A routine trip to Silom turns dramatic when a glass door suddenly shatters
What began as an ordinary family outing in Silom, Bangkok, took a terrifying turn on August 19 when a glass door at a shopping mall exploded into shards just as a mother, her daughter and her nephew were leaving. The mother later posted dashcam footage and photos to the popular Facebook page Drama-addict, turning a private scare into a widely viewed cautionary tale.
“Hi, I have something to share. My family and I visited a shopping mall together, and the incident happened just as we were about to leave. The entire glass door broke, and the glass cut the children. Small pieces of glass also got into my husband’s shoes and clothes,” she wrote, alongside images of the aftermath.
Dashcam drama: what the video shows
The dashcam clip, reportedly given to the family by a passing driver who happened to be nearby, shows the moment the clear panel fractured into a cascade of glass. According to the mother, the children opened the door as they normally would — without any violent push — when the glass suddenly gave way. The scene that followed was one of shock and quick-first-aid: small cuts on the children, shards littering shoes and clothing, and a family trying to process how the door could break without warning.
Netizens split: accident, user error, or faulty glass?
As is customary in the court of public opinion, reactions poured in. Some commenters argued the youngsters might have pushed too hard, putting undue torque on the hinges and creating pressure that caused the brittle glass to fail. Others warned parents to keep children from handling heavy glass doors alone — a pragmatic take on an alarming incident.
But not everyone was convinced that human handling was to blame. Many pointed to the phenomenon of spontaneous glass breakage — an unsettling reality backed by science and past headlines, including a similar case at a Bangkok condominium. That possibility shifts the focus from blame to safety standards and material defects.
Science weighs in: internal flaws and external stresses
Jessada Denduangboripant, a well-known science communicator and lecturer in the Department of Biology at Chulalongkorn University, has previously explained the many ways glass can fail without dramatic external force. According to experts like Jessada, factors include:
- Minor damage during installation — tiny nicks or scratches that become stress concentrators over time.
- A tight or poorly fitting frame that creates uneven pressure on the glass.
- Internal flaws or inclusions within the glass itself, unseen to the naked eye.
- Environmental stresses such as sudden exposure to heat, wind or thermal gradients.
In short, what looks like a freak accident can actually be the result of many small and sometimes invisible failures adding up until the glass gives.
The mall’s response: apology and a gift basket
When the family sought answers from mall management, the response was apology rather than explanation. The shopping centre offered a gift basket as an olive branch, but according to the mother’s later interview with Channel 3, they did not provide a definitive cause for the breakage.
“I had even warned the children not to push it too strongly just before it shattered,” she told the broadcaster, stressing that the youngsters didn’t force the door as some online critics suggested.
Safety takeaways — what should shoppers and parents do?
Whether the culprit was a design flaw, an installation issue, or a sudden stress failure, the incident is a practical reminder for shoppers and parents to be cautious around heavy glass doors. Simple habits can reduce risk:
- Supervise children near large glass panels and doors.
- Avoid leaning on or forcing heavy glass doors, and use handles rather than pushing the glass itself.
- Report any visible chips, cracks or loose frames to mall or building management immediately.
- Facilities should regularly inspect glass installations for signs of edge damage, improper fitting or weather-related wear.
When everyday routines go sideways
It’s easy to forget how resilient — yet fragile — the built environment can be until a routine moment turns into an emergency. For the family from Silom, the day will likely be remembered less for shopping and more for the sudden, noisy reminder that materials we take for granted can fail in an instant.
Thankfully, the injuries reported were not life-threatening. Still, the episode has sparked a wider conversation about building safety, maintenance standards and consumer awareness across Bangkok — and serves as a nudge to both property managers and the public to treat glass with a little more respect.
If nothing else, the dashcam clip is a dramatic little public service announcement: next time you step through a glass door, consider this — slow and steady, and maybe let the adults handle the heavy lifting.
This is terrifying and honestly it screams cheap construction to me; glass shouldn’t explode like that under normal use. Mall needs to be held accountable and inspect every door immediately. If it was spontaneous, that’s an even bigger problem for public safety.
Or maybe the kids did press it weirdly, doors hinge weird sometimes and small torque breaks tempered glass more easily than you’d think.
