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More youngsters dying in road accidents


webfact

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"The only people who make a profit are monks. Now there's a surprise! "

 

About 9 years ago I was in Myanmar and 2 weeks prior, the News stated that +2,000 Monks had been 'executed' for trying to over throw the Government. We were told while we were there that it was actually 27,000 Monks executed.  For the years I've been here in Thailand I have ensured my vehicle was full of Gas so that if I needed to I'd head for one of the "Friendly" Bridges and not worry about any visa to enter Laos. It's all a very SAD state of affairs having to 'think' that way. I really do love the Thai people where I 'have' been living and I'm sad to say I'm one who will be heading 'Home". 

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Spent all afternoon at the cop shop, or what passes for one. No resolution on our case as the injured bike rider is still complaining cannot work/permanently injured after crashing into our car. So cops sending him for another x ray on his knee before fining the Mrs. As I sat outside for 3 hours I noticed about two thirds of the bike riders going straight past the station had no helmets, some kiddies of course and some speeding, one on the wrong side of the road, cops just stood or sat about smoking!

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6 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

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. 

Spot on sir!

 

Well summarised, if I may say?

There is a real and very noticeable cultural issue in Thailand - the laissez-faire attitude towards safety in general, the complete ignorance of the rules of the road, inconsideration of other motorists and the ubiquitous near-zero driving skill. The socio-religious ingrainment of that old carefree view 'what will be will be' is another issue that others have raised on this thread - these are all major contributors to the problem, however - in my humble opinion, it is in massive part due to the reasons you've raised that Thailand in particular has such an awful, abominable, absurdly high road traffic accident and fatality rate - it has in fact got the 2nd highest per capita rate of road fatalities in the entire world, coming after only Libya - last year.

 

The lack of ANY real and effective deterrant is the biggest contributing factor to all this mayhem in my opinion and this is of course the fault of the police and the government (and to some degree too) the family and community of the muppets that drive as such - of which, of course, there's literally millions. If the police do nothing about this situation - or rather if the system is not adapted from the top down as you noted - then there will never be any appreciable change in these horrendouse figures which incidentally mean that "in addition to the senseless loss of life, Thailand loses 3 to 5 % of its GDP due to road traffic crashes annually".

 

image.png.57d429ee16d26a94cf57cffa52d6f61b.png

 

There are plenty of boy-racers and bored youths back in our respective home nations, there's plenty of bluster and machismo thrown around in my home town by lads in souped up Austin Metros and turbo charged rice-rockets, but the road fatalities in the UK in 2018 were under 1400 in total - I'm not sure how many were motorcylists. Vietnam, Burma and Malaysia are neighbours with at least comparable cultures and comparable populations but yet they too have much lower road traffic accident and fatality rates than the Land of Smiles does - so you have to asky yourself, why is this the case? The best answer and the most salient point has to be the fact that the police don't do their jobs and highway patrol/policng is simply non-existent in this country. Couple that with a lack of care or any example being set by the parents who allow their kids to ride, or in some cases - specifically buy them motorcyles at too young an age - and without formal training or knowledge of how to ride/drive safely and competently on the road and what you get is the resulting carnage and insane death toll that Thailand has the dubious honour of possessing. 

 

If I had a quid for every time I have seen Thais whizz by me with a young child or perhaps 2 / 3+ passengers on a bike - helmetless, steering with one hand, chatting to their pillions and swerving maniacally through heavy traffic, I'd be a wealthy, wealthy man! I could say, oh well if that's their attitude then let them die or be paralysed for life; the point is however that they impact others, innocent and law abiding road users & pedestrians too. As someone who very recently got rearended by some f***ing div on a wet road who was not keeping a large enough distance from me - and consequently came off my own motorbike because of it, I can tell you it's no joke and it really makes you think twice about getting back on a bike as the driver or pillion.

When 50 kids a day are being taken out because of said ineptitude and the inability to tackle such a fundamental issue you have to wonder just what will force the hand of the Thai civilian to demand something be done!

 

It's very sad and very shameful, and one of the BIGGEST worries of living in Thailand. I can only hope it improves for their sake, but I certainly won't hold my breath.

 

 

 

 

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When Thailand decides to join the rest of the civilized world, maybe then they can enjoy safe roads, right now its a Banana Republic focused more on me-first people, and none of them cares anything about safety. Most of these people here believe their destiny is already written, trying to teach them that safety is more important than convenience is just silly, welcome to the 3rd World.

