Express train hit a pickup truck in Pranburi 120 injured.
Express train hit a pickup truck in Pranburi 120 injured.
An express train bound for Bangkok from Surat Thani Province hit a pickup truck in Pranburi.One person has been confirmed dead while more than 120 others have been injured.
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David Nears
- Amateur
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Re: Express train hit a pickup truck in Pranburi 120 injure
This is something very sad about our lovely town/city.
Off the top of head there must at least 3 crossings, could be many more. They are on soi 94 and also one or two in Khao Takiab.
The railway is a large inner town land owner and must receive considerable revenues from this.
It is a no brainer to spend what must be a small percentage of these revenues in the installation of barriers on these exposed areas.
After all the town/city is rapidly growing and these rural crossings are no longer rural crossings.
This is a metropolis and all people within this area, using this area should all receive protection which is easily implemented.
Off the top of head there must at least 3 crossings, could be many more. They are on soi 94 and also one or two in Khao Takiab.
The railway is a large inner town land owner and must receive considerable revenues from this.
It is a no brainer to spend what must be a small percentage of these revenues in the installation of barriers on these exposed areas.
After all the town/city is rapidly growing and these rural crossings are no longer rural crossings.
This is a metropolis and all people within this area, using this area should all receive protection which is easily implemented.
Re: Express train hit a pickup truck in Pranburi 120 injure
David Nears wrote:This is something very sad about our lovely town/city.
Off the top of head there must at least 3 crossings, could be many more. They are on soi 94 and also one or two in Khao Takiab.
The railway is a large inner town land owner and must receive considerable revenues from this.
It is a no brainer to spend what must be a small percentage of these revenues in the installation of barriers on these exposed areas.
After all the town/city is rapidly growing and these rural crossings are no longer rural crossings.
This is a metropolis and all people within this area, using this area should all receive protection which is easily implemented.
Don't get yourself all worked up about it. You'll soon get used to it if you stay here long enough since it's a monthly event.
Don't try to impress me with your manner of dress cos a monkey himself is a monkey no less - cold fact
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magobligin
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Re: Express train hit a pickup truck in Pranburi 120 injure
This incident occurred on a full-road rail crossing in Pranburi approximately 1 kilometre east of Tesco. Do not know what happened but I guess it might have been that the pick-up tried to negotiate the barriers whilst they were down... have seen this happen many times.
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margaretcarnes
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- Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2008 8:28 am
- Location: The Rhubarb Triangle
Re: Express train hit a pickup truck in Pranburi 120 injure
And however many barriers are installed that will, sadly, still happen. It happened in Bangkok recently (apparently though with no fatalities) because drivers simply stopped in traffic on the line.magobligin wrote:This incident occurred on a full-road rail crossing in Pranburi approximately 1 kilometre east of Tesco. Do not know what happened but I guess it might have been that the pick-up tried to negotiate the barriers whilst they were down... have seen this happen many times.
Yes there should be barriers - we have gone over this many times in the past - but I suspect it would be mainly Farang who would observe them.
Meanwhile yes, the SRT does own a lot of land, but it seems to spend very little on anything - tracks and trains included. And when you consider how little the fares increase over the years it's surprising the SRT can even afford fuel these days.
I don't know how the funding works, and realise that cheap mass transport is essential in Thailand, but when you can still get from HH to Bangkok for 44 baht it's becoming a joke.
A sprout is for life - not just for Christmas.
Re: Express train hit a pickup truck in Pranburi 120 injure
That is not unique to Thailand, it certainly happens in the UK, and I'm sure elsewhere in the world as well.margaretcarnes wrote:And however many barriers are installed that will, sadly, still happen.
Championship Plymouth Argyle 1 - 2 Leeds Utd 
Points 46; Position 23 RELEGATED
Points 46; Position 23 RELEGATED
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margaretcarnes
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- Joined: Wed Jan 02, 2008 8:28 am
- Location: The Rhubarb Triangle
Re: Express train hit a pickup truck in Pranburi 120 injure
Yes BB - I live near a rail crossing and often see it with pedestrians and cyclists here. Makes me cringe even though the barriers go down well before trains are due 
A sprout is for life - not just for Christmas.
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JimmyGreaves
- Legend
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- Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2005 5:06 am
- Location: HuaEireHin
Re: Express train hit a pickup truck in Pranburi 120 injure
Apparently a 35 year old woman jumped the queue of a vehicle that had already stopped at the crossings and the train hit and killed her. God rest her soul.
Diplomacy is the ability to tell a man to go to hell so that he looks forward to making the trip
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LolaBeltran
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Re: Express train hit a pickup truck in Pranburi 120 injure
Darwin Award candidate.
