Two Killed, 16 Injured As Vans Crash In Bangkok

[webfact]

Two killed as vans crash

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Two transport vans collided on Rom Khlao Road in Bangkok's Min Buri district yesterday at 5.20am, resulting in two deaths - a van driver and his 12year-old son. Sixteen other people were injured.

The deceased driver's van was heading towards Lat Krabang, transporting people wishing to make merit in Kanchanaburi. Police found it collided with a second van heading towards Min Buri that was forced to swerve to avoid hitting a trailer truck that cut in front of it. The second van, whose driver was injured, flew across a road island into the path of the first.

Meanwhile in Kanchanaburi's Tha Moung district, a threebogie train with 100 Thai and foreign visitors crashed into the rear of a sixwheel truck transporting 50 cooking gas tanks yesterday at 10am near Wat Khao Din, on a crossroad with no barrier. The truck driver, 28, was injured.

The crash resulted in gas leaks, which prompted officials to release gas in damaged tanks and light a fire while five fire engines sprayed water to contain the flames.

-- The Nation 2012-06-05

[noitom]

This story is tragic- The part two about the train carrying 100 Thai and foreign passengers smashing into the rear of the truck carrying 50 cooking gas tanks is astonishing. Then the rest of the story is more astonishing about them lighting the gas and trying to extinguish the fires. This is some story - should be posted to world news sites. CNN, BBC, ...etc.

[TomTao]

Sad news about the van driver and his son, RIP, astonishing news about the train accident, I was trained in confined space fire fighting during my time in the navy, but whether in confined space or out in the open you do not light a fire anywhere near a gas leak, it is amazing that none of the damaged gas bottles exploded when the fire was lit, the end result could have been multiple deaths caused by extreme stupidity.

[saltandpepper]

How many more death will be needed before someone decides it is enough?

Public transportation are so dangerous in this country, mainly because of untrained drivers, and inefficient police. Add to this the use of drugs or/and alcohol, blatant disrespect of any form of regulation, and we have a perfect recipe....

But it's the same old story, just the name of the victims change!

[ratcatcher]

This story is tragic- The part two about the train carrying 100 Thai and foreign passengers smashing into the rear of the truck carrying 50 cooking gas tanks is astonishing. Then the rest of the story is more astonishing about them lighting the gas and trying to extinguish the fires. This is some story - should be posted to world news sites. CNN, BBC, ...etc.

"a threebogie train" I think they meant a three car-carriage-train, since each car has two bogies.

As for lighting the gas either they had barbecue in mind or wanted to set the town on fire?

[geriatrickid]

A controlled burn is the only safe way of dealing with a large number of leaking gas cylinders under the circumstances. A spark could have set the tanks off, and apparently it was too dangerous to remove the tanks.

What do the critics suggest was an alternative? Would any of them volunteer to go in and seal the leaks?

[OzMick]

A controlled burn is the only safe way of dealing with a large number of leaking gas cylinders under the circumstances. A spark could have set the tanks off, and apparently it was too dangerous to remove the tanks.

What do the critics suggest was an alternative? Would any of them volunteer to go in and seal the leaks?

" Would any of them volunteer to go in and seal the leaks?"

They could ask the mug who went in to "release the gas from damaged tanks".

[MEL1]

How many more death will be needed before someone decides it is enough?

Public transportation are so dangerous in this country, mainly because of untrained drivers, and inefficient police. Add to this the use of drugs or/and alcohol, blatant disrespect of any form of regulation, and we have a perfect recipe....

But it's the same old story, just the name of the victims change!

This isn't the same old story though, and there were no indications of malapropism.

The van driver had to swerve to avoid a truck that had swerved in front of it, so if anybody is to be held responsible it is the truck driver.

Truck drivers swerve all the time, anyway which they want, as they know they are virtually undamageable.

Many accidents are caused in this way, and probably more than the use of alcohol. I've never been in a van in all my time here where the driver has mildly whiffed of booze, never mind indulged.

