Minivan accident kills 9 - Khun Wisarut injured

[Wisarut]

Now, I got the van accident on Donmuang Tollway near Kasetsart University last night ... 8 dead due to the fall from Tollway .. I'm in room 3106 of vibhavadee Hospital.

[gwmss15]

That sounds very nasty. I hope you are not too badly hurt in this accident. I hope you will recover quickly and fully soon.

[jpatokal]

Ouch! Get better soon, 2Bangkok is not the same without you.

[Yappofloyd]

Now, I got the van accident on Donmuang Tollway near Kasetsart University last night ... 8 dead due to the fall from Tollway .. I'm in room 3106 of vibhavadee Hospital.

OMB! You are very lucky Khun Wisarut especially given the nature of the accident and hm died.

Wish you a speedy and full recovery.

[The Enforcer!]

Wishing you a speedy recovery and all the best for 2554, Wisarut.

The Enforcer!

[Wisarut]

Now, I'm back home ... since doctors sayign that no problem - no crack, no fracture on my bones or skulls ... and CT scan result show no hemmorrage ... buty stilkl have some pain on the wounds on my head

[The Enforcer!]

Brilliant news - wish you a full recovery.

I see that you even got named in the Nation today.

The Enforcer!

TOLLWAY TRAGEDY: What went wrong? The Nation December 30, 2010
Investigation not conclusive as experts voice conflicting opinions about Monday

Things remained quite inconclusive as experts appeared to contradict one another yesterday over the Monday night smash-up on the elevated tollway section of Vibhavadi-Rangsit Highway, which killed eight people and injured six others. The director of the Traffic and Transport Development and Research Centre, Dr Tawatchai Laosirihongthong, who led the investigation, told the Nation Channel's morning news programme yesterday that he had some new information:

1. The van showed no trace of being hit by the sedan;
2. The sedan has red paint on its side, suggesting that a third vehicle was involved in the accident; and
3. The van's door remained closed because the latch was twisted, hence it could not have slid open, suggesting the passengers flew through the shattered windows.



Meanwhile Maj-General Panu Kerdlarppol, deputy Metropolitan Police chief responsible for traffic, said the catastrophe most likely stemmed from reckless driving, because security-camera footage showed the sedan tailing the van, and it obviously couldn't brake in time when it was in trouble. He said the collision impact appeared to be small, but it forced the van to lose control and start spinning, which made the door slide open and fling some passengers out to their death. He said the sedan was travelling far too close to the van, despite vehicles being required by law to keep a distance from other vehicles so they can brake appropriately. He said the sedan driver had no licence.

Sattrawut Ponboon of the Asian Institute of Technology's Thailand Accident Research Centre said it had not determined the cause of the accident and was collecting evidence. Initial security-camera footage shows that the accident took place when the sedan was behind the van, before it lost control and started spinning, hitting a concrete wall and an electricity pole, and with no seat belts or airbags, the passengers were flung out. Yet it cannot be concluded how the accident took place, he said.

Meanwhile, another road-accident researcher who investigated the scene as well as the vehicles, and asked not to be named, said there was no evidence suggesting that a third car had been involved. The researcher also said tyre traces showed that both vehicles started spinning and maybe hit each other, the wall or the pole several times before overturning. The van had seat belts on all its seats.

Also, the researcher said security footage showed the van travelling in the centre lane with the sedan tailing close behind before hitting it, causing both vehicles to start spinning and then overturning. The researcher said key evidence was in the camera footage and the testimony of the sedan driver - provided it was double-checked by the police. If the sedan driver's testimony is in line with security-camera footage and other evidence, then it will be known what really caused this horrific accident, the researcher said.

Wisarut Bholsithi, research assistant at the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre, was one of the injured and is being treated at Vibhavadi Hospital. He suffered injuries on his head, forehead and legs and bad bruises and has trouble breathing. The victim recounted that he was on his way home to Chaeng Wattana from his office in Pathum Thani's Rangsit district. "I was asleep and then I heard a loud bang, before the van started spinning. I saw many of the seats empty as I struggled to get out of the wreckage. Then I saw some injured passengers on the road and realised why the seats were empty."

He said he borrowed a rescue worker's mobile phone to inform his mother of his whereabouts. "I will never be able to forget what happened." Wisarut said he was feeling better and expected to spend New Year's Day at home. "After this near-death experience, I will make merit on January 1 and pray that the next year is a good one."

[waerth]

Get better soon Wisarut!

