14 dead in northwest Thailand road accident

[Thunder26]

To Tanlic:

"It's not only Thailand. When bus meets mountain road no metter where you go if the driver thinks he's James Bond and makes one mistake it usually results in some poor passenger's deaths/"

Yes, it happens everywhere. There is no argument about that. The argument is that it happens way to often in Thailand. Make a similar list to major accidents that involved more than 10 deaths in Thailand only. And then make a similar list to any country you listed over there and see the difference. Good luck.

Edited April 30, 2014 by Thunder26

[Styxing]

"3 lanes alternate in priority with nothing but 2 yellow lines to designate who has priority."

If not for a helmet I'd be dead three months into my now 6 month stay. I've not been impressed with drivers having any regard for lines in the roadways. Let my licensed Thai friend drive a rented car during a recent trip in country and was scared sh--less ... took over and demonstrated NOT crossing the line. Never mind.

[Angeledge777]

Roads in Thailand are expert roads, which require a lot of skill to drive on them and most of the Thais don't have the required skill to drive ok their own roads.

RIP for all of them.

[Maggusoil]

When it comes to this diabolical road debacle, it seems that losing face, is not such a problem for politicians, public servants and police as for other people. As usual.

Start pasting it on youtube and Facebook. Get a little run on it and embarrassment, might start seeping in.

[Som wat]

When are they going to learn?

Oh right, they're Thais, they don't need to learn anything and thus never will.

[lungmi]

My road to Mae Sot for visa run the last 8 years. Not only the drivers are responsible for the accidents, the construction of the road is beyond standards of mountain roads.

I hear Belgian engineers were involved, no Austrian, Italien and Swiss specialists. I use 4 wheels traction every time I use this road.

[Maggusoil]

Fookhaht, on 30 Apr 2014 - 19:38, said:

Tanlic, on 30 Apr 2014 - 18:33, said:

As much as I would love to see it To make a law where they have to sit a test here and get proper instruction would be very difficult. There's thousands out there driving these vehicles and to stop them on the spot and say you can't drive again until!!! not going to happen is it?

This training who would pay for it? The Government? I doubt it...If left to the driver all that would happen is the traffic tea money would go up as most wouldn't have the money and if they did many of them would spend it on booze.

It's not only Thailand. When bus meets mountain road no metter where you go if the driver thinks he's James Bond and makes one mistake it usually results in some poor passenger's deaths/

A local bus carrying 40 passengers exploded and blast ripped at outskirt of Linghai, Jinzhou, Liaoning, China, killing 18 people.^{[citation needed]}

• January 9 — A bus carrying funeral mourners ran off the road and plunged into a river below of 750 feet at outskirt of Kazbegi, Khevi, Georgia, killing 38 people.^[109]

• January 21 — At least 22 killed when a bus fell into a ravine near the town of Baguio on Wednesday night.^[110]

• January 24 — A bus carrying Hungarian skiers where plunged off a hillside at outskirts of Deutschlandsberg, Styria, Austria, killing 18 people, another 32 are injured.^[111]

• January 31 — At least 31 killed when a bus plundged off a bridge.^[112]

• 15 March — The train City of New Orleans collides with a truck and derails in Bourbonnais, Illinois, United States, killing 11 people.

Main article: 1999 Bourbonnais, Illinois train accident

• 24 March — 39 people killed in the Mont Blanc Tunnel fire.

• 30 April — A small vehicle collides with a stopped tanker truck loaded with propane and starts a fire near Kamena Vourla, Fthiotis. A huge explosion follows several minutes later killing 5 people and injuring 14.^[113]

• May 9 — A bus slipped and plunged 680-feet down slope at Kapurbot Bazar, Saiyan, Rapti, Nepal, killing 32 people, another 36 are injured.^{[citation needed]}

• 9 May — A tour bus crashes into a concrete wall on Interstate 610 in New Orleans, killing 22 people and injuring 24.^[114]

• May 21 — A truck and a bus are involved in a crash in the town of San Luis Province. Is the worst disaster in the history of the province, killed 21 people and 4 other survivors

• May 29 — 12 people killed and 50 injured in a collision and fire in Tauern Tunnel in Austria.

