An oil tanker smashed into several cars when its driver allegedly fell asleep due to his medication.

The 18-wheeler was coasting along a road in Udon Thani, Thailand on June 13 when the driver reportedly nodded off, sending the vehicle towards a second-hand goods shop.

CCTV footage shows how the truck suddenly swerved towards the roadside, plowing through the car park and narrowly missing a reversing white sedan.

Policemen from the Na Kha district responded to the crash and found five cars and one motorcycle damaged at the scene.

There were no injuries or casualties reported. The tanker's fuel was also unignited.

Shocked customers rushed outside and saw the pile-up in front of the store.

Norapon Trisat, 45, said: 'I was browsing umbrellas inside when I heard a screeching sound that gradually grew louder. We were all jolted when the truck crashed into the cars outside. I was so surprised by the loud crash that I shielded my wife before I knew what was happening.'

Meanwhile, the tanker driver reportedly told officers that he had dozed off while driving. He said he had taken medication prior to his trip that caused him to become sleepy.

He was held by police custody to be interrogated further.

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.