Americans, Australians Injured In Phuket-Bound Tour Bus Crash

[dude007]

strange, last week I did this road several times with my big bike (in both directions) and did not see or find any pothole big enough to cause problems... But potholes come quickly, I admit... On the other hand, a bus that starts swinging left and right and which is getting out of control can turn over in both ways. And a flat tyre which is not charged is just looking like another tyre, same shape, same size...

Even more strange is that the driver did not flle the scene...

[phanangpete]

Embassy's have a responsibility, i remember the two young Candian girls, who were found dead in their room, first suspicions were that they had been poisoned . This was on Pipi, and a few months previous a few other young tourists met with the same fate. I emailed the Can Emb, saying something aint right here, i did recieve a reply ,well a one liner.

The pol eventually came up with a statement that they had eaten blow fish, surely the owner of the shack they bought the meal in should know the risks, ofcourse they do, they just don't care ,money number one.

Embassy staff, im sure are dealing with an immense amount of problems but if they were to be more proactive on advising tourists of the risks in all the areas, we who live here are aware of, then the stats may not be so horrifying.

[chrisinth]

Just a better look at the back left-side tyres on the bus. These apparently are the one(s) that blew out.

Click on thumb

Edited November 5, 2012 by chrisinth

[transam]

I drove road trains and rigs for years and the most common blowout is the inside tyre closets the differential to the kerb, and I would like a dollar for everyone I have changed! This is due to slight negative camber of the road away from the centre and the weight is mostly on that one tyre. But when it does blow it certainly does not cause a vehicle to flip. In fact even when you blow a front tyre (scary - as it drops the rim on the road and you go in the line where the rim digs in without being able to steer) you still rarely could flip it. Rear tyres - never. The pic looks to be a straight road and there is no pic of the pothole, and like other observant OP's the rear tyres are ALL in tact on the rims ... my opinion ... BS.

Yep, agree, me too drove big rigs, BUT, in LOS perhaps the guys story will be accepted without a tyre inspection.

[attento]

All coaches in Europe are fitted with speed limiters (100kmph) and Tachographs to record speed and driving time of ter I think these simple gadgets would helps reduce accidents here.

Combined with driver training, and an efficient Traffic police.

[pmem]

Same old story, little dicks, little brains!

[rakman]

I tried drafting a huge double-decker bus (a Hat Yai - Phuket one) through Nakhon Sri Thammarat, as I wanted to make sure I was on the best route. I was in my Toyota sedan. He was going so fast on the narrow, curving roads that I finally gave up trying to keep up with him for safety reasons.

Drafting (closely behind the vehicle ahead) is to gain some of the other drivers momentum and nothing to do with the route.

Technically, drafting reduces drag on the following vehicle and, when more equal sized vehicles involved, can actually help the leading vehicle as the rear end drag is spread over the two vehicles. Speed can go up and fuel consumption can go down the more vehicles get into the draft. Of course, the risk of a huge crash goes up exponentially with the number of vehicles in the draft.

[RaoulDuke]

Purely speculation here, but isn't this the reason these large vehicles have dual rear tires? Is the driver saying that both tires burst? They "Look" ok in the photos.

Is there a possibility, just a teeny tiny little one, that he was going to fast? I know its a rare thing here. Maybe, just maybe he pressed the bus beyond its and his own capabilities.

Otherwise its one hell of a pothole and its also incredible that burst tire isn't shredded. Also curious is the fact the bus is on its right side when the left tire supposedly blew and he's on the wrong side of the road as well.

Truck tires can be flat but still appear OK. That is why it is common for truck drivers to carry around a pipe to hit their tires, to ensure they are not flat (a crude but surprisingly effective check which is widely used all over the world). It is very unlikely that 2 truck tires blew out from a pothole, but it is possible that the inside tire was never even checked, and could have already been flat, so when the outside tire lost air, it caused the accident (a proper bus tire would probably not blow out on a pothole, but if it was old/worn out, it is possible). Otherwise, the bus should not have lost control if it only lost one tire on a dual axle. The bottom line is that proper bus tires, which were adequately inspected by the operator, would never lead to this...but in developing nations, nothing is quite "proper." I am sure speed and inadequate driver training where much more at fault than a pothole.

[maapaa]

thanks god it could have been worse than this ..... those potholes are dangerous and everywhere on every roads even in Bangkok.

Totally agree. Living in Samut Prakan, owning only a small 125cc motorcycle, driving to 2 different schools in Bang Phli - roads are shit, sorry to say that (and it's nothing new, I know).

[rakman]

Purely speculation here, but isn't this the reason these large vehicles have dual rear tires? Is the driver saying that both tires burst? They "Look" ok in the photos.

Is there a possibility, just a teeny tiny little one, that he was going to fast? I know its a rare thing here. Maybe, just maybe he pressed the bus beyond its and his own capabilities.

