Death again highlights the danger of Thailand’s roads for foreigners including pedestrians, car drivers, motorcyclists and bicyclists due to reckless driving and a lack of the same sense of care and caution that is seen in other countries making Thailand’s roads the ninth most deadly in the world.
Police officers in Kanchanaburi were greeted with a harrowing scene early on Saturday morning when they arrived to find a 50-year-old man crying over the shocking demise of his wife minutes earlier after the pair decided to take an early bicycle ride from a nearby resort. The woman was hit by a pickup driver travelling at speed who failed to stop on time after honking at the woman as she cycled her bike across the road behind her husband.
Police in the centre of Kanchanaburi have arrested a 23-year-old pickup driver following a road traffic fatality on Saturday morning in the centre of Kanchanaburi in which a female foreign tourist lost her life.
Police at Kanchanaburi City Police Station led by Police Lieutenant Colonel Chairat Chan-anan responded to reports of a fatal incident near a resort in the sub-district of Tha Makham near Wat Khao Phurang Bon.
Canadian found weeping by his wife’s body
The policeman, a deputy inspector in the city, arrived on the scene as well as volunteer emergency services and doctors on call from Phon Phayuhasena Hospital nearby.
At the roadside, Police Lieutenant Colonel Chairat found a Canadian man weeping next to the body of a woman who was lying on her back.
He noted debris and the mangled wreckage of a bicycle nearby as well as the vehicle driven by a 23-year-old Thai man.
The deceased woman was identified by police as 49-year-old Mrs Marine Scott, a Canadian tourist and the wife of 50-year-old Mr Joseph Michael Scott from Canada.
49-year-old woman, cycling after her husband, was crossing the road when hit at speed by the pickup
The couple had been out early on Saturday morning on a bicycle ride and Mr Scott had crossed the road ahead of his wife who followed after.
However, before she reached the other side of the road, she was hit by a pickup truck driven in a straight line which was travelling at speed.
Police provisionally interviewed the 23-year-old driver of the vehicle who was named as Mr Chaiwat at the scene.
He admitted to officers that he had been driving at speed and said he had, first of all, seen the Canadian man crossing the road on his bike.
He later saw the Canadian woman begin to cross the road on her bicycle and honked to warn her that it was dangerous.
Expected the woman not to cross after he honked at her while travelling at speed, could not stop on time and hit the Canadian, killing her instantly
However, the woman did not stop and when he attempted to brake with his vehicle it was too late to avoid colliding with Ms Marine who was killed instantaneously when she was hit by the pickup truck at speed.
Police provisionally detained the driver of the pickup and set about conducting a detailed examination of the accident scene and looking for any eyewitnesses to the accident.
The Saturday morning tragic death of the Canadian woman is quite similar to the recent death of 26-year-old French woman, Camille Jeanne Gavaudan, in Ayutthaya on May 24th last as she also crossed a busy Thai road and junction in the company of her newfound holiday friend, 24-year-old American Ms Tara Nico Scuri.
Similar Ayutthaya road crossing accident on May 24th which took place in the evening leaving a French woman dead by the road and her friend in tears
That accident took place, however, in the evening as the French woman, riding a bicycle, tried to negotiate a zebra crossing and became confused over traffic light signals.
Ms Camille was hit by a White Toyota Altis car.
The accident occurred as both women were returning to their guest house after dinner in the historic city.
The driver of the car, 42-year-old Sathapana Khumsupha, who was also travelling at speed tried to brake or reduce speed but hit one of the female tourists, unfortunately, taking her life.
PM sets target of zero lives lost in Thailand by 2050 with a two-thirds reduction in fatalities by 2027
The death of the young woman came on the same day as Prime Minister Prayut Chan ocha gave a speech in Bangkok saying that Thailand aimed to eliminate all road traffic accidents by 2050 by adapting a successful Swedish model used in the 1990s.
Thailand’s roads are the ninth most dangerous
This latest road traffic death on Saturday morning highlights the singular danger of Thailand’s roads, particularly to foreigners who are often unaware of the lack of regard for road safety among motorists in the kingdom when it comes to other drivers, those on bicycles and pedestrians.
Policeman jailed, sacked from the force over death of young doctor at a zebra crossing in Bangkok
Police and road safety campaigners have identified this culture as the key reason that leaves Thailand as the ninth most dangerous country in the world according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) because of road deaths and injuries, a situation that has shown some improvement from 2018 when the kingdom was arguably the most dangerous on earth, or second only to then war-torn Libya.
Young policeman jailed for killing a talented young doctor at a busy Bangkok crossing in January sparking debate on road safety culture and lack of care
In April, a junior 21-year-old policeman in Bangkok was jailed by a Thailand’s Criminal Court for mowing down a young ophthalmologist or eye doctor, Dr Waraluck Supawatjariyakul, on a busy zebra crossing and pedestrian intersection in the centre of Bangkok.
The young policeman was riding a motorbike at speed while carrying out official business on January 21st last.
That case sparked outrage in the capital city and a discussion focused on the dangers of road crossings in Thailand and the need to improve road safety standards by adopting and encouraging a new culture of caring and road safety.
Join the Thai News forum, follow Thai Examiner on Facebook here
Receive all our stories as they come out on Telegram here
Follow Thai Examiner here
Further reading:
Confusing traffic lights and reckless driving may have caused death of French tourist in Ayutthaya
Tragic death of a beauty queen and two others in a road accident near Khon Kaen University is a loss
Young woman killed in a moment as pickup driver opens his door on a quiet Chonburi road last Friday
World Bank report warns Thailand of huge potential economic loss caused by road carnage
Another fatal crash as express train smashes car off the tracks in Phetchaburi – woman killed