With all of the vans that I get in for comedy and other work in a week and the idiot driving of the drivers even when they do not know the road at all because we are in the middle of nowhere .... it is a small miracle I never had an accident in my 7 years!

W

[Wisarut]

Brilliant news - wish you a full recovery.

I see that you even got named in the Nation today.

The Enforcer!

Indeed since the correspondents of the Nation did come to make an interview with me ... and the news and the talk abotu the van accident o nthe tollway did appear in the Nation Channel ...

Too bad, the driver is killed by the accident ...

[pong]

Oh, khun Wisarut, sawasdee phimai 2554 and kwaam sabai dee mahk, khrap! Happy New year 2011 and a good health for you-so you can inform us for much longer.
Was this really that nasty accient were now even all the foreign press and all the social media, like twitter, hi5, facebook etc. all write about?
(around the Mall-Bangkapi are mainly vans for outer BKk-like Minburi and Nong Choke, but also now a few to towns like Pattaya etc. I read.

[Wisarut]

Was this really that nasty accident were now even all the foreign press and all the social media, like twitter, hi5, facebook etc. all write about?
(around the Mall-Bangkapi are mainly vans for outer BKk-like Minburi and Nong Choke, but also now a few to towns like Pattaya etc. I read.

Well, for the case fo Facebook & Twitter, it is nearly an internet WITCH HUNTHING & LYNCHING for that gal who causes 9 DEATH including the driver.

At one point, some Thai nettizens who felt angry on that gal had stormed the hospital where that gal has stayed .... despite of the fact that she did not tell the name of the hospital to the press at all ...

[MBK]

Wow! I read the Nation article online and saw the name Wisarut and immediately thought of 2Bangkok.com and you. I don't know of anyone else named Wisarut and it turns out it was you.

You're one lucky fellow to get out alive when sadly so many others didn't make it but I'm sure you know that already.

Take it easy and all the best for your continued speedy recovery.

[Yappofloyd]

I thought that this incident needed its own thread given the personal nature for many 2Bangkok members with Khun Wisarut being injured. Also, the accident has become symbolic for many of the problems regarding issues surrounding transport regulation, the unequal application of rule of law and various perspectives of individual responsibility in Thai society.

Editorial: Slam brakes on urban vans, BKK Post 29/12/10
The horrific accident on Monday night in which eight van passengers died violently once again focuses the spotlight on the dreadful safety risk of these vehicles. The unfortunate victims were flung out of the vehicle. The force of the van's collision with a car was so great that the eight flew over the restraining wall of the Don Muang Tollway, onto the ground far below. Another eight people in the van were injured but survived.

Monday's traffic accident was the second such recent incident. Less than two months ago, eight van passengers died when their vehicle careered off the elevated expressway in Bang Sue district. The terrible violence of the fall and crash left eight passengers in the van dead. In that accident, the van, which ran on liquefied gas, burst into flames when it hit the ground. The six passengers who survived were badly burnt.

The two accidents highlight a serious safety issue. Over the past decade, the use of passenger vans, especially in and around metro Bangkok, has hugely expanded. It is easy to see why. The passengers appreciate the point-to-point service at an affordable fare. But the vans, which began as an underground, illegal service, never have been subject to the regulations and scrutiny of most other public transport. The terrible expressway accidents illustrate this failing.

As has happened too often in the past, authorities have been far too lax and far too slow to regulate public transportation. The vans are merely another iteration of forms of public transport that have quickly sprung up and been accepted by the public. Before the vans were the baht buses of the 1970s, the green Bangkok buses of the 1980s, and the motorcycle taxis which became ubiquitous during the 1980s. Each of these new services has filled a void in public transport, particularly in Bangkok and surrounding provinces. Each has also illustrated the failure to bring the new transport systems into the overall network of public transportation in the capital region.

Excesses have left passengers and competitors open to the violence of "little mafias" seeking to control the new transportation. Without fail, each of the new transport forms has resulted in careless driving, excessive speed and unsafe traffic habits. Companies have hired drivers strictly on price, stressing aggressive driving and packing in passengers over all else - safety, care for the public and driving rules included.

The blame for the tollway accident has not been legally fixed. It is even possible that the driver of the car in the two-vehicle accident was completely at fault. But the public has grown used to vans that speed, weave in and out of traffic and pose a threat to all others on the road. The aim is to fill a van with passengers, race to the destination, collect the fares - repeat quickly. In many or most cases, van drivers and their shadowy, influential owners seek to maximise profits above all else, including safety and the public welfare.

