Thai road carnage: A MILLION injuries and 24,000 deaths per year, official admits

[pattayadgw]

This is a HUGE MISTAKE to start with.... 'Dr Thaejing said that it was widely accepted that accidents increase at various festival times and he cited New Year, Chinese New Year, Songkran and Loy Krathong'. The problem will never be addressed with thinking like that, the problem has to be addressed 24/7, 365 days of the year or it will NEVER CHANGE.

[oldlakey]

13 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Multiply 1,700 times 20-40X as dangerous for scooters and see where you end up.

 

Yes my friend, or if you like QUITE

But lets deal with reality shall we, as in lets deal with what we have

The type of vehicle would not play anywhere as such a big part as you think

IF and there is that word IF again if the word RESPECT for other road users was more in evidence in Thailand than it actually is

[eliotness]

Drunk or sober, bad driving is the problem.

[garbolino]

5 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

I reckon if you added a mandatory police attitude to anyone not wearing a helmet who gets fined more than once for not wearing one, should not be aloud to ride a motorbike for a year, add another two years for every time they get caught riding a bike without one.

 

Less split heads on the road saves lives.

and what  about 4 or 5 on motorbike.....and twenty in back of pickups??

[TKDfella]

Unfortunately, 'losing face' is top rank and the problem is that 'losing face' has many interpretations here. One can get a hefty jail sentence for speaking 'freely', which can be interpreted as defamation, even if it is the truth, but kill someone on the road, a few 'wais' and it's forgotten. Not exactly right, I know, but I think most get the gist of what I mean. And if police vehicles 'misbehave' on the roads;

then why not others too;

 

 

So it isn't just a re-education of the public but like other posters here have said, of the police too.

[Sirbergan]

This is backed up by nothing at all.

[trainman34014]

3 hours ago, pokerface1 said:

All I can say is remove the alcohol from the beer and don't tell them.

Yeah; as it tastes like piss anyway nobody will know the difference !

[transam]

30 minutes ago, oldlakey said:

I do believe your son was going to be a policeman of sorts

If my memory has let me down, I offer my humble apologies to you and your son

If not could you please ask him and let us know at your earliest convenience

You are correct, but he carries an M4 rifle and not a book of police road tickets...

[oldlakey]

2 minutes ago, transam said:

You are correct, but he carries an M4 rifle and not a book of police road tickets...

OK no problem, but I am pleased that my old memory has not gone altogether

 

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, natway09 said:

What about the "Ministry of Land Transport" taking over the  Policing on the roads or would the present 

boys loose too much money ?

You mean the government department entrusted with handing out driving licenses to unqualified and in some cases totally different people from the named applicant for a nominal consideration? 

 

What's the Thai equivalent of foxes watching chickens?

[trainman34014]

46 minutes ago, les Dennis said:

Blown headlight and tail light bulbs I would guess are responsible for a lot of those deaths and injuries. How much would a bulb be. 30 baht? It still amazes me that on the Honda Dreams they allow a shopping basket bang in front of the head light !

I have a Thai friend who is a Motorbike mechanic. When bikes come in for any repair he checks the lights and replaces blown bulbs but when they come to pay the bill with the extra 10 Baht for a rear light bulb they demand he takes it back out as they don't want to pay !   I said to him that in future he needs to be a little more crafty and disguise the price of bulbs within the bill and in that way he just may save a life or two.  He never thought of that !

[trainman34014]

2 hours ago, quadperfect said:

Its just about evolution. Once this country and many other in asia evolve enough they will adopt coherent driving practices and police forces to even the numbers.

Lets say 30 years or so.

But for now its just part of the deal living in asia. Life is cheap here.

30 years for the rest....300 years for Thailand !

[NeoDinosaw]

The reason why things will never change is simple :  Thai people know that they are not responsible for their actions because all that happens in their lives is pre-determined. Driving carefully (to their mind) will not prevent any accident, because the accident is predetermined.

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, Brunolem said:

What happened is that many Thai people complained to the authorities and that the latter caved in!

What happened is that last January, the PM proclaimed an instant ban on pickup bed passengers and overloaded minivans a few days after another asleep-at-the-wheel minivan driver crossed the median and took out a pickup full of locals, with the resulting LPG-fueled fireball burning 25 people to a crisp.

 

This ban was announced without looking at the calendar which was a few months before the annual Songkran pilgrimage to road deaths and without any viable or realistic alternative to speeding minivans and loaded pickup trucks for the great unwashed to go home for the biggest national holiday in the realm, he had to 'cave in' as you put it.

 

Bottom line, the authorities don't really care.

[ELVIS123456]

1 hour ago, impulse said:

I get a big kick out of everyone who thinks drivers would be any better back home if it weren't for fear of the cops, fines and points against their DL.  People back home don't drive safely to avoid accidents,  That's a side benefit of driving to avoid getting pulled over.

 

Edit:  I guaranty that the numbers back home would be just as bad- or worse- if the cops acted like they do in Thailand, and the majority of the vehicles were 2 wheelers, which are 20-40X as dangerous per km driven as 4 wheelers.  It isn't because the folks in the west are capable of driving any better.  It's because they're forced to...