Re: Express train hit a pickup truck in Pranburi 120 injure
LolaBeltran wrote:Darwin Award candidate.
Yes, Natural Selection in progress. I do pity her loved ones, and of course it's not a nice thing happen, but..........
Don't try to impress me with your manner of dress cos a monkey himself is a monkey no less - cold fact
Re: Express train hit a pickup truck in Pranburi 120 injure
Happens all the time. This is not an isolated incident. Even when you stop for the train, people behind you look at you with annoyance and go around you. Last time this happened near soi 10, the lady drove around a stopped truck and right into the path of the train. She was pregnant and had her 2 children with her. Nobody survived.
Safety is not a priority in Thailand.
Safety is not a priority in Thailand.
Re: Express train hit a pickup truck in Pranburi 120 injure
You can put up all the controlled crossings you like. The Thais will just go around them. Might help the expats though.
Re: Express train hit a pickup truck in Pranburi 120 injure
The undocumented dangers of Thailand's roads
John Sparks
Asia Correspondent
It is a top tourist destination - but what the guidebooks don't tell you is that Thailand's roads are lethal. Now a group of mothers whose sons died in a bus crash are campaigning to change that.
sparks_k.jpg 60.74K 45 downloads
With the Christmas holidays winding down and the weather closing in, a winter break in the tropical sun starts to sound pretty good. No wonder January and February mark the high point in our unofficial "escape season".
Among a multitude of tempting destinations, more than 800,000 Britons strap themselves in for the 12 hour flight to Thailand – the majority no doubt, heading for the beach - or the historic, temple-laden cities in the north.
The guidebooks will congratulate you on your choice – the country boasts "international standards" at an "affordable price". In the "general information" section, you will also read about the dangers of sunstroke and malaria and sexual diseases. What you are unlikely to find however, is one critical bit of information: in Thailand, the roads are lethal.
This is something four British women have recently come to realise. Before starting university, their sons grabbed their backpacks and left for a few weeks of fun and adventure – but their holidays in Thailand would cost them their lives.
Tragic deaths
Bruno Melling Firth, Max Boomgaarden-Cook, and Conrad Quashie – all 19 years old – arrived in Thailand for a 9-week holiday in June. They had saved up all year for a final holiday together before starting university. Four days into their trip, they boarded a night bus in Bangkok. There were heading for the ancient city of Chang Mai, which lies 11 hours by road to the north.
After a break at a road-side rest stop, the bus driver exited using the entrance road. He stopped the bus in the middle of a six lane highway as he tried to gain access to the other lane. The three boys, who were sitting at the back of the bus, saw another vehicle – an intercity bus - hurtling towards them. They even made a joke about it before they were hit.
Five people in total lost their lives – a 20-year-old Korean was also killed. The highway was littered with twisted debris and mangled bus parts. A member of a volunteer ambulance crew captured the scene with a video camera – another gruesome crash site uploaded to YouTube.
Video: http://www.channel4....thailands-roads
Other than an early morning call – the sort all parents dread – the boys' loved ones were told nothing of how their kids were killed.
Six months later, the mothers of the deceased are still trying to find out why - when they thought bus travel in Thailand was safe.
"You know in many ways, we know very little of the actual accident, we've just be finding out bits and pieces," Gillian Melling - the mother of Bruno Melling-Firth - told Channel 4 News. Gillian, together with Polly Cook, the mother of Max Boomgaarden-Cook, and Amanda Bean, the mother of Conrad Quashie, say the Thai authorities and the UK Foreign Office ignored their requests for information about the crash.
sparks2_620.jpg 109.7K 31 downloads
No warnings
We also met a Brighton-based solicitor called Rachel Cooper. She lost her son Felix in Thailand when the driver of the bus he was travelling in lost control and collided with a truck. Felix was thrown across the vehicle when his seat - which wasn't bolted to the floor – came loose.
"We have looked at the guidebooks and we have looked at the Foreign Office website and there are just no warnings," Rachel told Channel 4 News.
"Sometimes they say buses 'may drive fast' but there are no real warning about the level of danger and the numbers of people who are killed," she added.
Finding reliable statistics on the number of fatalities and injuries on the country's roads is a tricky business. On the one hand, academics told us the numbers recorded by the Royal Thai Police were artificially low. On the other hand, the US State Department has ranked Thailand as the world's second most dangerous country (after Honduras) in terms of the number of road fatalities suffered by American tourists.
