Safer roads will boost Thai GDP by 22 per cent: World Bank

[BobbyL]

But............. the World Bank are not Thai and they 'no understaaaaan Thai culteeeeer'.

 

How can they possibly have an opinion on it? 

[Chassa]

3 minutes ago, jmacken306 said:

Age 0-10 killed riding between mom n dad on Scooter

Age 11-15 killed driving Scooter which should be ILLEGAL AS H3LL!

Scooters stay off the Sidewalks, stay on the road and FOLLOW THE DIRECTION OF TRAFFIC and DON'T SPLIT LANES!

60 lives saved daily

   5 Legal drivers with drivers license lives saved daily

   1 life saved daily wearing seat belt and sitting IN a vehicle saved daily

-----

66 lives live on/day

 

You forgot the phones!

[glennb6]

boonrawdcnx,

 

yea, where exactly do they come up with that number?! and why would anyone believe it without a vast amount of proof. and I agree that 2.2 makes far more sense, actually just pulling a number of 2% out of my ass would make more sense, but adding the .2 extra sounds more convincing ????

[biggles45]

Superted, those SEA stats are from 2010 it says! Thailand distinguished itself by achieving No 1 in the WORLD for per capita road deaths in 2018, for all the reasons detailed in this topic. 

[glennb6]

there was a commercial I saw yesterday about old-timers disease (saw it on Youtube but was produced for TV) and was damn good and emotional. IE, Thai's can make very good and effective mass media communications.

 

Using the same abilities on a national drivers education campaign would probably do better than threatening massive fines for no licenses, no helmets, etc. Threats and actions to diminish/restrict personal freedoms in Thailand is NOT the answer and will NOT solve this problem.  Shoot, even wearing a helmet won't do didly if you decide incorrectly to run a red light and meet up suddenly a bus - but if one first thinks "maybe I shouldn't do that" or "just a moment or two more of patience".  A good educational program will accomplish that.

[AsiaCheese]

World Bank, huh? And figures that sound too good to be true? Where have we heard that combination before?

 

22% GDP plus sounds like a typo and highly unlikely; 2.2% would be lots more realistic. And the World Bank has a nasty habit of lending money coupled with setting harsh terms - often to privatize the <deleted> out of a country's economy and the like. Not the sort of people you want to meet in a dark alley at night. Or read here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_of_an_Economic_Hit_Man

 

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Will the Thai government take heed of the data make a genuine effort to fix the situation? Sadly, I doubt it. As @z42 noted above, it would have to be the police that were the leaders of any road safety initiative, and I don't see them doing anything.

Actually I have to kindly disagree..

It would have to be the public to take the initiative to produce any significant reduction in road deaths or injuries, and as we've seen with most policies it's the public that refuse to have any restriction imposed on their freedom to do as they please !!

[trainman34014]

5 hours ago, bluesofa said:

I agree with the above, except that "encouraging people to walk or cycle" will be as easy as pushing string uphill.

No one here wants to walk, when the majority see it as a loss of face, due to others thinking they can't afford better transport. So many will use a motorcycle to go 50/100 metres to a shop for a minor errand.

 

Yup; and they will ride that Motorbike the wrong way down a Dual Carriageway for 100 meters rather than go another 100 on the correct side to a U Turn and do the right thing !

[Ceruhe]

"will" is a bit of a powerful word, especially wielded by any spokesperson in/from/for Thailand.

 

Could...this is the word you are looking for and in line with the imminent mai pen rais that will be given to curb the problem.

[wvavin]

Increase the car price by at least 5 times and road tax by 10 times. This definitely helps not only reduces accidents but the car population as well!

[1duckyboy]

"safer roads", "road safety", etc., but nowhere is safer drivers/driving mentioned. The roads' safety ie, lighting signage, surface, etc. isn't the problem, but no way will Thais ever admit they don't know how to drive properly, regardless of what figures show. 

[DrTuner]

There's an assumption there that brings the whole card house down: 'young and capable population'. Yes, some are young.

[trainman34014]

Nothing will change here until some Government...any Government, go back to basics and educate children properly by starting a massive road safety campaign in Schools daily and on TV daily to educate the parents, constantly hammering home the messages that people need to learn to ride and/or drive PROPERLY before taking the required tests and getting a licence.   Has to be backed up with PROPER policing of course.

 

It won't happen; simply because this would cost a lot of money and there is 'nothing in it' for 'The Rulers'.  Much easier and cheaper to let the masses die !

 

As for Thailand's 'Young and mainly capable population' ; the fact is that only a very small number of them could truly be placed in this category, the vast majority being capable of very little other than doing menial jobs and living at home with Mummy and Daddy until they expire in order to get a free house and never having to worry about responsibilities.

[irwinfc]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

productive young people live long enough to contribute to the country’s prosperity. 

not sure about that. it may just be darwinism at work.

[Moti24]

5 hours ago, bluesofa said:

No one here wants to walk, when the majority see it as a loss of face, due to others thinking they can't afford better transport. So many will use a motorcycle to go 50/100 metres to a shop for a minor errand.

 

There's a woman living in my village who uses her motorcycle to visit a family member 75 metres down the road.  On a few occasions, she's used her car for the same journey.  I've lived here for 5+ years, and she's always done it; never seen her walk once.  She's not the only lazy bitch, either, but by far the worst.

