This is the heart-stopping moment an out-of-control car swerved in front of a terrified driver before crashing into a traffic sign.

Chanaporn Wancharoen was driving along a road in Ratchaburi, Thailand on June 5 evening when a white sedan suddenly cut in front of her at an intersection.

Dashcam footage shows the white car barreling into Chanaporn's lane before swerving to avoid a direct hit. It struck a road sign on the shoulder and ground to a halt, with the shocked passengers leaving the vehicle.

The female driver was detained but released after paying a 1,000 THB (29 USD) fine to repair the traffic sign. She allegedly told police that she did not see the intersection in the dark, and continued driving forward believing the road was straight.

Officers also said there was no alcohol in her system.

Chanaporn said: 'I wasn't hurt, but now I'm terrified of driving again. Accidents happen all the time.

'If the car had turned a split second later, the crash would have been much worse. It's a good thing it didn't hit me.'

She added that her car was undamaged from the near-miss accident.

Thailand has one of the world's worst road safety records. Ministers have set the goal of reducing fatalities from 32.7 deaths per 100,000 people to 12 per 100,000 people by the year 2027.

However, a lack of road safety education in schools, cheap loans for cars, notoriously easy driving tests, police failures to enforce road laws as well as endemic corruption and chronic under-investment in infrastructure hamper the efforts.