed in a tragic accident as they were passengers in a taxi that was suppose to take the two Swedish couples from Patong to The popular diving destination of Koh Tao as the accident happened.

All four Swedes and the Thai driver were killed instantly.

The Thai driver Wichit Phromluang, 26, has already been farewelled in a Buddhist cremation at his home province, in northern Thailand.

Source: http://www.scandasia...18&coun_code=se

-- scandasia.com 2012-02-08

[laurentbkk]

A very sad story , RIP . did the police find the driver ? He should rot in jail for the rest of his life , those trucks are so dangerous , last saturday my friend in pattaya was nearly killed because a truck didnt stop at the red light , thanks god he only have 2 broken ribs but he could have died because of stupidity and total lack of driving knowledge from those people. Thailand roads are far more dangerous than any other places.

[laurentbkk]

Sad indeed. But also sad to see all the barstool-judges around here. You don't know what happened, but you are all ready to put the blame on the truckdriver. What about an unexperienced Swedish driver, new driverslicence, rental car and driving (for a Swede) on the wrong side of the road ?? OR

a Thai driver in the Swedes car, trying to impress the young ladies ??

You are joking, aren't you?

I really hope he is jocking ..... in that case why the driver fled the scene ? any other ridiculous comment like that ?

[theblether]

All this talk of Thai bashing is absolute category one garbage, anyone reaching for a keyboard to type that phrase in needs their head examined.

Carnage on the roads is not acceptable......deaths on the road are unavoidable........but carnage is something else altogether.

The way the Thai driving licences are issued starts the whole sorry process off on the wrong foot,,,,,,,,the way that they will transport people at high speed in the back of pick up trucks and songthaews then adds to the certainty of carnage following........the patchy enforcement of road safety and vehicle laws then adds a bit more.

I could go on......there are plenty of police and road check points throughout the country........Thailand could make a vast difference to road safety very quickly if it put it's mind to it.

edit

ps

How many passenger seats on aircraft could be filled by dead tourists every year in Thailand? People who left their home countries full of vigour and excitement, and going home dead?

How many times do we need to fight this stupid Thai bashing argument on Thaivisa?

Edited February 8, 2012 by theblether

[Gers1873]

All this talk of Thai bashing is absolute category one garbage, anyone reaching for a keyboard to type that phrase in needs their head examined.

Carnage on the roads is not acceptable......deaths on the road are unavoidable........but carnage is something else altogether.

The way the Thai driving licences are issued starts the whole sorry process off on the wrong foot,,,,,,,,the way that they will transport people at high speed in the back of pick up trucks and songthaews then adds to the certainty of carnage following........the patchy enforcement of road safety and vehicle laws then adds a bit more.

I could go on......there are plenty of police and road check points throughout the country........Thailand could make a vast difference to road safety very quickly if it put it's mind to it.

edit

ps

How many passenger seats on aircraft could be filled by dead tourists every year in Thailand? People who left their home countries full of vigour and excitement, and going home dead?

How many times do we need to fight this stupid Thai bashing argument on Thaivisa?

You can lead a horticulture but you can't make her think.

Same as trying to make many, not all, Thais consider the consequences od their actions. Every Thai teenager should be made spend a few hours in a hospital A&E department --- see the consequences of bad motorbike riding and bad driving.

The government shoud make reduction of road deaths a priority and instruct the police accordingly. Sadly the police are more about helmets, t-money and nod road safety.

Edited February 8, 2012 by Gers1873

[Gweiloman]

A report on the Swedish website Svenska Dagbladet listed Thailand and Turkey as the two tourist destinations with the largest number of Swedish fatalities in both 2009 and 2010

So Thailand is now the most dangerous tourism destination for Swedes, as well as for Brits and Aussies.

The truth is slowly coming out.

What kind of an idiotic and blinkered comment is this? If there are large numbers of a certain nationality to a certain destination, chances are that fatalities / casualties will be higher. Furthermore, if a destination attracts some certain personalities (such as being drunk, rude, misbehaving - not saying that these 4 young tourists are at all like this), then they are bound to get into trouble more often.

I have visited practically all the European major cities and capitals and nowhere do I feel more safe than in Bangkok. Of course, I'm not the kind of tourist that Pattaya / Phuket attracts.

[harryfrompattaya]

"...Police are now hunting the driver, who fled the scene."

It seems this is true in the majority of tragic motorway accidents. And 99% of the time the driver is found, usually within a few hours. Why do they do it? It's a mystery to me.

Many are drunk now it is no mystery to you

[steve187]

A very sad story , RIP . did the police find the driver ? He should rot in jail for the rest of his life , those trucks are so dangerous , last saturday my friend in pattaya was nearly killed because a truck didnt stop at the red light , thanks god he only have 2 broken ribs but he could have died because of stupidity and total lack of driving knowledge from those people. Thailand roads are far more dangerous than any other places.

Road deaths per 100,000 inhabitants Uk 3.6, USA 12.3, India 16.8, Thailand 19.6, Brasil 19.9, Myanmar 23.4, The Gambia 36.6, World 20.8, Then road deaths per 100,000 Motor vehicles - Uk 7, USA 15, Brasil 71, Thailand118, India 1,120, Myanmar 3342, The Gambia 5,228, World 93.3