• June 6 - At least 8 people died on Saturday after a bus burst a tyre and overturned at Naivasha on the main Nairobi to Nakuru highway, in another accident 12 were killed when the bus collided with another vehicle.^[115]

• June 8 — At least 94 killed including 11 children after a bus plunged into a lake in Karnataka.^[116]

• July 18 — A Kiari-Shimla HRTC regular route bus carrying 90 passengers aboard plunged into 40-feet deep gorge at outskirt of Baghar, Himachal Pradesh, India, killing 18 people, another 55 are injured.^[117]

• July 24 — A trailer truck crashes into cars slowed by roadwork on Quebec Autoroute 20 near Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse, killing 4 people and injuring 11.^[118] A public investigation is launched.

• August 11 — An attack on a passenger bus in the town of Fighiera in the Santa Fe Province causes a strong fire. 13 people dead and 5 injured.

• 3 September — Dense fog on Highway 401 near Windsor, Ontario reduces visibility to less than a meter (3 ft) and causes an 87-vehicle pileup and fire that kills 8 people and injures 33. Many vehicles are fused together by the intense heat.^[119]

• September 14 — A long distance regular route bus overturned and plunged into canyon at outskirt of Kaijiang, Dazhou, Sichuan, China, killing 46 people, another 9 are injured.^{[citation needed]}

• September 16 — Two road accidents in Peru involving buses have killed at least 16 people and injured 48 others.^[120]

• September 19 — At least 20 people have died in a bus accident.^[121]

• September 22 — At least 11 people have been killed in South Africa in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck.^[122]

• September 25 — A bus went off a highway in foggy weather and crashed at outskirt of Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, killing 15 people, another 20 are injured.^{[citation needed]}

• October 4 — At least 19 people have been killed and 47 seriously injured after a bus crashed down a river embankment.^[123]

• October 5 — At least 45 people have been killed in a bus crash in the Indonesian province of West Java.^[124]

• October 9 — A tourbus in Galilee, Israel, hits slick spot on road, rolls downhill; 17 killed.^[125]

• October 25 — A bus swerved to avoid hitting a cow and skidded off a mountain road into a deep gorge, killing 27 and injuring 47 on the way home from a temple in Northern India in Hoshiarpur district, 70 miles northeast of Amritsar.^[126]

• November 7 — At least 50 people have died in a bus crash in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.^[127]

• November 19 — A commuter bus collided with many vehicles, include truck, bus at Lagos-Kano expressway at outskirt of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. Aftermath, a bus caught fire on impact. This accident killed 22 people, another 16 are injured.^{[citation needed]}

• December 30 — A Karachi-Rawalpindi regular route bus overturned and caught fire at Lahore-Islamabad M2 expressway, outskirt of Kallar Kahar, Punjab of Pakistan, in an incident caused by exceed speed, killing 48 people, another 20 are injured.^{[citation needed]}

And your point is...?

Apologies to you Fookhaht; but if you cannot see his point, your brain matches your icon

The point? The point is, that buses everywhere are a poor choice of travel, anywhere.

What that has to do with the shocking lack of safety standards on Thai roads, generally from all other causes, makes this impressive list pretty pointless.

Well pointed out, by Tanlic. Long winded pointlessness at that.

I travel by plane from Bangkok to Udon Thani while my frugal accountant, who is a lot richer than me, (at the moment), catches the bus!!!

Nuts. My last encounter with a Thai bus, was having one driven straight at me in the centre lane, on the wrong side of the median strip on a six lane highway. I wish I'd had a dashboard camera for that.

[Just1Voice]

Titanic: You long and extensive list of bus accidents is totally meaningless here in Thailand. The accidents you listed are NOT WEEKLY STATISTICS the way they are in LOS. Your list is comprised of random accidents in various countries, while Thailand easily triples the total of all the others on a yearly basis. As I said in an earlier post here: Apples and Oranges.

[rlopes]

Many here say to be immune to the deaths.

But tell you what: it takes time and effort to change old habits. Don't give up trying to make Thailand a better place.

[Munger]

Titanic: You long and extensive list of bus accidents is totally meaningless here in Thailand. The accidents you listed are NOT WEEKLY STATISTICS the way they are in LOS. Your list is comprised of random accidents in various countries, while Thailand easily triples the total of all the others on a yearly basis. As I said in an earlier post here: Apples and Oranges.

YUP, the Thais are sick and tired of all the accidents / death on their roads, and will not try to defend it. BUT the thai apologists want to defend / justify it. Get a life apologists.