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Maybe parents should stop letting their childern ages 10-19 ride motorbikes especially in the younger end of that range. I see them all the time out late at night, no helmets, some of which pretty intoxicated on something. Don;t let them ride until they are 16 and have a valid license which ensures they may have paid attention in the class long enough to learn 1 or 2 traffic rules. Motorbikes are dangerous, and in poorer countries even more so as it is the only affordable transpartation so more riders equal more accidents

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7 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

A photo I took. It isn't just kids on motorcycles. Here we have a perfect example of the school having no idea about safety, the driver having no idea about safety, and the kids being brought up to have no idea about safety. None of them has a clue, and if they pass by a policeman you know what will happen. Nothing. Nothing at all.

Road Safety 1.jpg

 

7 hours ago, hobz said:

They are aware. They tried to make a crackdown on this specific thing and the public backlash was huge. 

People said they don't have a choice. They can't afford other transport.

http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/government-puts-hold-banning-riding-pickup-truck-beds/

 

If Thai people want it, they shall have it.

 

I think the police should focus on reckless drivers that are putting other road users at risk

 

The public backlash was entirely justifiable and foreseeable because of the inexcusably dumb way the change in the law (or was it the proposed enforcement of one already on the statute books?) was to be implemented.  Governments here don't last long so the usual way of doing things runs something like: "As of next Wednesday riding on the bed of a truck will be punishable by a 5,000 baht fine or 10 years in jail...".  No thought as to how people can cope with getting to work in rural areas or the economic consequences to all those who took advantage of the tax incentives and would be stuck with a devalued pickup etc, etc, etc.   Crackdowns are an euphemism for rushed, badly thought through, knee jerk policies with details that appear to have been made up at the press conference some poorly educated politician calls to get their name on the front page.

 

Anyway, the OP was about young people and the shameful way their safety is ignored.  My new pet peeve is the growing number of people I notice who wear a helmet in order to avoid a fine but don't bother to do the strap up (and that goes for tourists as well).

 

 

 

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11 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

I always drive my grandson to school. We are a rarity here in that we strap him into an actual child's car seat. There is an option for him to travel to school on one of those school minibuses but I'm not happy simply because the kids are crammed in like sardines and apart from the driver there is no adult supervision.


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We could get Earl to ride in the bus and supervise the kids.   He should be out of prison in about a month,  and he doesn't drink nearly as much as he used to.   At least,  before he got thrown in Jail for diddling his neighbors kids he'd cut back a fair amount.

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Safety Last

 

1/9 helmet/no helmet ratio

these were taken in the span of about 2 minutes on a local roadway.

 

Why don't they put up mobile police photo/radar  trailers at various spots in town?   If a vehicle is speeding,  or moped goes by with non helmeted riders,  a ticket and fine are mailed to the registered owner based on the license plate in the photos. 

 

I know it is a shitty deal,  but it would generate revenue for the local police force which could be used to train them and maybe pay them a real salary, and would get people to at least wear their helmets more.

 

safety last.jpg

2.jpg

3.jpg

4.jpg

5.jpg

6.jpg

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15 hours ago, webfact said:

ROAD ACCIDENTS kill more than 17,000 children and teenagers in Thailand every year, the latest statistics show. And most of these fatalities involve motorcycles, Road Safety Policy Foundation’s manager Thanapong Jinwong said yesterday. 

So that means that 72% of road deaths are children and teenagers.

 

That figure is not likely to be correct. The number is still appallingly high. However it is the number of people killed on 2 & 3 wheeled vehicles 

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16 hours ago, CanterbrigianBangkoker said:

Spot on sir!

 

Well summarised, if I may say?

There is a real and very noticeable cultural issue in Thailand - the laissez-faire attitude towards safety in general, the complete ignorance of the rules of the road, inconsideration of other motorists and the ubiquitous near-zero driving skill. The socio-religious ingrainment of that old carefree view 'what will be will be' is another issue that others have raised on this thread - these are all major contributors to the problem, however - in my humble opinion, it is in massive part due to the reasons you've raised that Thailand in particular has such an awful, abominable, absurdly high road traffic accident and fatality rate - it has in fact got the 2nd highest per capita rate of road fatalities in the entire world, coming after only Libya - last year.

 

The lack of ANY real and effective deterrant is the biggest contributing factor to all this mayhem in my opinion and this is of course the fault of the police and the government (and to some degree too) the family and community of the muppets that drive as such - of which, of course, there's literally millions. If the police do nothing about this situation - or rather if the system is not adapted from the top down as you noted - then there will never be any appreciable change in these horrendouse figures which incidentally mean that "in addition to the senseless loss of life, Thailand loses 3 to 5 % of its GDP due to road traffic crashes annually".

