Phuket tour bus plunges off Patong hill, 44 students injured

[Lite Beer]

Phuket tour bus plunges off Patong hill, 44 students injured
Phuket Gazette -

Onlookers inspect the wreck of the bus after it plunged down Patong Hill and landed in a roadside ditch. Photo: Thawit Bilabdullar

PHUKET: A tour bus carrying students on holiday from Bangkok plunged off Patong Hill this afternoon after failing to make it up the steep incline.

No deaths were reported in the incident, but 38 students were taken to Patong Hospital while six others were rushed to Bangkok Hospital Phuket in Phuket Town.

“One of the students, a Pakistani national, suffered serious head injuries,” said Capt Witaya Sinchumrern of the Patong Police.

More than 20 emergency rescue vehicles sped to the scene at about 2:30pm after receiving reports that the bus had rolled backwards and plunged into a ditch at the base of the east side of Patong Hill.

“There were four tour buses in total, all carrying students from the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok,” tour guide Tiwaporn Hongwongpaisarn, 50, told the Phuket Gazette.

“I was on the third bus, but the fourth bus – the one travelling behind us – did not make it up the hill,” she said.

Police have yet to question the driver of the bus, which is marked as belonging to "Tao and Friend Limited Partnership".

“We have yet to locate him and he has not yet presented himself to police,” said Capt Witaya.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Phuket-tour-bus-plunges-off-Patong-hill-44-students-injured-22758.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2013-11-09

[HeijoshinCool]

Public transportation driver rule number one:

If involved in an accident, run.

[bunta71]

Why are Thai people allowed to drive?

[LivinginKata]

Why are Thai people allowed to drive?

There are bad drivers in every country of the world. Believe me I have driven in worse places than Thailand.

[HeijoshinCool]

Why are Thai people allowed to drive?

There are bad drivers in every country of the world. Believe me I have driven in worse places than Thailand.

On the coast, outside San Francisco, a tour bus came down a steep, winding road, even though signs prohibited such. Half way down, the curves were too tight for a single lane and he knocked the Porsche, a few cars uphill and ahead of me, over the rail. Porsche driver survived, Porsche did not.

The bus driver, however, did not run.

[Lite Beer]

Bus Crash, Patong Hill, Nov 9

Another bus crash, this time careering off the side of the road into a ditch. There had been rain in the hour before. Up to 44 students on holiday injured. Tim Newton reporting from the scene for Phuket News TV

-- Phuket News 2013-10-09

[4evermaat]

At least it didnt fall off on the other side of the road. I'm surprised the driver was able to walk away from that.

"Second best time to plant a tree is today" sent from note2 TV app

[andreandre]

At least it didnt fall off on the other side of the road. I'm surprised the driver was able to walk away from that.

"Second best time to plant a tree is today" sent from note2 TV app

'I'm surprised the driver was able to walk away from that."

Why is that?

Presuming/hoping he was still in the drivers seat at the time of impact..ie at the front right side of the bus..there is no obvious damage at all ...

[hkt83100]

Bus Crash, Patong Hill, Nov 9

[..]Phuket News TV[..]

Actually, the question is not the safety of the road or the vehicle, to me it looks like a problem of the driver. As usual on this hill, I bet he changed gear too late and panicked when the engine stalled in the next left-turn. Interestingly enough, three identical buses made the hill without problems...

[benalibina]

Why are Thai people allowed to drive?

There are bad drivers in every country of the world. Believe me I have driven in worse places than Thailand.

Saying ?

[Bpuumike]

Public transportation driver rule number one:

If involved in an accident, run.

And report to police when sober or down of whatever.

Seems to work every time.

[andreandre]

Bus Crash, Patong Hill, Nov 9

[..]Phuket News TV[..]

Actually, the question is not the safety of the road or the vehicle, to me it looks like a problem of the driver. As usual on this hill, I bet he changed gear too late and panicked when the engine stalled in the next left-turn. Interestingly enough, three identical buses made the hill without problems...

Agree...its mainly a lack of even basic driver skills.

Near every day on that particular corner you will see a bus or truck that has not been driven correctly and has come to a stop.

I have followed many on that road and you can hear what is going on..often a lot of reving and grinding as the driver fails to engage correctly into a lower gear and so maintain momemetum, and comes to a stop...and /or being too scared to try for a lower gear, because of the possibility of this happening they will often stay in a higher gear and try and labour up the hill, until inevitably the engine stalls, or clutch slips so much that once again momentum is lost and the bus stops.

