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StrontiumDog

Van crashes into road sign in Chon Buri, 7 dead | Bangkok Post: breakingnews

7 dead in van crash (update)

• Published: 2 Mar 2013 at 11.13
• Online news:

Seven people in a passenger van were killed when it crashed into a road sign in Chon Buri province on Saturday morning.


Post Today Photo

Police said the passenger van, with the licence plate 10-3101 Rayong, was running between Bangkok and Map Ta Phut. The vehicle was carrying a driver and nine passengers.

The accident occurred at about 8:20am in Bang Lamung district.

Witnesses told police that the vehicle was travelling at high speed, lost control, ran into the road sign, and fell into a ditch.

The compressed natural gas (CNG)-fuelled van quickly caught fire.

Among the seven fatalities were five women and two men.

Two woman passengers, Arunsri Kraisit, aged 41, and Sripai Semsuksai, 56, and the driver, Chuchart Pothichai, 50, were injured and taken to hospital.

Police suspected that Mr Chuchart had dozed off while driving.

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Seven dead in East Pattaya Minivan crash

Posted on March 2, 2013 at 12:10 pm

Just before 9am on Saturday Nongprue Police and rescue services were called to Highway 36 close to the Bira International Racing Circuit to deal with a fatal road crash which left seven people dead.

Due to the seriousness of the incident Police Major General Katcha, the Provincial Police Commander, was in attendance to oversee the initial stages of the investigation.

A Toyota Commuter Minivan Taxi which runs from Bangkok to Map Ta Put in Rayong Province had come off the road and rolled over, coming to a stop when it slammed into a steel pylon.

A fire then took hold of the vehicle which contained a total of 10 people. Three were seriously injured and taken to the Queen Sirigit Hospital while seven were unable to exit the vehicle and were burnt alive. It took firefighters 30 minutes to extinguish the flames.

The dead could not be formally identified but they are known to be 1 man, 4 women and 2 children. It is thought that two gas tanks fitted inside the rear compartment ignited when the minivan rolled off the main carriageway.

There were no independent witnesses to the crash who came forward, but it is thought that no other vehicle was involved. Police suspect the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel but this is only speculation for now. The investigation continues.







- See more at: Seven dead in East Pattaya Minivan crash | Pattaya One - Pattaya News, Thailand News, World News, updated 24 hours a day

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"Slavery is the daughter of darkness; an ignorant people is the blind instrument of its own destruction; ambition and intrigue take advantage of the credulity and inexperience of men who have no political, economic or civil knowledge. They mistake pure illusion for reality, license for freedom, treason for patriotism, vengeance for justice."-Simón Bolívar

Mid

thought that was solved with the Bkk tragedy

BobR

Once again the monkey who caused it survived, too bad.

gaysexbyproxy

Fuck me, taken that route many times. Anybody know the company? I bet it's BH Rayong. Drive like maniacs...

English Noodles

Burnt alive. Nasty way to go.

RIP

mingmong

Amazing Thailand....................

Necron99

Come on Stront. Did we need the photo of the crispy kid?

Fondles

Solid effort.

jumbo

Tragedy for the deceased & their families. Will they ever learn?

noelbino

No. they won't. Another loss of life due to the non-enforcement of existing laws,

The Master Cool

Again?

At least this cool looking dude got his mug in the paper.

Rocksteady

Yet another reason for middle class families to understand that Thailand is not 'a tropical dream'!

artist

Drive this road every day and these ones in the buses that look like ambulances are totally nut cases. drive through red lights at 140 plus tail gate you within an inch. Very serious ya baad idiots on the road. Also no room for any luggage's as four large gas canisters inside the van.

The Master Cool

Very true.

Unfortunately the Thais don't have the ability to change.

ie:

The drivers gain the common sense to stop doing it.

The police enforce the laws.

The companies limit the vehicles and have internal policies to stop such deadly behavior.

The customers question, let alone revolt and boycott against such behavior.


Put the lack of these concepts together and you have why Thailand is such a foked country and its society just about unable to develop.

Dead Metal

I've been on these going up to Korat, the nutter was doing just as you all say, max speed, tailgateing, shouting and screaming at other road users. Not sure if that was talc on his top lip! Must have been doing 80 mph through a junction, had it up on 2 wheels !!! i kid you not. I was up and over to give him a slap but the wife went ape, pulled me back, like i'm in the wrong, TiT !!!
I explained if it was UK he would be in "nik"..............

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Too old to Rock 'N' Roll :

Too young to Die !

The Master Cool

See my post above.

Development is just beyond this society and culture.

The other bizarre facet of it is that they see themselves as superior and intelligent.

Dead Metal

Yes, the only way these companies will sit up and take notice, people power, the only way.

The Master Cool

^ Of course that would beg the question of it is only the culture and social implications of introducing such horrors to the offending parties that stops such, or if it goes to a level of ignorance and arrogance on the paying customer's side that they are relatively content at such behavior as it is convenient to them and they as good Thais (and Buddhists) will come to no harm, so let the driver and the dash full of Buddha statues get on with it.


