Thread: Passenger Killed in Northern Thailand after Public Transport Van Crashes into a Tree

KAMPHAENG PHET – One woman has been killed and four other severly injured when a passenger van ran they were traveling in went off the road and hit a tree in the median in Northern Thailand, Friday morning.

Pol Capt Bancha Sum-ngern, a duty-officer at Khanu Waralaksaburi police station reported that the latest fatal accident involving public transport van occurred at around 5.30am.

Police and rescue workers arrived at the scene to find the Passenger Van crumpled into a big tree, in the ditch dividing the road.

A female passenger from Myanmar was repoted dead at the scene while three other passengers including the driver, Mr. Chatchawan Chanthamas, were injured and trapped in the vehicle.

The injured, including the driver were taken to a nearby hospital.

Mr Chatchawan, 45, was badly hurt and could not give police a statement.

The van picked up four passengers, three women and a man, in Samut Sakhon and was taking them to Tak’s Mae Sot district on the Myanmar border. Police suspect the driver fell asleep at the wheel, but were still waiting to question him.

more Passenger Killed in Northern Thailand after Public Transport Van Crashes into a Tree | Chiang Rai Times English Language Newspaper

Police suspect the driver fell asleep at the wheel, but were still waiting to question him.

waiting until he stops snoring and wakes up.

Time for the worlds great inventer Loy Toy to design a hand held computer that can measure "Tiredness "
This potentially could save lives.
Test your drivers awakenes before departing and at every stop. Plug in your driver, to the human Takometer .

The van picked up four passengers, three women and a man, in Samut Sakhon

At what time? That should be easy to establish.

Rather than banning vans mandate two drivers who must swap every four hours or...

^RIP to the Burmese woman. She was probably en route to her family across the border. I can relate a bit to the news, since I crossed that border last year, and rode a minivan to reach Mae Sot. So many deaths re: minivans the past few days. It's sad and pointless... no wonder the long-term expats & posters just say TiT...

Driving like a maniac and falling asleep on the wheel = accidents.

How is the transportation in Flipper Land?...

Originally Posted by ENT

Those van drivers seem to get more aggressive by the day, many are tour operators, some Chinese drivers unfamiliar with international road rules among them, in big new vans, too.

Outrageously risky driving going on, generally overloaded new passenger vans speeding and cutting in or overtaking on blind stretches of road.

Add unregulated long driver hours and many Thai drivers' reliance on caffeinated energy drinks to keep them going until the effects wear off makes a deadly combination sure to lead to accidents from inattention.

My former neighbor (who was a retired Navy man and drives one of these vans) explained it to me; the driver rents the van by the day (the owning company would have no way to keep track of how much money was taken in or passengers carried). The more trips he or she can make or the more passengers carried the more money the driver makes. That explains why you'll sometimes see 2 vans actually racing to a stop where passengers are waiting.

Any approach to change has to start with this understanding.

Originally Posted by forreachingme

many drivers actually drive to slow in Phils and they like to stay in the overtaking lane on the highway...

We might need a Flipper Transportation "Fred"...(that's "thread," for the uninformed)...

What's with these people who stay in the "fast lane" and don't drive the speed limit?...

It's an international thing...In Canada, the cops will pull you over and ticket you, but you don't see that much...And still the fookers do it...All ages and both genders...

It's often posted, as well...Saying you'll be fined...Nothing works...Heh...

Why is it?...

Originally Posted by BobR

Any approach to change has to start with this understanding.

Makes a lot of sense...The money factor is the prime motivation...People will do most anything for it...

Even die...

Not as many deaths re: minivans here. But yes, they tend to overcrowd minivans - 18 ppl in a van! Four rows x 4 ppl/ row, plus 2 ppl beside the driver. That's for an ordinary Toyota Hi-ace or Nissan vans. I actually like the Hi-ace bcos it seems a bit wider than other brands. Btw, that's 4 'regular-sized' pinoys (60 kg or less). If they're farang-sized or a bit overweight, there's a problem. Better pray that one (or two) in the row is super-skinny, or a kid! Lol. Same goes for the jeepneys, they are overcrowded too.