Tourists injured after tour bus hits steel beam

[White Christmas13]

Maybe the driver couldn't read English

[rametindallas]

There is NO safe way to travel in Thailand now !

Yes, thanks goodness there are no accidents anywhere else in the world, just in Thailand. Which world do you come from then? If you have nothing to add, then don't.

If you want to start a thread on idiot drivers in other parts the World, I will be happy to comment on how stupid the drivers in the other parts of the World are. This thread happens to be about Thailand. Please don't take it so personally. Not one person on this forum is on this forum because they don't care about Thailand. They all care or they wouldn't be here. What the so-called 'bashers' are doing is, in many other places, called 'intervention', which is calling out bad/destructive behavior of someone you care about in an attempt to get them to change their ways. Most of the discussion revolves around better, in their opinion, ways of doing things or wonderment at how differently things are done here from where they grew up. I. myself, am often astonished at some behavior/ things I witness in Thailand. Their tourism slogan for many years was 'Amazing Thailand'; and I am amazed every day here..

[jackandjim]

There is NO safe way to travel in Thailand now !

theres no safe way to do anything in thailand now

[ttthailand]

Texting at the time of the crash? I mean, how else could you miss the huge white & red candy striped beam of steel going over the road in front of him?

But why was it there in the first place ?

[ttthailand]

If it is there to stop high trucks from going past it sure did its job. I would think however that they would have put another break-away beam or a hanging pipe 50 meters prior to that nasty beam so it at least gives a warning to a driver who does not see it coming. Very dark rainy nights and crazy traffic can distract the best of drivers and if they have never traveled that road before they would not be thinking about this.... It's not like it is on some back road in an industrial site.

[Katipo]

Texting at the time of the crash? I mean, how else could you miss the huge white & red candy striped beam of steel going over the road in front of him?

But why was it there in the first place ?

That's a very good point. As it is before an overpass, not an underpass. There is nothing on the overpass that would restrict the height of the vehicle. Perhaps they planned on something in the past that never got built? It wouldn't be the first time.

[Treborz]

Judging by the photo it's only a single deck coach anyway.

I realise the the driver sits lower down but to call it a double decker is misleading.

Pedanticism aside, what does it matter?

Well it doesn't matter at all really but a double decker would be even taller than that coach and would have made the driver look like even more of a fool than he already is if he thought he could get under it.

Plus had it been a double decker there would have been fatalities without a doubt.

[kkup]

That's why I sit up the back.

[ableguy]

The chauffeur, however, received no injuries as he was sitting on the bottom floor.---<deleted> ????

I assume they mean the "Driver" --and where else would he be

Usually running away '

[FarangTalk]

This song has some relevance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NsjhBfKCwo

[richard_smith237]

Judging from the force of the collision, it is believed that the driver was not aware of the steel beam.

Duh...ya think so ?......cant get much past Thailand's finest's highly tuned powers of deduction can you....they should all go and work for Scotland Yard who needs Sherlock Holmes when you have Lieutenant Somchai on the job...

One thing that is puzzling me is what in God's good name was that steel beams' purpose ? It looks as if someone has just made a steel girder gate for no apparent reason.

Somebody please enlighten me.

Can think of several reasons. 1° Avoiding heavy vehicles going on the bridge, beyond its structural resistance limits; 2° Avoiding high vehicles at a higher risk of toppling on the road under the bridge.

Thats my take exactly: As a weight restriction measure - a sign would be otherwise useless and ignored.

The beam is clearly marked etc, however, I wonder how well lit it is at night.

Many of the City Roads need better lighting at night, the lack of lighting I would suspect as a major factor in this accident on top of the drivers unfamiliarity with Petchaburi rd.

[mrtoad]

We. Used to have this frequently in the UK if anyone is familiar with the A30 in Cornwall, would often have trucks hitting one of the low bridges. Used to cause chaos for me, as had to drive that route home, particularly in the summer. So whilst the standard of driving in Thailand is very poor, these things also happen far to frequently in the UK as well. People do have an amazing habit of ignoring warning signs.

[Badbanker]

I drive this Asoke Petchburi overpass bridge 2-4 times per day.

Over the past 5 years I have seen the safety warners before the ibeam destroyed at least 10 times and the top beam destroyed on 2 occasions.

About 3 months ago the second mangled i beam was replaced with a new one, which is of course now mangled.

Problem is, this bridge is over 30 years old and just can't carry high and heavy vehicles.

As one previous poster has said, imagine the devastation if it collapsed and killed a hundred commuters?

There are plans to replace it but even then having high and heavy loads going over the new bridge are problematic.

[peecee]

I guess the subtle red and white paint on the beam offered no clues to the driver.

This is why they have set up a task force to target foreigners using the roads in Chiangmai. They are causing the majority of collision in Thailand.

Foreigners from SE Asea or other foreigners were there's a proper driving test?

[oops]

I can only picture some elites here sitting down in front a big screen TV at their private media room with all their wealthy friends laughing the guts out.

Watching their " Hooked on Farrang pranks " CD. They probably have the best coverage of all the accidents giving creating the time of their life, and yet we still keep coming, by the bus load.

I mean, at the end of the story it said the driver probably didn't see the post couldn't of summed it up better

[oops]

I drive this Asoke Petchburi overpass bridge 2-4 times per day.

Over the past 5 years I have seen the safety warners before the ibeam destroyed at least 10 times and the top beam destroyed on 2 occasions.

About 3 months ago the second mangled i beam was replaced with a new one, which is of course now mangled.

Problem is, this bridge is over 30 years old and just can't carry high and heavy vehicles.

As one previous poster has said, imagine the devastation if it collapsed and killed a hundred commuters?

There are plans to replace it but even then having high and heavy loads going over the new bridge are problematic.

What do you mean imagine.....that's all we ever do, why do you think there are so many drunk foreigners in Thailand with smiles on their faces, it's not from the #$@$. It's their great imagination facilitated by courteous and responsible Thai drivers