4 dead, 30 injured in tram accident at Khon Kaen zoo

[Borzandy]

Failed brakes are said to be cause of the accident,

Nothing to do with excessive speed then?

They really can't take responsibility for anything, can they.

Disgusting cultural trait.

The speed is never excessive when you are in hurry visiting a zoo.

[jaywalker]

Failed brakes are said to be cause of the accident,

Nothing to do with excessive speed then?

They really can't take responsibility for anything, can they.

Disgusting cultural trait.

The speed is never excessive when you are in hurry visiting a zoo.

Interesting thought, but it wouldn't surprise me if they had 57 Chinese tour buses lined up and the powers that be rushed the drivers whose brakes failed.

[SOTIRIOS]

..what a shame....

...take your life in your hands any time you want to go anywhere...

...never a sense of security in any public rides, etc....

[Toknarok]

you miserable racist Thai bashers should be ashamed of yourselves - accidents happen everywhere.

Yes accidents do happen everywhere, and no I'm not miserable or racist, the people who should be ashamed of themselves are the Thais with the second highest death toll on their roads in the World.

[oneday]

Thailand, the land of zero preventative maintenance and no safety inspections.

R.I.P.

[Guest]

Failed brakes are said to be cause of the accident,

Nothing to do with excessive speed then?

They really can't take responsibility for anything, can they.

Disgusting cultural trait.

Failed brakes do generally result in excessive speed.

Shoot first, aim later, Thai bashing ... "Disgusting cultural trait"

[monkey4u]

you miserable racist Thai bashers should be ashamed of yourselves - accidents happen everywhere.

That's true

Caused by idiots who don't know or care

It's sad to see Thailand has so may accidents that could have been avoided with a little education

[Guest]

If the accelerator was stuck, simply turning off the ignition would have shut down the engine. Something doesn't add up.

What does not add up is how you have converted "failed brakes' to "stuck accelerator."

No worries, this is part of the Thai Visa Method of Operation.

I will log in later to see 10 pages of heated debate about the best way to stop a vehicle with a stuck accelerator.

Not that it ever was .. but hey .. this is Thai Visa ... perhaps this should be the forum motto ...

"If you haven't heard a good rumor by noon ... START ONE"

[SweatySock]

Anyone who has visited this park will know just how steep the roads are at the top of the park.

Been there a few times and tried both the large bus and the small golf carts.

Have always left with a sense of relief that my family have managed to have a safe trip. My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones but when oh when will common sense dictate that there are some ventures that are just too dangerous to be opened to the general public.

[cnx355]

If you read Thai PBS ( just the post above mine ) and Bangkok Post it was a stuck accelerator and not the brakes.

As usual different newspaper and sloppy reporting.

[Oziex1]

"Another important point is the quality of the actual brake pads.
I have read that some non original parts can give up to 40% reduction in breaking power.
They may look perfect but some even use saw dust, dry grass and other "fillers".
Commercial drivers have no control over the purchasing of replacement parts and if the procurement guy is cutting corners to save money for his company"

Any good experienced driver of a heavy vehicle would automatically adjust their braking distances and application for any change in braking power.

All vehicles respond differently to our input and we adjust our input accordingly, knowledgeable heavy vehicle drivers do not rely only on the brakes to slow the vehicle.

[Khun Paul]

Unfortunately switching off the engine was not in the list of things to do when faced with a runaway truck, then hoepfully leaving it gear and careful steering ,might have avoided the accident. But then thats logical driving isn't it ??

[Lupatria]

The failed brakes excuse gets a little worn out in this country. I only wonder the drive did not flee the scene.

[gandalf12]

Why is it that Thailand can not seem to grasp the concept of maintenance and safety?

[sammygood]

leisure & fun is a really dangerous activity in thailand ... zip line, bungee

but also jet ski (scams, injuries, ....)

[lifeincnx]

Jeeze, zoo's are becoming dangerous places, a Chinese tourist was killed on a faulty zip line at CM zoo last week or so.

The zip line death did not happen at the Chiang Mai Zoo but at Skyline Adventure in Doi Saket, Chiang Mai.

[Coaster11]

"it was descending from a hill after developing a mechanical problem.."

Not hard to imagine the amount of speed one of these things would build up from the top of a steep hill.

Brakes may have failed due to...

Engine cutting out and loss of power boost.