So no. Not the same old story.

-mel.

[Johnnie99]

Judging by some of these comments, unrelenting stupidity is not confined to van drivers.

[MEL1]

*Deleted quote edited out*

There was no misuse or distortion in the original story referring to drugs or alcohol, which where then brought in by the poster presented as 'the same old story.'

Is that so difficult to understand?

-mel.

Edited June 5, 2012 by Scott

[theajarn]

So sad, about the driver and his son, RIP. I hope the driver of the trailer truck get theirs soon.

Edited June 5, 2012 by theajarn

[saltandpepper]

*Deleted quote edited out*

This one is almost certainly an exception! No drug or alcohol involved, maybe, until proven otherwise.

My point is that ONCE AGAIN, we have here public transportation involved, and ONCE AGAIN, a tragic and useless loss of lives....

Anyway, you can play with the words, the result is here! On a general basis, drugs and alcohol are mostly involved, as well as blatant disrespect for regulation....

Edited June 6, 2012 by Scott

[vijer]

Well considering that Thailand has about a quarter the population of the US jammed into a country the size of Texas I would say the Thai death toll is pretty low. The World Health Organization statistics for 2007 show that Thailand had 19.6 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants compared to the US figure of 16.2 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. The death toll has been steadily declining in Thailand over the past five years.

I would speculate that the relatively low number is attributed to the fact that it is fairly difficult to drive fast in Thailand other than after 10pm and before 7am.

In my opinion the bus driver is 100% at fault. Besides driving very fast I suspect he was driving fast in the slow lane and then also didn't pay attention to the other vehicles on the road. I am quite adept at anticipating when another driver is going to change lanes, suddenly or otherwise. Not to mention it is very very rare to see any large truck in Thailand exceeding 60kph. I can't imagine the circumstance where I would need to make such an evasive maneuver, more likely an EXTREME OVERREACTION when he finally noticed the big truck after he stopped paying attention to his phone and started paying attention to the road again. My wife does it all the time, sitting in the passenger seat and a big truck or bus moves a little into our lane ... "Oh my god! oh my god! oh my god!" I ask "what is the problem?", and she says "that truck almost hit us!". Not even close. I didn't even have to move a little bit and the truck/bus was just making a small adjustment to get around a stopped vehicle. My wife on the other hand would have locked up the breaks and moved over as far as possible.

I could be wrong tho.

It is sad for the other driver his son and the wife/mother though.

Edited June 5, 2012 by vijer

[gemini81]

Well considering that Thailand has about a quarter the population of the US jammed into a country the size of Texas I would say the Thai death toll is pretty low. The World Health Organization statistics for 2007 show that Thailand had 19.6 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants compared to the US figure of 16.2 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. The death toll has been steadily declining in Thailand over the past five years.

I would speculate that the relatively low number is attributed to the fact that it is fairly difficult to drive fast in Thailand other than after 10pm and before 7am.

In my opinion the bus driver is 100% at fault. Besides driving very fast I suspect he was driving fast in the slow lane and then also didn't pay attention to the other vehicles on the road. I am quite adept at anticipating when another driver is going to change lanes, suddenly or otherwise. Not to mention it is very very rare to see any large truck in Thailand exceeding 60kph. I can't imagine the circumstance where I would need to make such an evasive maneuver, more likely an EXTREME OVERREACTION when he finally noticed the big truck after he stopped paying attention to his phone and started paying attention to the road again. My wife does it all the time, sitting in the passenger seat and a big truck or bus moves a little into our lane ... "Oh my god! oh my god! oh my god!" I ask "what is the problem?", and she says "that truck almost hit us!". Not even close. I didn't even have to move a little bit and the truck/bus was just making a small adjustment to get around a stopped vehicle. My wife on the other hand would have locked up the breaks and moved over as far as possible.

I could be wrong tho.

It is sad for the other driver his son and the wife/mother though.

