A tourist bus crashed into a truck injuring 17 passengers who were travelling to a Thai island.

The double-decker bus was carrying dozens of European and Middle Eastern holidaymakers when it rear-ended a Isuzu trailer truck along Highway 41 in Chumphon province on December 30.

The crash shattered the bus windscreen and damaged the rear of the truck.

Police said they received the accident was reported at 4am. Officers arrived at the scene and found both vehicles blocking traffic on the middle of the road.

Police Colonel Witsanu Surawadee, superintendent of the Sawi District Police Station, said: 'The bus was rented to pick up the tourists from Bangkok and take them to Surat Thani province. The passengers were foreign tourists from various countries including New Zealand, the United States, Spain, Hungary, France, the United Kingdom, and Israel.'

The bus driver, Somsak Wattanakraisit, 70, allegedly said he lost control when he tried to pick up his phone that had fallen onto the floor. He claimed he did so just as the coach was turning a sharp curve on a downhill slope.

Seventeen injured tourists were taken to different nearby hospitals, while 26 others were taken to the Sawi district office to be treated for minor wounds.

Chumphon governor Thienchai Chukittiwiboon said: 'Officers are providing care, physical examinations, and food and drinks. Currently, the Chumphon Provincial Transport Office is coordinating to find vehicles to take the tourists to their destinations.'

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.