Otherwise its one hell of a pothole and its also incredible that burst tire isn't shredded. Also curious is the fact the bus is on its right side when the left tire supposedly blew and he's on the wrong side of the road as well.

Truck tires can be flat but still appear OK. That is why it is common for truck drivers to carry around a pipe to hit their tires, to ensure they are not flat (a crude but surprisingly effective check which is widely used all over the world). It is very unlikely that 2 truck tires blew out from a pothole, but it is possible that the inside tire was never even checked, and could have already been flat, so when the outside tire lost air, it caused the accident (a proper bus tire would probably not blow out on a pothole, but if it was old/worn out, it is possible). Otherwise, the bus should not have lost control if it only lost one tire on a dual axle. The bottom line is that proper bus tires, which were adequately inspected by the operator, would never lead to this...but in developing nations, nothing is quite "proper." I am sure speed and inadequate driver training where much more at fault than a pothole.

Not only to tell if their flat, but one can tell if the tire pressure is close to "normal". Looking at the tires on the bus, its hard to tell if any are flat. It looks like maybe the inner left rear might be flat, but still hard to tell. If a tire has gone flat and "roughed up" by fish tailing, it would normally break the bead which would easily show up in the photos. These tires look like they are inflated to some extent, except as mentioned.

Seems like the driver lost control after hitting the pot hole, which unfortunately wasn't shown in the article. Or maybe just fell asleep at the wheel, then lost control.

Edited November 5, 2012 by rakman

[Globeman]

Purely speculation here, but isn't this the reason these large vehicles have dual rear tires? Is the driver saying that both tires burst? They "Look" ok in the photos.

Is there a possibility, just a teeny tiny little one, that he was going to fast? I know its a rare thing here. Maybe, just maybe he pressed the bus beyond its and his own capabilities.

Otherwise its one hell of a pothole and its also incredible that burst tire isn't shredded. Also curious is the fact the bus is on its right side when the left tire supposedly blew and he's on the wrong side of the road as well.

Well spotted - on all points... It is always the fault of external forces. Tyres are designed to be able to take potholes for thousands of kilometers before they need CHANGING... But drive on old tyres and anything can happen anytime - wear your best amulet because you're gonna need more luck. Tyres are actually a pretty substantial outlay - even if you work out the cost per kilometre, so it is no surprise they take the attitude of "Plenty of meat left on that one - besides, there is another one right beside it - it'll be fine (because I said so)"....

But no, it is the pothole's fault (that completely unexpected pothole) for bursting the poor innocent tyre, and the driver did his darndest - rarely any mention that the bus company might be responsible... "Me? Responsible?! How could that be? I wasn't even there!!"

[Globeman]

Same old story, little dicks, little brains!

What do little dicks have to do with it? Little brains, okay, that statement, true or not, has some relevance here, but does having a go at the national penis size have any relevance besides making you feel a tad larger yourself? There is no other reason to bring it up... it's cheap.

[Chua]

Take a close look at this photo. Sure looks like 6 intact tires, doesn't it?

Which one blew out? Probably just the one in the driver's day dream.

[Chua]

Another close-up. All tires appear fully inflated here.

Perhaps it was the driver's brain that was deflated?

Edited November 5, 2012 by Chua

[Richmah]

Nowadays you can see a lot of f.....g bus drivers who i think high on drugs.

This ashole drivers drive very dangerously, just like what i meet just now,

on the way to sutatthani airport, the bus was heading to bkk, driving dangerously and in hurry.

The other day, i meet another bus, who drive the same way, fuk...g dangerously,

when i honk at the bus , challange me to pull over, wanted to find trouble with me,

what i do, i did not stop and at a traffic light i stop, and wave my hand at the driver,

tell him to follow me, i wanted to take this bastard to the police station.

But he dare not come. THE DRIVERS ARE REALLY HIGH ON DRUGS OR DRUNK DRIVERS.

For buses bound for bkk especially.

[Jaivin2011]

I was always thought that Pattaya was the gut hole of thailand but seems Phuket is oversahdowing it these days. Or maybe Thailand has two gut holes! lol!

[crazydrummerpauly]

3 things you can count on being in the news in Phuket every week. Minibus/Tourbus accidents injuring/killing tourists/expats, motorbike accidents injuring/killing tourists/expats, and tourist/expats falling/jumping to their deaths purposefully or by accident.

And one thing you can count on every day is the same recycled responses to the carefully selected news items chosen to put the wind up the doom and gloom, conspiracy enthusiast, they-all-hate-us expats.Everything in Thailand is just not up to the state of nirvana they left when they were forced to emigrate from farang utopia. It's a wonder there's any space left back in Europe and America since no one ever dies there or is involved in accidents or commits crimes.

