A British driver crashed into street lights while driving his pickup truck home from a party in Thailand.

Laurence Currie, 60, had drank several bottles of beer at a friend's birthday bash when he climbed inside his Toyota Revo pickup to go home in Pattaya shortly after midnight on December 1.

But while travelling along a dimly lit area back street, he lost control and rammed into a streetlamp.

Police and medics responded to the scene, where the retired Brit was found trapped inside the overturned vehicle with its front part severely damaged. Rescuers needed to pry the door open to take the injured tourist out of his seat.

Bizarrely, the driver declined to be taken to the hospital.

Speaking to police, the man's unnamed wife said he had attended a party before the crash.

Officers said they administered an alcohol level test and detained Laurence for further questioning.

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 along with notoriously easy driving tests, police failures to enforce road laws, and chronic under-investment in infrastructure, all appear to hamper the efforts.