Truck collision leaves driver dead, and 3 injured on Highway 304

 

 

PRACHINBURI: -- A trailer truck driver was killed and three others were injured when his 22-wheel trailer developed brake failure while running down steep hill road and crashed into eight other trailers, trucks and cars coming up the hill in Nadi district of Prachinburi province this morning.

 

The head-on downhill collision left the fatal trailer and another trailer in flames upon direct impact.

 

The incident left traffic jam on the two-way traffic Highway 304 for several hours near Khao Thon hill shrine.

 

Highway police have to close the highway on Kilometre 211-212 as fires was raging the two trailers.

 

Until noon today, highway police still could not yet open the highway to traffic because the road remains slippery due to the huge cache of flour cargo scattering on the road.

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/truck-collision-leaves-driver-dead-3-injured-highway-304/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2017-02-03

Properly adjusted brakes don't fail, you don't need air to apply the brakes, you need air to release them. If air pressure falls springs apply the brakes. The brakes didn't fail, the driver did.

Sorry for the death of the truck driver, but don't professional truck drivers use the engine as a brake when negotiating steep downhill grades. It's always the brakes that fail, well maybe they were red hot with the constant use?

However bring in a few gallons of water, pick up the flour, get salt and yeast and bake some nice bread.

29 minutes ago, ratcatcher said:

but don't professional truck drivers use the engine as a brake when negotiating steep downhill grades

But but in these cases Thai drivers accelerate.

Flour, water, heat, the bread is almost ready.

Have you ever seen the way  truck drivers drive, the  ones with the really REALLY  loud  exhausts show the perfect Thai way...they simply  cannot  hold a  steady cruising  speed its either accelerate or brake and u can hear it in the unbelievably  loud  exhaust note.

1 hour ago, ratcatcher said:

Sorry for the death of the truck driver, but don't professional truck drivers use the engine as a brake when negotiating steep downhill grades. It's always the brakes that fail, well maybe they were red hot with the constant use?

However bring in a few gallons of water, pick up the flour, get salt and yeast and bake some nice bread.

looks  like afterwards you could toast it too over an open fire.............another great Thai invention

7 minutes ago, kannot said:

Have you ever seen the way  truck drivers drive, the  ones with the really REALLY  loud  exhausts show the perfect Thai way...they simply  cannot  hold a  steady cruising  speed its either accelerate or brake and u can hear it in the unbelievably  loud  exhaust note.

They are an absolute disgrace, not to be mentioned in the same breath as "professional truck drivers" they tear trough small villages leaving a trail of noise and dust pollution, why I ask myself, what is the purpose, why are no noise restrictions in place? where is the supposed 5 year test to confirm they are fit for use on the road!

The average Thai will never complain! I used to think it noise and pollution didn't bother them then realised that they were too scared to complain knowing full well what "nutters" there fellow country folks where!

Not even any talk of having these trucks come into line with any existing laws and regulations - shame!

Brakes fail again

 

One thing is consistent on the roads Death and its day after day in large numbers because no one cares a dam

2 hours ago, ratcatcher said:

Sorry for the death of the truck driver, but don't professional truck drivers use the engine as a brake when negotiating steep downhill grades. It's always the brakes that fail, well maybe they were red hot with the constant use?

However bring in a few gallons of water, pick up the flour, get salt and yeast and bake some nice bread.

I suspect when they reach the start of the descent they throw the gears into neutral to let the engine idle and "save" fuel on the downhill run and ride the brakes hard until brake fade eventually occurs and then yes of course......."the brakes failed".

Is it snowing?

11 minutes ago, remobb said:

Is it snowing?

Yes, no wonder they're crashing, no experience with that, bald tires & no snow-chains ... 

2 hours ago, ratcatcher said:

Sorry for the death of the truck driver, but don't professional truck drivers use the engine as a brake when negotiating steep downhill grades. It's always the brakes that fail, well maybe they were red hot with the constant use?

However bring in a few gallons of water, pick up the flour, get salt and yeast and bake some nice bread.

Yes, you are right. I drove 22 wheelers interstate in Aus in the '70s, and the rule was that you go down a hill in the same gear (and by extension, at the same speed) as you need to go up it.

 

As Ramrod points out above, trailer brakes work by the air pressure keeping them disengaged. If you disconnect the air lines, the brakes on the trailer will lock on. A tri-axle trailer has six brake drums which operate independently - it is highly unlikely that the braking mechanism on all six of them failed.

 

If the truck had a full load of 20 tons or so, and the driver was relying on his brakes to slow him down, they will start to fade as they heat up. On a long hill, very soon the brake linings become glazed and cease to have any stopping power. And that, I suspect, was the cause of the 'brake failure'.

Brakes?

Slippery Road?

or just not been able to handle a truck?

or showing Thainess...: Me first!

Fatal, that the driver couldn't escape as usually...

2 hours ago, nisakiman said:

Yes, you are right. I drove 22 wheelers interstate in Aus in the '70s, and the rule was that you go down a hill in the same gear (and by extension, at the same speed) as you need to go up it.

 

As Ramrod points out above, trailer brakes work by the air pressure keeping them disengaged. If you disconnect the air lines, the brakes on the trailer will lock on. A tri-axle trailer has six brake drums which operate independently - it is highly unlikely that the braking mechanism on all six of them failed.