It is time for authorities to take a long, serious look at the van business, and at the private sector's role in public transportation. Van drivers, as well as bus drivers and other colleagues, are willing to take chances and literally to cut corners for financial reasons. Even if caught driving dangerously, drivers risk only a tiny fine, amounting to a faint slap on the wrist. It may be necessary to vastly increase penalties, including removing drivers' licences and barring violators from driving. If that is what it takes to make passengers safe, that is what authorities must do.


EDITORIAL: Punish the parents to set an example on law and order, The Nation January 4, 2011
Last week's fatal highway accident involving a teenage driver without a licence must serve as a lesson in responsibility and accountability

The recent horror car crash that left nine people dead is an expensive lesson for us all, but will it really bring an end to the problem of underage driving and irresponsible parenting? While the police said they had to interrogate the surviving driver, who is 16, as well as witnesses, to find out what exactly happened, it is obvious that the young driver was involved in the accident and was probably the cause of it. She was too young and she was driving without a licence.

The driving laws exist for a reason. A minor does not have the necessary maturity to be allowed behind the wheel of a vehicle on any road, never mind a major highway. Parents are responsible for the actions of their children, up to a certain age. If parents are so negligent as to allow a 16-year-old without a licence to get behind the wheel of a car and cause the deaths of innocent others, then those parents must be severely punished to the full extent of the law.

Unfortunately many parents do let their children drive vehicles, in the full knowledge that it is against the law, and even though the consequences can be fatal, as we've seen. Some of these parents even buy cars for their underage kids. With parents like this, how could a teenager not resist the temptation to get out on the road? Any young person would want to test the speed of a new car on the highway. This is understandable. But any responsible parent would surely not allow them to do so - for the sake of their own child's safety and that of others.

If there is an accident involving a minor driver, the registered owner of the vehicle involved must be held fully accountable, no matter who was driving at the time. The only possible vindication would be for the owner to have reported the car stolen before the time of the accident. While minors can only be subject to cautionary measures, the parents must face the full consequences of their actions in allowing an unlicensed minor to drive.

In some developed countries, the punitive civil and criminal damages imposed on parents of minor drivers who cause fatal accidents can result in bankruptcy. It has been reported in the media that the driver in this case might be subject to only a Bt400 fine for driving without a licence. The public will realise that this no deterrent to similar incidents happening in the future. If this ends up being the sum total of the punishment, it will do nothing to discourage underage driving.

The parents in this case should be subject to severe punitive measures and damages, aside from compensation for the deaths of nine people. They should also be forced to do extensive community service and undergo a stringent re-education course to ensure that they realise the tragic effect of their irresponsibility.

Parents have a responsibility to educate their children about the sanctity of the law, the role of good citizenship, and that they must be accountable for their own actions. Parents are in the best position to prevent their children from doing anything that is illegal. But unfortunately in this case the spotlight has so far been on the teenage daughter and not the parents. What were they thinking in allowing their daughter to drive illegally? Were they even aware that she was doing so? If they were aware, the punishment should perhaps be even harsher.

Without proper punishment and the chance of redemption, these parents and their daughter will fail to understand the rationale behind the legislation on underage driving. Lenient punitive measures will also fail to make others realise the possible tragic consequences of such negligence.

Parents have a moral obligation to raise their children to be good citizens and to abide by the law. It could have happened to anybody, but what we have seen here is likely a case of privileged people thinking that they are above the law. We see this continually in our society in a variety of ways. If an example isn't set, if it isn't demonstrated clearly that nobody is above the law, then we will see many more incidents like this in the future.

[Wisarut]

After the big loss of many good brains from the van accident on the Donmuang tollway at the night of 27 Dec 2010, TU has issued the new regulations for the van services to TU (Rangsit Campus) to be listed as follows:

1. All passengers must fasten the seat belts. - The terminal master must check to ensure that all passengers have fastened the seat belts before departure.

2. Maximum speed is 100 kph or less according to the road conditions and weather.

3. Van drivers are not allowed to go out of the track specified by University - excpet the specail circumstances including blocked trraffic lanes - whjich require special permission from University.

4. the companies who got ther permission to park within campus must issue a clear announcement of their company in all vehicle including

4.1 the name & contact telephone numbers of the traffic controller provided by companies
4.2 the name & contact telephone numbers of the officers who are going to deal with the vehicle
4.3 the name & contact telephone numbers of the Deputy Rector on the General Administration

This would allow the passengers to send the inquiry to those people so those who take charge on the vehicles will correct any problems inquired by passengers and those take charge will have to make a phone call to the drivers to correct the problems IMMEDIATELY, not just correct at the end of the trip.