 

100% right - correctomondo - verum ingens.

 

Things have improved a lot in the west because of the vehicles safety, the road improvements (divided freeways etc), and number one - the enforcement of the laws by police.  

 

When I was a lad, driving home drunk was normal - you learned how to go slow - but when they said .08 I was OK with that as too many idiots drove fast when drunk.  When they said I had to wear a helmet I was OK with that because I always did - only an idiot wouldnt - but now everyone does. When they said I had to wear a seat belt I was at first annoyed - but I adjusted and now it is accepted.  All that behavior changed (and many others) because the police enforced the laws - not because we are any better/smarter than Thais.  

 

Suggestion for Thailand.  Create a seperate/new police force - for traffic enforcement only.  Black shirts. Make them get out and on the roads and enforce the laws.  Remove brown shirts completely.  People will learn and then their behaviors will change.  Number one behavior to change?  Wear helmets !!  80+% deaths are bike riders. 

 

 

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, terryw said:

It depends which city you are in. In Hanoi the police do little to enforce the helmet law.

 

Vietnam never gives accurate numbers of people killed in road accidents. It might be considerably higher than Thailand.

Yes, the cops were thinner on the ground when I worked out in the boonies around Thái Bình but there's a few of them that seem to be aware they have a 'duty of care'... like the guy in this story.

 

 

Can you imagine an BiB getting this excited about a fine?

 

Apparently the bus driver involved had apparently already done jail time for what we would call vehicular homicide/manslaughter so Thailand isn't alone with regard to allowing the loonies behind the wheel... again.

 

I probably saw maybe a couple accidents a week, mostly motorbikes that appeared to have lost control on slick roads and the resulting, helmetless 'water melon effect' on the bitumen with no sign of any other vehicles being involved.

[stanleycoin]

Good to see Thai's still hiding behind the drunk driver BS

it's just there way of not loosing face for being, the Dangerous, Murderous, Selfish,  Drivers and Riders they are. 

Me first,  Get out the way,  i'm so important, my mum told me so 45 years ago. 

 

 

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, Bangkok Barry said:

I really don't care if they won't wear helmets. If they want to play Russian Roulette with their life that's up to them. What I DO care about are those in cars, vans and lorries who put others in danger with their selfishness and stupidity.

You got that right!

 

With the growing trend for out-of-control vehicles to cross the median and kill and maim innocents on the other side of the road makes me think they need to shift all the (fake) ARMCO barriers from the outside of bends to the bit in the middle.

[oldlakey]

11 minutes ago, ELVIS123456 said:

100% right - correctomondo - verum ingens.

 

Things have improved a lot in the west because of the vehicles safety, the road improvements (divided freeways etc), and number one - the enforcement of the laws by police.  

 

When I was a lad, driving home drunk was normal - you learned how to go slow - but when they said .05 I was OK with that as too many idiots drove fast when drunk.  When they said I had to wear a helmet I was OK with that because I always did - only an idiot wouldnt - but now everyone does. When they said I had to wear a seat belt I was at first annoyed - but I adjusted and now it is accepted.  All that behavior changed (and many others) because the police enforced the laws - not because we are any better/smarter than Thais.  

 

Suggestion for Thailand.  Create a seperate/new police force - for traffic enforcement only.  Black shirts. Make them get out and on the roads and enforce the laws.  Remove brown shirts completely.  People will learn and then their behaviors will change.  Number one behavior to change?  Wear helmets !!  80+% deaths are bike riders. 

 

 

Nothing new there, apart from the colour of the shirts which would have pleased old Oswald

[Sirbergan]

I, for one, feel the need question the source here.

[thecyclist]

7 hours ago, z42 said:

Absolutely abhorrent. The sheer stupidity of a decent % of those behind the wheel / handlebars is the chief culprit.

The cops are too lazy and inept to do anything, but it is a gargantuan task that without any huge smartening of the population will only look worse in future years.

Incidentally went to Cambodia recently and the driving standards and attitudes there are even more pathetic than here ?

I have to take issue with your Cambodia/Thailand comparison.In some ways, it is even more chaotic than Thailand, but at a much slower pace.Maybe the number of accidents in Cambodia is similar, but your chances of dying in one is probably lower.Thais love speed ,maybe to compensate for the slowness of their cognitive functions.

[Rangerdriver]

What happened to the target of 13000 deaths a year on the road. Did that get swept under the rug too?

 

[NanLaew]

14 minutes ago, ELVIS123456 said:

When I was a lad, driving home drunk was normal - you learned how to go slow - but when they said .08 I was OK with that as too many idiots drove fast when drunk.  When they said I had to wear a helmet I was OK with that because I always did - only an idiot wouldnt - but now everyone does. When they said I had to wear a seat belt I was at first annoyed - but I adjusted and now it is accepted.  All that behavior changed (and many others) because the police enforced the laws - not because we are any better/smarter than Thais. 

Pretty much sums it up in a nutshell. I too was of the generation where sinking +5 pints before heading home fro work or to the weekend dance was par for the course. Then the breathalyzer was introduced... and enforced... attitudes changed. Seatbelt laws were introduced... and enforced... attitudes changed. Helmet laws were introduced... and enforced... attitudes changed.

