Thai road carnage: deaths top 7,000 this year

[webfact]

Thailand's road carnage: Deaths top 7,000 this year

 

Picture: Daily News

 

Daily News reported that road deaths at the scene of accidents in the kingdom has now passed 7,000 in 2019. 

 

With 51 deaths on Monday the figure is now at 7,078 for the year. 

 

They cautioned that this is ONLY those that die at the scene. In reality the figure is much higher when all fatalities are totted up. 

 

Picture: Daily News

 

Earlier this month the head of Thailand's anti-drink driving foundation Dr Thaejing Siriphanich put the annual death toll on Thai roads as about 24,000.

 

This would mean that between 65-70 die on average every single day in Thailand. 

 

Daily News - in their continuing campaign to raise awareness about the carnage on the Thai roads - highlighted tailgating as a particular problem.

 

They said that three occupants in a pick-up - two men and a woman - were killed on Monday when their vehicle went into the back of a ten wheel truck in Sadao, Songkhla in southern Thailand.  

 

Source: Daily News

 

 

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[darksidedog]

No surprises here, as accidents will happen on a very regular basis, when a significant chunk of those using the roads really shouldn't be.  I used to think that many motorists here were just plain rude, ignorant and selfish, but I now believe it is just that they really have very little or no spatial awareness of others. It is the same in 7/11 or the supermarket, where they stand in the middle of an aisle blocking it, totally unaware someone is behind them, so it is the same on the roads. They seem so preoccupied with doing their thing, they don't comprehend that they need to take other vehicles into consideration. That and driving around drunk and at crazy speeds all combine to produce such terrible casualty statistics. Drive super carefully folks, lets not add to the numbers.

[spidermike007]

When I was growing up, we took drivers education courses. They showed us horrendous films, or semi trucks plowing into cars, and literally obliterating everything in their path. They also showed us graphic images of head on collisions. 120mph impacts. Even as a young kid, it made quite an impression. It was horrific, and it was hard to get those images out of your head afterwards. But, it left a lasting impression, and when I started driving, I understood it was serious business, and that it was a very dangerous thing to do.

 

I see people driving here, with their families in the car, and doing things, and taking the kinds of risks no rational or sane person with common sense would do. What for? To gain one minute? Why take those risks? What is the logic? Often, when I am cruising along at 100kph, someone cuts right in front of me. Or someone comes out from the side road, right in front of me. I have to slam on my brakes, or change lanes to avoid him. I look in my rearview mirror, and there is nobody behind me. So, if he had waited two seconds, he would have had completely safe passage onto the highway. What gives? Where is the intelligence, caution, and prudence? Where is the common sense? What about just the survival instinct? 

 

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. And Casper the ghost is more visible than the incredibly hapless highway patrol.

 

All of this applies even more so, if driving a motorcycle. 

[bluesofa]

1 minute ago, darksidedog said:

No surprises here, as accidents will happen on a very regular basis, when a significant chunk of those using the roads really shouldn't be.  I used to think that many motorists here were just plain rude, ignorant and selfish, but I now believe it is just that they really have very little or no spatial awareness of others. It is the same in 7/11 or the supermarket, where they stand in the middle of an aisle blocking it, totally unaware someone is behind them, so it is the same on the roads. They seem so preoccupied with doing their thing, they don't comprehend that they need to take other vehicles into consideration. That and driving around drunk and at crazy speeds all combine to produce such terrible casualty statistics. Drive super carefully folks, lets not add to the numbers.

DSD, your comment about 'spatial awareness' is just spot on, it really is.

 

I'm sure most of us must have cringed many times when we spot a potentially dangerous situation appearing, only for locals to look surprised at our concern.

Or do we as ferangs just 'worry too mutt'?

[khwaibah]

Fast and Furious 9 being made in Karbi is saving a bundle on production cost.????

Edited June 19, 2019 by khwaibah

[Justgrazing]

25 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

DSD, your comment about 'spatial awareness' is just spot on, it really is.

 

I'm sure most of us must have cringed many times when we spot a potentially dangerous situation appearing, only for locals to look surprised at our concern.

Or do we as ferangs just 'worry too mutt'?

Nah 'Sof it's 'cos we don't believe in the power of the amulet and are thus condemned to a life of awareness of what is going on around .. 

