Bike driver dies following fall onto road under Pattaya Highway Bridge

[webfact]

Bike driver dies following fall onto road under Pattaya Highway Bridge



PATTAYA: -- A 29 year old motorbike driver died from his injuries after he lost control of his bike on the Highway 7 Bridge above the Sukhumvit Road in North Pattaya and fell onto the road below.

On Sunday Morning Police and medics were called to the scene and medics administered CPR to the bike driver, Khun Songpon, who was lying on the Sukhumvit Road, underneath the Highway 7 entry bridge. The victim’s bike was still on the bridge along with the slightly injured passenger on the bike, Khun Rawee aged 26.

The injured passenger told Police that the pair were driving up the bridge at a high rate of speed and the driver appeared to lose control at the top where it curves to the right. He then hit another slower-moving bike and clipped the 1 meter high barrier, which could not prevent the driver from being thrown off the bridge onto the road below.

Full story: http://www.pattayaone.net/pattaya-news/175076/bike-driver-dies-following-fall-onto-road-under-pattaya-highway-bridge/


-- Pattaya One 2015-03-09

[WhizBang]

All these speeding motorbike drivers seem to think they are invincible, until they are not.

[ezzra]

With so many motorcycle riders around Pattaya, most legally unqualified to ride a bike, no wonder

that someone, every now and than will find themselves in an doomed predicaments...

[grjm378]

Perhaps that's why they are building the underpass, so that accidents like this don't happen. Just hope that users of the underpass know how to swim, when it is flooded !!

[jacko45k]

Perhaps that's why they are building the underpass, so that accidents like this don't happen. Just hope that users of the underpass know how to swim, when it is flooded !!

I am not sure how the underpass will have any impact on this whatsoever.....

The underpass is further south on Sukhumvit and designed to allow straight through traffic at the Klang junction to do just that.

Bikes are not supposed to use this flyover....... but many use it to get off Sukhumvit onto the railway line bypass, as it can feel safer than Sukhumvit for a bike.

The bend at the top is quite sharp, and a fast moving bike with a pillion passenger would struggle. Cars in a hurry to get to the motorway and impatient Bangkok drivers make it dangerous.

The current roadworks and diversions may be forcing more traffic that way.....

Edited March 9, 2015 by jacko45k

[Kerryd]

That curve is a death trap. Every couple of months someone else has an accident and dies at that spot.

Barriers along the outer edge of the curve and a couple of nasty speed bumps going up the the start of the ramp may help. You can't prevent stupid, but you can try to limit the consequences of it.

[geejay]

I use this highway about three or four times a week and have seen numerous motorbikes on this highway including one coming against the traffic next to the middle dividing wall.

So obviously no notice has been taken of the "no motorbike" sign at the Sukhumvit entrance to the highway.

[jaapfries]

Perhaps that's why they are building the underpass, so that accidents like this don't happen. Just hope that users of the underpass know how to swim, when it is flooded !!

No: GRJM378: Swimming won't do you much good in a "Flooded Tunnel" - best to start practicing "Holding Your Breath" . . . . . .

[longstebe]

Even though it's a ridiculous sharp bend, there's plenty of warning to reduce your speed.

[maidee]

let's hope for him he had the right amulet to go to the next level

[96tehtarp]

Having previously lived in Pattaya I have personally seen at least 4-5 of these type of deaths up close and personal. It seems the Thai authorities won't learn and the foreign tourists are following their lead so the carnage continues.

[surfinglife]

The bikes are prohibited from using that road so what was he doing riding up that ramp anyway.....not that anyone pays any attention to the road signs...

[longstebe]

The bikes are prohibited from using that road so what was he doing riding up that ramp anyway.....not that anyone pays any attention to the road signs...

Good point. Like you say though, most of them go ignored.

Do they still have the traffic lights on beach road what everyone ignores?

[Oziex1]

I read reports from around this country of bends in the roads being a death trap, maybe if people knew how to drive/ ride they would simply steer their vehicle around the bend.

Of course it would require being at a safe speed and not being hideously overloaded, or just loaded.

[Keesters]

The bikes are prohibited from using that road so what was he doing riding up that ramp anyway.....not that anyone pays any attention to the road signs...