 

Now, to see if you're all paying attention, what's missing in Thailand?

[boomerangutang]

An average of 65 deaths per day?  I thought it was closer to 34/day.  Sad.  That's like a Las Vegas massacre each day.  I'd rather Thais kill dogs than each other, but that's because I have a personal issue with too many dogs.  I have 2 rural properties in northern Thailand:  each has near-constant dog barking problems.  Each group of barking dogs is collected by Thai women who (surprise!) either have no care about their dogs bothering neighbors and/or can't do anything about it.  I could, but that's because I understand dogs and how to discipline them.  Thais don't have a clue.

 

.....but not as bad as being injured or killed by rude/stupid/cell phone addicted Thai drivers.

[The Deerhunter]

6 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Priorities... Priorities....

 

Anyone got any submarines or tanks for sale? Price is no object....

It would be interesting to see the cost to the country of treating and lost productivity of the 24000 dead and one million injured every year.  Cut that in half and look how many tanks etc it could buy.

[YetAnother]

7 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Dr Thaejing Siripanich told Daily News that it was common knowledge that at least 24,000 people died each year in road accidents.

so then why doesn't thailand adjust it's count of road fatalities to match the world standard; i.e., include in the count those who subsequently die in the hospital ? if it is common knowledge

[shaurene]

It will not change. The government MUST Start to pay the police a living wage. At the moment the police do not give a shit. They have to get their extra money by giving out fines what they think they can get. Sack the police who do this.   The government officials do not have experience in governgment. They get there through money. But it will never change in Thailand.

[Surasak]

3 hours ago, Airbagwill said:

For most Thaivisa members this is an opportunity to vent their erroneous beliefs that Thai people are inherently stupid.

Just because a TV member drives.. or drove.....everyone is suddenly an expert on road safety..... or what they erroneously consider to be “road safety”

The drink drive lobby puts it all down to alcohol the speeding lobby claims speed, yet they all overlook the elephant in the room which is the entire driving environment.

 

If this was introduced into the UK the death rates and figures would immediately rise to be the same........

 

 Passing a test does not make you a great driver, driving for 20 years without an accident doesn’t either. Driving a truck doesn’t either - it is studying road safety that makes the difference and as most people don’t even recognize it as a “thing” how can they be expected to comment.

Just look a the comments on this this they are almost all about a driving, mostly cars or motorbikes with no reference whatsoever to the road environment or other road users or government policies - just glib sound-bites about drivers who are drunk...... it doesn’t even approach the problem.

 

What makes roads safe is government regulation.

Build safe roads design them in a way that prevents idiot driving.

Build and use safer vehicles (805 in Thailand are vulnerable road users)

Enforce laws - to do this you need to train the police and BUILD PROPER ROADS

Train drivers and OTHER ROAD USERS - not just for a test - learning road safety is a life long process - learning how to drive is not learning road safety.

Provide a proper emergency service - lord knows how many people die from insufficient medical attention in Thailand.

...and finally set up and train a body to examine measure categorize and analyze every single accident fatal or otherwise so that we can learn how these things really happen.

 

If the Thai authorities embrace ALL those points then they will make progress - otherwise they are just rearranging the deckchairs on the titanic

 

 

All valid points, but, as I remember, the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage

[impulse]

1 hour ago, oldlakey said:

Yes my friend, or if you like QUITE

But lets deal with reality shall we, as in lets deal with what we have

The type of vehicle would not play anywhere as such a big part as you think

IF and there is that word IF again if the word RESPECT for other road users was more in evidence in Thailand than it actually is

 

I may agree with you if I didn't pass a hundred foreigners every day in Bangkok who've gone native and drive exactly like the locals.  Wrong way, on the shoulder, no helmet, weaving lanes, and everything.  Their nationality didn't change.  Their driver's training and decades of experience back home can't be unlearned.  In fact, about the only difference is the lack of enforcement.  Human nature will have people acting in a way that maximizes the perceived benefit to them.  When there's no enforcement, saving a few seconds looks like a benefit, and accidents don't happen often enough to change that perception.  Unlike getting pulled over back home...

 

And I can't fathom why anyone would claim that the type of vehicle wouldn't play a role, since it was studies in the USA and Australia that show a scooter is 20-40x as hazardous per km driven than a 4 wheel vehicle with steel all around and seatbelts.  You can drive a scooter safer than the  nimrod in the next lane, but you can't drive a scooter safer than you can drive a 4 wheeled vehicle.  Wearing a helmet is like putting on a condom to boink a crack whore.  Sure, it's a good idea.  If you just have to boink a crack whore, or you can't afford 4 wheels.

 

[Next stop NK]

UK with a similar size population has around 1700 fatalities on roads per year, and around 170.000 injuries in traffic per year. Thailand is hence almost 15 times more deadly. Some may say that roads and cars are better in UK, but that cannot explain this extreme difference, drivers and their attitude and training, as well as reinforcement of laws must also be far better in UK. And UK is not even close to the safest country on roads  in the world. Thailand is however for many years now the second deadliest country in the world. Reforms?