[trainman34014]

11 minutes ago, wvavin said:

Increase the car price by at least 5 times and road tax by 10 times. This definitely helps not only reduces accidents but the car population as well!

Will lead to even higher debts than most of them are carrying already and they will simply drive without road tax, which large numbers are already doing !

[dickjones2018]

actions speak louder than ... WORDS

[trainman34014]

19 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Actually I have to kindly disagree..

It would have to be the public to take the initiative to produce any significant reduction in road deaths or injuries, and as we've seen with most policies it's the public that refuse to have any restriction imposed on their freedom to do as they please !!

They are not taught to 'Take the Initiative' from day one of their lives, just do as they are told without question.  This leads on to generally having no respect for anyone who makes rules !

[connda]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

A report released earlier this year, titled “The High Toll of Traffic Injuries: Unacceptable and Preventable”, concludes that, if road traffic injuries could be reduced in Thailand by 50 per cent and satisfactory road safety sustained for 24 years, the economy would enjoy a 22-per-cent boost. 

For those who can plan into the future, this report might lead to actual reform.  However, Thai culture has a 'here and now' world-view, and just like drivers on Thai roads who can not see past the front of there bumpers, Thai politicians will probably not react if doing something today will only yield benefits 20 years in the future and will not financially benefit themselves in the present. 

[futsukayoi]

3 hours ago, boonrawdcnx said:

Ridiculous number - I think he meant 2.2% GDP - 22 % would be more than the entire tourism industry in Thailand which is currently around 19 % of the entire GDP of approx. 455 billion $.


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24 years from now the Thai economy will be several times larger than now so 22% of 2014 GDP is very possible and would probably very small % of GDP that far in the future.

[BoganInParasite]

I would love to see the Thai roads get significantly safer but 22% increase in GDP is failing the pub test (a commonsense test for those that don't know), and by a lot.

[connda]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Improving the infrastructure, promoting use of public transport and encouraging people to walk or cycle rather than driving would all accomplish this

Unfortunately this recommendation would be as effective as road blocks in lowering the death toll as it completely ignores the cause of fatalities.  The only thing the will accomplish the lowing of the rate of carnage will be the embracing and implementation of proven first-world drivers education, licensing, and traffic enforcement.

[Chris Lawrence]

I remember seeing the face of a nurse in the hospital when they got the call for an emergency road crash. I was in the ER at the time. Sad.

 

But yes great improvement if outcomes to Road Safety are improved.

[CantSpell]

5 hours ago, Jeremy50 said:

If you drive/ride slowly, carefully,  intelligently, and sympathetically towards other road users, you are very unlikely to die in an accident, even on Thai roads. 

That is the 1% of the population that may not kill someone else on the road...

 

They are still at the risk of been killed by the other 99% of dumb drivers...

 

Starts with education imo

[trainman34014]

5 hours ago, Jeremy50 said:

If you drive/ride slowly, carefully,  intelligently, and sympathetically towards other road users, you are very unlikely to die in an accident, even on Thai roads. 

So very true.  However; we are talking about Thai minds here, so lets examine your sensible words from their perspective :-

 

'Slowly'.....No Way !

'Carefully'....Why ?

'Intelligently'....What does that word mean ?

'Sympathetically'.... Another word no unerstan' ?

'Other Road Users'....People too many always in my way !

[futsukayoi]

3 hours ago, SuperTed said:

Fascinating - Thai road fatality rates per 100,000 vehicles are 25% LESS than the South East Asian average. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate

Cold comfort to those who have lost loved ones to the roads.

But Thailand’s high road death rate per 100,000 population has to do with Thai wealth - everyone here can afford a motorbike. Our safety record is not that bad, and will continue to improve with helmet and seat belt enforcement, truck inspections and the massive ongoing investment in new roads.

One of the few areas where the current government deserves some credit.


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Those numbers for many African countries are terrifying.  1 death eachy year for every 30-40 vehicles  !!!!!

[Surasak]

5 hours ago, Jeremy50 said:

If you drive/ride slowly, carefully,  intelligently, and sympathetically towards other road users, you are very unlikely to die in an accident, even on Thai roads. 

Pull the other one. It has bells on.

[ReMarKable]

It is Thai displaced aggression at work on the roads here.  He might hate his boss and can't show it, but can and will make some-other motorist's life fearful by being a big shot driver.

[lvr181]

4 hours ago, SuperTed said:

One of the few areas where the current government deserves some credit.

For doing what??  ????

[sawadee1947]

6 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

"...Statistics indicated that three out of four victims of traffic accidents were young and male and most were poor families’ breadwinners. 

 

By losing these productive young people, not only does the country lose the benefit of their economic contributions, but their families suffer heavily as well..."

 

Fascinating article, and it is hard to argue with either the logic and/or assessments of the problem. I wonder how many more analysis' there are at the WB to assist in solving Thailand's issues? I'd LOVE to see one a day printed and discussed in the Nation... 

 

Will the Thai government take heed of the data make a genuine effort to fix the situation? Sadly, I doubt it. As @z42 noted above, it would have to be the police that were the leaders of any road safety initiative, and I don't see them doing anything.

 

It is frustrating to see solve-able problems ignored! 

 

T.I.T. strikes again...

 

 

I agree with the article and your comment. 

There are more imminent problems to solve however.

And none is solved so far with this junta.