[phanangpete]

They will never listen or take advise it is not in their mindset to do this, they will spiral, sometime in the not too distant future, completely out of control.

The Minister of transport has given his view and comments in the past about the consistent tradegies on the roads but again it goes no where unless they take a positive action , which as most of us know is not going to happen.

With only 67 million people living here it should not be unmanagable to implement a strategy to create a system which could work, but alas , are they capable.

They like to travel to observe how real Countrys deal with 'real issues' and come back speechless, time to grow up .

Edited April 30, 2014 by phanangpete

[atyclb]

"14 dead"

Sounds about right

[kkup]

I hope that bus wasn't overtaking at the time, looks like it may have been.

So many times i see kamikaze drivers overtaking and hoping the oncoming cars will move, mostly they do but it only takes a a few seconds of distraction of an oncoming vehicle and not being able to move out of the way and you have a nasty head on.

My wife reminded me the other day how easy it was to get her license, I won't allow her to get it on the spot or after a 1 to 2 day course. Ridiculous. I remember driving a car illegally in Oz when I was 16 and didn't have a clue, lucky I didn't kill anyone and to think 100's of people get on the road here everyday without as much as a single lesson.

[bbbbooboo]

You would probably need to have a useable brain to understand critical thinking

[noitom]

In some parts of Thailand, trucks are use as public transport. Sukhumvit Road, Silom Road, Rama IV Road for example.

[Muggi1968]

Truck, bus and Taxi drivers are probable not among the most well educated people in Thailand.

They want to earn money so they can survive... so they take risc.....

Only traffic police can change how people drive on the road (if they cared).

[shaurene]

TV members are getting conditioned to this type of thing and no longer find themselves surprised, until such time as police enforce strict driving regulations and drivers are made to undergo special driving instruction for heavy vehicles this will keep happening. Actually making any vehicle used to transport people to be inspected yearly and made to be safe would help too, all these "brake" failuires are a joke.

Will never change Seajae, after the last one they all came out with their ideas what they were going to do then next morning went back to their normal routine of counting their money and working out how to make more.

It is so sad these educated ????????? People are left to run a country.

[NongKhaiKid]

The death toll in Thailand is 44 / 100,000 (and that's the ones who die at the scene)

It's my understanding that as well that its only those that die at the scene that are considered to have been killed in an RTA. Dying in hospital from injuries sustained in the crash does not count. Is this correct ?

I am interested in this too as I've heard it so many times but have no idea if it's policy, official or otherwise, or just a belief that's grown up over the years.

Mind you it's so believable here as one of the ways to tart up the atrocious casualty figures.

[ggt]

Watching the Thais driving...on a daily basis...speeding...neither stopping for red lights nor stop signs...driving on the wrong side of the road...cutting in front of on coming traffic...four people on a small bike...all without helmets...I am not surprised at the number of lives lost to road accidents...just trying to make sure...I do not become one of their countless fatalities...

[bulekee]

Third world, and always will be!

Thailand have been elevated then,good news for TAT.Sarcasm intended.

[Gutterboy]

Within minutes of leaving my home in Udon Thani I can be heading into rural areas even on Highway 2 and shudder every time I'm overtaken by a beat up old pickup loaded to the gun'ales with people. If anything goes wrong ... !

Nothing different down here in the big smoke.About 10 years ago I drove to Don Meung airport ( about a 20 minute drive ). i saw at least 3 shunts and I laughed,why?Easy answer pure an utter stupidity.I do wish the moderators would stop posting this (lost for words now ).This is not news,it is proving Darwins theory about evolution.A topic wasted on here.Before anyone comments,let us know about your experience on Thai roads.I have had a few near misses where it was not my fault and I have learned not to stop,because as a farang you are to blame.

Spot on, on both points: Thai roads are a great show of Darwin's theory of evolution - I call it "accelerated natural selection".

And well mentioned that as a farang you should never stop at an accident (if you can help it). Even if you show up after the event and try to help the injured, you could still find yourself blamed!

[Zpete]

the centre for birth control or whatever they call them selves say that double deckers should not be allowed on mountainous routes, of course they are right, yet again proven with this accident

Thai road policing, is excellent form of birth control/population control.

[Neeranam]

"It was there destiny " is the only Thai reply you will get as NO one cares.

