not looking again

[steve/m]

spoke to the wife an hour ago as she has just opened a small thai restuarant soi 102, and she tells me that about 8pm this evening,3 thais in a car crossed over the rail line,and was hit by a train.
when, when,when will people wake up wind down the tinted windows and pay attention to whats going on around them.
Dont know if 100% correct or not but car/pickup was carrying gas bottle and went bang.
Only 3 wks ago one of my wifes former employees,was killed in a bike accident. 20 year old, her life taken in seconds.

[Randy Cornhole]

That's terrible news.
What never ceases to amaze me is the way Thais in general deal with such a thing. Its almost matter of fact to them... Like it was Buddhas will, and was meant to happen. Wheras westeners grieve for months or longer. I wonder who is better off?

[Jaime]

spoke to the wife an hour ago as she has just opened a small thai restuarant soi 102, and she tells me that about 8pm this evening,3 thais in a car crossed over the rail line,and was hit by a train.
when, when,when will people wake up wind down the tinted windows and pay attention to whats going on around them.

I know what you are saying but I happen to know this particular crossing very well as our house is on Soi 102. If you are unfamiliar with the soi and the crossing it is very easy to find yourself on the tracks before you know it. The crossing is lit only by a couple of standard fluorescent tubes and although it has warning approach signs in Thai, they are small and, incredibly, non-reflective, so at night they are invisible as they are above headlamp beam level. The trains themselves only have a single, small headlamp (if that is working). It is extremely dangerous and at night is difficult to see whether it is a train or a motosai coming towards you. I've made way for oncoming trains only to find they are motosai's many times!

A couple of years ago there was an interview with the regional chief of the Thai railways printed in a HH English language paper. In it, he expressed his view that 'ghosts' are the reason there are so many accidents on the crossings in HH.

I posted about it at the time on HHAD - the article is probably still archived somewhere.

If that crossing was properly illuminated and simple measures taken like installing appropriate, reflective signage, casualties could be significantly reduced. It won't happen. Thai priorities and sensibilities are simply different to ours.

[kendo]

That's terrible news.
What never ceases to amaze me is the way Thais in general deal with such a thing. Its almost matter of fact to them... Like it was Buddhas will, and was meant to happen. Wheras westeners grieve for months or longer. I wonder who is better off?

Thats spot on Randy my wife does not really get, that i am still greiving for my dad that i lost ten months ago, she just tells me " when your ready too die you die be sad and when the funaral has finished just except it and get on with your life" things like that just makes our culture's so different.

Kendo.

[Randy Cornhole]

when the funaral has finished just except it and get on with your life"

I wish it could be so easy for me. I generally wear my heart on my sleeve. I had a distant aquaintence who died last week and it has affected me for days.
Perhapps there are those of us who in our excessive greiving make up for those that don't grieve at all...

[Guess]

.................. I've made way for oncoming trains only to find they are motosai's many times!

And there lies the key.

Observation I can see a light. Could be a motorsai or a train
Action 1 Carry on it's more likely a motorsai and I'm in a truck
Action 2 Stop and wait it could be a train.

Observation I can't see traffic coming from the left because of the truck parked right on the junction.
Action 1 Pull out. It'll probably be OK.
Action 2. Edge out cautiously to a position of greater visibility and pull out when you know it is safe.

I could list hundreds of examples.

Of course a simple flashing light when a train is anywhere near approaching the crossing would save most lives. However the road maintenance budget has been used tarmacking a road in the middle of nowhere next to the local councilors house. Corruption costing lives. No way, it's the SRT's responsibility not the Tessabahn's.

When European citizens complain about their elected representatives sitting around discussing the legal requirements for the shape of a banana, perhaps give a thought for the people who have died as a direct result of the lack of action by the elected greedy corrupt officials we have here.

[kendo]

I am much the same as you Randy, sorry too here your bad news.

After my loss i found it very hard too except my wife's out look, she has a very good heart and did support me, but i felt angry that she could just think o.k its over know, just move on and forget, i just keep telling my self that its culture difference and i must except it.

Kendo.

[Randy Cornhole]

In a way you have to envy them...

[Jaime]

Guess,

You are right of course - as a generality Thais don't take anything like as much care as westerners do with their personal safety. However, this particular crossing is extremely dark at night. It really is not too difficult to drive across it without realising its there.

Just a simple thing like reflective signs at an appropriate height would make a huge difference.

[kendo]

In a way you have to envy them...

Yeah totally the whole Buddist thing they all seem to me to be very strong and reserved my mrs nothing ever really bothers her.

Kendo.

[johnnyk]

Not trying to be narky, but doesn't a train make noise and rumble a lot?

[Guess]

It really is not too difficult to drive across it without realising its there.

Just a simple thing like reflective signs at an appropriate height would make a huge difference.

Yes, I've done it myself even knowing full well that I am crossing a railway. After a while of familiarity and good luck you subconsciously ignore the danger. Reflective signs are proven to work (in the US) for people who are not very familiar with the area.

Those who use the crossing every day need a gate or, at the very minimum, a flashing light and audible signal (meaning a sound that can be heard inside a car or truck with its windows shut and stereo on).

Ungated crossings were a big issue in the US many years ago and a project was started up by Fed Gov to ensure that all crossings had adequate warnings. I don't know if it was ever completed but I guess so.

[HHTel]

Come on JohnnyK,

Surely you know that noise travels behind a moving object. Stand at a crossing and you will quickly learn that you don't hear a train coming but you can certainly here it after it's gone!!

I don't know whether this was a genuine accident but in my experience, Thais will not wait a few moments for a train to pass. They always think there's plenty of time for them to get across. Just watch the bikes on controlled crossings. See how many of the idiots will lift the 'string' and cross instead of waiting a few mins.

[Guess]

Not trying to be narky, but doesn't a train make noise and rumble a lot?

"a lot" is relative JK. Can you imagine a truck with the sing a song turned up full with, your wife, her sister, the mother in law, and three kids in it.

How can a tiny 2,000 ton railway train compete with that?

[hhfarang]

I think we'd all be surprised how often someone gets killed by a train here. I lived on Soi 94 for the first couple of years here and there were several car/train accidents at that crossing.

About two years ago, two of my wife's best friends were killed by a train at the crossing in Takiab. The lady driving was unaccustomed to driving a stick shift as her husband had died shortly before and he used to drive it (she rode a motorbike). They were actually headed to Takiab beach to spread his ashes in the ocean. She killed the truck on the track after stopping and the train hit them full speed and never even slowed down. I suspect the train was in Petchaburi before the police got to the scene of the accident. They had stopped by our house on the way to ask my wife if she wanted to go but she was too busy....