Bus Packed With Tourists Crashes Into Surat Thani Bridge

[market trader]

In all honestly this country bewilders me more often than not. Train accidents. In the last 2 or 3 years Bangkok to Chiang Mai 3 derailments that I know of. Plus how many killed at railway crossings. Bus accidents a common occurrence. I ask myself why. Is It because the railway and bus companies overpay the employees and cannot make a profit. So they have to operate with inferior equipment. Obviously the answer to that is no. Maybe the equipment is inferior. But its not because they lack paying clients. Greed on the part of employers and complete lack of respect for the client. I will always remember back in 2006 when taking the train from Phitsanulok to Chaing Mai. At that time I was a smoker and had to go between cars to smoke. On this particular day between cars was the engine and a railway car. The engine was party central for the train employees. Hang Thong and Johnny walker red galore. I am sure that by the time we reached Chiang Mai every employee was 3 sheets to the wind.

[peecee]

Any news on Thaivisa, and the Thaihaters appears from under their bridges!! width=19 alt=bah.gif>

Accidents like the one in the OP happens all over the world. Just before moving here, 3 of my customers were killed in a simular accident. Happened in Copenhagen! With a trained driver, new bus (everything in working order), but just like here not familiar with the route.

I anyone should be blamed here, it should be the friendly person, who try to help guiding the driver and didn't think about the low bridge and the too high bus.

Good, at least nobody killed! width=20 alt=wai2.gif>

so let's lock up the car driver for not knowing the bus's height then?

[unanimosity]

Any news on Thai visa, and the Thai haters appears from under their bridges!!

Accidents like the one in the OP happens all over the world. Just before moving here, 3 of my customers were killed in a simular accident. Happened in Copenhagen! With a trained driver, new bus (everything in working order), but just like here not familiar with the route.

I'm sorry but most of the people that comment on here are not Thai haters....I've lived here for almost 5 years as i also did in Denmark. The difference is that almost every day there are accidents involving foreign tourist here in Thailand and the problem most people on here have is that little or nothing seems to be done about it. The economy here is such, that the money spent by tourists (which is a huge and very important part of the Thai economy) never seems to be reinvested back into the safety of the tourists. I can assure you that if these type of accidents were occurring on a daily basis in Denmark something would be changed very quickly to protect their investments in tourism......which i think is fair and the only logical and human way to solve the problem. Unfortunately this is not the case here and nobody is ever held accountable. When did you ever hear of train derailments, bus crashes and murders involving Asian tourists all in the space of three days in Copenhagen or any other country or city in in Europe, USA, Australia or any other country for that matter. I can completely understand your desire to protect this country from what you consider ''Thai bashing' but i don't honestly think you are protecting the future of the Thai Tourism industry or the general economy of the country itself by being ignorant to your road safety records.

It is a noble attempt at explaining things but since you are not native to the chosen group you cannot possibly understand how avoiding confrontation, the lack of accountability, the nonexistance of liability, and the importance of not causing anybody to lose face are such advanced traits of civilized development that you will probably never be able to catch up.

[market trader]

The article goes on to say:

'Mr. Anurak claimed he did not notice the bridge in front of him, which was only 2.8 metres high above ground, as he was focusing with the leading car. Moments later, his tour bus, height 3.3 metres, crashed squarely into the bridge.'[/size]

'

I'm sure we all at one time or another found ourselves following another car through an unfamiliar darkness. The driver's story does make sense as one tends to become completely focused on following the leading vehicle. Add to this an old/faded/covered/non-existent sign indicating the height of the bridge and the disaster is complete. Of course, the driver lost major points when he ran away.

But based on the facts from the article i will speak up in defence of the driver as there clearly were other factors beyond the driver's control that made significant contributions to this unfortunate outcome.

Sorry but in my opinion you are completely wrong. For 8 years in Canada and the USA I owned and drove a motor home that was 45' long and 8 1/2' high. Believe me I made a point of knowing my route wherever I went. There was never a question on if I would meet an overpass below my height. The important thing in Thailand is Bahts for the owner and lots of them. Other than that who cares.