Some true observations, that many just don't pay attention here due to lack of enforcing regulations. See things at the last second and you panic. I usually exit the car with a headache to due to extreme caution and constantly checking mirrors. What was an indicator to me was some locals criticizing me in the car for checking my blind spots (they thought I didn't know how to use mirrors).

[how241]

So sad, about the driver and his son, RIP. I hope the driver of the trailer truck get theirs soon.

+1

[carra]

Well considering that Thailand has about a quarter the population of the US jammed into a country the size of Texas I would say the Thai death toll is pretty low. The World Health Organization statistics for 2007 show that Thailand had 19.6 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants compared to the US figure of 16.2 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. The death toll has been steadily declining in Thailand over the past five years.

I would speculate that the relatively low number is attributed to the fact that it is fairly difficult to drive fast in Thailand other than after 10pm and before 7am.

In my opinion the bus driver is 100% at fault. Besides driving very fast I suspect he was driving fast in the slow lane and then also didn't pay attention to the other vehicles on the road. I am quite adept at anticipating when another driver is going to change lanes, suddenly or otherwise. Not to mention it is very very rare to see any large truck in Thailand exceeding 60kph. I can't imagine the circumstance where I would need to make such an evasive maneuver, more likely an EXTREME OVERREACTION when he finally noticed the big truck after he stopped paying attention to his phone and started paying attention to the road again. My wife does it all the time, sitting in the passenger seat and a big truck or bus moves a little into our lane ... "Oh my god! oh my god! oh my god!" I ask "what is the problem?", and she says "that truck almost hit us!". Not even close. I didn't even have to move a little bit and the truck/bus was just making a small adjustment to get around a stopped vehicle. My wife on the other hand would have locked up the breaks and moved over as far as possible.

I could be wrong tho.

It is sad for the other driver his son and the wife/mother though.

I believe in Thailand they only count those that die at the scene of the accident, those that die later in hospital are not included in the figures. Also are the figures from the WHO specifically for deaths in road traffic accidents?

Also Thailand is more than just Bangkok so the times you have given for the ability to drive fast are for the city rather than the whole country.

Edited June 5, 2012 by carra

[drdoom6996]

*Deleted quote edited out*

This happens all the time. It seems vans are involved more than some other smaller vehicles. As the smaller one always lose and the van drivers know that. I just came from Pattaya to Banglamung and the only problems I had were 2 different vans cutting everybody off and not looking where they were going. I have been in vans where I have asked the driver to stop driving as if it was F1. I now take private vehicles so I am in control.

It is to bad about the driver and his boy and all the injured.

Edited June 5, 2012 by Scott

[Scott]

Off-topic posts and replies have been deleted.

[Lancashirelad]

15 comment posts before anyone (Vijer) mentioned the wife & mother. My thoughts are with her. Maybe she also has other young children and now no bread winner. Not an enviable situation.

I do agree that quite possibly the van driver was travelling too fast and too close to allow reaction time to the truck drivers unexpected manoeuvre.

As vijer said though, if you constantly scan and plan, the manoeuvre should not be entirely unexpected.

It is very rare anything happens suddenly on the road - the clues are always there.

However "suddenly" is an often used word on insurance claim forms.

Edited June 5, 2012 by Lancashirelad

[MEL1]

*Deleted quote edited out*

I would like to further comment that there is more likelihood of alcohol and drugs being involved in private transport accidents vs public transport.

It's easy to point the finger at van drivers, but the majority, in my experience, are competent and 'uninfluenced' drivers.

Bus drivers and truck drivers I would not put in that category, however.

There is many a time I have been glad to use a van and get to my destination quicker than most, and safely.

There is many a time I have been on a long journey in private transport, family or colleagues, where I have not wanted to be in the vehicle and have sometimes disembarked, in order to get public transport.

To simply blame van drivers as a grouped entity of drug/alcohol induced responsibles for accidents I find very unfair, indeed.

-mel.

