A driver was killed and 41 students were injured when two university buses collided at a toll booth.

The buses were taking some 70 students home from a field trip when one of them reportedly lost control at the toll gate in Chonburi, eastern Thailand, on October 31.

The lead bus was paying the toll when the second coach was said to have slammed into it at full speed.

Highway Police were alerted at 6:30 pm local time. They rushed to the Bang Phra Toll Gate, where they found the rear bus with its front end crumpled by the impact.

Behind the shattered windscreen was driver Suchart Kongmuang, 55, who was crushed against the steering wheel and dashboard. Rescue workers extracted him from the wreckage using metal-cutting tools, but he soon died at the scene from his injuries.

Rescuers assisted the terrified students out of the buses, including 41 who suffered minor injuries. They were given first aid and taken to Chonburi Hospital for further treatment.

The other bus driver, Sonthaya Phuttiphum, said he had pulled up to pay the toll when he saw the second bus hurtling towards him.

He said: 'We were returning home from a field trip to Rayong province. While I was at the toll gate, I saw that the bus behind me was racing forward without stopping. I don't know what happened but he crashed into us at full force.'

Police said they are reviewing CCTV footage and will question Sonthaya before pursuing legal action.

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.