Minivan, bus and road accidents

[buksida]

Thai kids get up and walk away after shocking ‘school bus’ crash



This shocking video showing 13 Thai school children being thrown out of the back of a pick-up is going viral in Thailand, with a quarter of a million views at the time of writing.

The incident occurred in Krabi in southern Thailand when the ‘school bus’ was hit while attempting to turn right. The driver of the pick-up carrying the children appears to be in the wrong.

Amazingly, the children can be seen getting up and walking away towards what appears to be their school. Thai-language website Sanook reported that the children only received minor injuries in the incident, which occurred at about 11am Monday.

Thailand’s roads are notoriously dangerous, with some sources estimating that an average of 80 lives are lost every day due to traffic accidents. It is ranked second in the world in terms of traffic fatalities, according to statistics from the World Health Organization and The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute in the United States.

Passengers traveling in the beds of pick-up trucks and motorcyclists not wearing helmets remains an every-day occurrence in the Southeast Asian nation.

http://asiancorrespondent.com/133606/wa ... bus-crash/

[caller]

Pretty shocking. I wonder what the fate of the truck driver that collided with the 'bus' was. His truck ended up in the bushes and he didn't emerge during the filmed sequence.

[caller]

Yet more futile deaths as van driver (allegedly) speeds to make up lost time:

Seven killed in Ayutthaya crash

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general ... haya-crash

[Frank Hovis]

Five soldiers killed in minivan accident.

Although it doesn't look like it was the minivan at fault, looking at the state of it in the picture you have to wonder if that minivan was in the same condition as it was in when it left the factory or if it's been a cut & shut, the entire front has just caved in.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general ... hani-crash

[Nereus]

Five soldiers killed in minivan accident.
Although it doesn't look like it was the minivan at fault, looking at the state of it in the picture you have to wonder if that minivan was in the same condition as it was in when it left the factory or if it's been a cut & shut, the entire front has just caved in.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general ... hani-crash

It is sickening to look at, but the pickup appears to have entered the van through the windscreen. It evidently crossed the median strip, so could well have been airborne before impact.

Actually, it says as much here: http://phuketwan.com/tourism/five-navy- ... voy-22778/

[Frank Hovis]

Thank Nereus, those pictures certainly look like the pickup impacted the minivan higher up than head-on accidents would normally be, little chance for the normal safety devices to do their job in that case.

[caller]

Apologies if this has been posted before - want to go by minivan? Watch this.

[Bristolian]

^No chance, no where, no time, would I or my family set foot inside one of these kamikaze vans.
Very early on Monday mornings I head back to BKK and the weekly treadmill. You would not believe the speed and antics these lunatics get up to when the roads are less busy. Generally there are only trucks, buses from the south and stupid people like me, who have to get back to BKK for work but many of these guys believe that they are driving formula 1 on a play station..... Suicidal tendencies at best murderous tendencies probably and all propped up by a concoction of M150 and Yabba....Where are the police? Deep asleep tucked up safely in thir beds. Rant Over!! Or maybe not!!

[usual suspect]

I've said many times these 'drivers' have a simple rule once behind the wheel, that is 'Can't wait, won't wait'
But if you want to see the circus performance at it's best then drive South leaving BKK about 3pm on a Friday afternoon...
...& witness the antics of all the Hi-So's in their lowered, black-widowed hot-hatchbacks as they weave their way at breakneck speed to H.H. for a weekend of partying...unbelievable!

[Frank Hovis]

1 dead - 6 injured.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general ... -yai-crash

Bangkok Post:

HAT YAI — One passenger was killed and six others injured, one seriously, when a passenger van rammed into the rear of a 10-wheel truck and plunged into a ditch in Songkhla on Saturday afternoon.
Police said the accident occurred around 3pm when the Yala-Hat Yai van with Yala licence plates struck the rear of the truck on the Asia Highway heading to Hat Yai town in tambon Ban Phru of Songkhla province.
The impact of the crash caused the van driver to lose control of the vehicle, which plunged into a roadside ditch.
One female passenger was killed instantly and rescuers had to work to free six injured passengers trapped in the wreckage of the van. Driver Masukree Jaema sustained serious injuries. The inured were all taken to a nearby hospital.
The van, belonging to Saha Yala Transport Co, was badly damaged. There was minimal damage to the truck.

[JamesWest]

is that a hand sticking out of the wreakage in the middle of the photo?

[Frank Hovis]

I would say it looks very much like a hand. It looks like the crash guys are just setting up their cutting equipment to open up the van.

I also think that "The inured were all taken to a nearby hospital." is meant to say "injured", however, "inured" could still be the more appropriate word because without doubt the whole country is inured to entirely avoidable road traffic carnage.

[hhfarang]

When I used to use those for trips to Bangkok I always tried to sit next to the driver or directly behind the front seats for more room and ease of entry and exit (plus cooler than in back), but after seeing that photo I think I would opt for a seat in the rear row if I ever did it again! That had to be where any survivors were.

[buksida]

Briton Dies On Family Road Trip, 11 Injured
A British man was on the road with his family to an island vacation in the east of Thailand this morning when the truck he was riding in smashed head-on into another, killing him.

A dozen people – 11 from one vehicle and one from the other – were injured when two pickup trucks collided in Trat’s Khao Saming district at around 5 am today, including 50-year-old Paul Flood, who later died of his wounds.

Four children are among the wounded passengers, police said.

Chaliao Flood, wife of the deceased, was driving one of the trucks, which was loaded with members of her family.

She told reporters that they set out from home in Nong Bua Lamphu province at about 6 pm last night and were headed for a vacation on Koh Chang in eastern Thailand.

Chaliao said she was turning right at an intersection and failed to see the oncoming truck, which slammed into her vehicle.

Wattana Sinuan, the driver of the other pick-up truck, said he tried to brake but could not stop in time because Chaliao took the turn without any warning.

“I tried to brake and swerve off, but it was too late,” Wattana said.

Police yet to press charges against any parties at the time of publication.

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.ph ... 1438924793

[Frank Hovis]

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general ... ruck-crash

Nineteen people were injured, three seriously, when an interprovincial passenger bus hit the rear of an 18-wheel trailer truck and overturned in Nakhon Ratchasima on Saturday morning. The air-conditioned bus, travelling from Bangkok to Roi Et province, rammed into the trailer truck, which was struck in heavy traffic on Mittraparb Road. The traffic jam had been caused by another road accident at a nearby intersection, said Pol Lt Col Pradit Chompa, a duty officer at the Khong district police station.

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