An Investigation of a Tour Bus’s Side Collision with Roadside Trees on National Highway No. 41, Pa We Subdistrict, Chaiya District, Surat Thani Province, Thailand, 3–4 Jan 2025

Abstract

On 1 Jan 2025, at 7:25 PM, a tour bus driver lost control of his vehicle after overtaking a truck and had a side collision with roadside trees on National Highway No. 41 in Surat Thani Province, Thailand. The investigation was conducted to detail the accident’s chronology and describe the epidemiology of the injuries and fatalities. Factors associated with the cause(s) of the accident, injuries, and deaths were identified. Road traffic injury countermeasures were consequently proposed. We reviewed medical records, post-mortem inquest reports, closed-circuit television footage and interviewed witnesses. We surveyed the collision site and interviewed rescuers, medical officers, and survivors, utilizing Haddon’s matrix for the analysis of contributing factors from various perspectives. The tour bus, carrying 35 passengers and two drivers, was traveling on a round-trip journey from Nakhon Pathom Province to Pattani Province. During the return leg, the driver attempted to overtake a truck, and moved from the left lane to the right lane on a two-lane highway. The bus driver lost control of the bus and collided with roadside trees in the depressed median. All were injured and five (13.5%) were dead at the scene. There were 23 females and 14 males, with a median age of 60 years (range 9 to 75 years). The main causes of the accident were the driver’s unfamiliarity with the route, a lack of lane markings and shoulder delineations, and poor visibility due to limited road lighting. We recommended that the road safety environment be improved, especially for roads under construction.