Thread: Eight killed in latest van horror

Originally Posted by TizMe

Originally Posted by VocalNeal

Seat belts?

Don't think seatbelts would make any difference in this one.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

Some would have died certainly, but this suggests some might have survived...

"An initial investigation suggests that after the collision, the van's doors popped open, and the passengers were flung from the five meter high tollway on to a pedestrian bridge and canal below. "

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

Eight killed in latest van horror

Hardly surprising considering the majority of Thai's drivers can't drive in any respect, so another 8 bite the dust...the only unfair thing about this was most of the people (if not all) were'nt driving! Some reports say the Honda driver hit the back of the bus sending it out of control.

same with motorcy, I mean they are dumb, no doubt, the way they drive is beyond stupid. The only thing saving them is their quick reflex and skills to avoid things,

but sometimes it's not enough,

Those minibus drivers are fucking nutcases too, I have to go Rayong to Bangkok every Wednesday, my hearts in my mouth when on the motorway.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

So that's 13 killed in 2 accidents, just in Bangkok....now I can see how Thailand has one of the, if not the, worst traffic fatalities records in the world. 12,000 a year...!

That's only the number that die at the scene.

The real amount is double that, they don't count those that die as a result of their injuries and or in hospital.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/o...ting-to-happen

An accident waiting to happen

• Published: 28/12/2010 at 11:11 AM
• Online news: Opinion

Passenger van drivers are notorious for reckless driving, but passengers are willing to take the risk because the service is convenient, fast and the fares reasonable. Above all, there is no better alternative.
The horrific accident on the Don Muang elevated tollway on Monday night, in which eight people travelling in a passenger van died after they were thrown out of the vehicle by a collision, was just another accident waiting to happen involving a passenger van.

Although the initial police report showed that the accident was caused by a sedan which rammed into the rear of the passenger van, it was also presumed that the two cars were travelling at high speed. It has yet to be determined by the police which of the two drivers was at fault.

The wreckage of a van rests on the Don Muang elevated tollway after it collided on the night of Dec 28 with a Honda sedan, above, and slid into the tollway barrier. Eight people were thrown from the van and were killed. PHOTOS BY SAROT MAKSOPHAWANNAKUL

But ask any people with experience of riding in one of these passenger vans, the common opinion is that most - if not all – of these drivers are reckless and have little respect for traffic rules. Literally speaking, the passengers’ lives are at the mercy of the drivers.

As a motorist myself who uses the expressway on a daily basis, I have witnessed countless incidents -- a passenger van zigzagging through narrow spaces between lines of cars, a passenger car tailing dangerously close to the car in front to the extent that if the driver of the front car jams on the brakes, the van will definitely ram into its rear, a passenger van cutting dangerously in front of another car or passenger vans engaging in a race.
Admittedly, I have cursed the passenger car drivers on several occasions, but luckily the drivers did not hear me.

Reckless driving seems to be the norm of most passenger vans. And many passengers are willing to take the risk of these all too often high speed rides because it is more convenient than a public bus and cheaper than a taxi.

If there were a better alternative, I believe many passengers would quickly dump the passenger van service.

Passenger vans take commuters from Don Muang airport.

It appears that there is no control whatsoever, either by the companies which operate the van service or by the Land Transport Department, over the recklessness of these drivers. Few drivers are fined heavily for speeding and have their licences revoked, nor are many fined for parking on the roadside to pick up passengers, blocking the traffic and completely ignoring the needs of other motorists.

Also, there seems to be no limit on the number of passengers traveling in a passenger van. In most cases, passengers were jam-packed like sardines in the vehicle as the drivers are keen on making the most profits from each ride.

Monday’s horrible accident was the second in two months. On Oct 31, a passenger van fell from an elevated expressway in Bang Sue district, causing the death of eight passengers.

Since the New Year is a few days a way and a lot of people are expected to use the passenger van service and, as such, put their lives at the mercy of the reckless drivers. Shouldn’t the Land Transport Department or the police do something with these irresponsible drivers so that such a horrible tragedy will not be repeated.

