More youngsters dying in road accidents

[Ian Pickles]

3 hours ago, arithai12 said:

sorry, which safe buses?

Relative term, one hell of a lot safer than motorbikes.

[Bangkok Barry]

30 minutes ago, Cereal said:

I find it incredible that an adult needs to be educated about basic road safety, like wearing a helmet. Are they retarded?

 

Many Thais have the mental age of a 14-year-old, so not retarded exactly but immature. We see or hear or read of examples of that every day. The IQ level is also way below Western countries and I've never in 25 years here seen any sign of common sense. This subject simply underlines that it doesn't exist.

[Ian Pickles]

34 minutes ago, Cereal said:

I find it incredible that an adult needs to be educated about basic road safety, like wearing a helmet. Are they retarded?

The issue I see here is that if I had grown up watching my father, mother and older siblings all drive like idiots, there is every chance that I would drive like an idiot. Monkey see, monkey do.

[CGW]

3 minutes ago, Ian Pickles said:

Relative term, one hell of a lot safer than motorbikes.

Statistically motorbikes are a lot safer than "buses", but the way statistics are presented to us these days kinda meaningless, based on the huge amount of journeys made by motorcycles.

 

[Blue Muton]

That must be costing the hospitals a fortune, quick, make them pay for comprehensive insurance before they're allowed out of their homes!

[CGW]

9 minutes ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Not entirely their fault, the education system and those who implement it take the blame here. 

"Education system" or indoctrination period, they are taught over a long period to be as dumb as planks, working well, they stay subservient and are still viewed as little more than "serfs" by the "rulers" who have just guaranteed their future for the 100 hundred years! 

[Vacuum]

2 hours ago, alanrchase said:

The other day I watched a neighbors kid getting ready to set off somewhere with his sister on a motorbike. He had a helmet but spent an age trying to work out how best to carry it. There was some stuff in the front basket so he was worried the helmet may fall out. Holding it on the handlebars seemed awkward. The one thing he never considered was wearing it.

Bet he asked his sister to hold it for him.

[spidermike007]

The primary reason for the horrendous death tolls on the road, is the toy police force. Nobody, and I mean nobody takes these guys seriously. There is absolutely nothing in the way of a deterrent here, and both the local governments, the central government (a very weak PM.) and the police do not take traffic safety seriously. Not even one iota. The safety of the public means less than zero to the small men in charge here. Nothing. They show that on a daily basis.

 

They will not do a thing. Why? They do not care about the people one iota. Not the common people. Not the average pleb. No way. Never have cared, and may never care in the future. It is all about protecting the elite, the super wealthy, those that are connected, and those in power. The rest of the population? They do not matter. The ex-pat community does not matter. And the police will not get involved unless an accident has already occurred. There is no prevention. None. When is the last time you saw the highway patrol here, pulling over a car for reckless driving? The idea of getting the police more involved, is an interesting one, and it would be an effective one. But, the issue is money. They are grossly underpaid, and until the government steps up, and spends a trillion baht on updating the police equipment, and paying each cop a living wage, it is not going to happen. Until then, they will just work the franchise. 

 

When I was growing up, we took drivers education classes. They showed us these horrendous films, of semi trucks crashing into cars, and literally obliterating them, and everything inside. Also, they showed very graphic images of head on collisions. Even as a young kid, it left a lasting impression, and I realized driving was no joking matter. Especially when you have your friends, or loved ones in the car with you. I am constantly astonished at the kinds of chances people take here, with their entire family in the car with them. Why? What is the logic? What is the reason? Why take those risks? Often, when someone cuts onto the highway in front of me, as I am doing 100kpm or more on the highway, I look in my rearview mirror, and there is nobody behind me for quite some distance. Which means, had they paused, and waited 2 or 3 seconds, there would have been zero risk to them, their family, or me and my family. What can one even say? All of this matters even more when driving a motorbike, where there is no protection. 

 

The only way to survive here on the road, is to be patient, have eyes in the back of your head, drive with caution, and always, and I mean always watch out of the other guy. Chances are, he does not have much driving skill, nor patience, nor reason, nor common sense. You cannot be too careful on the road here. Especially considering that the toy police offer no traffic safety, nor enforcement of the law. 

[ToddinChonburi]

Proper school buses, I really like that one.

 

[Captain 776]

Helmet Laws should be STRICTLY ENFORCED~!!

 

I cringe every time I see toddler or young kid standing up on the seat between Mom n Dad.