Mechanical failure somewhere in the braking system.

It would be quite frightening to be in that runaway tram...screaming women and kids.

RIP those unfortunate souls.

This does not seem the same sort of incident as happens regularly on the open road. These trams plod around the same circuit possibly 100's of times a week.

Edited July 6, 2015 by Coaster11

[Colabamumbai]

Daily the ministries and local bodies fail miserably in Thailand. Everyday, whether a sinking boat, brakes failed on a hill, unsafe bungee jumps and adventure tours, living here one tends to go out and explore less.

Time to clean up your act Thailand, you are not a world class destination.

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

you miserable racist Thai bashers should be ashamed of yourselves - accidents happen everywhere.

If this was caused by break failure due to lack of maintenance then it become negligence which is a crime!!!

[abitmiffed]

"Failed brakes are said to be cause of the accident. The zoo could not immediately confirm the number of casualties."

Amazing they have worked out what caused the accident before they have even counted the number of causilties.

Yup its called get your priorities right first and fast then pass the buck to anything you can think of.

[Liquorice]

I took my Honda motorcycle for it's 4,000km service last week.

Out of curiosity I asked what mileage I should expect from the brake pads.

The unbelievable reply was "When they don't stop you, bring the bike back for replacements"

"With or without the back of a car" I asked.

Logic doesn't include preventive maintenance, my statement was lost.

[abitmiffed]

Just reading this ,How can this stuff keep happening. Just taking tourist money with no investment into Tourist infrastructure

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_THAILAND_ZOO_TRAM_ACCIDENT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-07-05-06-11-45[/quote

Having big back pockets o think helps.

[circusman]

5 dead apparently

Ive seen that "Brakes Failed" nonsense on many an accident report

The Brakes wont work and stop you in time is you are travelling faster that you should be. I hate the carnage these people cause through sheer ignorance and 3rd world mentality

I read nothing about excessive speed yet YOU mention it. Were you there ?

[Bung]

Diesel engines can "run away" at full revs on their own and nothing short of blocking the air supply will stop it. I had it happen to me on a 750 hp v16 marine diesel engine. Basically runs on its crankcase vapours feeding itself faster and faster

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_engine_runaway

If that was the case simply putting it in neutral would help, same with a stuck accelerator.

But they will just blame bad spirits and carry on, no changes will come of it like manadory yearly inspections and certification......

[jackanapes]

this is the sort of accident that shouldn't happen a tourist site and I would think a very busy one all vehicles should be maintained but obviously they are not.

[allan michaud]

I went there with my wife and son a couple of months before it was officially opened as it was free to enter and it was falling apart then, trails which had concrete to make steps between rocks were collapsing, as were stairs, the animals enclosures lacked any shade to speak of, all around it was a very shoddy and not very nice place. My son wants to go on another zipline after taking him to Singapore and suggested Pattaya and Chaing Mai. I refused point blank to take him on any potentially dangerous stuff in Thailand becuase there is zero mainaintence or checking on these places and zero accountability. I think you have to be insane to go on any of these kind of trips in Thailand. This particular incident seems to be a matter of maintainence, or the lack of as you would expect anywhere in Thailand. The place has some steep hills so they should be extra careful when driving. I hope the driver was drug tested given the massive use of Meth.

It would be interesting to know how many people were in it at the time and how many it is meant to carry?

The total disregard for human life in this country sickens me, money above all else.

[Jimlove]

you miserable racist Thai bashers should be ashamed of yourselves - accidents happen everywhere.

Sure accidents happen everywhere but the frequency of accidents here, you know ...

FYI Thai is not a race so cant be racist and the bashing - well I guess its hard to hear the truth sometimes right

[fred Kubasa]

Brakes will fail when you haven't changed them in 25 YEARS !

[drkwtsn]

I've been on this exact ride, and there was a few times while on it I questioned to myself the speed at which we were going

[Dublin]

Failed brakes are said to be cause of the accident,

Nothing to do with excessive speed then?

They really can't take responsibility for anything, can they.

Disgusting cultural trait.

They really can't take responsibility for anything, can they.

Not when it's easier to place the blame on an inanimate object, such as breaks.

They said, Due to the zoo’s hilly terrain,, why are they driving articulated vehicles if it’s so Hilly,,, risk of jack knife ---always the brakes fault,,,RIP to those who lost their life,,,