Is there a viable alternative route for motorbikes to take? And why was the elevated road designed and built to be unsuitable for motorbikes? Pattaya has far more motorcycles than cars I think and most would at sometime need to cross the highway at that point. It's daft to exclude them by design.

[emilymat]

Perhaps that's why they are building the underpass, so that accidents like this don't happen. Just hope that users of the underpass know how to swim, when it is flooded !!

I am not sure how the underpass will have any impact on this whatsoever.....

The underpass is further south on Sukhumvit and designed to allow straight through traffic at the Klang junction to do just that.

Bikes are not supposed to use this flyover....... but many use it to get off Sukhumvit onto the railway line bypass, as it can feel safer than Sukhumvit for a bike.

The bend at the top is quite sharp, and a fast moving bike with a pillion passenger would struggle. Cars in a hurry to get to the motorway and impatient Bangkok drivers make it dangerous.

The current roadworks and diversions may be forcing more traffic that way.....

I agree. The closure of the Soi Siam CC turn makes the motorway bridge an obvious 'rat run' diversion. Anyone who is not familiar with it needs to exercise caution, not only on the bend but also when 'blending' back left to get to the railway road.

I can only suggest that the young driver saw the ramp as a racetrack - particularly if he was not a regular user.

[finnomick]

I read reports from around this country of bends in the roads being a death trap, maybe if people knew how to drive/ ride they would simply steer their vehicle around the bend.

Of course it would require being at a safe speed and not being hideously overloaded, or just loaded.

Exactly. The road and its designers are not to blame. It's the simple inability of the user to ride or drive in a manner suitable to the conditions. How many times do we hear ' the bend is too sharp ' and ' the road was wet ' ? Reduce your speed and you'll be unlikely to have an accident. Maybe some of the B.I.B should stand there and enforce the road's restrictions.....

[glasswort]

Perhaps that's why they are building the underpass, so that accidents like this don't happen. Just hope that users of the underpass know how to swim, when it is flooded !!

I am not sure how the underpass will have any impact on this whatsoever.....

The underpass is further south on Sukhumvit and designed to allow straight through traffic at the Klang junction to do just that.

Bikes are not supposed to use this flyover....... but many use it to get off Sukhumvit onto the railway line bypass, as it can feel safer than Sukhumvit for a bike.

The bend at the top is quite sharp, and a fast moving bike with a pillion passenger would struggle. Cars in a hurry to get to the motorway and impatient Bangkok drivers make it dangerous.

The current roadworks and diversions may be forcing more traffic that way.....

I believe the original poster is alluding to the fact that the underpass being constructed at the Sukhumvit/Klang junction rather than a fly over will negate the possibility of a similar accident to the one being reported. Having said this I seem to recall reading that the intention is to have a u turn in the middle of the underpass. A ludicrous idea that will lead to many accidents.

[Anthony5]

That curve is a death trap. Every couple of months someone else has an accident and dies at that spot.

Barriers along the outer edge of the curve and a couple of nasty speed bumps going up the the start of the ramp may help. You can't prevent stupid, but you can try to limit the consequences of it.

They have already tried to prevent stupidity by placing a traffic sign " no motorbikes" at the entrance.

[Keesters]

The bikes are prohibited from using that road so what was he doing riding up that ramp anyway.....not that anyone pays any attention to the road signs...

Good point. Like you say though, most of them go ignored.

Do they still have the traffic lights on beach road what everyone ignores?

Yes but only a few. Most are broken. But with no lights they become zebra crossings which your supposed to stop at if someone's crossing. I do. Born in the city that had UK's first pedestrian controlled crossings. We called them pandas. Now its pelican.

[Keesters]

That curve is a death trap. Every couple of months someone else has an accident and dies at that spot.

Barriers along the outer edge of the curve and a couple of nasty speed bumps going up the the start of the ramp may help. You can't prevent stupid, but you can try to limit the consequences of it.

They have already tried to prevent stupidity by placing a traffic sign " no motorbikes" at the entrance.

Or make up for a bad design. Would this overpass conform to international standards? While the drivers are to blame so is the bridge design. It's scary even at slow speed. Did it once and that was once too many.

