Involved in a bad bus crash yesterday.

[joeyg]

On the way up to BKK about 30 minutes outside Bangna.  I was sitting in the second row opposite side of the driver.  I was dozing off.  I raised my head and opened my eyes we were in the process of just slamming  into the rear end of a parked car on the narrow shoulder on an elevated section of highway, at full speed.

 

The bus rose up and leaned over into traffic about 25 degrees.  It came down and we stopped about 400 yards down the road.  I can't imagine the driver in the car survived.  If he did he would be in critical condition I'm sure.

 

We were lucky, I guess to not go over the edge which was easily 5 stories up.  

 

Just as scary was 

 

1) hoping we were not going to get hit by another vehicle as we were about half way into the highway still.  No flares no cones.  Sat there for about an hour and a half before another bus picked us up.

 

2) Passengers wanting to get out and go where I don't know.  It couldn't have been a worse spot.  Can't Imagine.

 

3) Some passengers getting out and barely being able to open the luggage compartment and taking out their luggage.  A tour group.  Guess from where?

 

4) Another guy and his friend taking turns sitting in the drivers seat on their mobile phones in the midst of the blown up wind shield.  Guess from where?

 

Anyway lucky yo be alive.  And frightened at the thought of a wide spread disaster/war breaking out and how people will behave, or rather not behave.

[transam]

Life can be a gamble.......Anyway you look at it..........

[kkerry]

You would think with all the recent bus and van accidents some awareness of being more careful would have rubbed off, but apparently not.

 

I was in a taxi late last night and he was driving like a lunatic, super aggressive. If you saw the video of the car that caused a motor cycle to be hit and the rider killed this week, he was driving like that, going for gaps that were barely there. I would have got out but it wasn't safe to do so, easy to get hit while walking in the dark by another car. Eventually there was a huge traffic jam so he had no choice but to slow down. I've only ever gotten out of a taxi mid journey once before but last night would have been the second time if I could have.

[joeyg]

I always look for the seat belt getting in a vehicle.  Most of the time they are not available.  The one on my seat wasn't.

 

On the newer bus that picked us up the seat belt was working and I used it.  Curiously no one  else I could see did.  Makes ya wonder.

[BsBs]

Not so smart to sit in front also...

 

In Bangna Pattaya bus accident all people sat in front died.

 

As someone said, everything you do is to look into problems. Try to take better decisions in the future.

 

 

[kannot]

Police  called,  driver breathalysed, statements given,?

[dbrenn]

18 hours ago, kkerry said:

You would think with all the recent bus and van accidents some awareness of being more careful would have rubbed off, but apparently not.

 

I was in a taxi late last night and he was driving like a lunatic, super aggressive. If you saw the video of the car that caused a motor cycle to be hit and the rider killed this week, he was driving like that, going for gaps that were barely there. I would have got out but it wasn't safe to do so, easy to get hit while walking in the dark by another car. Eventually there was a huge traffic jam so he had no choice but to slow down. I've only ever gotten out of a taxi mid journey once before but last night would have been the second time if I could have.

A lot of Thai taxi drivers seem to have a childish macho streak and drive like utter lunatics to show how manly they are. I always tell them to slow down, which they don't like and usually say "Why? Are you scared?" At this point I tell them to stop and get out or tell them that I'm indeed scared because I don't trust them to be competent to be driving so fast. This usually gets me a death stare in the rear view mirror, butmost do slow down. 

 

I put this behaviour down to short man syndrome. 

[transam]

1 minute ago, dbrenn said:

A lot of Thai taxi drivers seem to have a childish macho streak and drive like utter lunatics to show how manly they are. I always tell them to slow down, which they don't like and usually say "Why? Are you scared?" At this point I tell them to stop and get out or tell them that I'm indeed scared because I don't trust them to be competent to be driving so fast. This usually gets me a death stare in the rear view mirror, butmost do slow down. 

 

I put this behaviour down to short man syndrome. 

As an ex London mini cab driver I can tell you it is to get you out of the car and take your cash SAP cos the next job could be waiting...

[dddave]

10 hours ago, BsBs said:

Not so smart to sit in front also...

 

I agree with this...anytime I am ticketed in seats 1 thru 4, I'll ask for a different seat.  I usually don't get strange looks from the seller...apparently Thais do it all the time. 

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, dddave said:

I agree with this...anytime I am ticketed in seats 1 thru 4, I'll ask for a different seat.  I usually don't get strange looks from the seller...apparently Thais do it all the time. 

 

I guess nothing quite like being trapped in the back of a burning/semi-submerged/sinking/stuck across the fast lane in a disabled and partially wrecked van eh?

Edited January 15, 2017 by NanLaew