Edited June 6, 2012 by Scott

[doodle]

Well considering that Thailand has about a quarter the population of the US jammed into a country the size of Texas I would say the Thai death toll is pretty low. The World Health Organization statistics for 2007 show that Thailand had 19.6 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants compared to the US figure of 16.2 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. The death toll has been steadily declining in Thailand over the past five years.

They still have a long way to go. I live in the UK and statistics show 5.9 deaths per 100,000 (2010). This is a country that has a similar population size but about half the land mass. The price we have had to pay for this has been, what many people regard as, over-regulation in health and safety matters. We probably have the most speed cameras of any country in the world and very efficient (and expensive) traffic policing . Perhaps, worth it, if it saves just one life. What surprised me most about this survey is that the UK is now the safest country, in Europe, to drive in. For those interested, I sourced the figure here: http://www.abd.org.uk/safest_roads.htm . Note the comments at the end of the article.

On a purely financial basis, I heard it recently quoted that every road death in the UK costs the nation in excess of £1,000,000.

R.I.P the driver and his son.

[nickjam]

Well considering that Thailand has about a quarter the population of the US jammed into a country the size of Texas I would say the Thai death toll is pretty low. The World Health Organization statistics for 2007 show that Thailand had 19.6 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants compared to the US figure of 16.2 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. The death toll has been steadily declining in Thailand over the past five years.

They still have a long way to go. I live in the UK and statistics show 5.9 deaths per 100,000 (2010). This is a country that has a similar population size but about half the land mass. The price we have had to pay for this has been, what many people regard as, over-regulation in health and safety matters. We probably have the most speed cameras of any country in the world and very efficient (and expensive) traffic policing . Perhaps, worth it, if it saves just one life. What surprised me most about this survey is that the UK is now the safest country, in Europe, to drive in. For those interested, I sourced the figure here: http://www.abd.org.uk/safest_roads.htm . Note the comments at the end of the article.

On a purely financial basis, I heard it recently quoted that every road death in the UK costs the nation in excess of £1,000,000.

R.I.P the driver and his son.

Wow, a million quid, really? How does that work? The difference between here and the UK is that there is education and mutual respect for other road users (In general) On my return last year it truly was a breath of fresh air; people flashing me to allow me to turn, friendly waves and thank yous from all drivers when you give them right of way. It really warmed my heart to know that people still show this sort of respect to each other and that everyone seems to be working together to allow each other to get to their destination as quick as possible. I s'pose its the difference between a civilised and uncivilized populace.

[Puccini]

A controlled burn is the only safe way of dealing with a large number of leaking gas cylinders under the circumstances. A spark could have set the tanks off, and apparently it was too dangerous to remove the tanks.

What do the critics suggest was an alternative? Would any of them volunteer to go in and seal the leaks?

" Would any of them volunteer to go in and seal the leaks?"

They could ask the mug who went in to "release the gas from damaged tanks".

Some journalists writing for English-language newspapers in Thailand are struggling with the correct use of English and you should not take everything you read too literally.

The crash resulted in gas leaks, which prompted officials to release gas in damaged tanks and light a fire while five fire engines sprayed water to contain the flames.

There is nothing in the above sentence about any person having gone in to release the gas from the damaged tanks, although the text as it was written leads us to believe so. I think that what really happened was that the officials decided to allow the gas to continue to escape from the damaged tanks – don't know what other option there would have been – and to light it so that it could burn off in a controlled manner, rather than leave it to chance that it might catch fire.

[doodle]

Well considering that Thailand has about a quarter the population of the US jammed into a country the size of Texas I would say the Thai death toll is pretty low. The World Health Organization statistics for 2007 show that Thailand had 19.6 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants compared to the US figure of 16.2 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. The death toll has been steadily declining in Thailand over the past five years.

