BANGKOK – A university student suffered serious injuries after being hit by a bus while walking across a zebra crossing on Sukhothai Road, close to the Vachiraphayaban intersection in Bangkok’s Dusit district. The incident was caught on CCTV.

The video has spread widely online, leading to public anger and renewed calls for stronger traffic rules. The student, who has not been named, is currently in hospital with a fractured skull, broken collarbone, broken pelvis and bleeding from the ear but is expected to recover.

Footage shows the student stepping out on the crossing from between stationary cars just as a bus, apparently moving fast in the outer lane against traffic, ploughed into her. She was thrown several metres. The clip shocked both bystanders and those who saw it online.

Since being posted on Facebook on 2 July, it has sparked criticism of the driver’s dangerous actions and raised doubts about the safety of Bangkok’s pedestrian crossings. Some users said the driver may have been driving the wrong way, which added fuel to the outrage.

Dr Killed on Zebra Crossing

This case is only the most recent in a list of accidents at zebra crossings in Bangkok, where drivers often ignore crossing rules. In January 2022, Dr. Waraluck Supawatjariyakul, an eye doctor from Chulalongkorn University, was killed by a speeding motorcycle on Phaya Thai Road.

The rider, an off-duty police officer, was charged with reckless driving leading to death. The incident caused national uproar and trended on social media with the hashtag #MorKratai. Many demanded safer streets, but progress has been slow.

A few weeks after that tragedy, February 2022 saw a pickup truck kill an elderly man on a zebra crossing in Bang Bon district. Soon after, a motorbike hit and killed another pedestrian on Suwinthawong Road in Min Buri.

These cases confirm a worrying trend: after Dr. Waraluck’s death, a ThaiHealth survey found that almost 90% of vehicles in Bangkok did not stop at zebra crossings. Motorbikes were the worst at 92%, followed by cars at 86% and public transport at 80%.

South Korean Hit

In January 2025, history repeated itself at the same Phaya Thai Road crossing where Dr. Waraluck was killed. A 68-year-old tourist from South Korea was hit by a motorbike whose rider had run a red light. The motorcyclist was charged with reckless driving.

This raised more doubts over crossing safety, even where traffic lights are in place. A ThaiHealth official pointed out that repeated crashes at the same spot point to bigger problems like poor signs and weak law enforcement.

Wider issues make things worse. A Department of Disease Control report for 2025 said that from 2015 to 2024, pedestrian accidents killed 5,066 people in Thailand and put 58,705 in the hospital.

The fatality rate has gone up, hitting 0.63% in 2024 compared to 0.56% in 2021 and 2022. The main reasons include reckless driving, broken pavements and worn-out zebra crossings. New traffic laws introduced in 2023 allow fines up to 4,000 baht and points off licences for drivers who do not stop at crossings, but few seem to obey.

The Sukhothai Road accident has led to more people demanding changes. Many have suggested adding rumble strips, brighter signs and high-tech sensors to warn drivers and slow down traffic, similar to what is used in China and South Korea.

Others want more CCTV cameras to catch rule-breakers, as seen in Udon Thani after a fatal crash in 2022. While the student’s survival is a relief, Bangkok now faces strong pressure to make zebra crossings truly safe for everyone.