Either of those two scenarios seems to be the root cause of majority of incidents like this at this particular corner.

Mostly they seem to be able to stop and apply the parking brake, but in this instance was unable to and the bus just rolled backwards down, and off the road...

Maybe a combination of poor driver skills and also a possible mechanical malfunction.[park brake failure?] but IMO just another display of poor pathetic driving ability.

[Roel]

Possibly the driver is from Bangkok and this might have been his first hill ever. One he will remember.

[Barney R]

Bus Crash, Patong Hill, Nov 9

[..]Phuket News TV[..]

Actually, the question is not the safety of the road or the vehicle, to me it looks like a problem of the driver. As usual on this hill, I bet he changed gear too late and panicked when the engine stalled in the next left-turn. Interestingly enough, three identical buses made the hill without problems...

Spot on have seen it here on Koh Chang many times with BKK truck steerers they only have 2 gears 1st and top gear .

[SOTIRIOS]

...whatever happened to 'fleeing the site of an accident'......

...it should be an automatic 2 year sentence.....it is an admission of guilt....and trying to hide the fact of being drunk or on drugs....

...never mind ever allowing the person to ever drive a bus, van or taxi again....

[kannot]

Why are Thai people allowed to drive?

There are bad drivers in every country of the world. Believe me I have driven in worse places than Thailand.

Thats just like my Wife's reply when I say Thai driving is the worst ever, she says "No India worse"

I tell her "That's ok then"

[kannot]

What happened to the "big buses are safe" scenario?? Seems to me as many have accidents as the mini vans

[jocko]

Bus Crash, Patong Hill, Nov 9

[..]Phuket News TV[..]

Actually, the question is not the safety of the road or the vehicle, to me it looks like a problem of the driver. As usual on this hill, I bet he changed gear too late and panicked when the engine stalled in the next left-turn. Interestingly enough, three identical buses made the hill without problems...

Agree...its mainly a lack of even basic driver skills.

Near every day on that particular corner you will see a bus or truck that has not been driven correctly and has come to a stop.

I have followed many on that road and you can hear what is going on..often a lot of reving and grinding as the driver fails to engage correctly into a lower gear and so maintain momemetum, and comes to a stop...and /or being too scared to try for a lower gear, because of the possibility of this happening they will often stay in a higher gear and try and labour up the hill, until inevitably the engine stalls, or clutch slips so much that once again momentum is lost and the bus stops.

Either of those two scenarios seems to be the root cause of majority of incidents like this at this particular corner.

Mostly they seem to be able to stop and apply the parking brake, but in this instance was unable to and the bus just rolled backwards down, and off the road...

Maybe a combination of poor driver skills and also a possible mechanical malfunction.[park brake failure?] but IMO just another display of poor pathetic driving ability.

Dont forget the black smoke coming out of the exhaust that is to allow the driver to make a run for it in case of a accident ( Smoke screen )

[SjaakNL2013]

This is why taxi/van/buss driver is a prohibited occupation for foreigners.

[andreandre]

This is why taxi/van/buss driver is a prohibited occupation for foreigners.

What is why?

Don't understand what you're meaning here.

[Loles]

These idiot bus drivers make me sick and tired.

NO COMMENT AT ALL.

[balo]

This accident shows that it is safer in big buses than vans . Why ? Nobody died , a van accident would have been fatal. So I will always choose the buses

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[manly100]

Why are Thai people allowed to drive?

LMAO

[Lite Beer]

Driver blamed for Phuket tour bus crash
Phuket Gazette -

PHUKET: Police have given a Phuket tour bus driver seven days to present himself to face charges for the Patong Hill accident that saw 49* university students rushed to hospital Saturday afternoon.

The 32-year-old driver, Manit Sawadee, is to be charged with reckless driving causing serious injury.

The bus Mr Manit was driving plunged backward and slammed into a roadside ditch as he attempted to climb the hill.

All 49 Asian Institute of Technology students on board were rushed to hospital, one of them reportedly sustained serious head trauma in the crash (story here).

“If Mr Manit does not present himself within seven days, we will issue a second summons for him to present himself. If he still fails to turn himself in, we will request a warrant for his arrest,” Capt Witaya Sinchumrern of Thung Thong Police told the Phuket Gazette this afternoon.