They still have a long way to go. I live in the UK and statistics show 5.9 deaths per 100,000 (2010). This is a country that has a similar population size but about half the land mass. The price we have had to pay for this has been, what many people regard as, over-regulation in health and safety matters. We probably have the most speed cameras of any country in the world and very efficient (and expensive) traffic policing . Perhaps, worth it, if it saves just one life. What surprised me most about this survey is that the UK is now the safest country, in Europe, to drive in. For those interested, I sourced the figure here: http://www.abd.org.uk/safest_roads.htm . Note the comments at the end of the article.

On a purely financial basis, I heard it recently quoted that every road death in the UK costs the nation in excess of £1,000,000.

R.I.P the driver and his son.

Wow, a million quid, really? How does that work? The difference between here and the UK is that there is education and mutual respect for other road users (In general) On my return last year it truly was a breath of fresh air; people flashing me to allow me to turn, friendly waves and thank yous from all drivers when you give them right of way. It really warmed my heart to know that people still show this sort of respect to each other and that everyone seems to be working together to allow each other to get to their destination as quick as possible. I s'pose its the difference between a civilised and uncivilized populace.

From memory, the £1m included emergency services expenses (a lot of people get involved when a fatal accident occurs), road closures affecting other road users (delayed haulage, etc), insurance payouts, loss of lifetime earnings of the deceased and damage to road surfaces/street furniture, etc. So, I would imagine, you could come up with a figure, based on local economy, for every country, using that 'formula'. I would imagine a wide variance depending on status, in a country such as Thailand. Life really is cheap when it concerns the poor of this world.

Yes, apart from continually keeping a look out for speed cameras, driving is still fairly pleasurable here. The worst part of my trips to Thailand are always the drives to and from Swampy. Sometimes, the driver I get is good, other times ...........

[atsiii]

*Deleted quote edited out*

In my mind, what potentially makes this the same old story is the speed involved. All these vans are usually driving at unsafe, breakneck speeds, which is why, when someone/something pulls in front of them, they are unable to stop in a safe distance--or even maintain control of the vehicle. The van swearved around the truck and then careened across the medium before crashing into the other van that was traveling in the opposite direction. It's hard to imagine that this would occur if the van had been driving at a safe speed. Speed Kills.

Edited June 6, 2012 by Scott

[Colabamumbai]

It can't be April Fools Day again? or can it?

[trainman34014]

Well considering that Thailand has about a quarter the population of the US jammed into a country the size of Texas I would say the Thai death toll is pretty low. The World Health Organization statistics for 2007 show that Thailand had 19.6 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants compared to the US figure of 16.2 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. The death toll has been steadily declining in Thailand over the past five years.

I would speculate that the relatively low number is attributed to the fact that it is fairly difficult to drive fast in Thailand other than after 10pm and before 7am.

In my opinion the bus driver is 100% at fault. Besides driving very fast I suspect he was driving fast in the slow lane and then also didn't pay attention to the other vehicles on the road. I am quite adept at anticipating when another driver is going to change lanes, suddenly or otherwise. Not to mention it is very very rare to see any large truck in Thailand exceeding 60kph. I can't imagine the circumstance where I would need to make such an evasive maneuver, more likely an EXTREME OVERREACTION when he finally noticed the big truck after he stopped paying attention to his phone and started paying attention to the road again. My wife does it all the time, sitting in the passenger seat and a big truck or bus moves a little into our lane ... "Oh my god! oh my god! oh my god!" I ask "what is the problem?", and she says "that truck almost hit us!". Not even close. I didn't even have to move a little bit and the truck/bus was just making a small adjustment to get around a stopped vehicle. My wife on the other hand would have locked up the breaks and moved over as far as possible.

I could be wrong tho.

It is sad for the other driver his son and the wife/mother though.

Our wives have similar habits in traffic. Mine wants me to drive at 30kph in case someone wants to pull out on me ! She's terrified of driving or of being a passenger on Thai roads. When we go abroad to Western countries she is just fine and never says a word.

[PoodMaiDai]

Oh wow, another mini-van accident in Thailand. Didn't see that one coming.