Bangkok-Train Hits 9 Cars at Asoke Rail Crossing

[StrontiumDog]

Thai-ASEAN News Network


Train Hits 9 Cars at Asoke Rail Crossing

UPDATE : 14 December 2011

A train hit 9 vehicles that were parked on the Asoke railway crossing while stuck in red light. At least 10 people were injured with 6 in critical condition. Among them was a railway official stationed at the crossing who had been waving a red flag to signal the train driver to stop.

Police said due to heavy traffic congestion in the area, cars are often stuck on the rail crossing during the red light. This time, however, the train driver misjudged his brake distance and couldn't put the train to a halt in time before it actually reached the crossing.

[taxexile]

cars are often stuck on the rail crossing during the red light.

very poor judgement, some would say downright stupidity, on the part of any driver who stops his car on a railway track. easy enough to stop before the track.

an unsecure railway crossing in the middle of a capital city, more stupidity.

[r1 pet]

how the hell do you get 9 cars on a crossing,

[natalie8]

very poor judgement, some would say downright stupidity, on the part of any driver who stops his car on a railway track. easy enough to stop before the track.

I saw this all the time in Lak Si at very busy crossings. Mind boggling.

[StrontiumDog]

The above incident happened yesterday evening (TV has it as breaking news...doh!)

Anyway, here are some photos taken from a Thai news Twitter feed, I translated the Thai and posted them to my Twitter feed and for convenience I'll post them as is....(I don't have the time to rewrite them just because Mid gets his knickers in a twist about it).

StrontiumDog1 StrontiumDog

Pic-earlier (2 hrs) of 2 cars mangled after the train has moved, Asoke train and car collision this evening bit.ly/vAg8qG RT @gig_ga



Pic, of same 2 cars with train present, dragged 100 metres, 1 person got out, 1 injured bit.ly/vwPKQp RT @Reporter_js8

สภาพรถปิคอัพ ยง-144กทม. และเก๋ง วก-306กทม. ที่ถูกรถไฟชนขณะติดค้างบนราง ,กระเด็นไกล100ม. ออกจากรถทัน1 เจ็บ1 http://pic.twitter.com/lvyI7XpA 14 hours ago



Pic-emergency workers attending to one of the injured @ Asoke rail crossing train and car collision http://bit.ly/s29TCB RT @e20ive



Pic, by 19.40 the Asoke crossing was open once more, road surfaces being cleaned at the crossing http://bit.ly/vqYJzr RT @Reporter_js8

19.40น. จนท.เก็บกวาดซากรถบนผิวถนน ที่รางรถไฟแยกอโศก-เพชรบุรี หลังรถไฟชนเก๋ง6คัน ขณะรถติดค้างบนราง เจ็บ6คน http://pic.twitter.com/FBbUY04J

[dirtydog]

very poor judgement, some would say downright stupidity

Think most would say just downright stupidity, maybe Darwin will sort a few of them out.

[taxexile]

I saw this all the time in Lak Si at very busy crossings. Mind boggling.

its darwinism at its best.

thailand, ridding the world of the stupid.

[Rural Surin]

Stupid is as stupid does...

[r1 pet]

its the same mentality as overtaking on blind bends,
did it last week and nothing happened, and the week before that, and then

[natalie8]

(I don't have the time to rewrite them just because Mid gets his knickers in a twist about it).

Ya, what's that all about?

[Thaihome]

The normal, accepted procedure at that railway crossing, especially during rush hour, is for cars to stop on the track and if a train comes, it stops while the tracks clear. The trains that do come through there move at little more than walking speed and any experienced train driver would know the tracks were likely to full of cars at that time of day.

As the article accurately states, the train driver must have misjudged his stopping distance, likely because of poor maintenance on his brakes.
TH

[Simon43]

Did the train driver flee the scene??

[natalie8]

Did the train driver flee the scene??

[harrybarracuda]

The towel heads have the same mentality. They will pull into a yellow box junction even when it's clear they can't get out of it, blocking all the rest of the traffic for everyone else. Thick as shit.

[sabaii sabaii]

Unbelieva...........

Maybe not

[BobR]

Ever tried stopping short of the RR tracks in Bangkok or anywhere else in Thailand specifically so you will not be stuck on them? The idiots have a tantrum, steer around you then stop on e tracks 10 feet in front of you.
Much like the demise of those who ride or drive on the wrong side of the street, eliminating such people may be a good thing.

[Sailing into trouble]

I think I was one of those idiot towel head s stupid morons last summer. 6 lanes of trsffic merge into 2 and all of a sudden you are ona railway track when a red light starts flashing.. Apart from climb out the sun roof and run for it there is not much you can do. In my situation the train stopped 2 cars away and about 15 feet.

[Elloit]

sounds interesten

[Hampsha]

The train driver deserves the going-rate of 15-20 years in prison. Other probably should join him. The drivers in the cars probably deserve what they got because most Thais are just brain-dead. In the end, no one will learn anything from this because Thailand is the anus of the world. Too bad the cars hit weren't all black mercedes 500s.

[WilliamBlake]

A train hit 9 vehicles that were parked on the Asoke railway crossing while stuck in red light.

Wouldn't the red light indicate that you have to give way to the other traffic? That would tend to include trains. Why is there no boom gate or something operating with the red light, or perhaps a sign saying "You, you, you! No stop on train track!"

[Thaihome]

A train hit 9 vehicles that were parked on the Asoke railway crossing while stuck in red light.

Wouldn't the red light indicate that you have to give way to the other traffic? That would tend to include trains. Why is there no boom gate or something operating with the red light, or perhaps a sign saying "You, you, you! No stop on train track!"

The red light they were stuck at is almost a kilometer in front of them and you cannot even see it from the crossing. When you cross the intersection of Kamphaeng Phet 7 going towards the RR tracks, you have no idea if you will be stopped on the tracks or not. It depends on how far the line in front of you moves. It is the same going the other way towards Petchburi Rd.

Most of the time that road is completly jammed and is barely moving. If each car waited to be sure it could clear the tracks before moving onto them it would cause even more chaos and slow the whole thing down to a virtual standstill.
TH

[tsicar]

very poor judgement, some would say downright stupidity

Think most would say just downright stupidity, maybe Darwin will sort a few of them out.

i think the word you are looking for is THAINESS!
.....and they are all very proud of their thainess.

of COURSE the stoopid 'kkin train driver should have applied brakes in time to stop 30000tons of vehicle to avoid a bunch of thais in cars, just exercising their divine right to be thai.

THAINESS: the right to stupidity and ignorance.

[The balding Coot]

Maybe now the Thai rail authorites will invest in railway crossing gates.

The rest of the world did so in the Victorian era.

[terry57]

very poor judgement, some would say downright stupidity

Think most would say just downright stupidity, maybe Darwin will sort a few of them out.

I must say that The Thais win the gold medal in stupidity. I do like them but at times there a total bunch of full on wankers.

[Butterfly]

do you think the drivers in the cars would have had the idea to leave their vehicles while the train was slowing smashing into them ?