16 dead in Buriram horror smash

[webfact]

16 Dead in Buriram Horror Smash

BURIRAM: -- 16 people were killed on Monday morning when the driver of a pickup truck fell asleep at the wheel before smashing into a tree on a rural road in Buriram’s Ban Dan district, police have said.

Local Police Col. Suthee Setthawong explained how the pickup truck in question had been carrying a group of construction workers when the vehicle crashed.

Col Setthawong went on to say that ten of the victims were men, including the driver a 24 year old Thai national, and 6 other victims were women. A further 5 passengers were also injured.

Initial investigations carried out by police at the scene suggest that the driver had fallen asleep. Police also said that they found a methamphetamine tablet in the pocket of the driver and a bottle of alcohol next to his car seat.

Buriram is in the north east of Thailand and is located approximately 300 kilometers from Bangkok.


-- 2013-10-07

Image provided by Thaivisa member klubex99

[JetsetBkk]

Drugs + alcohol + youth + no sleep = death.

RIP victims and condolences to families and friends.

[Jane Doe]

16 dead, 5 injured. So it was the driver with 20 passengers. Nothing un-usual. RIP to the poor victims of the drunken driver.

[mrtoad]

How sad , and how avoidable.

[lopburi3]

Believe it is being reported on TV as at least 18 dead now.

[chatette]

24 people, mostly from Laos, with pickup traveling from Bangkok to Ubon, according to agencies. Traveled 310km without being stopped by any police check. No wonder we have the 3rd highest road-death toll in the world. Insane.

[theblether]

A scandalous loss of life. This is one area that the government could fix effectively overnight if they had the will. However, it's obvious they just don't care. Their inaction speaks volumes.

[cooked]

I still bristle a bit when the police stop me for a safety belt check and I see these guys sailing by. It isn't always adults, the school transports are often just as bad.

[ezzra]

As sad and horrendous these accidents are, unfortunately it will change nothing in the manners

of Thai people driving or carrying goods and passengers, this is how it is and this is how

it will continue to be.....

[Chrisswe]

This is quite common in undeveloped country like Thailand !!!

[kiwiinasia]

This is quite common in undeveloped country like Thailand !!!

Sorry I don't think its common AT ALL!

It might not be unusual but it certainly is not common.

[alant]

Sad for sure but I won't put this down to drunken drugged up driving etc as I don't know, just sad.

[anon467367354]

I think the problem here is the tolerant mindset that they are doing the best they can. If they need to put 20 people in one pickup truck then

so be it, it's the best they can do. Why they tolerate this and not other things is just bizarre.

[webfact]

MONDAY ACCIDENT
At least 16 people killed in a car accident in Buri Ram Monday

BANGKOK: -- At least 16 people, most of them Lao nationals, were killed when a pickup truck crashed into a tree in Buri Ram's Ban Dan district on Monday.

The pickup truck was carrying 24 passengers, who were construction workers, in the back when it skidded off the road and hit a roadside tree.

The victims comprised of 10 men, including the driver and 6 women, were killed. The rest were injured and taken for hospital treatment.

"The accident happened on a straight stretch of the road and there was no rain. No other cars were involved. At this point, it’s likely he was falling asleep while the car was traveling at high speed," Pol Col Suthee Setthawong told the Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Police also found a tablet of methamphetamine in the driver’s pocket and a bottle of alcohol next to his seat, Suthee said.

Police said they were working to identify the construction workers, as well as their nationalities.


-- The Nation 2013-10-07

[webfact]

16 dead in Thai road smash: police

BANGKOK, October 7, 2013 (AFP) - A pregnant woman was among 16 people killed when the truck they were travelling in slammed into a tree in northeastern Thailand, police said, the latest major accident on the kingdom's deadly roads.

"The truck crashed into a tree -- 15 passengers died at the scene and one died later at the hospital," said police Colonel Suthee Seatthawong, commander of the local police station in Buriram province.

The remaining eight passengers -- who are believed to be manual labourers returning to their rural homes after working in the capital Bangkok -- were all seriously injured.

Police told AFP that the 24-year-old driver, who was among the dead, may have fallen asleep at the wheel.

