Slow down on Highway 22 near Chiang Khrua

If you look at a satellite image of highway 22, leaving Sakon Nakhon, the highway is in a straight direction.

• Along the way during early morning hours you may well have slow down or come to a stop as cows and buffaloes cross highways.

• There are unmarked school crossings along the way, slow moving farm tractors with trailers and plenty of 'appearing out of nowhere motorcycles.'

• Then you approach two east bends in the road, slow down, expect anything, even airborne cars.

.

2006, 09/11 We were returning to Sakon Nakhon

A pickup truck was entering the highway from the Saint Micheal's monument.
Approaching from my opposite direction was a fast moving car making the turn in the road.

Impact...

The fast moving car went airborne. Before me I momentarily saw a brand new undercarriage of the car moving to a closeup view.

Then the car lost forward momentum and made a touchdown 10 meters in front of me, made a sharp turn, flipped into a ditch, still airborne,came out of the ditch, did a 360 and slammed to the ground.

Two rear tires bounced into the air and landed side by side in front of the car.




Within moments after the accident the car driver was on the phone to emergency services.
Really amazing was the fact that emergency fire and rescue services arrived in under five minutes. Luckily their only job was to clear debris from the street



The truck suffered some front end damage, but was still drivable.