Edited June 19, 2019 by Justgrazing
Sp

[bluesofa]

1 minute ago, Justgrazing said:

Nah 'Sof it 'cos we don't believe in the power of the amulet and are thus condemned to a life of awareness of what is going on around .. 

I believe in the power of Beer Leo, that gets me out of the damned awareness cycle, but only temporarily.

[Justgrazing]

This should be No1 priority for the P M now without exception .. Casualty rates like that are not out of place in a warzone so rather than pfaffing around with stuff minions could do he could direct his efforts into trying to reduce such a catastrophic toll for the good of all .. 

[Justgrazing]

3 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

I believe in the power of Beer Leo, that gets me out of the damned awareness cycle, but only temporarily.

Yeah but only Lao Khao can bring true immortality for the locals .. 

[ezzra]

I have come to realise that traffic road rules enforcement is pretty much selective, meaning, you will find the biggest concentrations of police  in places where foreigners and well to do locals driving, like Pattaya and other destination populated by the above, thus more revenues and bribes, while the majority of up country rural roads are pretty much deserted save for a road block here and there and there where's most of the deaths occurred, why is it so and under whose watch this is happening? this is a question for the the ages and answer is blowing in the wind...

[Lucius verus]

Thai gov stats are a waste of time.

Various international organisations that collect data put Thailand's roadtoll at 40 per 100,000.

That's almost 30000 deaths per annum.

Thai junta response ? Nothing.

[Creasy]

In 2018 Australia the death count was 1143 for the year.

 

My God. Thailand has 7000 in 6 months .

 

 

[RichardColeman]

Can't help but wonder if the government do nothing as they own shares in car sales plants (or funeral sales) ! The more crashes and deaths the more profit !

[bluesofa]

6 minutes ago, Justgrazing said:

This should be No1 priority for the P M now without exception .. Casualty rates like that are not out of place in a warzone so rather than pfaffing around with stuff minions could do he could direct his efforts into trying to reduce such a catastrophic toll for the good of all .. 

I seem to remember the last time looked at the WHO figures for road deaths by country, which quote deaths per 100,000 of population, Thailand was about 32-ish. The UK was 3.2 - 10% of Thailand's figure.

 

Even though the figures for all countries are adjusted to 100K population, Thailand and the UK have a similar-ish size country, with almost identical total population - 70 million.

 

So as you say, it should be a number one priority. The reason it will never be - no one in government gives a shit about deaths of their countrymen, they only want to know how much money they can make out of them.

[bluesofa]

4 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Can't help but wonder if the government do nothing as they own shares in car sales plants (or funeral sales) ! The more crashes and deaths the more profit !

As cynical as I am, that thought had never occurred to me.

[stanleycoin]

Well done Thailand.

The best, of the best, of the best.

Truly a shameful state of affairs.

 

Lets have a big hand,  for the charcoal and saffron robe sellers. looks like,  they are all set for a bumper year again. 

Nice one. 

 

Ps Good to see they use there police resources so well.

 

 

 

Edited June 19, 2019 by stanleycoin

[monkeycu]

30 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

I believe in the power of Beer Leo, that gets me out of the damned awareness cycle, but only temporarily.

Chang gets you there quicker  

[Dmaxdan]

44 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

No surprises here, as accidents will happen on a very regular basis, when a significant chunk of those using the roads really shouldn't be.  I used to think that many motorists here were just plain rude, ignorant and selfish, but I now believe it is just that they really have very little or no spatial awareness of others. It is the same in 7/11 or the supermarket, where they stand in the middle of an aisle blocking it, totally unaware someone is behind them, so it is the same on the roads. They seem so preoccupied with doing their thing, they don't comprehend that they need to take other vehicles into consideration. That and driving around drunk and at crazy speeds all combine to produce such terrible casualty statistics. Drive super carefully folks, lets not add to the numbers.

Spot on. I would also add the total lack of patience shown by many. Red light runners, not waiting until its clear at a U-turn and not stopping at level crossings when the barriers are down are all prime examples of this. 

[monkeycu]

Why not publish the death toll including those who died in and on the way to hospital

That would make some, unfortunately not all take notice

[bluesofa]

1 minute ago, monkeycu said:

Why not publish the death toll including those who died in and on the way to hospital

That would make some, unfortunately not all take notice

Because telling the truth here is not important. It's all about manipulating the figures to make those at the top look better.