Usually, I don't read these threads because of the predictable replies.

Who is better off then, the Thais and their belief in karma and you in your catastrophic thinking?

Get over it all of you readers that are shocked - life has a different meaning in Thailand.

Last week when driving to work I saw 2 motorcycles lying on the road and the riders were probably dead. After being here 20 years, I never really blinked an eye. 20 years ago, I'd probably have had some kind of panic attack and would be haunted by the event for weeks.

Personally, I prefer the Thais view on life and their "arai ja gerd gaw hai mun gerd" philosophy.

Seems like many farang have a problem in accepting when their time(or a loved one) is up.

[mrblue]

"Thailand's roads are among the world's deadliest and accidents are common"

lucky that thai drivers are among the best in the world, otherwise it would be much worse...

feel sorry for the innocents

[Fookhaht]

Fookhaht, on 30 Apr 2014 - 19:38, said:

Tanlic, on 30 Apr 2014 - 18:33, said:

As much as I would love to see it To make a law where they have to sit a test here and get proper instruction would be very difficult. There's thousands out there driving these vehicles and to stop them on the spot and say you can't drive again until!!! not going to happen is it?

This training who would pay for it? The Government? I doubt it...If left to the driver all that would happen is the traffic tea money would go up as most wouldn't have the money and if they did many of them would spend it on booze.

It's not only Thailand. When bus meets mountain road no metter where you go if the driver thinks he's James Bond and makes one mistake it usually results in some poor passenger's deaths/

A local bus carrying 40 passengers exploded and blast ripped at outskirt of Linghai, Jinzhou, Liaoning, China, killing 18 people.^{[citation needed]}

• January 9 — A bus carrying funeral mourners ran off the road and plunged into a river below of 750 feet at outskirt of Kazbegi, Khevi, Georgia, killing 38 people.^[109]

• January 21 — At least 22 killed when a bus fell into a ravine near the town of Baguio on Wednesday night.^[110]

• January 24 — A bus carrying Hungarian skiers where plunged off a hillside at outskirts of Deutschlandsberg, Styria, Austria, killing 18 people, another 32 are injured.^[111]

• January 31 — At least 31 killed when a bus plundged off a bridge.^[112]

• 15 March — The train City of New Orleans collides with a truck and derails in Bourbonnais, Illinois, United States, killing 11 people.

Main article: 1999 Bourbonnais, Illinois train accident

• 24 March — 39 people killed in the Mont Blanc Tunnel fire.

• 30 April — A small vehicle collides with a stopped tanker truck loaded with propane and starts a fire near Kamena Vourla, Fthiotis. A huge explosion follows several minutes later killing 5 people and injuring 14.^[113]

• May 9 — A bus slipped and plunged 680-feet down slope at Kapurbot Bazar, Saiyan, Rapti, Nepal, killing 32 people, another 36 are injured.^{[citation needed]}

• 9 May — A tour bus crashes into a concrete wall on Interstate 610 in New Orleans, killing 22 people and injuring 24.^[114]

• May 21 — A truck and a bus are involved in a crash in the town of San Luis Province. Is the worst disaster in the history of the province, killed 21 people and 4 other survivors

• May 29 — 12 people killed and 50 injured in a collision and fire in Tauern Tunnel in Austria.

• June 6 - At least 8 people died on Saturday after a bus burst a tyre and overturned at Naivasha on the main Nairobi to Nakuru highway, in another accident 12 were killed when the bus collided with another vehicle.^[115]

• June 8 — At least 94 killed including 11 children after a bus plunged into a lake in Karnataka.^[116]

• July 18 — A Kiari-Shimla HRTC regular route bus carrying 90 passengers aboard plunged into 40-feet deep gorge at outskirt of Baghar, Himachal Pradesh, India, killing 18 people, another 55 are injured.^[117]

• July 24 — A trailer truck crashes into cars slowed by roadwork on Quebec Autoroute 20 near Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse, killing 4 people and injuring 11.^[118] A public investigation is launched.

• August 11 — An attack on a passenger bus in the town of Fighiera in the Santa Fe Province causes a strong fire. 13 people dead and 5 injured.