WHY OH WHY OH DID I EVER LEAVE OHIO (or Manchester or Sydney)?

WHY DID I EVER LEAVE OHIO?

WHY DID I WANDER TO FIND WHAT LIES YONDER

WHEN LIFE WAS SO COZY AT HOME?

Second 'OH' needs deleting. (i'm a songwriter you know)

[Globeman]

I tried drafting a huge double-decker bus (a Hat Yai - Phuket one) through Nakhon Sri Thammarat, as I wanted to make sure I was on the best route. I was in my Toyota sedan. He was going so fast on the narrow, curving roads that I finally gave up trying to keep up with him for safety reasons.

Not to excuse dangerous driving, but he would know the route extremely well - hence his ability to leave you in the dust.

[gaucho]

look ....95%of accidents occur because of speed ok ......road conditions can be bad ...U HAVE TO ADJUST SPEED TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS >>><deleted> ..its not rocket science ....was involved in a bus accident coming from chiang mai once the bus driver whilst technically was in the right ....machisimo kicked in ..and he just ploughed on ...the fool killed the woman driver and three passengers on the bus were badly injured ...please no hand wringers ...its a proven fact thais AND farangs in los drive TOO FAST ...was in kiss resto once in patts heard a bang and then seconds later a motor bike in flames with PARTS of the driver slithered past ..the accident had occured up near the mall ...we all have seen on numerous occasions shocking driving here ....AND YES I KNOW WE HAVE BAD DRIVERS IN SYDNEY NY LONDON ROME >>

[retell]

Purely speculation here, but isn't this the reason these large vehicles have dual rear tires? Is the driver saying that both tires burst? They "Look" ok in the photos.

Is there a possibility, just a teeny tiny little one, that he was going to fast? I know its a rare thing here. Maybe, just maybe he pressed the bus beyond its and his own capabilities.

Otherwise its one hell of a pothole and its also incredible that burst tire isn't shredded. Also curious is the fact the bus is on its right side when the left tire supposedly blew and he's on the wrong side of the road as well.

looks to me in the photo one of the right tire broke

[noob7]

Purely speculation here, but isn't this the reason these large vehicles have dual rear tires? Is the driver saying that both tires burst? They "Look" ok in the photos.

Is there a possibility, just a teeny tiny little one, that he was going to fast? I know its a rare thing here. Maybe, just maybe he pressed the bus beyond its and his own capabilities.

Otherwise its one hell of a pothole and its also incredible that burst tire isn't shredded. Also curious is the fact the bus is on its right side when the left tire supposedly blew and he's on the wrong side of the road as well.

looks to me in the photo one of the right tire broke

mmmh, you mean, the driver confused left with right, and the police didn't check on this details and the pothole at all?

"The pothole punctured one of the back-left tyres,"

Coherent guess, methinks

[NamKangMan]

3 things you can count on being in the news in Phuket every week. Minibus/Tourbus accidents injuring/killing tourists/expats, motorbike accidents injuring/killing tourists/expats, and tourist/expats falling/jumping to their deaths purposefully or by accident.

There seems to be a "spike" in water sports/boat related death/injury in recent time as well. Drownings in particular.

You are correct, almost on a daily basis now we have fatal road accidents on the island.

[NamKangMan]

3 things you can count on being in the news in Phuket every week. Minibus/Tourbus accidents injuring/killing tourists/expats, motorbike accidents injuring/killing tourists/expats, and tourist/expats falling/jumping to their deaths purposefully or by accident.

And one thing you can count on every day is the same recycled responses to the carefully selected news items chosen to put the wind up the doom and gloom, conspiracy enthusiast, they-all-hate-us expats.Everything in Thailand is just not up to the state of nirvana they left when they were forced to emigrate from farang utopia. It's a wonder there's any space left back in Europe and America since no one ever dies there or is involved in accidents or commits crimes.

WHY OH WHY OH DID I EVER LEAVE OHIO (or Manchester or Sydney)?

WHY DID I EVER LEAVE OHIO?

WHY DID I WANDER TO FIND WHAT LIES YONDER

WHEN LIFE WAS SO COZY AT HOME?

I wonder if you would still post like that if this out of control bus crashed into you, and your family, seriously injuring or killing some of them, whilst you were driving along obeying the law????

Would you still post like that if this bus crashed into someone else, killing them through no fault of their own????

Let me guess, you are one of those, it will never happen to me "enthusiasts" who actually think they are safe on the roads here because they are in a car and drive slow.

Next time you drive on the road here, remember, a lot of the time, the driver/rider, farang or Thai, coming the other way is usually inexperienced, unlicenced, unisured, intoxicated, high on drugs, fatigued, not in road worthy vehicle and is speeding or not driving to the road conditions, and how many cars/bikes/buses/trucks do you pass everyday????