[peecee]

In all honestly this country bewilders me more often than not. Train accidents. In the last 2 or 3 years Bangkok to Chiang Mai 3 derailments that I know of. Plus how many killed at railway crossings. Bus accidents a common occurrence. I ask myself why. Is It because the railway and bus companies overpay the employees and cannot make a profit. So they have to operate with inferior equipment. Obviously the answer to that is no. Maybe the equipment is inferior. But its not because they lack paying clients. Greed on the part of employers and complete lack of respect for the client. I will always remember back in 2006 when taking the train from Phitsanulok to Chaing Mai. At that time I was a smoker and had to go between cars to smoke. On this particular day between cars was the engine and a railway car. The engine was party central for the train employees. Hang Thong and Johnny walker red galore. I am sure that by the time we reached Chiang Mai every employee was 3 sheets to the wind.

I went up to Phitsanulok and was rattled around like a kite in a thunder storm!

[unanimosity]

Any news on Thai visa, and the Thai haters appears from under their bridges!!

Accidents like the one in the OP happens all over the world. Just before moving here, 3 of my customers were killed in a simular accident. Happened in Copenhagen! With a trained driver, new bus (everything in working order), but just like here not familiar with the route.

I'm sorry but most of the people that comment on here are not Thai haters....I've lived here for almost 5 years as i also did in Denmark. The difference is that almost every day there are accidents involving foreign tourist here in Thailand and the problem most people on here have is that little or nothing seems to be done about it. The economy here is such, that the money spent by tourists (which is a huge and very important part of the Thai economy) never seems to be reinvested back into the safety of the tourists. I can assure you that if these type of accidents were occurring on a daily basis in Denmark something would be changed very quickly to protect their investments in tourism......which i think is fair and the only logical and human way to solve the problem. Unfortunately this is not the case here and nobody is ever held accountable. When did you ever hear of train derailments, bus crashes and murders involving Asian tourists all in the space of three days in Copenhagen or any other country or city in in Europe, USA, Australia or any other country for that matter. I can completely understand your desire to protect this country from what you consider ''Thai bashing' but i don't honestly think you are protecting the future of the Thai Tourism industry or the general economy of the country itself by being ignorant to your road safety records.

It is a noble attempt at explaining things but since you are not native to the chosen group you cannot possibly understand how avoiding confrontation, the lack of accountability, the nonexistance of liability, and the importance of not causing anybody to lose face are such advanced traits of civilized development that you will probably never be able to catch up.

[rametindallas]

The article goes on to say:

'Mr. Anurak claimed he did not notice the bridge in front of him, which was only 2.8 metres high above ground, as he was focusing with the leading car. Moments later, his tour bus, height 3.3 metres, crashed squarely into the bridge.'

'

I'm sure we all at one time or another found ourselves following another car through an unfamiliar darkness. The driver's story does make sense as one tends to become completely focused on following the leading vehicle. Add to this an old/faded/covered/non-existent sign indicating the height of the bridge and the disaster is complete. Of course, the driver lost major points when he ran away.

But based on the facts from the article i will speak up in defence of the driver as there clearly were other factors beyond the driver's control that made significant contributions to this unfortunate outcome.

Maybe you are careless when following someone on unfamiliar, dark roads; I'm not. In fact, I'm extra cautious because I value my life and the lives of any passengers who might be in my car. A professional driver, responsible for the safety and lives of his passengers should be cautious and err on the side of safety. There is absolutely no one to blame except the driver. He was in control of the steering, brakes, throttle, and route. He had the power to slow down or even stop. No one forced him to drive carelessly. Big question: Why are you so defensive of a shi**y, incompetent driver who, when he causes injury to those he is responsible for, runs away instead of trying to help?

[Torrens54]

I don't drive here, and haven't noticed, but is the clearance displayed near the bridge, hopefully far enough away to stop?

You MUST be kidding....what notice?......hidden, er sorry Displayed (you are a funny man) how far away??? Hello and welcome to Thailand!

[CMG]

Any news on Thaivisa, and the Thaihaters appears from under their bridges!! width=19 alt=bah.gif>

Accidents like the one in the OP happens all over the world. Just before moving here, 3 of my customers were killed in a simular accident. Happened in Copenhagen! With a trained driver, new bus (everything in working order), but just like here not familiar with the route.

I anyone should be blamed here, it should be the friendly person, who try to help guiding the driver and didn't think about the low bridge and the too high bus.

Good, at least nobody killed! width=20 alt=wai2.gif>

So did the bus driver in Denmark immediately flee the scene? You cannot possibly be comparing European bus driving standards to Thailand? And yes it's a good idea to blame the good samaritan.......why do people think it is ok to leave the scene of ANY accident they are involved in?

