23 die in fiery Chonburi wreck

[Geoff Snell]

I am surprised I am still alive after the few times that I traveled in mini vans in Thailand. They may be 10-12 seaters but I have never been in one that didn't have at least 13 people plus all the luggage. Very uncomfortable. The final straw for me was between Pattaya and Chonburi when along the way the driver stopped to squeeze in the 17th passenger that had to be booted out after 1 kilometer due to his body stench that infected the van. My girlfriend and I would have gladly got out but I think even the driver just couldn't handle the smell so ejected the guy. That was about 4 years ago and I have never got in a minivan since. Prior to that I have been in 2 minor accidents in minivans due to incompetent driving. NO PATIENCE EQUALS AN EARLY GRAVE

[jacko45k]

13 hours ago, thai006 said:

 

 oh really  so how to travel , walking ?

I think he suggests big bus, train, or fly. instead of the vans.

[sydneyjed]

Used to catch the mini-van down to Hua Hin on a regular basis but not anymore...Russian Roulette and this just about sums it up!

[ignis]

15 hours ago, The Old Bull said:

Vans only have ten seats must have been thirteen in the pickup

 

Did not read it was a VIP Van ? 

 

Most of these vans around where I live even the ones on Red Plates [brand new] are 16 seats + driver..  so that leaves 6 in the pickup, unless the van had more in or was overloaded = even less in the pickup

[Si Thea01]

So sad, just goes to prove how cheap life is here.  I don't know what has happened in Loei but there has be a marked reduction in the past 12 months of these lunatics plying their trade between here and Udon Thani.

 

Maybe if they adopted the approach that a certain service company has in Udon Thani, then it could change driver's habits.  This company has over 70 vehicles and has fitted GPS tracking to all its vehicles and If any driver is found to have broken the company's rules or road rules they are dismissed immediately.  All have to pass a driving test and of course hold  current license and the company also deducts B500 a month for insurance, which is returned if they adhere to all the rules and have an accident free year. 

 

A friend's son, who used to drive at break neck speeds has, since starting with the company, has changed his poor driving habits and is now quite a responsible driver.  He drove our family to a New Year's party the other night, kept to the speed limits, did not flit and out of traffic and only drank soft drink whilst at the gathering. He also drove my wife from Udon to Loei the other night and even she commented on how much his driving has improved and np longer speeds.

 

If this is an example of what can occur with these type of units fitted then maybe it should be compulsory for all passenger carrying vehicles, and hopefully reduce the type of carnage we are witnessing now.  They also need to be more stringent when dealing with drink driving offenders, if convicted fit with their car with alcohol interlocks or maybe that would be too easy. 

 

Edited January 3, 2017 by Si Thea01

[TKDfella]

I note today in the news papers that the PM will 1 trillion Baht for various air, road and sea projects...I wonder if there is some cash for... I suppose not. Such horrifying and tragic accidents such as this one shouts how little they care about life. My condolences to families of those killed.

[AhFarangJa]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Rescue workers said that 14 people, including four men and 10 females, died in the Bangkok-Chanthaburi passenger van whereas 11 people, including five men and six women, in the ill-fated pickup truck were killed.

 

 

22 minutes ago, ignis said:

 

Did not read it was a VIP Van ? 

 

Most of these vans around where I live even the ones on Red Plates [brand new] are 16 seats + driver..  so that leaves 6 in the pickup, unless the van had more in or was overloaded = even less in the pickup

 As quoted above, it clearly states 11 people in the pick up........The pick up's i know only have a maximum of 5 seats.......when will we see an end to the backs of pick up trucks crammed with people....

So Sad...R.I.. all

[mok199]

I have to much to say about this...so I will say nothing...sawadee'' too much'' crap

[Rimmer]

Some more off topic and troll posts have been removed

[Jimbo2014]

Very sad.  The roads here are a death knell of carnage and stupidity.  In any given 5 minutes on the roads here you will see 20 acts of insanity, stupidity and complete selfishness.  Thais need to wake up and the government needs to enforce good road practice.

[tigermoth]

A tragedy. How come 11 people were travelling in a pick up truck. I know you see it all the time but surely the cops over this well known period of carnage on Thai roads can't continue to ignore it. The ruling Junta is also contributing to this carnage by their gag on free expression etc. Only today there was a BBC report on the news about the horrific road toll in Thailand which was immediately stopped umtil the next news item came on. Unless the true horror of what is happening on Thai roads is known to all there is unlikely to be little if any improvement.

[Happyman58]

Ok  Question and this is to show what road rules Thai Know

 

What is the speed limit in a built -up area?