Not convinced parents should be blamed before any inspection; tiny internal flaws are common and invisible.
I get that flaws exist, but building owners have a duty to check for those flaws and replace suspect panels. Apology and a gift basket is not a safety plan.
As a mom I find the whole thing chilling; imagine the kids’ trauma and what if it was worse. Supervision and better signage should be mandatory in places with large glass doors. I want to know if the mall had prior complaints.
Signage won’t stop manufacturing defects or bad installation, just glad kids are okay but this could have been a nightmare.
Agree with Lisa — transparency matters. The mall should publish maintenance logs and any prior incidents so the public isn’t left guessing.
From a materials science perspective, tempered glass can fail catastrophically if there are nickel sulfide inclusions or edge damage that concentrates stress. Spontaneous breakage is well-documented and does not require a visible external force. The right forensic examination would look for inclusions, edge nicks, and frame stresses.
Exactly — poor framing that clamps the glass too tightly can introduce tensile stress along the edge and lead to delayed failure. Regular thermal and mechanical checks should be part of building maintenance.
Also worth noting: sudden temperature gradients, like a blast of hot sun followed by AC, can introduce thermal stress and combine with microflaws to produce breakage. It’s rarely one single cause.
So it’s not magic, it’s physics and bad quality control. That’s scary because you can’t see the defect until it fails.
I think people jump to conspiracy about materials. Most likely the kids pushed it too hard and that caused leverage on the hinge. Common sense: don’t let kids play with doors.
Blaming kids absolves the mall. Why is it always ‘user error’ when infrastructure fails? Someone’s cutting corners.
Wow that’s scary, my teacher said glass can break if scratched. I won’t push big doors anymore and will hold my mom’s hand.
Good lesson for kids, but adults need to set rules and model safe behavior around doors and windows.
This isn’t just PR — the mall owes a full safety audit and public report. An apology and a gift basket is an insult when children are injured. Regulators should step in and inspect every similar door in the city.
I’ve seen maintenance there and it’s sketchy; they delay replacements to save costs and contractors cut corners. A proactive audit would expose routine negligence.
From inside, we often report issues but are told to wait for budget. Management prioritizes aesthetics over structural checks, sadly.
If internal staff can’t get action, the local authority needs to push mandatory inspections. Public safety shouldn’t depend on staff lobbying.
Regulatory bodies can issue immediate compliance orders if hazards are found. Public pressure helps but formal reports are what enforce change.
Practical take: teach kids to use handles, not shove glass, and report chips immediately. It’s simple behavior that reduces risk even if the metal is at fault. Prevention is a shared responsibility.
Shared responsibility is code for ‘blame the public’ while companies avoid accountability. Safety is a structural issue, not just behavior training.
Fair point, Priya, but behavior changes are immediate and cost-free while waiting for mall repairs. Both threads need action.
Back in my day glass was thicker and we didn’t have these problems. Modern stuff seems built to fail to save money.
Technically, tempered glass has high surface compression and internal tension; a small edge nick breaks the compression layer and the tension releases explosively. Good design avoids exposed edges and uses laminated glass where human traffic is high. Retrofits are a modest extra cost compared to potential injury litigation.
Laminated glass would prevent shards from flying, yes. It’s an engineering trade-off between cost and safety, and public spaces should err on the side of safety.
Exactly, and buildings that prioritize aesthetics over human safety will eventually pay more in reputational and legal costs than the initial savings.
When I inspect, laminated panes in high-traffic zones are a checkbox. If malls skip that, they are risking penalties once someone compiles a report.
The dashcam clip blew this up on social media quickly, and now everyone demands answers. Viral footage forces accountability but can also spread unverified blame. I wish reporters would wait for facts but also press for transparency.
Social media is how we learn about these things though; without it, minor incidents stay hidden and patterns never emerge.
Kids are careless and parents should watch them; enough with blaming glass. People need basic discipline, especially around dangerous materials.
Shaming parents isn’t helpful; safety systems should protect even when people make mistakes. Designing for human error is a cornerstone of public safety.
Designing for human error is fine, but personal responsibility still matters. Can’t rely on design for every lapse in supervision.
We interviewed the mother and the clip came from a nearby driver; the mall apologized but didn’t explain cause. We’ll push for statements from maintenance and any inspection reports.