A French tourist was killed by a car on a pedestrian crossing in Kanchanaburi in central Thailand on Wednesday, April 2.
The fatal accident occurred on Saengchutor Road, opposite JJ Market in the Ban Nua area, said Police Captain Thammawat Sukheewat, deputy chief of investigations at Kanchanaburi City Police Station, who was alerted at 10:45 p.m.
Police and rescuers who rushed to the scene found the body of a 40-year-old Frenchman lying in a pool of blood on the side of the road, with multiple injuries to his face, legs, arms and body.
Doctors gave him first aid before sending him to Phaholpolpayuhasena Hospital.
The driver, Krittaphat Kamrai, 24, from Kanchanaburi, was waiting for police at the scene.
A test carried out on site showed that there was no alcohol in his system.
The injured tourist was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after midnight, said Police Colonel Surayut Mekmangkol, Kanchanaburi police chief.
The body was sent to the Police General Hospital in Bangkok for an autopsy.
The French Embassy has been informed of the death.
Security video from the scene showed the Frenchman crossing the road from the market.
After crossing the central reservation and taking two or three steps on the pedestrian crossing, he was violently hit by the car driven by Mr. Krittaphat.
According to police, the investigation showed that the driver crossed the pedestrian crossing without braking.
The Frenchman tried in vain to jump to avoid the accident.
Police charged the driver with reckless driving resulting in death.
He is currently in police custody.
The Danger of Pedestrian Crossings in Thailand
A Chinese tourist died after being run over by a pickup truck in Samut Prakan while crossing a pedestrian crossing on March 1, 2024. Photo taken from CCTV.
Thailand's roads are particularly dangerous, and while foreign travelers may think that pedestrian crossings are safe places, like in their own countries, this is not the case.
When you cross a road at a crossing, you should not assume that cars will automatically stop, you should check if one or more vehicles are approaching at high speed and if so, it is better to wait.
In March 2024, a Chinese tourist was run over at a pedestrian crossing.
See: Tourist crushed to death on pedestrian crossing in Thailand
In January 2022, a young Thai doctor was killed at a pedestrian crossing by a police officer on a motorcycle.
See: Why are Thailand's roads among the deadliest in the world?
In the face of numerous tragedies, the new points-based license system that came into effect on January 9, 2023, has increased penalties for drivers who do not respect pedestrian crossings.
See: 4,000 baht fine for failure to stop at pedestrian crossings in Thailand
Drivers who fail to stop for pedestrians are liable to a maximum fine of 4,000 baht (105.75 euros) and the immediate deduction of one point from their driving licence.
Unfortunately, very often bad drivers are given the choice between a fine and punishment or paying a bribe to the police, so the new laws cannot make Thailand's roads safer.
See also:
Road accidents in Thailand cause 48 deaths per day
Artificial Intelligence Tracks Traffic Offenders in Bangkok
New points-based license for traffic violations in Thailand
Source: Bangkok Post
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3 comments
Apart from the fact that many drivers who break the law get away with paying a bribe to the police officer who is supposed to fine them and give them a legal penalty, pedestrian crossings are real tourist traps with deadly dangers, especially for those, like us, who are used to having priority over cars when we enter a pedestrian crossing.
In Thailand, pedestrian crossings exist to keep municipal workers busy while they repaint, and even when these crossings are regulated by traffic lights, which are too rare, they are not respected.
To take an example that I can testify to, the pedestrian crossing regulated by traffic lights, which is supposed to ensure pedestrian safety, in Pattaya, on Beach Road, JUST OPPOSITE the police station, is useless...
In fact, if at first, the cars stop (not always) in front of the red light and the pedestrian who is entering, they start up again and "jump" the red light as soon as the pedestrian has passed...
As for motorcycles, they are content, at best, to slow down without respecting the red light!
This is the daily reality that awaits pedestrians when crossing a road in Thailand, "protected" crossing (for whom?) or not... it makes absolutely no difference!
A significant change would consist of radically modifying the articles of the highway code concerned by this situation by placing (as in our country) the pedestrian as a weak user and having priority over any vehicle, as soon as he enters a crossing and to consider any driver of a fatal accident in such circumstances as 100% responsible for involuntary manslaughter, prosecuted civilly and criminally in court.
But that's not going to happen tomorrow, because the legislator would have to roll up his sleeves to work on it...
In the meantime, (and to stick with personal experience) perhaps the commander of the Pattaya Beach Road police station would be well advised to permanently alternate a constant presence of 2 police officers at the edge of the road, opposite the police station to ensure the safety of a pedestrian crossing widely used by tourists wanting to go to the main beach of the seaside resort and that the drivers of any motorized vehicle respect as much as a used roll of "Q" paper...
but that too would require a big effort on the part of the police to get them out of their office chairs and walk 50 meters to avoid serious accidents, like the one mentioned in this article....
Today perhaps... or maybe tomorrow... (Mr. Sardou)
"Because the legislator would have to roll up his sleeves to work on it..."
No time... They're too busy choosing the carpet for the future casinos.
There is a solution or solutions, we have been living in Thailand for several years now, but I still haven't understood why Thais, Asians, don't respect what a farang should respect.
It's incredible, I drive a lot, but sometimes I think they have very serious brain problems, whether it's people on foot, scooters, let's not even talk about it, or the Asian in a pick-up truck.
They are very good, but I am sure that they have never attended a driving school for the simple reason that it does not exist and even if you are lucky enough to see a driving school car be very careful, I drove in the city of Chiang Mai behind one of these cars, the instructor was alone in the vehicle, he stopped to give priority to the cars that came out of the Speedway, I almost got out to ask him why, but I do not speak Thai.
In conclusion, I have no pleasure in driving.