 

[Justgrazing]

3 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

I seem to remember the last time looked at the WHO figures for road deaths by country, which quote deaths per 100,000 of population, Thailand was about 32-ish. The UK was 3.2 - 10% of Thailand's figure.

 

Even though the figures for all countries are adjusted to 100K population, Thailand and the UK have a similar-ish size country, with almost identical total population - 70 million.

 

So as you say, it should be a number one priority. The reason it will never be - no one in government gives a shit about deaths of their countrymen, they only want to know how much money they can make out of them.

Absolutely .. Alluded to this before I used to attend the aftermath of serious RTA's with my recovery truck and many times the Old Bill would shut the road off to conduct their investigations often with a dedicated accident investigator .. High res' photos , 3d mapping , numerous measurements , possible CCTV footage to he looked at .. Didn't matter how long it took or how many people were inconvenienced , the road remained shut until they finished their work .. All of this is done as its necessary to ascertain if the cause of the accident was criminal as drunk/drug/dangerous driving etc .. How often here does that happen .. Quite often as soon as the wreckage is cleared the road is open again and any possible incriminating evidence lost .. 

[Nong Khai Man]

49 minutes ago, khwaibah said:

Fast and Furious 9 being made in Karbi is saving a bundle on production cost.????

That would be KRABI Then ??

[Nong Khai Man]

Justgrazing said.....Quite often as soon as the wreckage is cleared the road is open again and any possible incriminating evidence lost ..NO At least they put SPRAY Paint Markings at the Scene !!!

[Orton Rd]

Do they still count those dying later or on the way to Hospital as 'injured' and only those dead at the scene as fatalities? 7K sound a bit on the low side.

[Radar501]

26 minutes ago, stanleycoin said:

.......they are all set for a bumper year again....... 

Yep.   Another BUMPER year.

 

[yokat]

It kind of explains how a thai car part manufacturer has enough cash on hands to finance its own PM candidate.

[Henryford]

Don't forget it's not just the thais. Some of the farangs are as bad. They think because there are no road rules here they can drive like maniacs.

[Justgrazing]

14 minutes ago, Nong Khai Man said:

Justgrazing said.....Quite often as soon as the wreckage is cleared the road is open again and any possible incriminating evidence lost ..NO At least they put SPRAY Paint Markings at the Scene !!!

Yes sure they may spray mark the vehicle positions on the road but that will not always tell the whole picture .. EG the UK plod have a method of calculating a vehicle's speed from any skid marks left on the road surface taking into account the type of surface as some can be " grippier " than others .. They take it all quite seriously .. Again whilst I'm not disagreeing the Thai police may spray paint the road surface I've not seen a serious injury or fatal accident investigated in such detail .. Its not only the UK either a lot of European countries take road safety seriously .. 

[bluesofa]

33 minutes ago, Justgrazing said:

Absolutely .. Alluded to this before I used to attend the aftermath of serious RTA's with my recovery truck and many times the Old Bill would shut the road off to conduct their investigations often with a dedicated accident investigator .. High res' photos , 3d mapping , numerous measurements , possible CCTV footage to he looked at .. Didn't matter how long it took or how many people were inconvenienced , the road remained shut until they finished their work .. All of this is done as its necessary to ascertain if the cause of the accident was criminal as drunk/drug/dangerous driving etc .. How often here does that happen .. Quite often as soon as the wreckage is cleared the road is open again and any possible incriminating evidence lost .. 

I see you're 'old school' like me, referring to RTA's.

I've been watching some UK traffic police documentaries recently. The phrase used now is RTC for Road Traffic Collision.

One of the cops was saying it had been changed, as the word Accident in RTA gave the impression that no one was to blame.

[Artisi]

1 hour ago, Justgrazing said:

This should be No1 priority for the P M now without exception .. Casualty rates like that are not out of place in a warzone so rather than pfaffing around with stuff minions could do he could direct his efforts into trying to reduce such a catastrophic toll for the good of all .. 

Does that increase my commission, oop's mean consulting fee on the submarine contract - - - - no, well let it be, it can  sort itself out. 

Edited June 19, 2019 by Artisi