18 killed in bus, train crash

[reader]

Dozens of injured passengers were rushed to nearby medical facilities for treatment, said provincial hospital director Sombat Chutimanukul Photo: AFP / Mladen ANTONOV

From Bangkok Post

CHACHOENGSAO: Eighteen passengers were killed and 44 injured on Sunday when a bus collided with a train in Chachoengsao province, officials said, after earlier saying 20 had died.

The collision happened at about 8.05am at a railway crossing near Khlong Kwaeng Klan railway station, around 50 kilometres east of Bangkok, as the bus passengers were on their way to a temple for a ceremony to mark the end of Buddhist Lent, said a district police chief.

Provincial governor Maitree Tritilanond earlier told reporters that so far about 29 people were injured, but the number was revised upwards to 44, all but 13 of them discharged from hospital by early afternoon.

Footage shared by a government department showed the bus edging from the road onto train tracks before a blue cargo train slammed into its side.

Witnesses said the railway crossing had no barrier, but they heard the noise of a train alarm shortly before the horrific crash.

The bus was taking about 60 people from Samut Prakan province south of Bangkok to Wat Bang Pla Nak temple for the traditional tod kathin, an annual religious ceremony where Buddhists present monks with new robes and make merit to mark the end of the Buddhist Lent.

[Guest]

There are an estimated 20,000 road traffic deaths a year in Thailand and since it's not a brand new virus, nothing gets done.

 

[vinapu]

4 hours ago, z909 said:

There are an estimated 20,000 road traffic deaths a year in Thailand and since it's not a brand new virus, nothing gets done.

 

you don't understand anything , virus is imported while sadly , traffic fatalities are 100 % domestic enterprise

[TotallyOz]

5 hours ago, z909 said:

There are an estimated 20,000 road traffic deaths a year in Thailand and since it's not a brand new virus, nothing gets done.

 

I would not say nothing gets done. I see more stops and more regulations as I drive around the country every year. They also send tickets to your home if you are speeding or crossing over a solid line. They are more than before.

I would easily say the same thing about the USA and obesity. I don't know statistics but I'd venture to think a great deal more die of problems from obesity than Covid in USA.

 

[Guest]

Nothing of SUBSTANCE gets done about road safety.    I agree they do something, but it's all fiddling around the edges.   They still don't even do the basics like enforcing wearing of helmets on motorcycles.   Anyone not wearing a proper helmet with the strap done up should get a substantial fine.    Obviously it's difficult, when the police are more interested in revenue than enforcing the law and improving standards.

Where they police the roads, it all seems to be about checking documents and collecting revenue.  I recall a bus trip where we encountered 5 police roadblocks in 1 hour on a relatively tame piece of dual carriageway, with modest traffic speeds.   Due to poor signs, the roadblocks were probably more of a hazard than a safety feature.   

 

I agree that obesity is probably a bigger problem in the US than Covid.   The same may apply for the UK and some EU countries as well.  

However, there ARE plenty of examples of countries which have improved their road traffic accident death rates via policy decisions, so it would be relatively easy to benchmark what works and copy it.     The same applies to urban congestion and pollution.

I don't see examples of countries which have reversed an obesity problem, so it needs some innovation with policy.    Admittedly, some countries have less of an obesity problem than others.

As for Covid, well it's getting to the point where we see huge differences in results from country to country, so it might not be a bad idea for western countries to benchmark those with better results.  Obviously Asia will benefit from both policy & having had a few previous outbreaks, so they have the experience and culture to deal with it.   Plus possibly a few T-cells remaining from sars-cov-1.

 

However, it still remains totally insane to do nothing of substance about road deaths, whilst going far beyond what is necessary to stop covid 19.   Fixing the road deaths would have bigger benefits and less economic cost.

 

[vinapu]

3 hours ago, z909 said:

  They still don't even do the basics like enforcing wearing of helmets on motorcycles.

 

watching some of  BL series I noticed scenes of  guy or guys riding motorsai without helmet  and wondered what kind of signal it sends to young viewers. That is cool ?

On another hand I recall scene from Dark Blue Kiss of guy giving a lift to a girl , handling her helmet and saying 'my girl safety in my first priority". Looked naturally and yet piece of useful propaganda. Em in "I'm your king SS2 " has very impressive helmet and has spare one for his guests.

If they can sneak products placement in the plots , why not use same approach for road safety ?. I'm sure helmet manufacturers would chip in.

Other scenes which may help is one guy helping other one with seat belt and in the process lips are getting closer and closer . Hot and still carrying subtly safety message

[10tazione]

They should engage you as a writer. I would love your BL stories. I would even help you choosing the cast

[firecat69]

8 hours ago, z909 said:

Nothing of SUBSTANCE gets done about road safety.    I agree they do something, but it's all fiddling around the edges.   They still don't even do the basics like enforcing wearing of helmets on motorcycles.   Anyone not wearing a proper helmet with the strap done up should get a substantial fine.    Obviously it's difficult, when the police are more interested in revenue than enforcing the law and improving standards.