 

Need serious penalties for NO HELMET......make it sting

[PatOngo]

1 hour ago, hobz said:

I blame the cops and the government.

The cops are clearly incompetent and corrupt.

The government should clearly see this and fix it. But the government is also clearly incompetent and corrupt.

 

If one is negligent and this negligence results in death, this is Called wrongful death and the negligent party can be convicted of negligence resulting in wrongful death. I think this applies to the cops and the government.

 

Their inability to fix this is almost treason. They have tons of blood on their hands.

Self preservation is a natural instinct in most people. I never needed police or government to instill this in me. People need to wise up too, you can't have 1 cop for every driver and rider! Sadly or stupidly, people seem to have NO self respect.

[Kurtf]

7 hours ago, Inn Between said:

Perhaps if laws were enforced with fines escalating in price for each subsequent infraction, the situation would work itself out. Everyday we can see underage kids who obviously have no license and wearing no helmet ride by cops who seem to forget what their job is supposed to be.

 

So, my message to the Thai cops is to start doing their jobs and save some lives. 

 

You fail to recognize the main reason the Thai police\government doesn’t enforce road rules/laws is that this is the  the Thai  method of population control.

[poohy]

7 hours ago, stanleycoin said:

All hot air.

Thailand does not care about it's citizens on the roads.

The figure of around 25,000 dead every year and christ knows how many disabled for life. is the proof. 

You should be ashamed of yourselves. 

 

 

Whist i agree maybe it should read Thailand does not care for any of its citizens  (apart from the magic 1%) that is

[Russell17au]

6 hours ago, a977 said:

You mean masquerading as a Police force don't you.  Too busy counting the contents of brown envelopes to care about their children, bet if it was one of their kids killed it would be a different story. 

No, it is the government by not supplying the police with the equipement that is needed for them to get out and do their job instead of the police officer having to buy his own uniform, gun and motorbike. If the government supplied this equipement and a reasonable wage then they would not go collecting brown envelopes and they could then do their job properly. Just look at the western police forces and see who supplies them with their equipement. But when you have a government that squashed an attempt by the Land Transport Office to increase the fines for not having a license because it might upset the people just so the people would vote for this clown so he can stay in power.

[Henryford]

The Police turn a blind eye to schoolgirls riding bikes, 3 up, aged probably about 13. No helmets, no tax, no licence !!

[Chongalulu]

Boring,so what - just another copy and paste road accident article. Couldn’t be bothered to read another Groundhog Day article that no one cares about.

[geoffbezoz]

8 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

That's 48 kids a day slaughtered all day everyday aided by a useless inept bunch of morons masquerading as a government????

To some extent yes but aided by a bunch of Thai drivers, generally male,  to whom manslaughter is a free to play hobby.

[ChrisKC]

7 hours ago, Andre0720 said:

“We need to educate parents about the risk of motorcycles. Children should be encouraged to use proper school buses instead,” he said. 

This is so much of a silly comment. The need to educate... There are some pre-requisites to this: Become civilised, meaning having moral values, such as caring for other people's life and well being, become responsible, taking responsibility for one's own actions, having a system of coercion conducive to these pre-requisites.

So why not looking at some systems that farang countries have developed, Enacting laws, enforcing them, applying hefty penalties for not complying etc.

 

An indian Guru had a teaching about responsibility. Explaining that responsibility, means ability to respond.

If one has the ability to respond to a situation, and does not, this or these individuals are responsible for the outcome.

 

Now we read that 'the Public Health Ministry and the Road Accident Victims Protection Company show that 17,634 children on average had died annually from road accidents between 2013 and 2017.'

 

Now who would be responsible for that? Who could respond to that and does not? Who is responsible for all these deaths?

Now we are back to pre-requisite number one, becoming civilised, having moral values, feeling heartbroken when someone dies, adult or child, and thinking that more most be done to stop this carnage... Anyone who could have responded by taking action to reduce the speed of vehicles on the roads, and did not. Etc etc etc.

 

Parents do not set proper examples or educate their children in these matters because they are uneducated, seemingly unaware, and definitely irresponsible themselves. And when those children (if they live long enough) become parents, so will the situation remain. 

[sawadee1947]

9 hours ago, Inn Between said:

Perhaps if laws were enforced with fines escalating in price for each subsequent infraction, the situation would work itself out. Everyday we can see underage kids who obviously have no license and wearing no helmet ride by cops who seem to forget what their job is supposed to be.

