Wednesday: 31 more Thai corpses as road accidents continue unabated

[KhaoYai]

1 hour ago, MaxYakov said:

And, of course, you are an absolutely faultless driver and never error, right? And you can faultlessly detect any attempts on your life on the road. I once had an associate who believed it was impossible for him to get into a situation he could not control or predict. He was wrong.

Nobody is a 'faultless driver'. Am I a better driver than 99% of the Thai's I come across on the roads in Thailand? Damn right I am! Do I stop at red lights or pedestrian crossings? Damn right I do! Do I know how a roundabout works etc. etc. etc...........damn right to all those too. I've been a biker most of my life and I find the skills I've learned from that help keep me alive when either riding or driving in Thailand. Skills like - reading the road 1/2 a mile ahead - presume the guy approaching on the side road WILL pull out on me, not might.

 

I don't remember saying I was 'faultless' but simply driving in what is considered a normal fashion in farangland is 1000% better than what I see in Thailand.  I think most of us here are very familiar with Thai driving habits - I'll always feel safer when I'm in control thank you.

[Zack61]

31 is 13 backwards. Welcome back. 

[africasiaeuro]

I wonder what must be harder to swallow for the authorities: The dead bodies or the fact that most drivers in Thailand are the ultimate killing machine.

Our pop star Thai friend herself zooms on the Highway like nothing. But then she is a good driver (  a stunning one well known  ).

When driving myself on the Ayudhya Highway I fortunately never came across some luni drivers.

However I already see ' daeng ' when I have to take a public cab ( as much as I don't want to ), and the driver asks: ' Highway '? Because once they are on the Chaengwattana race course or Ratchadaphisek they step fully on the throttle. One wonders if they are on a suicide mission

It takes more than one ' cha cha krub ' before they start realizing they aren't alone in the cab. There the problem is: 'how dare you ask me to slow down'.

To blame are the authorities. They are unwilling, unable, and disinterested to stop the suicidal maniacs from over speeding. 

The best trick that seem to have worked for 30 plus years is to look at the driver and car carefully. 

I start a conversation in Thai where is your hometown, which invariably means he is from Issarn. Then I switch to some Thai classic upon which he will ask me: ' Puying Thai suay mai? ' Which I of course confirm with a big smile.

By the time we reach the highway we already have a jovial relationship and he won't curse me silently: ' Farung Aiheeya '. I am all ears to his personal problems, including the hard and long hours of work, which is a fact. 

Some compassion for his situation will go a long way and assures a safe ride.

An elderly driver has been on the road for decades, and keeps his vehicle in neat condition. He doesn't want to loose his main source of income.

Nothing goes without luck though.

Better to turn a few drivers away and wait for the next one than to end up in a ditch or Hospital, or even cemetery. Sawadee. africasiaeuro Cuneo Italy, 

[MaxYakov]

28 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

Nobody is a 'faultless driver'. Am I a better driver than 99% of the Thai's I come across on the roads in Thailand? Damn right I am! Do I stop at red lights or pedestrian crossings? Damn right I do! Do I know how a roundabout works etc. etc. etc...........damn right to all those too. I've been a biker most of my life and I find the skills I've learned from that help keep me alive when either riding or driving in Thailand. Skills like - reading the road 1/2 a mile ahead - presume the guy approaching on the side road WILL pull out on me, not might.

 

I don't remember saying I was 'faultless' but simply driving in what is considered a normal fashion in farangland is 1000% better than what I see in Thailand.  I think most of us here are very familiar with Thai driving habits - I'll always feel safer when I'm in control thank you.

I feel safer when I'm as far away from Thai roads as I can get (it's also quite a bit quieter). If you get nailed, chances are it will be by a careless, scoff-law Thai driver and there's no way any human can react quickly enough to deal with a rapid, careless right hand turn into your path or a rapid lane change head-on into you or a high-speed rear-end while waiting for a light. As a previous "biker", you should know this. A lot of victims were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time without an escape path.

[oldlakey]

8 hours ago, klauskunkel said:

more medals on officers' chests for doing nothing

more committees finding facts in all the usual places

more crackdowns to produce headlines on crackdowns

more, more, more...

 

Its a lot worse than simply doing nothing, they actually encourage the death race by their actions in the pursuit of their financial well being 

[Spidey]

6 hours ago, Dario said:

The average death toll on Thai roads per day is 66 (sixty-six). In todays issue of the Swiss daily 20Minuten it is reported that the death toll on Swiss roads in a year is 230 (two hundred and thirty). Swiss authorities are now starting a campaign to reduce this number to 100 deaths per year. What a difference!