In the course of our investigations, we met hard working officials from the Thai Ministry of Public Health who gave a startling batch of numbers. Using the accepted WHO definition on fatalities caused by road accidents, they told us 13,766 people were killed last year on the country's roads – more than six times the rate in the UK (which has a similar population to Thailand).
We were told this number could be far higher however, as roughly a third of accidents are thought to go unreported. Incredibly, we were also told that nearly a million people (938,958) were admitted to hospital due to injuries suffered by road accidents last year.
Shocking numbers
The mothers of the four young men were shocked by these numbers – and now want others to know the facts.
"I would have given Max some money to travel by train or plane, if only I had known," said Polly Cook.
They have pledged to honour the memory of their sons by pressuring the Thai government to raise safety standards – and last week they won themselves a meeting in London with senior Thai officials who have pledged to do more.
It is a start – but the problem is immense. Thai drivers routinely flout the rules and the police rarely bother to enforce them – a situation described to me as "part of the culture" by one senior Thai official. That may be the case – but it is also unacceptable, particularly for a country which sells itself as a modern and desirable tourist destination.
The best thing our mothers can do is remind the Thais of this – I know they are determined to do it.
Source: http://www.channel4.com/news/the-undocu ... ands-roads [Mod Edit] There are numerous broken links in this article. I have fixed this one - clicking this link will give you access to the full article (including the unbroken links).
-- channel4.com 2011-12-29
John Sparks
Asia Correspondent
It is a top tourist destination - but what the guidebooks don't tell you is that Thailand's roads are lethal. Now a group of mothers whose sons died in a bus crash are campaigning to change that.
sparks_k.jpg 60.74K 45 downloads
With the Christmas holidays winding down and the weather closing in, a winter break in the tropical sun starts to sound pretty good. No wonder January and February mark the high point in our unofficial "escape season".
Among a multitude of tempting destinations, more than 800,000 Britons strap themselves in for the 12 hour flight to Thailand – the majority no doubt, heading for the beach - or the historic, temple-laden cities in the north.
The guidebooks will congratulate you on your choice – the country boasts "international standards" at an "affordable price". In the "general information" section, you will also read about the dangers of sunstroke and malaria and sexual diseases. What you are unlikely to find however, is one critical bit of information: in Thailand, the roads are lethal.
This is something four British women have recently come to realise. Before starting university, their sons grabbed their backpacks and left for a few weeks of fun and adventure – but their holidays in Thailand would cost them their lives.
Tragic deaths
Bruno Melling Firth, Max Boomgaarden-Cook, and Conrad Quashie – all 19 years old – arrived in Thailand for a 9-week holiday in June. They had saved up all year for a final holiday together before starting university. Four days into their trip, they boarded a night bus in Bangkok. There were heading for the ancient city of Chang Mai, which lies 11 hours by road to the north.
After a break at a road-side rest stop, the bus driver exited using the entrance road. He stopped the bus in the middle of a six lane highway as he tried to gain access to the other lane. The three boys, who were sitting at the back of the bus, saw another vehicle – an intercity bus - hurtling towards them. They even made a joke about it before they were hit.
Five people in total lost their lives – a 20-year-old Korean was also killed. The highway was littered with twisted debris and mangled bus parts. A member of a volunteer ambulance crew captured the scene with a video camera – another gruesome crash site uploaded to YouTube.
Video: http://www.channel4....thailands-roads
Other than an early morning call – the sort all parents dread – the boys' loved ones were told nothing of how their kids were killed.
Six months later, the mothers of the deceased are still trying to find out why - when they thought bus travel in Thailand was safe.
"You know in many ways, we know very little of the actual accident, we've just be finding out bits and pieces," Gillian Melling - the mother of Bruno Melling-Firth - told Channel 4 News. Gillian, together with Polly Cook, the mother of Max Boomgaarden-Cook, and Amanda Bean, the mother of Conrad Quashie, say the Thai authorities and the UK Foreign Office ignored their requests for information about the crash.
sparks2_620.jpg 109.7K 31 downloads
No warnings
We also met a Brighton-based solicitor called Rachel Cooper. She lost her son Felix in Thailand when the driver of the bus he was travelling in lost control and collided with a truck. Felix was thrown across the vehicle when his seat - which wasn't bolted to the floor – came loose.
"We have looked at the guidebooks and we have looked at the Foreign Office website and there are just no warnings," Rachel told Channel 4 News.
"Sometimes they say buses 'may drive fast' but there are no real warning about the level of danger and the numbers of people who are killed," she added.
Finding reliable statistics on the number of fatalities and injuries on the country's roads is a tricky business. On the one hand, academics told us the numbers recorded by the Royal Thai Police were artificially low. On the other hand, the US State Department has ranked Thailand as the world's second most dangerous country (after Honduras) in terms of the number of road fatalities suffered by American tourists.