Maybe you've been lucky, so far, but how many have killed or left disabled on the roads here on Phuket? Thousands.

You may drive safely, that doesn't mean other road users will as well.

In my opinion, the roads on Phuket pose the greatest risk to everyone's life/health who chose to live/holiday here.

[retell]

Purely speculation here, but isn't this the reason these large vehicles have dual rear tires? Is the driver saying that both tires burst? They "Look" ok in the photos.

Is there a possibility, just a teeny tiny little one, that he was going to fast? I know its a rare thing here. Maybe, just maybe he pressed the bus beyond its and his own capabilities.

Otherwise its one hell of a pothole and its also incredible that burst tire isn't shredded. Also curious is the fact the bus is on its right side when the left tire supposedly blew and he's on the wrong side of the road as well.

looks to me in the photo one of the right tire broke

mmmh, you mean, the driver confused left with right, and the police didn't check on this details and the pothole at all?

"The pothole punctured one of the back-left tyres,"

Coherent guess, methinks

or it could be just a puncture created by a pothead instead

[noob7]

Purely speculation here, but isn't this the reason these large vehicles have dual rear tires? Is the driver saying that both tires burst? They "Look" ok in the photos.

Is there a possibility, just a teeny tiny little one, that he was going to fast? I know its a rare thing here. Maybe, just maybe he pressed the bus beyond its and his own capabilities.

Otherwise its one hell of a pothole and its also incredible that burst tire isn't shredded. Also curious is the fact the bus is on its right side when the left tire supposedly blew and he's on the wrong side of the road as well.

looks to me in the photo one of the right tire broke

mmmh, you mean, the driver confused left with right, and the police didn't check on this details and the pothole at all?

"The pothole punctured one of the back-left tyres,"

Coherent guess, methinks

or it could be just a puncture created by a pothead instead

You should be careful, they don't like drug addicts in Thailand!

[fakename]

That buss will be back in action in a week, and will be ready for another accident. Just a bit of fiberglass, and no one will know the difference. I have seen these "bus yards", where they glue wrecked buses back together, add a nice paint job, and no one will know any better. I would guess that most of these highly colorful buses that you see on the hi ways, are just these buses. They are painted with lots of designs, to hide the uneven sheet metal surface. These repair guys are very good at the fiberglass work, but if you know how to look, its as plain as day.

What about all these cars, trucks and buses that were caught in the flood, do you really think they were junked out? No, they were dried, cleaned, and back on the road again. Even vehicles from major accidents are put back together. Often, you can see them going down the road, almost like a crab, the body is so out of alignment. How can something like this be safe?

I have been on the Bkk-Phuket run many times, and they dont slow down for anything. Sometimes, you can feel, when the driver has dozed off, and then jerks the wheel, when he wakes up! But what can you do, your trapped untill you get to the end of the line.

[Bill999]

Nowadays you can see a lot of f.....g bus drivers who i think high on drugs.

This ashole drivers drive very dangerously, just like what i meet just now,

on the way to sutatthani airport, the bus was heading to bkk, driving dangerously and in hurry.

The other day, i meet another bus, who drive the same way, fuk...g dangerously,

when i honk at the bus , challange me to pull over, wanted to find trouble with me,

what i do, i did not stop and at a traffic light i stop, and wave my hand at the driver,

tell him to follow me, i wanted to take this bastard to the police station.

But he dare not come. THE DRIVERS ARE REALLY HIGH ON DRUGS OR DRUNK DRIVERS.

For buses bound for bkk especially.

One more rational comment.

[Bill999]

Another close-up. All tires appear fully inflated here.

Perhaps it was the driver's brain that was deflated?

More likely your brain is deflated.

None of these tyres have any weight on them so of course they appear inflated. Have you ever seen unmounted tyres in a tyre shop? Do those tyres on display before they're bought look deflated or punctured? Of course they don't. Every one of those tyres in the photo could have 0 psi, no-one could tell without a proper examination which doesn't mean looking at a media photograph.

[redroo]

strange, last week I did this road several times with my big bike (in both directions) and did not see or find any pothole big enough to cause problems... But potholes come quickly, I admit... On the other hand, a bus that starts swinging left and right and which is getting out of control can turn over in both ways. And a flat tyre which is not charged is just looking like another tyre, same shape, same size...

Even more strange is that the driver did not flle the scene...

The janks and ozzies surounded him as they all read tv.

[NomadJoe]

3 things you can count on being in the news in Phuket every week. Minibus/Tourbus accidents injuring/killing tourists/expats, motorbike accidents injuring/killing tourists/expats, and tourist/expats falling/jumping to their deaths purposefully or by accident.

You forgot gold chain snatchings... !!

and tourists/expats getting run over by speedboats, usually French.