 

So, my message to the Thai cops is to start doing their jobs and save some lives. 

 

The problem is that those cops were raised up (by grand Parents,  who have'nt seen any helmet so far) not wearing helmets and using a bike as early age as possible. 

If you want to change those habits you will have to start in Kindergarten. And you have to invest in better education of any kind of teachers. (including Parents) 

Then in 2 or 3 generations from now there might be a change. 

A good example is Vietnam. No bikers without helmets. 

Why? 1. Law enforcement. 2. Seizing the bikes. Mission accomplished. 

[NoshowJones]

9 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

That's 48 kids a day slaughtered all day everyday aided by a useless inept bunch of morons masquerading as a government????

What about the kids stupid parents who hand the keys to their underage children?

With the exception of the police, they are more to blame than anyone.

[Phredd]

The majority of Thais listen to their Monks, should not the Monks endeavour, or do they find it's a waste of time, to try and convince Adults that their children should not be permitted to use "Their" Motorcycles.   The Monks may be able to convince the Police that a major part of their job, considering the amount of Deaths, "+17,000 children die each year from Motorcycle related accidents", that their Job as a policeman, is to enforce the Law that they have at their disposal?    Maybe the influx of 'Profit' the Insurance Companies are to gain from the New Rule for Farrangs could go towards supplying Helmets to young Thais, should the police be are unable to do their Job, for whatever reason?

[hobz]

4 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

You are half-right. The crackdown was on people riding in the truck bed, not about transporting kids to and from school.

I think kids fall under the category of people.

[hobz]

3 hours ago, Kurtf said:

You fail to recognize the main reason the Thai police\government doesn’t enforce road rules/laws is that this is the  the Thai  method of population control.

Any proof of that?

[hobz]

3 hours ago, Captain 776 said:

Helmet Laws should be STRICTLY ENFORCED~!!

 

I cringe every time I see toddler or young kid standing up on the seat between Mom n Dad.

 

Need serious penalties for NO HELMET......make it sting

Any time there has been proposals to increase fines for driving offences there has been public outcry.

The people simply don't want it. 

[Phredd]

+30,000 funerals for Road Deaths only, how much does a funeral cost on average and who gets what of that amount.  Sure, I'm trying to be very careful what i have said here. ????

[smudger1951]

We have to look into the thai psyche to understand why there is less regard for their personal safety. 

[mindfulness]

Sorry just unable to understand folk laying the government to book.  When in heavens name will PEOPLE TAKE ACTION AND PRACTICE SELF-RESPONSIBILITY are people that mentality disabled ???  

[Bangkok Barry]

53 minutes ago, Phredd said:

+30,000 funerals for Road Deaths only, how much does a funeral cost on average and who gets what of that amount.  Sure, I'm trying to be very careful what i have said here. ????

 

The only people who make a profit are monks. Now there's a surprise! In my experience out in the boondocks, villagers pay an amount (very small) into a fund, and that is used to cover expenses when someone dies. A kind of informal insurance scheme.
When my father-in-law died we spent a huge sum on food and drink for several days of the mourning period and I was afraid what it was costing me, but we actually ended up making a small profit what with the scheme and people giving small donations in pink (not brown!) envelopes.
It was the temple which really profited from it, with the days of chanting beside the coffin and the service and cremation. The small profit we made went to the temple too. Temples are a business and do nothing for nothing.

 

[Cake Monster]

17,000 young and innocent lives cut short by a total lack of care or commitment to safety by the Thai government.

Just how do you manage to sleep at night with these dreadful figures hanging over you ?

[Bangkok Barry]

1 hour ago, hobz said:

I think kids fall under the category of people.

 

Clever of you to know that, but the aborted crackdown was on people (which as you smartly point out includes kids) riding in the back, whereas no action has ever been proposed (to my knowledge) concerning kids riding in the back on school runs.
Also, the cancelled crackdown applied only to Songkran 2018 and was proposed to reduce the number of road deaths in that period. The people protested on the grounds that money trumped safety and they did not want to spend a few hundred baht on buses but preferred to play Russian Roulette on the roads. This was good news to the police, as it meant they didn't have to do anything and challenge those endangering their own lives, although they probably felt it in their pockets.
The ultimate form of democracy, I suppose. The government listened to the people and allowed them the right to put their lives in danger if they wished. The very opposite of the nanny state, a facet of Thailand that so appeals to many Westerners here.