Not many Thais on the road in Switzerland.

[oldlakey]

6 hours ago, kannot said:

The worse part is here out in the country  there's a  funeral every week with that godamn awful boom  boom base,.

They cant all be road kill can they, or doesn't anybody live long enough to die of natural causes

[PEE TEE]

It will carry on as normal and even get worse. the driving standards  and lack of knowledge for road sense is peak levels and its not only the Thais . The lack of traffic  policing on Thailand's roads is minimum . 

[oldlakey]

2 hours ago, Russell17au said:

We do need to be bothered about it because it is those Thais that could kill us or our loved ones and it does not matter how careful we are or even if we don't drive they could still get us

Well put like that I think its best not to even think about it then as it appears its just a matter of time

[ChakaKhan]

10 hours ago, yellowboat said:

Because the country's reputation is at steak.   It is the land of smiles and denials.   I hate driving in Thailand. 

Mmmmm..Now I want Steak! 

[waders123]

Until the people of power take this seriously this will continue and more than likely get worse.  They need to revamp the complete program, plain and simple.  There are countries out there to model from so there really isn't any excuse other than the desire to do it.  

[KhaoYai]

1 hour ago, MaxYakov said:

As a previous "biker", you should know this.

Not a previous biker - I still am. I've avoided several accidents over the years and of course, you can't prevent them all but its not too hard to 'spot accidents waiting to happen'. Its also easy to avoid situations where accidents are likley.  I'm from the UK so I'm used to driving in rain - but when it rains in Thailand it can be torrential.  Last year I'm heading down highway 9 on my way from home to Suvarnabhumi and the rain got so bad it was impossible - and I mean impossible to see more than a couple of meters.  I slowly moved over to the left hand lane and pulled over on the hard shoulder - did the rain stop the Thai's?  They clearly have X Ray vision because they could obviously see into the cloud of mist in front of them where I couldn't.  10 minutes later the rain stopped and I'm on my way - 2km down the road - massive pile up, total carnage!! 

 

Mind you, the hard shoulder is not always the safest place to be in Thailand - especially near a junction where the Thai's think its an extra lane ?.

 

As I say, there are ways of avoiding a lot of accidents.

[Damrongsak]

3 hours ago, Spidey said:

Not many Thais on the road in Switzerland.

No, but if you look off the side of those mountain roads, you may see their cars way down the mountainside in a ravine.

[falangjim]

14 hours ago, yellowboat said:

Because the country's reputation is at steak.   It is the land of smiles and denials.   I hate driving in Thailand. 

I thought the country's reputation was at tom yam goong. 555

[todlad]

6 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

Not a previous biker - I still am. I've avoided several accidents over the years and of course, you can't prevent them all but its not too hard to 'spot accidents waiting to happen'. Its also easy to avoid situations where accidents are likley.  I'm from the UK so I'm used to driving in rain - but when it rains in Thailand it can be torrential.  Last year I'm heading down highway 9 on my way from home to Suvarnabhumi and the rain got so bad it was impossible - and I mean impossible to see more than a couple of meters.  I slowly moved over to the left hand lane and pulled over on the hard shoulder - did the rain stop the Thai's?  They clearly have X Ray vision because they could obviously see into the cloud of mist in front of them where I couldn't.  10 minutes later the rain stopped and I'm on my way - 2km down the road - massive pile up, total carnage!! 

 

Mind you, the hard shoulder is not always the safest place to be in Thailand - especially near a junction where the Thai's think its an extra lane ?.

 

As I say, there are ways of avoiding a lot of accidents.

if you are from the UK then you know what can happen on the roads there when it is foggy.

[Daveyh]

Common sense is something that is not understood at all here in Thailand ...... it's mostly "shrugged off" if you try & educate a local ....... it's as if they are saying "don't bother me with trivia & it's up to me". The mindset is so bizzare here that I've never found anyone that has been able fathom it out ....... I've certainly given up trying. We have adult humans acting & behaving like children most of the time & they drive fast cars, motorbikes & generally do what they want 365 days of the year ....... so what can you expect??? . Even the days when it's a national holiday or Budda day's & the government bans alchohol etc etc the mayhem just continues unabated due to their inability to act like sensible adults ......... no one pays the slightest attention to it or government warnings. Even their PM of late has threatened his critics with violence ...... it's the norm here to resolve matters with violence & anger, hence these road accident figures should be no surprise to anyone. The anger within each individual lies dormat until something triggers it ....... then all hell is let loose... if they are "behind the wheel" at the time these "hotheads' will put it to good use! The driving here is aggressive & I would'nt mind betting that a large percentage of the daily fatalities on the roads are due to this irratic behaviour. When I drive here I feel as if the drivers are using cars as a lethal weapon most of the time ............ & the motorcyclists? ............ they are definitely on a "death wish" 24/7. I try & stay out of "harms way', but living here is a risky business & there is no where like it in the world  ........... living here is a fantastic experience ......... the trick here is to be able to survive & enjoy it ?  ............ fact.