[Benmart]

Perhaps that's why they are building the underpass, so that accidents like this don't happen. Just hope that users of the underpass know how to swim, when it is flooded !!

I don't know if it will flood. It hasn't been built yet and I am not on the architects team.

As for the young man....sad and RIP.

[petercool]

An insensitive troll post removed

[Benmart]

The bikes are prohibited from using that road so what was he doing riding up that ramp anyway.....not that anyone pays any attention to the road signs...

Is there a viable alternative route for motorbikes to take? And why was the elevated road designed and built to be unsuitable for motorbikes? Pattaya has far more motorcycles than cars I think and most would at sometime need to cross the highway at that point. It's daft to exclude them by design.

Questioning the viability and design is a moot point since the roadway has been constructed and in its present state, is unsafe for motorbikes to use.

Death or daft is an option for anyone I suppose.

[bender92]

Perhaps that's why they are building the underpass, so that accidents like this don't happen. Just hope that users of the underpass know how to swim, when it is flooded !!

You're thinking of another area, not Hwy. 7. I hate riding up that ramp, cars and trucks are crazy. Now I go the back roads to my storage locker up past the auction place.

[bender92]

That curve is a death trap. Every couple of months someone else has an accident and dies at that spot.

Barriers along the outer edge of the curve and a couple of nasty speed bumps going up the the start of the ramp may help. You can't prevent stupid, but you can try to limit the consequences of it.

They have already tried to prevent stupidity by placing a traffic sign " no motorbikes" at the entrance.

Or make up for a bad design. Would this overpass conform to international standards? While the drivers are to blame so is the bridge design. It's scary even at slow speed. Did it once and that was once too many.

Notice the sign in the photo? No motorbikes allowed on the ramp. Doesn't stop us though.

[ChiangmaiRob]

That curve is a death trap. Every couple of months someone else has an accident and dies at that spot.

Barriers along the outer edge of the curve and a couple of nasty speed bumps going up the the start of the ramp may help. You can't prevent stupid, but you can try to limit the consequences of it.

Yes it's a death trap for sure ... but only for the idiots who drive at warp speed, not according to the road conditions and fail to observe road signs and markings. ...(removed)

Edited March 9, 2015 by petercool
insensitive sentence deleted

[laislica]

Does the bend "Tighten"?

If it does it is a great way to create the necessary conditions for accidents to happen!

The laws of converservation of energy mean that as the radius of the bend reduces (tightens) the moving object will increase in speed

A sling shot!

Space probes use this as a method of increasing their speed.

Could we also guess that the young rider does not know that the front brake should be used in a 60:40 ratio to the back brake?

Note that he hit a slower moving bike in front of him!

[Keesters]

That curve is a death trap. Every couple of months someone else has an accident and dies at that spot.

Barriers along the outer edge of the curve and a couple of nasty speed bumps going up the the start of the ramp may help. You can't prevent stupid, but you can try to limit the consequences of it.

They have already tried to prevent stupidity by placing a traffic sign " no motorbikes" at the entrance.

Or make up for a bad design. Would this overpass conform to international standards? While the drivers are to blame so is the bridge design. It's scary even at slow speed. Did it once and that was once too many.

Notice the sign in the photo? No motorbikes allowed on the ramp. Doesn't stop us though.

The one time I did it was shortly after it was opened and there were no restrictions at that time. I would suggest the placing of a sign only comes after many accidents. Just like the closing of U-turns that road designers say are needed but after too many accidents get closed off forcing you to sometimes drive kms to the next one.

[Keesters]

The bikes are prohibited from using that road so what was he doing riding up that ramp anyway.....not that anyone pays any attention to the road signs...

Is there a viable alternative route for motorbikes to take? And why was the elevated road designed and built to be unsuitable for motorbikes? Pattaya has far more motorcycles than cars I think and most would at sometime need to cross the highway at that point. It's daft to exclude them by design.

Questioning the viability and design is a moot point since the roadway has been constructed and in its present state, is unsafe for motorbikes to use.

Death or daft is an option for anyone I suppose.

You may consider it moot but I consider it something else. Road designers need to keep in mind the type of traffic that will use it. If it doesn't do its job because of bad design or construction then demolish it and do it again properly perhaps burying the bad designers & contractors in the new construction.