 

image.png.57d429ee16d26a94cf57cffa52d6f61b.png

 

There are plenty of boy-racers and bored youths back in our respective home nations, there's plenty of bluster and machismo thrown around in my home town by lads in souped up Austin Metros and turbo charged rice-rockets, but the road fatalities in the UK in 2018 were under 1400 in total - I'm not sure how many were motorcylists. Vietnam, Burma and Malaysia are neighbours with at least comparable cultures and comparable populations but yet they too have much lower road traffic accident and fatality rates than the Land of Smiles does - so you have to asky yourself, why is this the case? The best answer and the most salient point has to be the fact that the police don't do their jobs and highway patrol/policng is simply non-existent in this country. Couple that with a lack of care or any example being set by the parents who allow their kids to ride, or in some cases - specifically buy them motorcyles at too young an age - and without formal training or knowledge of how to ride/drive safely and competently on the road and what you get is the resulting carnage and insane death toll that Thailand has the dubious honour of possessing. 

 

If I had a quid for every time I have seen Thais whizz by me with a young child or perhaps 2 / 3+ passengers on a bike - helmetless, steering with one hand, chatting to their pillions and swerving maniacally through heavy traffic, I'd be a wealthy, wealthy man! I could say, oh well if that's their attitude then let them die or be paralysed for life; the point is however that they impact others, innocent and law abiding road users & pedestrians too. As someone who very recently got rearended by some f***ing div on a wet road who was not keeping a large enough distance from me - and consequently came off my own motorbike because of it, I can tell you it's no joke and it really makes you think twice about getting back on a bike as the driver or pillion.

When 50 kids a day are being taken out because of said ineptitude and the inability to tackle such a fundamental issue you have to wonder just what will force the hand of the Thai civilian to demand something be done!

 

It's very sad and very shameful, and one of the BIGGEST worries of living in Thailand. I can only hope it improves for their sake, but I certainly won't hold my breath.

 

 

 

 

All relevant and pertinent facts. One would at least think that when a father is driving with his family on board, he might exercise more caution than when on his own. But, that does not seem to be the case. I guess that would require consciousness, perspective, respect, and vision. 

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Zero will happen until there is law enforcement.  I have never seen a safe school bus in Thailand.  This is a sad and sick situation that society simply doesn’t have the will to save the young people’s lives.  It is mostly all preventable.  Parents drive the wrong way on roads with their children and no helmets-geat role models.  The government subsidizes the birth of children, but won’t enforce the laws to save the he ones already born, and they are already paying people to enforce the laws.  If you don’t care about your children, the country is already doomed to fail, both mentally and physically 

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It won't matter.  WHY?  Because Thai people DO NOT care.  Put some logic into this question:  If they cared, wouldn't they do something about the problem?  So if they do not care, would I lose sleep over it?  NOPE!  It is what it is...I accept it! 

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It's all about money or the lack of for the poorer members of their society. Those who can afford helmets but don't buy are those who don't care, unfortunately. It is a cultural/religious problem. [emoji848] 

The community Buddhist temples could be offering helmets to those who cannot afford it. In the rural areas the local wats always have enough baht contributions ( good meriting donations) to build another statue or wat building but I forget, these religious institutions are not into helping their congregation - only collecting money. Maybe a farang charity could give out / loan out helmets.



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On 5/17/2019 at 7:16 PM, samuttodd said:

Safety Last

 

1/9 helmet/no helmet ratio

these were taken in the span of about 2 minutes on a local roadway.

 

Why don't they put up mobile police photo/radar  trailers at various spots in town?   If a vehicle is speeding,  or moped goes by with non helmeted riders,  a ticket and fine are mailed to the registered owner based on the license plate in the photos. 

 

I know it is a shitty deal,  but it would generate revenue for the local police force which could be used to train them and maybe pay them a real salary, and would get people to at least wear their helmets more.

 

safety last.jpg

2.jpg

3.jpg

4.jpg

5.jpg

6.jpg

I think they are working on systems like this.

They already have automatic camera based systems here and there for red lights and illegal lane changes here and there. I got 2 letter in the mail each 500 thb fine.

 

The problem currently is that they have not connected the fines with the database when you get vehicle tax registration.

 

Practically this means that nothing happens if you don't pay the fine. Most people simply ignore the fines and nothing happens.

Since connecting the fines to the database was announced as a work in progress a few years ago we gotta assume that they hired some huge morons to do the job so the system will probably not work in a long time and people will simply keep ignoring the fines and say that there must be something wrong with the system if it's found out.. maybe I'm pessimistic..

 

 

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On 5/17/2019 at 3:36 AM, webfact said:

“We need to educate parents about the risk of "________________."

If I had a baht for every time I've heard one of these pinheads begin a sentence with these words, then I'd be able to buy a Mercedes Benz for every man, woman and child in Thailand.

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