Australian tourist killed in road accident in Phuket

[PeteC]

Sad news, his bride must be devastated. Why don't these drivers know to use the cable connected parking brake in situations like this. Pete

Phuket - An Australian tourist on honeymoon in Phuket with his wife was killed in a road accident here at noon Friday.

Ten others, eight of them foreign tourists, were injured in the accident.

The killed tourist was identified as Michael Moloazo, 26.

Police said Moloaazo and the other foreign tourists were being driven in vehicle of Siam Safari Nature Tour when it plunged into a roadside ravine.

The eight other tourists were identified as Nichole Wilmot (Aus), Tylar Giles (Briton), Dannet Lea Roberts (Aus), Sarah Louise Korver (Aus), Tori Jay Giles (Aus), Susan Rose McNelis (Aus), Margaret Korver (Aus) and Aimee Dykstra.

Police said the Thai driver of the Land Rover SUV vehicle was also injured along with a local villager.

The Land Rover driver, Damrong Thiamsamer, told police that the brake system of his vehicle failed while the vehicle was going down the hill road so he decided to slow it down by crashing into the pick-up truck. But the vehicle could not stop and fell into the ravine.

Police said Mloazo was married a week ago and checked in at a Phuket hotel and planned to stay in the island province for ten days.

The Nation

[PeteC]

Further to this, how many people can fit into a Land Rover? I don't think 11 adults. Will we ever hear that the tour company overloaded the vehicle to make more money? Similar to ever hearing that boats/ferries that sink had too many passengers on board? I think not.

No wonder this place doesn't want to join AFTA Tourism until they have no other choice. Pete

[PeteC]

I'm really not on an anti-Thailand rant today, just riled by so much nonsense going on.

The old timers may know this but others not.....did you know an accepted defense in the not too distance past here was:

"It's the foreigners fault as if he was not here the accident wouldn't have happened..."

This is no joke, it's real and still may apply in some official's minds even today. Pete

PS: If in trouble, get a young judge even if you have to pay a bribe.

[redzonerocker]

"It's the foreigners fault as if he was not here the accident wouldn't have happened..."

this particular 'excuse/reasoning' has been used for decades in some parts of the world.
i experienced it personally in the middle east/n africa back in the 80's , mindboggling logic!!!

what a sad story , such a waste of a young life

[Nereus]

Further to this, how many people can fit into a Land Rover? I don't think 11 adults. Will we ever hear that the tour company overloaded the vehicle to make more money? Similar to ever hearing that boats/ferries that sink had too many passengers on board? I think not.

No wonder this place doesn't want to join AFTA Tourism until they have no other choice. Pete

Yes, you are correct, Pete. From the photo it appears to be a short wheel base (SWB) Landrover, which would have 3 seats in the front, and a squeeze to get 3 more down each side, (facing inwards) in the back.
The emergency brake (hand / parking brake) operates directly on the the prop shaft driving the rear wheels, immediately after the gearbox, and will lock up the rear wheels because it has a mechanical advantage via the rear differential.
Of course, this assumes that it has not been "modified"!

I am surprised that the cab does not appear to be squashed flat, so I would assume that the victim was thrown out when it rolled, but I doubt that it has gone down any "ravine".

http://www.phuketgazette.net/news/detail.asp?id=8243

[PeteC]

I haven't found any photo Nereus, where is it? Pete

[PeteC]

I haven't found any photo Nereus, where is it? Pete

Sorry, missed your link first look. Pete

[Nereus]

I haven't found any photo Nereus, where is it? Pete

I have worked that photo a bit and I may be wrong. It could be a Long Wheel Base. (LWB). In which case you could have 4, at a squeeze 5, passengers down each side in the rear bed.

This company has been in this business a long time, if it is who I think it is. At one time they had several "Forward Control" Land Rovers, which are a rare Vehicles today.

[redzonerocker]

I have worked that photo a bit and I may be wrong. It could be a Long Wheel Base. (LWB). In which case you could have 4, at a squeeze 5, passengers down each side in the rear bed.

it doesn't look like a lwb from the picture, but the fact that it mentions an 'australian family of 6' suggests that there were likely a few kids on board, which could possibly explain why the vehicle held 11 people
one picture also shows a young lad amongst the injured.

the suggestion that the driver could be charged with dangerous or careless driving could be a bit premature
people seem to be assuming driver error with little or no evidence
what if the brakes did fail due to poor maintenance (or other reasons), is the driver still at fault? or will he just be the sacrificial scapegoat?

whatever the cause, it's a sad & unfortunate accident, that somewhere down the line could & should have been avoided.

[richard]

Definitely not a long wheel base LR. Probably did not dent the roof if it landed on the front end which took the brunt of the fall.

In fact there seems very little damage at all

[PeteC]

Give me the vehicle maximum cargo capacity, maximum manufacturer recommended passenger load, passenger manifest, and all vehicle maintenance records....are the first words that should utter forth from a police investigator's mouth after all casualties are taken care of.

I've got odds that no one has yet to even crawl in there and pump the brake pedal to see if any pressure. Thai on Thai are out having a meal discussing how to spin it all.

Alas, sometime half way through my next life I'll learn not to care. Pete

[Nereus]

It is a LWB Landrover. Note the lenth of the panel from the door back to the rear wheel arch:

[charlesh]

Preventative maintenance, defensive driver training - are you kidding! That would cost.
PS I was in a van to Bkk recently and they had 18 people in (as opposed to the usual 14) - talk about sardines. Thought I was competing in a Guinness challenge.
PPS also remember that the anthropometry of farangs is usually NOT the same as that of Thais !

[PeteC]

Here's a somewhat better photo from The Nation showing the rear seating area. Pete

[STEVE G]

Looking at that picture, it's lucky they didn't kill everybody as that back doesn't look very sturdy.