13 Die In Sa Kaew Highway Crash

[george]

13 die in Sa Kaew highway crash

BANGKOK: -- A pickup truck packed with farm labourers crashed into an 18-wheel truck, killing 13 of the people in the pickup and leaving 10 others injured.

The accident occurred at 5:30 a.m. local time in Sa Kaew province east of Bangkok, when the driver of the pickup, 18-year-old Virapol Muanmak, tried to pass another car and smashed head on into a truck, reported iTV.

The one-ton pickup was packed with 23 people returning to Ubon Ratchathani province from Chon Buri, where they had been employed to cut sugarcane.

--DPA/Bangkok Post 2006-01-16

[ratcatcher]

13 die in Sa Kaew highway crash

BANGKOK: -- A pickup truck packed with farm labourers crashed into an 18-wheel truck, killing 13 of the people in the pickup and leaving 10 others injured.

The accident occurred at 5:30 a.m. local time in Sa Kaew province east of Bangkok, when the driver of the pickup, 18-year-old Virapol Muanmak, tried to pass another car and smashed head on into a truck, reported iTV.

The one-ton pickup was packed with 23 people returning to Ubon Ratchathani province from Chon Buri, where they had been employed to cut sugarcane.

--DPA/Bangkok Post 2006-01-16

How very sad and tragic. No doubt the driver was among the fatalities. One day, they will outlaw the carrying of humans in the back of pickups where they are the equivalent of watermelons when involved in a crash. The story says the driver tried to pass another car. Probably couldn't resist the challenge.

13 plus families grieving and whose lives will be forever altered due to 5 seconds of bad judgement. No insurance either.

This is the real world.

[Jai Dee]

13 PEOPLE DIED IN SA-KAEW ROAD ACCIDENT THIS MORNING

13 people died in Sa-kaew province this morning when a pickup truck carrying 23 people rammed into a truck carrying eucalyptus wood.

At 4.30 am this morning a pickup truck carrying 23 construction workers from Bangkok en route to Ubonratchathani hit a truck carrying eucalyptus wood, and then lost control and rammed into a second wood-carrying truck that was trailing the first one. A total of 13 people were found dead inside the pickup truck and on the road.

10 others were injured and have been sent to hospital. The accident occured at an intersection in Sa-kaew province's Muang (เมือง) district.

Source: thaisnews.com ประจำวันจันทร์ที่ 16 มกราคม 2549

Personal comment: 23 people in a pickup?

[sriracha john]

Recipe For Disaster

4:30 am

18 year-old driver

23 people in a pick-up

Attempt to overtake another vehicle

[sierra01]

I agree, very sad, but it'll keep happening again and again. No one ever seems to learn, no one ever seems to care, no one ever seems to realise the immense danger people here constantly put themselves in, on the roads anyway.

[thaivisitor]

13 die in Sa Kaew highway crash

BANGKOK: -- A pickup truck packed with farm labourers crashed into an 18-wheel truck, killing 13 of the people in the pickup and leaving 10 others injured.

The accident occurred at 5:30 a.m. local time in Sa Kaew province east of Bangkok, when the driver of the pickup, 18-year-old Virapol Muanmak, tried to pass another car and smashed head on into a truck, reported iTV.

The one-ton pickup was packed with 23 people returning to Ubon Ratchathani province from Chon Buri, where they had been employed to cut sugarcane.

--DPA/Bangkok Post 2006-01-16

I hope the Ubon Ratchathani Province Governor don't do something insulting like ordering the province authorities to give each of the family of the dead 2000 Baht.

[Tarragona]

I heard on the radio this morning not long after the accident happened that the back of the pickup was fitted to hold the passengers "double decker" style. The driver apparently survived with a broken leg and a very small child travelling in the cab escaped without injury.

[buadhai]

One day, they will outlaw the carrying of humans in the back of pickups where they are the equivalent of watermelons when involved in a crash.

Sadly, this will not happen here until the economy is at the stage where people can afford and are willing to put each passenger in a seat with a seat belt. The debate about Thai attitudes toward safety can go on forever. Even relatively affluent families overstuff passenger vehicles and routinely ignore the seat belts that come with every new car.

When I lived on Saipan the legislature passed a law banning passengers in the back of pickup trucks. The public protest was so loud that the law was repealed the day before it was going to come into effect. How can an extended family of 12 manage to move themselves around when they can only afford one vehicle? An overloaded and horribly unsafe pickup truck is the obvious answer.

[sriracha john]

I agree, very sad, but it'll keep happening again and again. No one ever seems to learn, no one ever seems to care, no one ever seems to realise the immense danger people here constantly put themselves in, on the roads anyway.

Yes, on the roadways especially, but also in ever so many other areas as well. As a former safety inspector, I cringe and squirm practically on a daily basis at scenarios I encounter whether it's hazardous waste, electrical connections, food sanitation, etc. etc.

It's an aspect of my past that I find incredibly difficult to modify in Thailand.

Almost 100% of my experiences with pointing out safety shortfalls, in the most diplomatic of manner, has been met with passive indifference.

After countless episodes of witnessing the after-effects of what happens when people disregard safety, I seriously doubt I ever will ever truly be able to completely comfortable with the concept of learned submission and acceptance of "fate." Not when adherence to some simple and basic tenets of safety would alter the course of "fate."

I only can hope that the future brings improvement... it's gone on far too long already...

[buadhai]

A while back Ms. B's 11 year old daughter was about to take a school trip to the local Air Force base. Part of the trip included an optional harnessed jump off of a parachute practice tower. Ms. B asked me, "Is this safe?"

My reply, "Certainly a lot safer than letting her ride in the back seat of our car without a seat belt", was met with the expected scowl.

Different strokes....

[tavarich]

The one glareing oversight of the Thai Govt. is the way they allow the kids on the way to school, to hang off the back of trucks and overloaded ones at that. I think that is criminal and if they don't do anything else they should address that problem.