• 3 September — Dense fog on Highway 401 near Windsor, Ontario reduces visibility to less than a meter (3 ft) and causes an 87-vehicle pileup and fire that kills 8 people and injures 33. Many vehicles are fused together by the intense heat.^[119]

• September 14 — A long distance regular route bus overturned and plunged into canyon at outskirt of Kaijiang, Dazhou, Sichuan, China, killing 46 people, another 9 are injured.^{[citation needed]}

• September 16 — Two road accidents in Peru involving buses have killed at least 16 people and injured 48 others.^[120]

• September 19 — At least 20 people have died in a bus accident.^[121]

• September 22 — At least 11 people have been killed in South Africa in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck.^[122]

• September 25 — A bus went off a highway in foggy weather and crashed at outskirt of Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, killing 15 people, another 20 are injured.^{[citation needed]}

• October 4 — At least 19 people have been killed and 47 seriously injured after a bus crashed down a river embankment.^[123]

• October 5 — At least 45 people have been killed in a bus crash in the Indonesian province of West Java.^[124]

• October 9 — A tourbus in Galilee, Israel, hits slick spot on road, rolls downhill; 17 killed.^[125]

• October 25 — A bus swerved to avoid hitting a cow and skidded off a mountain road into a deep gorge, killing 27 and injuring 47 on the way home from a temple in Northern India in Hoshiarpur district, 70 miles northeast of Amritsar.^[126]

• November 7 — At least 50 people have died in a bus crash in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.^[127]

• November 19 — A commuter bus collided with many vehicles, include truck, bus at Lagos-Kano expressway at outskirt of Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. Aftermath, a bus caught fire on impact. This accident killed 22 people, another 16 are injured.^{[citation needed]}

• December 30 — A Karachi-Rawalpindi regular route bus overturned and caught fire at Lahore-Islamabad M2 expressway, outskirt of Kallar Kahar, Punjab of Pakistan, in an incident caused by exceed speed, killing 48 people, another 20 are injured.^{[citation needed]}

And your point is...?

Apologies to you Fookhaht; but if you cannot see his point, your brain matches your icon

Frankly the point he is TRYING to make has little bearing on the topic at hand.

Now, if you can make YOUR point without insulting remarks, THAT would indeed be progress!

Edited May 1, 2014 by Fookhaht

[soalbundy]

Many here say to be immune to the deaths.

But tell you what: it takes time and effort to change old habits. Don't give up trying to make Thailand a better place.

The earth won't survive long enough for that

[monkey4u]

I can offer a way to reduce ALL the commercial vehicle accidents in this country

Not only send the driver to prison BUT SEND the managers as well.

That way the managers will endeavor to find more suitable drivers.

[edwinchester]

"It was there destiny " is the only Thai reply you will get as NO one cares.

Usually, I don't read these threads because of the predictable replies.

Who is better off then, the Thais and their belief in karma and you in your catastrophic thinking?

Get over it all of you readers that are shocked - life has a different meaning in Thailand.

Last week when driving to work I saw 2 motorcycles lying on the road and the riders were probably dead. After being here 20 years, I never really blinked an eye. 20 years ago, I'd probably have had some kind of panic attack and would be haunted by the event for weeks.

Personally, I prefer the Thais view on life and their "arai ja gerd gaw hai mun gerd" philosophy.

Seems like many farang have a problem in accepting when their time(or a loved one) is up.

I would like to choose when my time is up, not have it chosen for me by some reckless idiot.

As for the Thais my mother in law made two suicide attempts after her teenage son was killed by a drunk driver who paid off the police to avoid his responsibility.

In all my time here I've noticed people talk about kharma when it doesn't personally impact them.

When it's themselves or a close family relative involved then kharma is forgotten and more often or not justice is what is required.

[bulekee]

Seems disrespectful to the deceased and her family and friends.

Not really,the first thing they think about is money.Thai"s are not human when it comes to an accident,they are a commodity.How much is this dead piece of meat worth.Someone please prove me wrong.

[edwinchester]

Seems disrespectful to the deceased and her family and friends.

Not really,the first thing they think about is money.Thai"s are not human when it comes to an accident,they are a commodity.How much is this dead piece of meat worth.Someone please prove me wrong.

Read my above post.

My immediate Thai family wanted justice for their loved one but were denied that by police corruption.

My grief stricken mil made two suicide attempts because of her loss.

Her dead son was not a commodity to be expoited but a tragic waste of life that deserved better than the indifference, ineptitude and self interest that led up to and followed the accident.