Mr Manit will also face charges for causing property damage, Capt Witaya said. The tour bus pulled down power cables and utility poles when it slammed into the ditch.

Phuket Land Transportation Office (PLTO) Chief Terayout Prasertphol today told the Gazette that his officers had inspected the tour bus, and deemed Mr Manit responsible for the accident.

“They reported that the bus driver was at fault, as he was inexperienced in driving over Patong Hill,” Mr Terayout said.

“We checked with the bus company, Tao and Friends Limited Partnership, and the bus had passed its annual safety inspection, and its registration is valid,” he said.

Chanchai Chardsiri, chief of the PLTO’s Vehicle Inspection Division, believes Mr Manit tried climbing the steep hill in the wrong gear.

“We could see that the drive shaft was sheared off,” he said. “We think Mr Manit tried jamming the manual transmission bus into a low gear after it started rolling backward, but the drive shaft couldn’t take the strain.”

Despite police advocating that Mr Manit be charged for reckless driving, Mr Chanchai believes that the driver did his best to recover after the bus had started to roll backward.

“From what we saw during our investigation, the driver did everything he could. We saw the handbrake had been pulled, but when you have more than 20 tons of bus, including people and luggage on board, it is very difficult to recover once the bus starts sliding downhill,” he said.

Mr Chanchai even praised Mr Manit’s efforts to minimize the possible injuries to be suffered in the impact.

“Most importantly, he did not let the bus go down the hill in the same lane he was driving uphill in. If he did, a lot more people, such as those in the cars behind him, would have be injured,” Mr Chanchai said.

Regardless, PLTO Chief Terayout holds Mr Manit fully responsible for the accident and the subsequent injuries.

“It’s all the driver’s fault. An experienced driver would know how to control a bus that is rolling backward. This driver might not have experience driving on such hills,” Mr Terayout said.

“This case is different from brake failure, so officers will not charge the bus company,” he said.

Meanwhile, all 38 students who were admitted to Patong Hospital for injuries sustained in the accident were discharged this morning, confirmed Capt Witaya.

“However, 11 students remain in Bangkok Hospital Phuket,” he said.

“The man who suffered serious head injuries is much better. He is now resting and recovering at Bangkok Hospital,” he said.

The bus was recovered at about 4pm today.

“It took two days to get the right crane and an appropriate vehicle to remove the bus,” Capt Witaya explained.

“It was taken to a vacant lot on the bypass road, where it will stay until the bus company makes the necessary arrangements for it. The bus company will cover all the expenses of recovering the vehicle,” he said.

* The Gazette's original report stated that only 44 students were on board and taken to hospital.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/Driver-blamed-for-Phuket-tour-bus-crash-22767.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2013-11-11

[andreandre]

“We could see that the drive shaft was sheared off,” he said. “We think Mr Manit tried jamming the manual transmission bus into a low gear after it started rolling backward, but the drive shaft couldn’t take the strain.”

Very unlikely to happen from my experience.

Near impossible to engage a forward gear if the bus is already rolling backwards..[.just the way a gearbox works]..doubtful theory IMO

Also, whatever the cause of the initial lack of forward motion, the normal brakes would've still been working to hold the bus on the spot and the parkbrake applied to keep it there.

Neither of the braking systems have any dependance on the driveshaft being broken or not.

One or other should have held the bus..

More to this than just a bad driver i think...

[Fookhaht]

This is why taxi/van/buss driver is a prohibited occupation for foreigners.

What is why?

Don't understand what you're meaning here.

It's because you don't understand irony with a touch of satire.

[NeverSure]

“It’s all the driver’s fault. An experienced driver would know how to control a bus that is rolling backward. This driver might not have experience driving on such hills,” Mr Terayout said.

“This case is different from brake failure, so officers will not charge the bus company,” he said.

Really. So the bus company has NO responsibility for putting an inexperienced driver in that bus?

What a bunch of crap.

[laurentbkk]

Yesterday I was leaving my office on vipavadee , one public bus ( the orange color bus) the driver was on the phone .... yes on the phone ..... no more to say.

[kannot]

This accident shows that it is safer in big buses than vans . Why ? Nobody died , a van accident would have been fatal. So I will always choose the buses

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Dont worry no one would know in your case,

"sustained serious head trauma in the crash (story here)."