I have always said that you can see their true colours when they are behind the wheel of a car; arrogant, ignorant, stupid, often uncontrollably violent, selfish and emotionally unstable.

They are children in adults' bodies and do not have the responsibility, maturity and common sense needed to control a motor vehicle.

My Thai g/f is learning now and they haven't taught her anything about safety, courtesy or driving manners; only how to master basic control of a vehicle and deal with Bangkok traffic. Unfortunately that seems to be the only requirement to pass the test here! When I sat it several years ago 95%+ of the applicants couldn't parallel park in a space big enough for a city bus, yet they were turning up in their new, red-plated Hondas and Toyotas as if the new cars gave them the right to automatically pass. It was the Sukhumvit office in Bangkok and some of the scenes when they were failed were hilarious; like spoilt children not getting their way.

I was talking with my Thai teacher today about this accident.
She said the girl driving the Honda was the one at fault, didn't have a license and is from some important family in Ayuthaya.
I wonder if she'll be getting a new car soon?

Originally Posted by Mr Earl

I wonder if she'll be getting a new car soon?

and a new driving license, no doubt

There was a poll some years back asking passengers if they would speak up and tell a van or bus driver to slow down if they were fearful for their lives and something like 95% said it would be rude to admonish the driver and they would not do anything but hope for the best.

^^ her last name has the "Na Ayuthaya" bit added, which means some of her relatives were related to a royal, some time back, Rama I, I think I read someplace.

Means nothing. I've met quite a few folks with Na Ayuthaya in their name and they were rich or "hiso" in the slightest.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/loca...r-compensation

Relatives of van victims urged to sue

• Published: 28/12/2010 at 03:40 PM
• Online news:

The Lawyers Council has urged relatives of eight people killed in Monday’s passenger van crash to sue for compensation.

Council spokesman Sombat Wongkamhaeng said on Tuesday that relatives of the victims could sue.

However, it was first necessary to check first which driver of the two vehicles involved, the passenger van and a Honda sedan, should be held responsible. Video footage from cameras monitoring the expressway would be key evidence.

The accident happened about 10 pm on Monday on the Don Muang elevated tollway. Eight people in the passenger van were thrown out of the vehicle and over the retaaining wall to the ground below Seven others were injured.

Although the van driver died at the scene, the damaged parties or victim relatives could still file a civil lawsuit demanding compensation from the owner of the van, if the driver was at fault, said Mr Sombat.

If the driver owned the van, his assets could be used to provide compensation for the victims.

The sedan driver could also be sued, if found to be at fault.

and you want to give those people a full democracy ? as you can see, it will never work, they always want someone else to make the difficult decision for them as they can't think by themselves. Sad but true.

They need the protection of a zoo keeper, not an election

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

The 8 people who died were thrown through the air, there's a picture of a man, hanging by his limp arm from a pedestrian bridge, dead....it is horrific.

Slow down they wont....you know it, I know it....

No mate they never will, consequence seems not to register with these people.
Something to do with Buddhism, Animism and cultural learnings.

Originally Posted by chitown

There was a poll some years back asking passengers if they would speak up and tell a van or bus driver to slow down if they were fearful for their lives and something like 95% said it would be rude to admonish the driver and they would not do anything but hope for the best.

This is the problem..

Their 'culture' needs nuking and starting from scratch...metaphorically speaking.

Originally Posted by somtamslap

Originally Posted by chitown

There was a poll some years back asking passengers if they would speak up and tell a van or bus driver to slow down if they were fearful for their lives and something like 95% said it would be rude to admonish the driver and they would not do anything but hope for the best.

This is the problem..

Their 'culture' needs nuking and starting from scratch...metaphorically speaking.

Maybe, but I got some pretty insane rides when I still had to do visa runs, and none of the expats on the bus said anything either. One of those situations where hindsight looks different than the present did.