In the course of our investigations, we met hard working officials from the Thai Ministry of Public Health who gave a startling batch of numbers. Using the accepted WHO definition on fatalities caused by road accidents, they told us 13,766 people were killed last year on the country's roads – more than six times the rate in the UK (which has a similar population to Thailand).
We were told this number could be far higher however, as roughly a third of accidents are thought to go unreported. Incredibly, we were also told that nearly a million people (938,958) were admitted to hospital due to injuries suffered by road accidents last year.
Shocking numbers
The mothers of the four young men were shocked by these numbers – and now want others to know the facts.
"I would have given Max some money to travel by train or plane, if only I had known," said Polly Cook.
They have pledged to honour the memory of their sons by pressuring the Thai government to raise safety standards – and last week they won themselves a meeting in London with senior Thai officials who have pledged to do more.
It is a start – but the problem is immense. Thai drivers routinely flout the rules and the police rarely bother to enforce them – a situation described to me as "part of the culture" by one senior Thai official. That may be the case – but it is also unacceptable, particularly for a country which sells itself as a modern and desirable tourist destination.
The best thing our mothers can do is remind the Thais of this – I know they are determined to do it.
Source: http://www.channel4.com/news/the-undocu ... ands-roads [Mod Edit] There are numerous broken links in this article. I have fixed this one - clicking this link will give you access to the full article (including the unbroken links).
-- channel4.com 2011-12-29
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singhalover
- Rookie
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- Joined: Wed May 14, 2003 11:42 am
- Location: Hua Hin
Re: Express train hit a pickup truck in Pranburi 120 injure
„advocate“ you are totally right! Thais don´t care. I went to the scene today and spoke to some officials who were there from Bangkok. One said: Thais don`t care about safety. Living here since so many years and having seen so many fatal accidents I completely agree with him.
The Sprinter came from Suratthani and passed Pranburi yesterday about 4 p. m. The railway crossing was secured with automatic half-barriers. A Pickup sneaked around the barriers and was hit by the Sprinter which came rushing with more than 80 km/h, causing the Sprinter to derail. The Pickup was dragged about 50 m. The driving women died on the spot. The Sprinter broke in two and fell over the embankment after 400 m, one coach on each side. One of the coaches caught instantly fire and burned to pieces. 125 people were injured and rushed to hospitals nearby.
Rescue works are underway, but due to the length of the coaches the only crane had to retreat. The only line to the south was closed for many hours. Since 1 p. m. today it is open again, but due to the destroyed tracks the trains can only pass at walking pace.
And here is what this official said at last: Thais only think about themselves, but they don´t care of the amount of damage they do to others.
This is not a country where “rules are rules”. It is all about a free living lifestyle. Whoever comes to Thailand should better watch out! Safety standards and traffic behaviour are on junglelike levels.
The Sprinter came from Suratthani and passed Pranburi yesterday about 4 p. m. The railway crossing was secured with automatic half-barriers. A Pickup sneaked around the barriers and was hit by the Sprinter which came rushing with more than 80 km/h, causing the Sprinter to derail. The Pickup was dragged about 50 m. The driving women died on the spot. The Sprinter broke in two and fell over the embankment after 400 m, one coach on each side. One of the coaches caught instantly fire and burned to pieces. 125 people were injured and rushed to hospitals nearby.
Rescue works are underway, but due to the length of the coaches the only crane had to retreat. The only line to the south was closed for many hours. Since 1 p. m. today it is open again, but due to the destroyed tracks the trains can only pass at walking pace.
And here is what this official said at last: Thais only think about themselves, but they don´t care of the amount of damage they do to others.
This is not a country where “rules are rules”. It is all about a free living lifestyle. Whoever comes to Thailand should better watch out! Safety standards and traffic behaviour are on junglelike levels.
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dtaai-maai
- Hero
- Posts: 14932
- Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2007 10:00 pm
- Location: UK, Robin Hood country
Re: Express train hit a pickup truck in Pranburi 120 injure
More breaking news: "European standards do not apply in Thailand shock horror!"singhalover wrote: And here is what this official said at last: Thais only think about themselves, but they don´t care of the amount of damage they do to others.
This is not a country where “rules are rules”. It is all about a free living lifestyle. Whoever comes to Thailand should better watch out! Safety standards and traffic behaviour are on junglelike levels.
As should be obvious to anyone who has been here for more than 5 minutes, this is a classic case of "like it or lump it".
You were very, erm, lucky to come across a Thai official with such a well developed Weldanschauung...
This is the way