[rametindallas]

Any news on Thai visa, and the Thai haters appears from under their bridges!!

Accidents like the one in the OP happens all over the world. Just before moving here, 3 of my customers were killed in a simular accident. Happened in Copenhagen! With a trained driver, new bus (everything in working order), but just like here not familiar with the route.

I'm sorry but most of the people that comment on here are not Thai haters....I've lived here for almost 5 years as i also did in Denmark. The difference is that almost every day there are accidents involving foreign tourist here in Thailand and the problem most people on here have is that little or nothing seems to be done about it. The economy here is such, that the money spent by tourists (which is a huge and very important part of the Thai economy) never seems to be reinvested back into the safety of the tourists. I can assure you that if these type of accidents were occurring on a daily basis in Denmark something would be changed very quickly to protect their investments in tourism......which i think is fair and the only logical and human way to solve the problem. Unfortunately this is not the case here and nobody is ever held accountable. When did you ever hear of train derailments, bus crashes and murders involving Asian tourists all in the space of three days in Copenhagen or any other country or city in in Europe, USA, Australia or any other country for that matter. I can completely understand your desire to protect this country from what you consider ''Thai bashing' but i don't honestly think you are protecting the future of the Thai Tourism industry or the general economy of the country itself by being ignorant to your road safety records.

It is a noble attempt at explaining things but since you are not native to the chosen group you cannot possibly understand how avoiding confrontation, the lack of accountability, the nonexistance of liability, and the importance of not causing anybody to lose face are such advanced traits of civilized development that you will probably never be able to catch up.

You mean 'Thainess'?

[Genericnic]

We forget, Thailand is a "developing country" - safety, accountability, and thinking of the "what ifs" is not part of the culture--yet.

Maybe it should become the hub of developing countries.

David

[OzMick]

Can we organize a visa for Max Headroom?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Even in Thailand, the "Hub of Crashed Buses," this one was a particularly ingenious way to wreck the bus and injure a lot of passengers. Can't say I remember anyone doing it quite this way before.

Though, you'll recall, there was the heavy equipment truck driver with an oversized load in BKK a few months back who hit and took out a pedestrian bridge, knocking the walkway portion off its pillars, if I remember correctly. And that truck driver was being led by I think Highway Police (presumably on freelancce duty-pay), who seemed to manage to disappear after the accident.

[fakename]

Was there actually another car leading the bus, or was this just the bus drivers excuse? Anyway, it is the drivers responsibility for the safety of the passengers. Maybe he was running to get help? Comparing accidents in Thailand, to Denmark! Wow, you got to be joking! Ten to one, that driver didnt have a licence to drive that bus, but we will never know.

[noitom]

A local Thai was so generous to show the way. It's a certainty that some 50 baht or so changed hands as payment for this so generous favor. After being apprehended after his fleeing the scene, the driver stated that he wasn't paying attention to the bridge as he was keeping his eye on the guy in lead with his 50 baht. If those 22 foreign passengers had the picture of a local Thai helping a freelance driver who was lost and seeking help from a local Thai, would they have stepped off the bus?

Tourists are at the mercy of unregulated unsupervised Thailand and its plethora of "freelance" personnel and drivers who flee accidents without ever offering assistance or first aid to injured passengers. Get wise tourists. Cross Thailand off your vacation destinations until they get their act together and start taking responsibility and are accountable to its valued guests. Thailand needs to address their poor attitude about regarding the safety and well being of its multitude of guests who don't pay the premium for five star service.

[bigbamboo]

A local Thai was so generous to show the way. It's a certainty that some 50 baht or so changed hands as payment for this so generous favor. After being apprehended after his fleeing the scene, the driver stated that he wasn't paying attention to the bridge as he was keeping his eye on the guy in lead with his 50 baht. If those 22 foreign passengers had the picture of a local Thai helping a freelance driver who was lost and seeking help from a local Thai, would they have stepped off the bus?

Tourists are at the mercy of unregulated unsupervised Thailand and its plethora of "freelance" personnel and drivers who flee accidents without ever offering assistance or first aid to injured passengers. Get wise tourists. Cross Thailand off your vacation destinations until they get their act together and start taking responsibility and are accountable to its valued guests. Thailand needs to address their poor attitude about regarding the safety and well being of its multitude of guests who don't pay the premium for five star service.

True enough.

