SURAT THANI — Thailand’s roads continue to maintain their dangerous reputation following the latest incident in Surat Thani province, where a tour bus carrying international tourists skidded off the road, resulting in multiple injuries.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Suriyan Petchuay, Chief Inspector of Bang Sawan Police Station, reported that the accident occurred at noon today. The bus was transporting 40 tourists of various nationalities and three staff members from Ao Nang in Krabi province to Koh Samui when it veered off the Southern Seaboard Highway 44 inbound to Surat Thani.
Rescue workers and officers from Phra Saeng Police Station provided first aid to the injured tourists. Six people sustained injuries, with British and Malaysian nationals requiring further treatment at Bangkok Hospital Surat in Surat Thani city for cervical spine fractures and broken noses. Four others — two Dutch nationals and tourists from France and Germany — have since been discharged from the hospital.
The remaining 34 tourists were transported to their destination on Koh Samui by Rittichai Tourism, the tour bus company.
Lieutenant Colonel Suriyan stated that the driver would face charges of reckless driving. Authorities are monitoring the condition of the injured tourists to determine if they will require more than 20 days of medical treatment, which could result in additional charges. “Fortunately, the bus didn’t hit any obstacles, or this could have been much worse,” he added.
The accident comes as Thailand approaches the Songkran festival, which not only attracts many tourists but is also notorious for high road accident rates. In 2024, during the “seven dangerous days” of Songkran (April 11-17), Thailand recorded 2,044 accidents resulting in 2,060 injuries and 287 deaths. The primary causes were speeding (41.49%), drunk driving (22.7%), and cutting off other vehicles (18.1%).
Dr. Chamaiphan Santikarn, head of the Thailand Safe Motorcycle project and former advisor on injury prevention at the WHO Southeast Asia Regional Office, noted last year that despite continuous efforts to implement various safety measures, motorcycle death and injury statistics in Thailand have not decreased in over 20 years.
“The national strategy aims to reduce fatalities to 12 per 100,000 population, or 8,478 deaths, by 2027,” Dr. Santikarn stated. “But if the current situation persists and relevant agencies don’t implement effective measures to protect citizens’ lives, achieving this goal is virtually impossible.”
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