Just today I was in two BKK taxis, neither one had functional seatbelts in the rear (the seatbelt was there but not the fastener, they had been cut out). The Thais with me laughed (probably fakely) when I pretended to fasten my seatbelt but could not. Of course in a country that values development and life there would be a social abhorance and disbelief at taxis cutting out their seatbelts so the customers cannot use them. The taxi taken off the road and the offenders most likely locked up and certainly banned from from driving for a long time. But here, it's bad luck to fasten your seatbelt because it will preempt (cause) an accident and the driver is Thai so is perfect.

A very backward society and culture that is just about beyond help and development. No one will even mention it to the driver, report the company or make a public stance against it. A phone number for drivers that refuse meter demanding passengers, there should be a number to report taxis that have had their seatbelts cut out!


They have been relatively sheltered from the outside World and the outside World relatively sheltered from Thailand, but with ASEAN 2015 and the modern World Thailand is really starting to (and going to) look what it really is: Utterly backward and beyond help.

mao say dung

Just a quick question: how many times do you have to see something like this before you get bored with this sort of "Thais are stupid... Thais don't value life" mantra?

I googled up a number of similar accidents around the world in the past year with one search.

Does anyone really believe this says something about Thais as distinct from say Nepalese, Indians or Brazilians?

And if not, how dumb is it to go on and on about Thais on the basis of this sort of news report?

Of course, if you do, you have my sympathies and I'd be happy to blame your parents!

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The Master Cool

Yes, for one Indians truly believe that their fate is spelled out for them at birth, nothing they do will affect when it is their time to die, as it is predestined. I would have to guess that Nepalese would follow a very similar belief.

Brazilians, I have never lived in Brazil and am not completely familiar with their (doubtless numerous) belief systems. Being a developing, primarily jungle country with poor national infrastructure and a massive amount of distance between destinations then I personally wouldn't be one bit surprised if they managed to equal or surpass Thailand's weekly minivan death toll.

Whether it be more or less does that make the problem I highlighted, say in post 14 any less real, or any less of a hindrance than proposed?

Your answer would be appreciated.



And if not, how dumb is it to go on about how other societies (ones who believe their fate is predestined so cause and affect has no meaning) does not mean that Thailand has serious social and cultural development issues that result in weekly/daily deaths such as this?


Though to get your point across and to highlight how intelligent you are you could have a dig at a poster and their parents, as opposed to acknowledging:

Why are these minivans not speed-limited?
Why are they not regulated from outside bodies?
Why do the drivers drive as such?
Why do the customers not protest?
Why do the police not enforce the law?


'But but but, the same happens in India'.

mao say dung

Which are more or less identical to social and cultural development issues in the majority of the world. So please do go on and on as if this were something special about Thais, whose parents were Thais.

If only the Thais were capable of critical thinking at the level of pointing to the sky and saying (over and over and over) "It's blue today".

The Master Cool

Which would be so? I don't believe this case (and the daily/weekly cases that came before and will come after it) refer to any country other than Thailand, as this is a Thai forum with this subforum based on Thai news.

Where did I mention it was special to the Thais??

I mention that it is due to certain facets of Thai society and culture. From the moronic driver which has likely bought his license or driven around a few cones to get one, has minimal training, and as per culture acts on impulse without foresight. To the customers, who's risk of being burned alive in the daily/weekly minivan fireball is far better than insisting on a safe passage and duty of care from the company and its employees,
from the company who refuse to speed limit their vehicles and (as far I know) pay their drivers commission to clock up the KM as quick as they can thus creating the incentive to earn more through speeding, to the police, well, where would we start there?.

Where do I once mention that it is unique to Thais?

Link please.


While you're at it, please answer what difference it makes that my points would also adhere to other nations.

mao say dung

Not a big deal, really.

You live here long enough, you hear this conversation six different ways from guys who've been living here a whole 3 months and from guys who've been living here 20-plus years. And if you're me, you start to wonder what the point is.

If a guy can arrive at this conclusion after a brief perusal of a guide book, a Stephen Leather novel and 2 months teaching in a government school, it can hardly be very deep or meaningful. And if a guy still spouts the same shallow stuff after a few years, you've got to wonder why no deepening of the understanding after real living experience.

And if this sort of surface bumpf is true all around the world, what is the point of going on about "Thais this and that"? Is it not a little like "Thais have noses! Thais have holes in the backsides that SHIT comes out of!!!"?

But maybe that's just me. Didn't mean to offend. I mean, it seems to be a majority tendency.

The Master Cool

So what you're saying here is that you have become desensitized to children being burned alive in the daily/weekly Thai minivan slaughter, and when it does happen and people who live here point out the factors behind it in a Thai Expat News subforum, instead of addressing the points you need to show-off your intelligence by dictating that:

1) it happens in other countries too.
2) that the poster's parents should be blamed.
3) Avoiding questions that require you to back up your statements.
4) Avoiding all points put forward as the cause (Thai social and cultural issues).


Is that correct?

mao say dung

No. I mean what I said... which is why I said it the way I did. To wit:

I would say the bolded bit is the meat of the matter from my perspective.