 

OK i going to guess my self   120 klm per hour   Am i right lol

[mikebell]

18 hours ago, Don Mega said:

So 13 in the van and 10 in the pickup.

 

Nice effort Thailand you never fail to amaze

They are saying 25 in the BKK Post.

[Don Mega]

3 minutes ago, mikebell said:

They are saying 25 in the BKK Post.

Yes today it is 25, yesterday when I made my post it was 23.

[onemorechang]

12 minutes ago, Happyman58 said:

Ok  general question to see what Thai drivers know about Road rules

 

What is the speed limit in built up areas? Really tough question i think

 

I am going to have a guess   120 klm per hour  because that is what Thai driver do in built up areas Am i right? It must be because that is the sped they do and i am sure they know the road ruleslike the back of there hand lol

 

This is to easy.

Its as fast as your vehicle will go.

And also have as much disregard for the passengers you have on board.

Amazing Thailand

 

 

Edited January 3, 2017 by onemorechang

[gemguy]

17 hours ago, bangrak said:

'stingray': Look at the, horrible, picture please: when some LPG tank would have exploded at that crash scene, it would look different, with one, or both, vehicle(s) blown into bits and parts scattered over a much larger area. Where does that leave you with your 'Should not be allowed to use LPG' stuff? Quality(1), well installed(2) and maintained(3), periodically thoroughly controled(4) LPG installations on vehicles are more safe than gasoline tanks! But, admittedly, points 1 to 4 might be an issue here...

Looking at videos of LPG and NG gas tank leaks, fires and fiery explosions you can see that sometimes the tanks blow on their own, for some reasons ..but no fire occurs while all too often you see a fire occurring and then the tank explodes seen in varying degrees of fiery forcefulness.

Either way if the LPG or NG tank is full or nearer to full you have a more serious condition as the fire will rage longer or the initial explosion will be larger and more forceful and more widespread.

Nasty stuff indeed and really hard to say if LPG or NG is safer than conventional gasolines or vice versa.

There have been plenty of fiery motor vehicle accidents by way of conventional fuels bursting into flames during a vehicle accident or fires occurring from conventional motor fuels being leaked or spilled and catching on fire while fuel is leaking somewhere throughout the fuel delivery system and catching on fire and then an explosion occurs....but surprisingly many times a fiery explosion does not occur rather the fire is isolated while the fuel tank does not explode. 

In a impact type of road accident it is hard to say if LPG or NG is worse every time or more so than conventional motor fuels fire but one thing for certain is when the LPG or NG tank does explode, it can and often does explode with much more force than conventional fuel containment.

RIP and condolences to the families of the victims.

Cheers

Edited January 3, 2017 by gemguy

[taichiplanet]

i guess we all have stories on crazy van drivers and overcrowded pick-ups. It seems people are allowed in the back of pick-ups if not on a motorway. Though i did see a pick-up on Hwy 7 once that was so full that everyone was standing up in the back; the 'funny' thing was they were all wearing Safety First shirts! As for vans i vowed never to go in one again after sitting behind the driver who was doing 130 kph and literally 2 meters away from the car in front, he was coming off and on the throttle to keep the distance. Absolute craziness  and disregard for everyone's safety.

 

As others have said, the carnage will continue until the police actually start enforcing the current laws.  I liked a suggestion earlier that probably the only way it will change is from a grassroots level where local communities start to make sure that in their village they educate and make sure theirs kids and relative act responsibly. It will only take one area to do it properly and they will get plenty of media coverage so that maybe others will copy.

 

Reported in the Australian news with a video of the fire

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-03/thai-road-crash-kills-25-people/8158566

[Rimmer]

Some off topic posts have been removed

[hotchilli]

Just seen this accident reported on the Japanese NHK channel...
That's gonna really Pee-off the T.A.T
Bad publicity always stings more when it goes outside the country!!

[pennine]

Don't use van, bus train or fly? Motorbike OK then?

[sendintheclowns]

21 hours ago, hellstens said:

The LPG is more safe than Gasoline.

If the Vans gastank explode, there will be nothing left of the Van,

as you see the Back of the Vas is not damage, it would be gone if the tank explode. It is more truly it is gasoline who burned 

So logically no problem with the LPG.

RIP all people who lose there life 

Thanks for clarifying, Hellstens. I have LPG in my SUV. Don't know why there's an assumption that it causes death. I drive, always assuming someone else is going to hit me (especially since they travel on the wrong side of the highway.

RIP to all those lost in this horrible accident - I can not imagine how many families have been affected.

It is due to bad driving, overloaded transport, negligent drivers...the list is endless, the carnage is terrible and the solutions offered will NOT work, unless people are subject to annual (dramatically improved) licensing renewals. Maybe the wrong time to point the finger - but highway police are not equipped, nor motivated to monitor who is licensed to drive minivans, overloaded pickups, etc.