[Damrongsak]

2 hours ago, falangjim said:

I thought the country's reputation was at tom yam goong. 555

I thought the Thai expression was "Som Tam Na". 

[Dave67]

My 16 years old nephew got killed on his bike last night

 

More people in Vietnam drive bikes with fewer deaths as they don't have an inept police force and are forced to wear a crash helmets  

[anon537687643]

if you are from the UK then you know what can happen on the roads there when it is foggy.

Yes and? Driving conditions related to weather are generally good on roads in thai. Can only imagine the zeros could add to death toll if there was snow fog ice etc


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[a977]

Eradicate them dispense with them sack them whatever you do get rid of the whole Thai police system, employ people who are prepared to do their the job they are paid to do, and pay a decent salary commiserate with the dangers of the job then and only then will you stop the road side backhanders. And then and only then will we get some common sense on the roads. This also applies to the people who take backhanders at the licencing offices, in their case bring in some overseas people to educate the staff in training young people to drive/ride. When this is accomplished then we will start to see an improvement in driving habits. P.S. increase the fines too, the excuse he Thai not have money for fine, then how come he have money to drive/ride.  

[mok199]

oh great more ''plastic'' body bags..do they recycle?

[PatOngo]

8 minutes ago, a977 said:

Eradicate them dispense with them sack them whatever you do get rid of the whole Thai police system, employ people who are prepared to do their the job they are paid to do, and pay a decent salary commiserate with the dangers of the job then and only then will you stop the road side backhanders. And then and only then will we get some common sense on the roads. This also applies to the people who take backhanders at the licencing offices, in their case bring in some overseas people to educate the staff in training young people to drive/ride. When this is accomplished then we will start to see an improvement in driving habits. P.S. increase the fines too, the excuse he Thai not have money for fine, then how come he have money to drive/ride.  

………………………...not on Planet Thailand!

[todlad]

1 hour ago, markaoffy said:

Yes and? Driving conditions related to weather are generally good on roads in thai. Can only imagine the zeros could add to death toll if there was snow fog ice etc


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Yes and ... it is really easy to condemn the people where you live as the monstrous, the deadly, the stupid ... and yes, Thai drivers, actually Thai motorbike drivers more than many, can be desperately stupid.

 

Since our friend mentioned his UK background, I thought it was appropriate to share with everyone the reality that when the fog descends in the UK, we learn all about moronic drivers. Given the right conditions, killer drivers will emerge.

[TumblinDice]

Man, thats gotta hurt! 

[bbbbooboo]

20 hours ago, Vacuum said:

It's all about the lack of common sense an foresight...

hmmm......common sense isn’t very common in Thailand I suggest

[mercman24]

only last night i was waiting for food, a mini van ( which carries paying customers)  goes by, not a single light on, i waved at him, got my food, then overtook him later, still no lights, pulled along side, pointed at the driver and gesticulated he had no lights on. and what did he do ? sweet <deleted> all. probably a few miles down the road someone would pull out in front of him as not seeing the van coming, i give up

[rodney earl]

They all seem to think that buddah is going to save them. ha ha. I see it all of the time when people with expensive cars speed and dont seem to think that they and only they own the road.!!

[Vacuum]

3 hours ago, Damrongsak said:

I thought the Thai expression was "Som Tam Na". 

That's for the women.

[lvr181]

We all feel we have the "answers" to this serious problem BUT there is one major reason - THE PM AND HIS GOVERNMENT DO NOT CARE! 

 

They can successfully rescue 13 from a cave (with outside help) but cannot reduce the road trauma. 

 

I repeat:

THE PM AND HIS GOVERNMENT DO NOT CARE! 

(because it is not the "elite" being killed?)

[Grusa]

 

 

 

Posted 17 hours ago

  21 hours ago, Vacuum said:

It's all about the lack of common sense an foresight...

"Thais are born without that particular gene for some reason."

 

No they are not. It is removed at an early age at the behest of those in power.