Commuter van crash kills four, injures 10 on elevated Bangkok expressway

[webfact]

Commuter van crash kills four, injures 10 on elevated expressway



BANGKOK: -- Four passengers were killed, and 10 others injured, when a commuter van they travelled in from Bangkok to Sri Racha crashed into a concrete barrier and flipped over on the Burapha Withi Expressway yesterday.

Driver of the taxi van Lekpet Prasert, 48, was slightly injured and was booked for questioning after he admitted to drive at over 120 kilometres an hour on the expressway.

The incident happened on the expressway in front of the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre on at about 7.30 pm.

The taxi van started from the Victory Monument on its way to Sri Racha with 14 passengers.

According to the driver, he drove at 120 kilometres an hour while the van was approaching the “S 1” curve on expressway in front of the Bangchak oil depot.

Suddenly the van lost balance and ploughed into the concrete barrier and flipped over in front of the exhibition centre.

Four passengers, three of them women, died on the spot and 10 others injured.

No other vehicle was engaged in the crash.

A wounded passenger Yingyai Tochaiyaphum, 59, said that the driver asked to stop for tyre replacement for about an hour on the expressway after saying a tyre was leaking air.

After having the leaked tyre replaced, he drove off again but at unusually high speed, he said.

Before approaching a curve, the van snaked right and left before crashing into the barrier and turned over, killing four people who included his girlfriend, he added.

The driver was detained and initially charged with reckless driving before more charges would be filed against him.

The fatal accident forced expressway authorities to close three outbound lanes on the expressway, leaving only one lane open to traffic, causing heavy traffic congestion last night.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/commuter-van-crash-kills-four-injures-10-on-elevated-expressway

-- Thai PBS 2015-11-03

[webfact]

4 dead, 10 injured in minivan crash on Bangna highway
By Coconuts Bangkok


Photo: @aodbu

BANGKOK: -- A minivan travelling from Bangkok to Si Racha, Chonburi, crashed into a barrier on Bangna expressway last night, killing four and injuring ten passengers.

The driver, Lekpetch Prasert, 46, told police he picked up 14 passengers from a minivan terminal at Victory Monument and he lost control on a curve before the right side of the minivan hit the barrier, dragging the vehicle about 50 meters farther down the road.

Full story: http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2015/11/03/4-dead-10-injured-minivan-crash-bangna-highway


-- Coconuts Bangkok 2015-11-03

[CelticBhoy]

What an awful photo to print.

That looks like blood all down the side of the van.

Surely a more respectful picture, if one really is needed, could have been published.

[VIPinthailand]

I hope they arrived on time!

[bangkokfrog]

These kind of reports come so frequently that enraged comment seems superfluous.

All I can say is RIP to the deceased and make two wishes: first, for a speedy recovery to the injured and second, that.appropriate compensation is paid and the full weight of the law comes down on the driver (and the van owner if the vehicle was un-roadworthy).

I know.. dream on!

[jaltsc]

"The driver denied he was driving recklessly."

Case closed. If you can't trust the word of a minivan driver who just caused a crash that killed 4 people and injured at least 10, whose word in Thailand can you trust? He probably wants a reward for not running away from the scene.

If it was at night, there is a good chance that the driver was either intoxicated, overly tired, had a few bottles of Red Bull inside of him to keep him awake, or a combination of any of the three. We can expect to see stories like this on a frequent basis until something is done to address the abominable lack of laws, inspection of vehicle safety and enforced standards for drivers. The only fortunate part of this incident is that there weren't more fatalities of innocent bystanders or drivers/passengers in other vehicles on the road.

Edited November 3, 2015 by jaltsc

[from the home of CC]

All passenger vehicles and heavy load trucks should be fitted with speed governors and relegated to the slow lanes of the road. These transport companies think this is just the cost of doing business.

[Just1Voice]

What an awful photo to print.

That looks like blood all down the side of the van.

Surely a more respectful picture, if one really is needed, could have been published.

Actually, I think it's a great picture. The more graphic the photos are, the more it might begin to register into the minds of people that ignorant driving is wrong, and that they should be more careful.

[EnglishJohn]

All passenger vehicles and heavy load trucks should be fitted with speed governors and relegated to the slow lanes of the road. These transport companies think this is just the cost of doing business.

It's not the speed that kills. It's dangerous driving and unroadworthy vehicles. It wouldn't stop them doing 60km/h weaving in and out on an urban road which has motorbikes joining from all directions.

Plus I would feel very unsafe in a vehicle which had to travel in the middle of all the trucks because it was limited to their speed. No doubt the drivers would sit in the outside lane and make it dangerous for everyone else trying to get past them.

[ezzra]

120 km an hour and than some, those drivers are driving like a bat out of hell, not sure why, need for speed

or they get extra pay for extra trips, what are the police doing? nothing, they're being paid by those companies to

turn a blind eye, and people will continue to die like flies...

[fritzzz25]

What an awful photo to print.

That looks like blood all down the side of the van.

Surely a more respectful picture, if one really is needed, could have been published.

Actually, I think it's a great picture. The more graphic the photos are, the more it might begin to register into the minds of people that ignorant driving is wrong, and that they should be more careful.

A photo does nothing. You think these drivers are looking at this stuff on their phone when they are driving? Of course not. The only way to drill this into people is to put these mangled wrecks on public display where there is no way to avoid them.

And someone has already posted the horrific images on a social media site (not surprised at all) for all the friends and families of these people to see. Having been the guy who responded to these wrecks 5 as a paramedic and 18 as law enforcement, I can tell you these scenes will never leave your mind - it is like a TV that has an image burnt into the screen that you can see when the power is turned off.

[hkt83100]

How are the chances that the spare wheel has not been checked in years and the air pressure was not within the expected limits?