Agreed - come on Mr. Prime Minister!! Stop talking kap about Thai 4.0 and fix the problems at your doorstep, please.

[lostinisaan]

20 hours ago, retarius said:

There are a lot of great suggestions on here about tachometers and the like, fitted as standard in developed countries. But nothing can be done and no laws passed will be effective until there is a functioning police force whose purpose should be to uphold the laws. If 200 baht in the gloved hand can buy you out of any bad driving what hope is there?

 

For me I would like to see a cultural change whereby local communities get together and say 'no more'. Let's have local parents and schools get together to police their own children/students with regard to licenses, drinking, helmets and the like. In my town we have a police man on duty outside the local high school where kids drive out on motor bikes without helmets and 3 or 4 to a bike…he does nothing at all, it seems his job is to blow his whistle a lot. Yet 100 yards down the road on the main road there is a poster campaign to get kids to wear helmets….wouldn't you think that someone somewhere in the township authorities or police would move the campaign to the high school?

 

 

 

 

    I think it's insane to stop a foreigner without a helmet when a lot of the cops are driving without helmets. A police cap doesn't help. 

 

   Doesn't all go back to education? Where and how did the cops get educated? By a face losing system that doesn't want to see the truth.

 

  I see and experience strange people driving vehicles who seem to do that for the first time of their life. That includes a teacher at my school. I always run when on gate duty when I see her driving in the gate.

 

    On the way to school and back home it's always "good luck" and my 40 years behind the wheel that no accident happens.

 

    Not just buffaloes, cows, dogs and cats cross the roads, the two legged animals are way more dangerous because the real animals' movement is mostly predictable. 

 

There are always accidents at a particular crossing, but yet nobody came to the conclusion to do something. 

 

   Too many of them don't even bother to apply for a driver's license, 200 baht will fix the issue. And once paid for not wearing a helmet, you can continue doing that all day long, because you can't be fined twice for the same offense.

 

    That's really a little bit sick and hard to understand. I can only drive 160 km/h when I've got my Buddha amulets on the dashboard. These will protect me. Maybe not. Or both.  

 

 

Edited January 3, 2017 by lostinisaan

[SOTIRIOS]

....horrific....

[Blackheart1916]

On 02/01/2017 at 7:36 PM, elliss said:

   Ban  these  high speed  hearses ,  used  them once  , never  again .

Same, and when i put my seat belt on the locals looked at me like i had two heads!

[oldlakey]

8 hours ago, Jimbo2014 said:

Very sad.  The roads here are a death knell of carnage and stupidity.  In any given 5 minutes on the roads here you will see 20 acts of insanity, stupidity and complete selfishness.  Thais need to wake up and the government needs to enforce good road practice.

Because the Grim Reaper will not be denied

[Rimmer]

Off topic post removed, please do not attempt to hijack the topic with pictures from China and Vietnam of children riding on motorbikes, thank you.

[kannot]

On 1/2/2017 at 6:36 PM, ianf said:

It's great listening to all the farangs here telling us all what is wrong with the Thai drivers. And off course we see incredibly stupid driving every day. I had occasion recently to take the Chantaburi Sa Keow  road and the number of Thai drivers overtaking on blind bends on double yellows was astounding. Here in Chiang Mai I wonder if the Farangs that I see everyday without helmets, with small kids on their motorbikes, with passengers on the back of their trucks (and so on) also post here? Because if they do I would ask them to set an example and modify their behaviour.

guess they  outnumber  the  locals 10-1  then?

[kannot]

one of their best driving traits is  getting at least 2  preferably all 4  wheels  on the opposite carriageway on any bend round by me, then you get the mid bend "twitch" when they realise  something is coming the other way, that last second panic move. The next bend they repeat, they learn nothing and are as thick as shiiiit.

[roo860]

This event displays many of the symptoms that show Thailand to be a developing country rather than a developed one such as those where all our posters originate from. We enjoy the freedoms and liberal aspects of life here along with the relatively cheap cost of living. We put up with the trials and tribulations and avert our eyes when we can from the unsavoury aspects. This crash is a distillation of what is the harshest of reality in a country where many are poorly educated and the attitudes to life and death are at such a variance from our own. I also feel frustrated; like many others; that we can only bear witness and express outrage but can do little more beyond that. It isn't our country even it is our home or a place we love to visit. RIP to those who suffered and died.
 
 

Well said!!!!!!

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[roo860]

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

Was trying to paste the story from Pattaya One about people at the scene videoing the crash and not trying to help. One guy was trying to tow the two vehicles apart.

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