Originally Posted by Spin

are they made of? rice paper?

well if thats true the seat belts wont work

Originally Posted by BobR

Maybe, but I got some pretty insane rides when I still had to do visa runs, and none of the expats on the bus said anything either.

We've all been there. I was talked into going on one of those runs with Jack's Golf years ago and instead of a coach several mini-vans turned up, I went home and got in the pick-up and drove myself there instead.

Ratchaprasong News
Thai webboards are overflowing tonight with anger and social sanctioning directed at a young upper-class Thai girl suspected of being involved in a horrific crash on Monday night that claimed the lives of 8 people. She deserves the presumption of innocence- but it shows how little faith the people have that justice will be served when the interests of the aristocracy are involved...

Tragic, but not surprising, I would not like to portion blame an any party, but I have had the missfortune to travel on this highway of late and these mini-bus drivers are nothing short of insane. They drive like lunatics threaning all other road users. I hope my family will never step inside one.

My heart goes out to the families of the deceased.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2010...-30145420.html

Tragedy shatters families

By The Nation
Published on December 29, 2010


Road accident revives debate on use of seat belts in vans

Dr Sastra Chaothiang, who was among the eight fatalities in Monday night's deadly accident on the Vibhavadi Rangsit tollway, was wellloved at his alma mater, the Benjamarachutit School in Ratchaburi.

Most of his teachers shed tears at the death of the doctorateholder.

"He rode a bicycle to the school with books and flower garlands every day," Boonma Wattanawalan, 50, a highschool teacher recalled yesterday.

She described Sattra as a polite, diligent and dutiful boy.

"All the teachers appreciated his qualities," Boonma said.

Sastra lived a difficult life but was determined to better his circumstances through education. He got his PhD in England at the young age of 27, five years ago, they said.

Sastra's biological mother was so poor she had to give up the baby soon after his birth, said his adoptive mother Thawin Chaotheing.

Thawin said she had a stall selling garlands in Ratchaburi Market. The family was poor and Sastra had to help deliver garlands using a bicycle until he reached Mathayom 3 at Benchamarachuthit Ratchaburi School. "We were poor and couldn't afford cram schooling for him but he was a good student and would take textbooks to go and ask teachers right away.

He passed the entrance exam to study Mathayom 4 at Bangkok's Triam Udom School and managed to pass the university entrance exam at Mathayom 5 level to study medicine at Siriraj Hospital. But Sastra said he wanted to study abroad, so he asked me for Bt3,000 to get tutoring for 10 hours per month," she said.

Sastra understood that it was difficult for the family to make money and he never created any problems or became wayward, she added.

"I was so proud that he got the Civil Service Commission [CSC] scholarship to study in England because he faced adversities all his life and everything he got was because he tried and worked hard," she said.

After getting his PhD, Sastra worked to repay the scholarship at the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA). He sent some money to her from his Bt48,000 salary, she said. Lately, she saw he was trying to settle down in life and she didn't want to disturb him much.

"He visited me once or twice a year. We had planned to do meritmaking together on January 9. But he is gone. I don't understand how this happened and I'm in grief," she said.

She revealed that Sastra didn't want to buy a car, as he wanted to return to England after repaying the scholarship. Sastra's cremation will be on January 2 at Wat Koh Namtha in Ratchaburi.

Relatives of the eight deceased yesterday collected the bodies from the morgue of the Police General Hospital.

The other seven deceased are: Pinyo Jinanthuya, 34, an assistant to Dean of Thammasat University's Faculty of Architecture and Planning; Trong Sudthanakit, 24; Pratya Khantha, a thirdyear economics student at Thammasat; Sudawadi Nilwan, a thirdyear law student at Thammasat; Ukrit Ratanachomsri, a researcher at the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology; female van driver Nareumon Pitathanang, 38; and Kiattiman Rodaree, 23.