[theguyfromanotherforum]

What an awful photo to print.

That looks like blood all down the side of the van.

Surely a more respectful picture, if one really is needed, could have been published.

Actually, I think it's a great picture. The more graphic the photos are, the more it might begin to register into the minds of people that ignorant driving is wrong, and that they should be more careful.

Hahaha

I just saw what seemed a bus that run over a pedestrian on ramkhamheang road. There has a bunch of people lined up to take a photo from the best angle.

I am losing some respect for this place.

[Artisi]

Let us wait with baited breath for a full report from the expert on road safety who will be able to explain exactly how this happened on a supposedly well engineered road, proper sign posted with speed limit etc., of course it's unlikely a fault of the driver even though he was driving at excessive speed.

[onelasttime]

Seeing as how the UN just declared Thailand as the 2nd most dangerous country for road accidents in the world, is this any wonder? Actually, given that road deaths only 'count' if you die at the scene I would guess that Thailand is in fact number 1.

As for mini vans.... used one once..that was enough.

[inzman]

It was the vans fault, probably brakes, haha. Single vehicle accident at 120 kph + really indicates the driver had a death wish. Too bad the passengers had to pay for it. Life is so cheap in Asia.

[thequietman]

Not my fault says the driver....................."the van lost balance"

[Artisi]

I am right in thinking that a few years back a that a law / directive was introduce to speed limit all commuter vans to 90km or was that day dreaming or wishful thinking?

[Thai at Heart]

All passenger vehicles and heavy load trucks should be fitted with speed governors and relegated to the slow lanes of the road. These transport companies think this is just the cost of doing business.

It's not the speed that kills. It's dangerous driving and unroadworthy vehicles. It wouldn't stop them doing 60km/h weaving in and out on an urban road which has motorbikes joining from all directions.

Plus I would feel very unsafe in a vehicle which had to travel in the middle of all the trucks because it was limited to their speed. No doubt the drivers would sit in the outside lane and make it dangerous for everyone else trying to get past them.

He was doing 120. This is illegal anyway. Limiters are used in plenty parts of the world and work well. Of course, this assumes that ALL vehicles of the right type have a limiter on them, but why shouldn't public transport and heavy goods lorries be limited to 90 or even less? So trucks should be limited also.

It would reduce the amount of accidents remarkably just by helping to prevent rear end shunts and giving drivers more time to react and it would reduce the amount of catastrophic failure to parts like this story.

[eggers]

Had experience some years back, when passenger in a commuter with 12 passengers was travelling at 170kph on Banga Trad expressway.

Despite repeated requests to the driver to slow down, he simply laughed & continued at the break neck pace.

On arrival at stop, I exited the van took photos reg plates & reported to nearest Police station.

To my knowledge, no action was taken.

Is it any wonder Thailand has second highest road fatalities in world;14,000+ in 2012, according to WHO report!!

Senseless waste of lives & sad indictment on Thai Gov'ts, whatever colour!!

[MaxLee]

1000 Baht fine, 1 month suspension and next time don't get caught.....

[bheard]

RIP to the unfortunate people killed. People not arriving home to the family that night - always a very sad outcome.

An aspect not covered well in these responses - how many passengers were wearing seat belts?.

I'd wager none. This is a problem - belts do save lives, but Thai people are not educated/forced to wear them.

Van drivers should be made to insist that all belts are in use (dream on, I know). 14 people in a van like that - sardines, nothing more.

[ldiablo]

And the good general claims that fatalities are on the decline.

[SPB65]

I'm sure like many other people on TVF I have been in these minivans more times than I would have liked. 90% of the drivers are reckless morons with no regard for their passengers or other road users whatsoever. They drive the vans like they are their own personal F1 cars. Thailand has the 2nd worse road death rate in the world.....when are the people going to wake up and smell the coffee ?

[mike324]

my office lady tells me, sometimes when the van seats are full, passengers even stand and crouch down until someone gets off at the next stop. So during holidays, the vans are usually packed with more than 14 passengers. This is because some folks don't want to wait another hour or two for the next van to come by, depending on the location.

[Travelman868]

14 people plus driver, so van overloaded by 3 to 5 people. Crash of pick up the other day overloaded by 20.

Every day they drive too fast, yet nobody has the balls to tell the driver to slow down.

[islandguy]

RIP. Saw this van last night about 8:50 pm. Van was all the way to the left, upright and facing forward (as in the picture). The people around it were all sitting against the road barrier on that side except for a few standing. From the quick glimpse I got from the taxi it seemed most were on their phones. No emergency responders were there yet and traffic was whizzing by at speed. After 10 years here I try hard to avoid all van transport.

[Briggsy]

This must be Sri Racha Tour bus company as they own that route. Generally their drivers are fairly ok. e.g. They are way better than the outright psycho amphetamine thugs that plough the Pattaya - Bangkok van route. It depends on the policies set out and enforced by the company. With Sri Racha Tour, if you make a specific complaint that the driver was driving dangerously, it will be acted upon.

2 years ago, they were advertising the fact that their routes were GPS speed restricted. Clearly that must have been a passing phase.

Edited November 3, 2015 by Briggsy

[Briggsy]

14 people plus driver, so van overloaded by 3 to 5 people. Crash of pick up the other day overloaded by 20.

Every day they drive too fast, yet nobody has the balls to tell the driver to slow down.

14 is full for this van. 2 (in front) + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 (4 rows in the back)

This is the standard seating pattern.

[Thian]

Those minivandrivers are the worst and most selfish of all, i even think they are not Thai or buddhist because that's not possible.

But why do people use these racing vans? There are plenty other ways to get around town.

Today at kanchana phisek the minivans just blocked 3 lanes infront of a mall causing huge congestion. And nobody dares to horn to them, that says enough me thinks.