Passenger van crashes, 5 dead, 8 hurt

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Passenger van crashes, 5 dead, 8 hurt

Published: 6/01/2012 at 04:26 PM
Online news: Transport

A passenger van ran into the rear of an 18-wheel truck on the motorway heading to Chonburi on Friday morning and later caught fire, killing five people on board with another eight rushed to hospital.

The Jor Sor 100 traffic radio station reported that the passenger van travelling between Bangkok and Chachoengsao ploughed into the back of the truck at the 34th kilometre marker about 7am.When a team of rescuers arrived at the scene, two people had already died in the crash.The van later caught fire as the rescuers were attempting to save other passengers in the vehicle.A total of five people died. There were eight other people injured and all of them were...

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samut
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Discussion 12 : 07/01/2012 at 03:40 PM12
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Loosing face would for sure be better than loosing life but this is not the case in Thailand. I’m driving quite often on National Highways and Motorways and can witness reckless driving at all time and true the worst are minibuses and pick-up trucks; there is no sign of discipline.
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bkkfarang1
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Discussion 11 : 07/01/2012 at 03:24 PM11
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Dao, I think you are missing the issue here, the truck is allowed to be on the roads, its the idiotic drivers of these minibuses that cause issues. From the picture it clearly shows excessive speed by the minibus, one that is not fitted with ABS to save money, as skid marks are clearly visible. In the West you rear end someone and you are 99% to blame, unless the truck was reversing which I doubt. The whole traffic issue is a problem in Thailand, the USA says its the second most dangerous place to drive in the World after Honduras, it is an education issue, clearly and simply, but will never change, Thailand reports at least 40 dead per day on the roads, we assume that this is and underreporting issue, as most believe it runs in the 100s, as numbers are not counted if they die on the way to or in hospital following an accident. Car manufacturers have responsibility here also, as ABS and 6 air bags should be the minimum legal requirement, although it may not help in this particular case it certainly would in others.
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ronald
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Discussion 10 : 06/01/2012 at 10:44 PM10
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In Thailand, no-one will speak out loud, unless everyone around does. They won't complain even after a knee jerking journey has been completed. "Maybe not the same BAH driver on the return journey" Mai Pen Rai. Passenger carriers, buses & mini-vans are the worst drivers, by far. Followed closely by commercial pick-ups. In the West, 99% of these would be banned for life after 1 months driving. That is why I don't drive anymore here.
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dao
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Discussion 9 : 06/01/2012 at 07:31 PM9
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Trucks driving to the port clog the road to the eastern seaboard traveling at 40 km hr .These trucks should be restricted to their own road or even better build a proper train link to the port so we don't need thousands of trucks destroying the highway everyday .
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smiles999
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Discussion 8 : 06/01/2012 at 06:32 PM8
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Hi, the police set up over-speeding cameras, and most of the victims are cars, who are either fined or negotiated out..!! Cannot they check the over-speeding mini-vans ?
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smiles999
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Discussion 7 : 06/01/2012 at 06:11 PM7
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Hi, let there be lady drivers, as they are cool and calm !! Also educate the passengers that they have the right warn driver about over-speeding and rash-driving. People are shy of speaking, please encourage them to speak, as it concerns their lives. Have road-monitors to check, make surprise-checks.. Finally eliminate the problems of the local-mafia control--the drivers are under pressure to make an extra trip, to make an extra buck ! (Most of the mini-vans have been unlawfully modified to have an extended-seat covering the passage, which is dangerous)
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my2cents
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Discussion 6 : 06/01/2012 at 05:59 PM6
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The van later caught fire as the rescuers were attempting to save other passengers in the vehicle.

You have people trapped in a vehicle, several dozen rescue workers running around doing gosh knows what, and nobody thinks about fire prevention and containment.. That's basic EMT 101. From the photo OF the vehicle on fire, presumably there are people inside burning to death, AND THERE ARE TWO FIRE EXTINGUISHERS STANDING NEARBY. I don't suppose anyone thought to try to put the fire out when it started!!!!! Or maybe they were too busy moving their trucks out of the way so they wouldn't catch fire, because they parked all of them so close to the accident scene.

I don't know which is worse in Thailand. Being involved in an accident, or being "rescued" after the accident.
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thiswayup
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Discussion 5 : 06/01/2012 at 04:21 PM5
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What would help immensely in preventing these types of incidents is for the van passengers to speak up when they feel that their Van or Bus Driver is not driving properly. Most of the people riding in these Vans and Busses are too shy or afraid of causing someone to lose face, so instead of yelling at the driver to smarten up, they will just sit quietly enduring a death ride and praying for the best.

Passengers must not hesitate to say something if they are uncomfortable with the way the driver is operating the vehicle. Say something and say it loud and clear, you will have the support of your fellow passengers and may save everyone's lives.

Don' be shy any longer. Live longer and forget about saving face. You won't need it if you become another statistic anyway.

Condolences to the families of this tragic incident. I call it an incident, not an accident, as it appears to be wholly avoidable.
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rontorr
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Discussion 4 : 06/01/2012 at 03:53 PM4
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the cause of the crash is obvious, the van was moving at very high speed, probably maximum speed, around 160kph. the idiot ran into the back of a PARKED truck. Van and Tour bus drivers are the largest causes of death in Thailand, and there should be in a category of road accidents attributed to these mass murderers
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Victor
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Discussion 3 : 06/01/2012 at 03:40 PM3
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On the average, one road death every hour. Double that during long holidays. And virtually nothing has been done by any government to stop this kind of carnage.
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Passenger van crashes, 5 dead, 8 hurt | Bangkok Post: news