5. Van drivers are NOT allowed to drive when they have shown the sign of drunkness, hangover, exhaustion, or other physical conditions which preven them from proper driving.

6. All vans must install the warning system to be worked when speed of the vans have exceeeded 100 kph - to be done by the end of 31 Jan 2011.

Note: It is about tiem for the owners of van fleets to make a proper installation of seat belts
http://www.manager.co.th/Campus/View...=9540000000199

[Wisarut]

Postbag
Bangkok Post : 5 Jan 2011 | 12:20 GMT+7
http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/o...ling-the-media

This is a cry for justice
Re: Veera Prateepchaikul's ''End the Facebook hate campaign against Praewa'' (BP, Jan 3). Mr Veera seems astonished and mystified over what he calls a ''hate campaign'' and those who wish to ''vent their fury'' at the poor, misunderstood teenage girl whose illegal behaviour resulted in the deaths of nine innocent people on the tollway last week.

Perhaps average Thai people are simply fed up with the double standards of Thai justice, which allows the children of Thai ''hi-so'' elites to escape without punishment, even for the most horrific crimes. Could it be that in this modern world, Thai people are dissatisfied with their medieval society which allows the children of the nobility to escape punishment for crimes like murder and manslaughter, while the children of ''serfs'' feel the full force of the law for far lesser crimes.

Could that be the cause of the ''fury'' which is being ''vented''?

I ran this idea by some Thai friends in the cafe and they agreed enthusiatically and vocally. Japanese acquaintances expressed disgust, one saying: ''Thailand is only for the rich Thais... the poor Thais get nothing.''

Do you think poor little Praewa or her family will suffer any consequences for her actions, which resulted in nine young people not being able to enjoy New Year with their families?

This is not a ''hate campaign'' but a huge cry for justice. Let hi-so law-breakers in this country be held to the same standards as their poor countrymen. And rein in the spoiled, out-of-control rich kids in this country with their grotesque sense of entitlement, their lack of concern for the law or for less well-connected Thai people, and the family money that protects them from any accountability under the law.

H C CROVES

//-------------------------------------------
Note for letter from H C CROVES:

The problem is due to the over-reacting response of Thai nettizens which may be gone too far. Other than that, it is just like what mentioned by Khun H C CROVES.

// -----------------------------------------------------------

Safety belts save lives

In the articles about the tragic van accident, one fact goes unmentioned: very few commercial vans have workable safety belts for passengers, exposing them to exactly what happened in the van crash, when the passengers were thrown out over the side of the elevated tollway.

Few people in the Thai government give any thought to the safety of their citizens, but allowing van and taxi owners to operate vehicles that put the lives of passengers in peril is going too far.

Installing safety belts is a simple matter and, considering the lives that would be saved, inexpensive.

STAN SESSER

// -------------------------------------

Note to the letter from STAN SESSER:

Indeed, I have found that there are the channels for seat belts on the back seat rows but I have never seen ANY working seat belts on the back seats ...

On the other hand, I could see the working seat belts ONLY the front row - the driver row that could be easily spotted by traffic police.

//------------------------------------

Response from OldThaiHand:
Posted: 05/01/2011 at 10:21 AM4

Lack of seatbelts killed those 9 people, not the girl. Sure she was reckless and underage. She's admitted as much. But, it was an accident. Accidents happen everyday in this country and I dare say most are caused by recklessness and stupidity. Yet, you don't hear hate speech aimed at those drivers. There's an alarming increase in mob mentality in this country, thanks to the PAD and especially the UDD. What's next? Lynch parties?

//-----------------------------------------------

Response from Victor:
Posted: 05/01/2011 at 09:58 AM
The picture of the wrecked van shown here is a bit too dramatic to be realistic. Actually the van (Toyota) got into that condition because, after being hit by a car (Honda), it ran into a concrete barrier and overturned a few times.

//-----------------------------------------------

Response from Ozman_Bkk:
Posted: 05/01/2011 at 09:39 AM

Regarding selt belts, it is my understanding that the Van involved in that tragic accident did have seat belts fitted but was carrying more passengers than the law allows and so the selt belts could not be worn. But it is true that selt belt laws FOR ALL PASSENGERS should be passed and ENFORCED. Either that or continue to scrape people off the roads. Simple choice I would think.