 

If the truck had a full load of 20 tons or so, and the driver was relying on his brakes to slow him down, they will start to fade as they heat up. On a long hill, very soon the brake linings become glazed and cease to have any stopping power. And that, I suspect, was the cause of the 'brake failure'.

Actually it's intelligence failure .. 

Typical uneducated reporting and claim of the accident failure. 

Heavy transport brakes are "fail safe" as pointed out by others, any malfunction activates the brakes to ON. 

I can't see any 'Steep' hill in the video?

 

Very close to the spot where another fatal accident occurred less than 3 weeks ago.....The number of fatalities from that one were never published but at least 4 perished.

2 hours ago, nisakiman said:

Yes, you are right. I drove 22 wheelers interstate in Aus in the '70s, and the rule was that you go down a hill in the same gear (and by extension, at the same speed) as you need to go up it.

 

As Ramrod points out above, trailer brakes work by the air pressure keeping them disengaged. If you disconnect the air lines, the brakes on the trailer will lock on. A tri-axle trailer has six brake drums which operate independently - it is highly unlikely that the braking mechanism on all six of them failed.

 

If the truck had a full load of 20 tons or so, and the driver was relying on his brakes to slow him down, they will start to fade as they heat up. On a long hill, very soon the brake linings become glazed and cease to have any stopping power. And that, I suspect, was the cause of the 'brake failure'.

Not just glazing causing failure, the drums expand with heat resulting in the rods having increased travel which causes a loss of mechanical advantage. Another factor could be that the tractor was not owned by the same person as the trailer. A common result of that situation is that drivers use the hand valve to apply only the trailer brakes, thus saving brake wear on the tractor.

3 hours ago, nisakiman said:

Yes, you are right. I drove 22 wheelers interstate in Aus in the '70s, and the rule was that you go down a hill in the same gear (and by extension, at the same speed) as you need to go up it.

 

As Ramrod points out above, trailer brakes work by the air pressure keeping them disengaged. If you disconnect the air lines, the brakes on the trailer will lock on. A tri-axle trailer has six brake drums which operate independently - it is highly unlikely that the braking mechanism on all six of them failed.

 

If the truck had a full load of 20 tons or so, and the driver was relying on his brakes to slow him down, they will start to fade as they heat up. On a long hill, very soon the brake linings become glazed and cease to have any stopping power. And that, I suspect, was the cause of the 'brake failure'.

It sounds like Thailand needs more Runaway Truck Klongs.

Silly me! When I first saw the main photo I said "Well, it's finally snowing in Thailand"

8 minutes ago, hobobo said:

Silly me! When I first saw the main photo I said "Well, it's finally snowing in Thailand"

Maybe it is snow, but not the kind that melts?

When isnt there an accident on that mountain? It looks like at least another year until the new road is built there. 

1 hour ago, ramrod711 said:

Not just glazing causing failure, the drums expand with heat resulting in the rods having increased travel which causes a loss of mechanical advantage. Another factor could be that the tractor was not owned by the same person as the trailer. A common result of that situation is that drivers use the hand valve to apply only the trailer brakes, thus saving brake wear on the tractor.

Come on now, the drums expand etc. etc., sure they do, but so little you would have difficulty in measuring it and certainly not sufficiently to effect the MA of braking effect to the point of the overused "brake failure". 

On 2/3/2017 at 2:49 PM, kannot said:

looks  like afterwards you could toast it too over an open fire.............another great Thai invention

Another? did i miss the first one!

On ‎2‎/‎3‎/‎2017 at 1:24 PM, ramrod711 said:

Properly adjusted brakes don't fail, you don't need air to apply the brakes, you need air to release them. If air pressure falls springs apply the brakes. The brakes didn't fail, the driver did.

Properly adjusted brakes do fail...if you overuse them and overheat them severely, but you are still very right in that it is actually driver failure. I was following a big truck in the mountains of Laos on my motorbike and could smell it's burning brakes long before I ever saw it. When I rounded a corner I saw something lying in the road and when I swerved to avoid it I saw that it was one of the trucks brake shoes...and it was still smoking!

2 hours ago, Lee4Life said:

Properly adjusted brakes do fail...if you overuse them and overheat them severely, but you are still very right in that it is actually driver failure. I was following a big truck in the mountains of Laos on my motorbike and could smell it's burning brakes long before I ever saw it. When I rounded a corner I saw something lying in the road and when I swerved to avoid it I saw that it was one of the trucks brake shoes...and it was still smoking!

Not much worse than the smell of overheated brake linings .

With the operator dead. How did the highway police conclude so quickly that the brakes failed? As always, just jumping to the easiest conclusion for a quick closure. 

#2 in the world. Until there is proper training and licensing, vehicle inspections, and enforcement of the law nothing will change. 

The worst situation I was ever in, during 30 plus years of driving trucks, was when I threw a rod on  long, steep downgrade in Arizona.  I was legally grossing 115,000 pounds.    No engine braking possible, since no compression.    I left a trail of oil, smoke from the brakes, as well as some other more personal fluids on the road for a few miles before I got it stopped, and I think there was a runaway truck ramp ahead, which I knew wouldn't be fun, either.   :)

I had a tense conversation with 'Death' for a minute or two.

 I don't claim skill kept me alive, I'll accept luck, but I maintained as much control as I could.