Dozens of tourists were injured when a bus smashed into an electricity pole after the driver fell asleep in Thailand.

The passengers - 15 Thais, 12 Burmese, and nine Americans - were travelling to Bangkok when their bus veered off Phetkasem Road in Phetchaburi province, on Friday morning, March 14.

Emergency services rushed to the scene near an underpass, where they found the bus caught in a tangle of power cables and the dazed tourists suffering varying degrees of injury.

The wounded, including American woman Lena Sophie Weib, 19, were taken to the Khao Yoi Hospital and Phra Chom Klao Hospital. Three people were reported to have been seriously injured.

Police Colonel Thip Khengkhum, superintendent of the Khao Yoi Police Station, said: 'From the investigation, the driver was identified as Mr. Rakchat Phu Kaew, 58, from Prachuap Khiri Khan Province.

'He was taking the passengers from Ranong Province to Bangkok. He claimed to have dozed off at the wheel while arriving at the scene, causing the vehicle to skid off the road and hit an electric pole.'

Rakchat was taken into custody to face charges, police said.

A female tourist said: 'The police officers at the station have been very generous and very kind to us. They took care of us when it was the very scary moment of the accident. They've given us food and water. Very gentle and delicate and responsive to our needs. I am very thankful.'

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.