Sastra's 19yearold half brother Dusit Chaowakriahak said the family was much grieved because Sastra was the family's pride and support. "My mum is very sad but today she still has to go and sell garlands because it's a Buddhist day. She makes Bt5,000 a month and my brother Sastra helped support her after his PhD in biology from Birmingham University. Sastra also tried to save up to build her a house," Dusit said, adding Sastra also helped send him to school and plan his future.

Pratya's uncle and guardian Chaipat Jantrasuriyarat, 50, said that his nephew had asked for permission to return home late on the fateful day because he needed tutoring for his exam on Friday."

Chaipat revealed that at the time of the accident, Pratya was talking to his girlfriend on the phone because she heard him yell in pain before the line went dead. They later learned about the fatal accident.

Chaipat said he wanted passenger vans and taxis to have safety belts for all seats because only those who were flung out of the vehicle from the impact died. He said the family was considering suing the sedan driver who might have been speeding considering the seriousness of the accident.

Sudawadi's aunt, Nareumon Nilwan, 57, said Sudawadi was travelling to the Mor Chit Bus Terminal to visit her family in Ubon Ratchathani during the New Year holidays. Her policeman dad and nurse mum were preparing food to welcome her home at that time. "She was a sweet girl and studious and never gave any problems. She wanted to be a judge," Nareumon said.

Sudawadi's funeral will be held at Wat Suwannapak in Ubon Ratchathani. Nareumon also urged stricter law enforcement to ensure all passengers wore seat belts to prevent such tragedies in future.

The younger brother of Pinyo, Itthikorn Jinathuya, said that after graduating from high school in Nakhon Sawan, the studious Pinyo received a scholarship to study in Japan. He completed his master's degree in architecture and worked at Thammasat University to repay the scholarship. He said Pinyo was planning to apply for a scholarship to do his PhD in England. Normally, Pinyo used the Thammasat welfare van to return home in the Aree area or his Japanese wife used to pick him up. But she was attending a party on Monday night and Pinyo had to clear some work so he used the passengervan service.

Pinyo's funeral will be held at Wat Nong Chik in Chainat.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2010...-30145419.html

Driver of sedan was a 16yearold girl

By The Nation
Published on December 29, 2010


Police say a 16yearold girl, a minor, was driving the sedan that collided with a passenger van in a horror road accident on an elevated tollway section of the Vibhavadi Rangsit highway on Monday night, killing eight people and injuring six others.

They said persons of that age were not entitled to a driver's licence, nor could they be fully subject to criminal and civil liability for deaths and damage.

Police have not yet charged the unidentified girl, and are compiling more evidence in the case. Footage from traffic cameras shows a brief moment in the accident - a burst at the point of impact from the white Honda Civic she was driving for about 70 metres to standstill - before the van veered off the lane, and out of camera view.

Case investigator Pol LtColonel Chatchai Iamong, of Vibhavadi police station said there would be more questioning of all seven survivors, including the sedan's driver, after they recovered sufficiently from their injuries.

The female driver of the van, Naruemol Pitathanang, was among the dead.

A survivor, Wisarut Phollasit, said he fell asleep at the start of the van's trip at the Big C Chaeng Wattana mall, and woke up to feel a hard bump at the back of the van before it began to spin. He was dazed but regained consciousness before crawling out of the smashed vehicle and being taken to hospital.

The Department of Land Transport proposed a regulation requiring all seats in passenger vans be installed with seat belts, which must be fastened before they begin a run.

The Cabinet yesterday discussed the accident, and a possible law requiring all public transport vehicles to be installed with GPSenabled tracking devices, to trace their routes and record speeds of vehicles, for the sake of crime prevention and easier investigation into accidents.

Reading those stories.....just heartbreaking.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

The Department of Land Transport proposed a regulation requiring all seats in passenger vans be installed with seat belts, which must be fastened before they begin a run.

It's a start.

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

The Cabinet yesterday discussed the accident, and a possible law requiring all public transport vehicles to be installed with GPSenabled tracking devices, to trace their routes and record speeds of vehicles, for the sake of crime prevention and easier investigation into accidents.

Why don't the Police just do their jobs?