Where they police the roads, it all seems to be about checking documents and collecting revenue.  I recall a bus trip where we encountered 5 police roadblocks in 1 hour on a relatively tame piece of dual carriageway, with modest traffic speeds.   Due to poor signs, the roadblocks were probably more of a hazard than a safety feature.   

 

I agree that obesity is probably a bigger problem in the US than Covid.   The same may apply for the UK and some EU countries as well.  

However, there ARE plenty of examples of countries which have improved their road traffic accident death rates via policy decisions, so it would be relatively easy to benchmark what works and copy it.     The same applies to urban congestion and pollution.

I don't see examples of countries which have reversed an obesity problem, so it needs some innovation with policy.    Admittedly, some countries have less of an obesity problem than others.

As for Covid, well it's getting to the point where we see huge differences in results from country to country, so it might not be a bad idea for western countries to benchmark those with better results.  Obviously Asia will benefit from both policy & having had a few previous outbreaks, so they have the experience and culture to deal with it.   Plus possibly a few T-cells remaining from sars-cov-1.

 

However, it still remains totally insane to do nothing of substance about road deaths, whilst going far beyond what is necessary to stop covid 19.   Fixing the road deaths would have bigger benefits and less economic cost.

 

We have an idiot Senator from Wisconsin that bloviated that BS in March. He said we lose 30,000 every year to traffic accidents and we don't close the roads.  I sent him a message that he was a Moron , at the time there were only less than 10,000 deaths from the Virus. Now we are heading towards 300,000 by the end of the year. Lucky for him he is not up for election or his stupidity would send him packing. Hopefully there will be long memories and he will be thrown out in 2022.

Of course that does not change the fact that Thailand has too many road deaths . Of course a good % of those are on motor bikes where there is no protection in an accident and the vast majority are drunk drivers. We did cut down those kind of auto deaths when we got tough on drunk driving but I admit I certainly realize how dangerous it is to drive in parts of Thailand.

[anddy]

I may have said this somewhere else in a similar context, but if and when actual enforcement happens via fines, they are totally ineffective. The fine is almost always 400 or 500 Baht, regardless of the severity of the traffic violation and whether or not it poses a risk to others. Some examples:

zero risk: parking of car or motorcycle where it's not allowed - 4-500 Baht
some risk: illegal u-turn  - 400 baht
high risk: passing red traffic light - 500 Baht
varying risk from low to high: speeding on the motorway - 500 Baht (regardless of by how much)

You're not going to get compliance from that sort of negligible fine for even severe violations, including those that pose a high accident risk such as passing a red light. Understandably, such fines are just paid and shrugged off, only to continue with the violation habits.

[anddy]

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2020/10/14/all-railway-crossings-to-get-barriers-after-accident-killed-19/

 

1. Couldn't they have come to that sensible conclusion after the countless accidents at such crossings over the decades? There is actually a saying in Thai that goes something like this: "to build the pen after the cows have escaped." Seems a very Thai thing to do, wait for the damage, then do something about it.

2. will have to wait and see how many of these announced barriers will actually be built, TiT after all 

[Guest]

Note the similarities to the equivalent English phrase "to shut the stable door after the horse has bolted".    So acting late is not a only Thai phenomenon.     Although health & safety has gone to extremes in the UK in recent decades, whereas parts of SE Asia still don't bother with it.

 

As for Thail railway crossings,  well on the twin track upgrade in Isaan, they have many road over passes and also underpasses to keep traffic separated from the trains.

These are hideous constructions and the over passes are a good 30% longer than necessary, since after reaching max height, there's a long horizontal section before the bridge crosses the railway.    The equivalent bridges on the southern line are being built with more reasonable proportions.

I failed to photograph one of these when on the train, but here's a google satellite photo in Isaan.   So over-sized that the purpose must be to keep someone's concrete business going, rather than improve safety.    

As can be seen in the bottom corner of the photo, the underpasses have more reasonable proportions and are probably for pedestrians  motorsai, until they flood shortly after construction is completed.

[Guest]

On 10/14/2020 at 8:21 PM, z909 said:

As can be seen in the bottom corner of the photo, the underpasses have more reasonable proportions and are probably for pedestrians  motorsai, until they flood shortly after construction is completed.

The following is completely predictable.   I remember traveling on the line, seeing hideous over sized bridges and many underpasses.   Noting a lot of surface water, even in the dry season, I thought what stops these flooding ?     Within a few miles I saw several of the new underpasses flooded.

The following article shows how local residents deal with this incompetence.

 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2019947/agency-finally-drains-flooded-underpass-after-photos-go-viral