"We found one tablet of amphetamine in his bag and a partially-drunk bottle of whisky," Suthee said, adding that road conditions had been good at the time of the crash early Monday.

All those killed, including the pregnant woman, were in their 20s, police said.

Deadly road accidents are a common occurence in Thailand.

A recent report by the World Health Organisation said the country saw some 38.1 road deaths per 100,000 of population, compared to an average of 18.5 in Southeast Asia and 3 in Sweden.

In July at least 19 people were killed when a double-decker coach collided with a truck in central Thailand and burst into flames.

In April at least five people were killed, including a seven-month-old baby, and 53 were injured when a Thai tour bus plummeted off a hillside in the northern province of Phitsanulok after its brakes failed.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2013-10-07

[barryofthailand]

These road accident deaths will continue until the Thai government enacts laws to prevent it, which is very unlikely.

[phitsanulokjohn]

RIP to all the unfortunate people who have lost their lives,and my genuine sympathies to the families who are left behind to suffer the grief caused.

Whenever will any Thai government address this issue of daily carnage on the roads of Thailand and start to put some kind of value on human life.Sickening.

[khwaibah]

RIP..In Thai with photos.

http://www.krobkruakao.com/%E0%B8%82%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A7/81238/%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%B8%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%A2%E0%B9%8C-%E0%B8%9B%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%8B%E0%B8%B4%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%95%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%99%E0%B9%84%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A2-18-%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%9E.html

[apetley]

These road accident deaths will continue until the Thai government enacts laws to prevent it, which is very unlikely.

The laws exist, for whatever reason they are very rarely enforced.

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[soi41]

Makes you think! No matter our situation, with all our petty problems, at least we have to choice not to get on board an overloaded truck with a drunk/high driver, just to make a living.

So enjoy your life, probably not so bad, compared to lhe lives of many people in this country.

Fel sad for the families of the victims, not only have they lost a loved one, but probably also their main provider.

[Carl64]

Yep, pickups + passengers + accidents = death.

This needs to be outlawed. Very sad.

[mrdome]

I think the problem here is the tolerant mindset that they are doing the best they can. If they need to put 20 people in one pickup truck then

so be it, it's the best they can do. Why they tolerate this and not other things is just bizarre.

I think it's obvious that these poor guys take the cheapest opportunity to get to where they need to. It's not like anyone is giving them a free bus ride.

[pookiki]

I am not sure if these incidents are common but it does appear to me that a disproportionate number of fatalities involving pick-up truck accidents involve migrant workers. However, the ultimate culprit is yaba and alcohol. Such a tragic incident.

[simple1]

See pickups every day packed with workers standing and sitting along the edges without even side railings to hold onto; always reminds me of the movie 'soylent green'. As other posters have said drive past police with no action taken. Terrible sad for these unnecessary deaths

[DocN]

21 people on a pick up truck?!

The mind boggles!

RIP

[Zodaka]

It's what happens in Issan where people think that in their little towns that they don't need to follow the rules.

[jcb2001]

This is quite common in undeveloped country like Thailand !!!

Sorry I don't think its common AT ALL!

It might not be unusual but it certainly is not common.

Suggest you visit Issan, especially Ubon during morning rush hour. This is very common here.

[SamuiRes]

This is quite common in undeveloped country like Thailand !!!

Sorry I don't think its common AT ALL!

It might not be unusual but it certainly is not common.

If you think that then you come to Samui and watch the traffic every morning and evening and you will find it is far more common than you seem to think. Not just pick-ups but lorries as well crammed full of construction workers going to and from work.

[khwaibah]

This is quite common in undeveloped country like Thailand !!!

Sorry I don't think its common AT ALL!

It might not be unusual but it certainly is not common.

Suggest you visit Issan, especially Ubon during morning rush hour. This is very common here.

As common and as predictable as the sun will rise tomorrow.

[mikebell]

This is a serious question: what does an Insurance policy say about carrying that number of passengers? I ask because I frequently see baht buses crammed to the rafters with school children coming/going to & from school; or jam-packed with Russian tourists? Is there a limit that a driver should adhere to?