If Thailand wants more quality tourists it should start by taking a look at what it currently offers them.

[NongKhaiKid]

A bad couple of days for accidents which will be ignored by TAT unless they claim that tourists are flocking to the country to be involved in unusual accidents or get up close and personal with Shakespeare, you know the balcony scene but I'm not sure if Juliet actually fell off too.

[prakhonchai nick]

Why not a mandatory jail term of 5 years for any driver fleeing the scene after an accident -serious or otherwise?

[Payboy]

I don't drive here, and haven't noticed, but is the clearance displayed near the bridge, hopefully far enough away to stop?

Thais are number 2 at reading, but that does not include reading road signs, warnings, or instruction manuals.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Happens all over Europe and USA all the time.

Not just a Thai problem.

One would have thought the car leading the bus might have had a clue.

[Robby nz]

well it's oneway to keep the worlds population down. Come to Thailand and use the public transport.

Problem with that one is that it wasn't public transport it was a private hire and the driver did not know where he was going.

With public transport the drivers all drive the same route and know the road and where they are going.

I note that most of the bus accidents are with tour buses, no doubt for the same reason as this one

[deecee10]

So that's what 'hit and run' means.

[MeMock]

How can a bus be 'packed' when it is only half full?

Edited July 18, 2013 by MeMock

[chooka]

extremely lucky odds on the driver was plastered, surely he would have known the bus wouldn't fit under the bridge

[bangarang]

These bus companies are really going to have to do some soul searching and hire more intelligent drivers. Also they might think about installing a GPS system so the driver can concentrate on driving, not trying to figure out where he is.

And of course he did the classic runner, which they all seem to do unless the driver is dead...

Only problem is that thai people dont like maps or dont know how to read them. Im sure they they would have similar issues having a gps tell them where to go as it wouldn't say "turn left at the next 7-11"

[brfsa2]

Very old and barely working buses, bad and irresponsible drivers, and rip off ticket prices.. When is this going to change? probably never until they keep getting their money off tourists.

[GeorgeO]

From the look of the bridge , not the only person to have hit it !

Another undertrained driver without the skills to drive a bus

Lucky no deaths this time

Sent from my iPhone 6

using ThaiVisa app

But this is also a testament to the lack of consistency in building regulations and poor awareness (or even absence) of health and safety regulations.

No bridge should be built without sufficient clearance for "normal" vehicles, including buses (abnormal vehicles would include large plant vehicles, such as cranes, etc.)

Any in any case, there should be clear warning signs in black and yellow diagonal striping directly at the point of potential impact stating the clearance height. I see no such signs here!

[bra]

From the look of the bridge , not the only person to have hit it !

Another undertrained driver without the skills to drive a bus

Lucky no deaths this time

Sent from my iPhone 6

using ThaiVisa app

But this is also a testament to the lack of consistency in building regulations and poor awareness (or even absence) of health and safety regulations.

No bridge should be built without sufficient clearance for "normal" vehicles, including buses (abnormal vehicles would include large plant vehicles, such as cranes, etc.)

Any in any case, there should be clear warning signs in black and yellow diagonal striping directly at the point of potential impact stating the clearance height. I see no such signs here!

In many countries an gantry is erected about 100 to 200 m before a low bridge with flexible metal pipes at the height of the bridge suspended below the gantry. If the vehicle is too high the top hits the pipes resulting in a very loud warning noise (I have heard it!) with minimum damage to the truck or bus. Reflective material on the pipes assists with visual warnings as well. The driver having been warned should then stop. Not so expensive to install considering the cost of road building. This should help to prevent accidents like this one.

I agree that accidents like this one occur in many other countries - but not caused by professional drivers who know their stuff. What can go wrong will eventually go wrong.

[FLHR]

We forget, Thailand is a "developing country" - safety, accountability, and thinking of the "what ifs" is not part of the culture--yet.

Yea, developing the wrong way! Vehicles go faster now but mindsets remain the same as the Rickshaw days. Developing countries invest in public safety, education, safe roads with safe sidewalks, vehicle inspections, drivers licenses with endorsements and consequences for negligence, ect., ect...............

Even if the country started developing, it would only add on to the corrupt bureaucracies.

[QualityTouristNumberOne]

Note to self to apply a gentle sleeper hold to any Thai Bus Driver who crashes a bus I'm on...provided he tries to do a runner,and I'm in any condition to apprehend him...hard to do a runner when you're out cold.