Minister's speed proposal stuns Thailand: Collision at 120 kmph same as falling 19 stories, says media

[reargunnerph3]

Thai's don't stick to the speed limits anyway. Most don't follow any road rules. If your stupid with a death wish the speed limit won't make any difference. I drive like everyone around me is deaf, dumb, blind, stupid, drunk or retarded and try to stay safe. 19 years and only been rear ended at traffic lights once luckily by a drunk Benz driver so insurance and plenty of money to pay you know who.

[bluesofa]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

In a piece warning Thais about speeding they said that having a collision at 120 kmph was the same as falling to the ground from 19 stories up. 

From the UK highway code page below, you can see the stopping distance increases from 73 metres at 96km/hr, to 96 metres at 112 km/hr.

 

(click to enlarge)

 

[damascase]

45 minutes ago, irwinfc said:

i highly suggest to the good minister to start with teaching local motorists what road signs/symbols mean, then teach them to obey traffic rules and regulations. THEN... tweak speed limits

Not enough, I’m afraid. What about learning them to control their vehicles? 

[Farang99]

120 kph = 70 mph = motorway speed limit in UK

[bluesea]

And these elected Politicians are supposed to do good and in the best interest of the country!

No wonder the wheels have fallen off long ago in Thailand with Idiots like this at the wheel. 

Saksayam Chidchobis , Hang up the steering wheel mate your a looser.

[Reigntax]

1 hour ago, AsiaCheese said:

OMG, a collection of experts; there must be a nest somewhere.

 

Driving fast (while not drunk, alert, considerate, can anticipate scenarios) and brainless racing are two wildly different things - at any speed. Speed is not the killer; idiocy is.

 

The 19 stories fall is one from the propaganda apples and oranges department: it's a scary image meant to make a point, and nothing more. That impact in a reasonable-sized car, with safety belts and all the rest, plus a large helping of good luck, might just see you alive and bruised, while jumping from anything above 7th floor unprotected is likely death.

Exactly.

 

And it's not the speed that kills you, it's the rapid deceleration. 

[Justgrazing]

21 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

From the UK highway code page below, you can see the stopping distance increases from 73 metres at 96km/hr, to 96 metres at 112 km/hr.

 

(click to enlarge)

 

Not applicable T I T .. Thai's can cut that 70 mph figure by about a 1/3 riding off the top of a 19 storey building .. 

[carabaothai]

everybody drives already at 120 km/h on the large roads

[sawadee1947]

5 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

Speed doesn't kill. Idiotic driving does.

 

 

In Thailand it's coming in a package 

[rtco]

[sawadee1947]

The speed is too high........ I mean the speed coming from riding a buffalo to driving a Benz. 

[BEngBKK]

I guess no need to wear helmet or seat belt...

 

[CanterbrigianBangkoker]

Speed does indeed usually lead to more problems/accidents in general - in any form of motoring - less time to react, more severe impacts etc. The autobahn in Germany, however, has far better road-traffic accident statistics than any busy road in Thailand, Im quite sure, so it isn't all down to speed, clearly. All this bluster from the government, with their never-ending legislature and redacting or reintroduction of policies will count for nought if the people they are legislating for possess neither the skill, mental accuity/attitude or experience required to drive safely - at speed or not. Throw into this mess the near-total lack of policing and you get 28,000+ road deaths a year nationwide. Utterly shameful.

[dlclark97]

120 kph is just under 75 mph.  70 -80 mph is the standard limit on most major USA highways.  The accident toll there is not even close to the accident toll in Thailand and there are many times the number of drivers on the roads.  It's all about uneducated drivers, drunk drivers, drivers tasked to spend too many hours driving without sleep breaks, no relief drivers for long hauls, speeding in areas with even lower speed limits, running red lights, jumping the green light, vehicles on the roads that should have been scrapped many years ago and this list could gone on forever.  Two things that could help.  A mobile police force properly equipped and with the right attitudes to stop and ticket offending drivers.  Yes, this would be a confrontation in the Thai culture but that would be better than seeing people being maimed and killed everyday on Thai roads.  Seeing a big burly policeman standing at your drivers door talking to you and writing your ticket will have a much bigger impact than getting a ticket in the mail from the cameras on the highways.  The lane speed indicators I have seen recently are either not working at all or are grossly inaccurate.  The Bangkok - Chonburi motorway is a fine example of this.  Only when it hurts people's pockets will some people begin to learn about safe driving.  Next, all vehicles of any type should drive day and night with their lights on.  Lights do help you see but equally, if not more important, is that they help other drivers see you.  All lights originally supplied with the vehicle MUST be in working order and clean enough to be seen.  

[fxe1200]

4 hours ago, Worldplus said:

I really wish we could ride motor bikes of 400 CC up on motorways...  Cannot work out why this is not applied..

Because its bullshit. I.e. the Yamaha MT-03 (321cc) has an output of 42hp and easily does the ton. Compare that to the Honda Steed 400cc with an output of 31hp. I 'r rather have a comprehensive training for those, who apply for a future "Big-bike-license" and let them use the motorways. But that will never happen.

[Odysseus123]

1 minute ago, CanterbrigianBangkoker said:

Speed does indeed usually lead to more problems/accidents in general - in any form of motoring - less time to react, more severe impacts etc. The autobahn in Germany, however, has far better road-traffic accident statistics than any busy road in Thailand, Im quite sure, so it isn't all down to speed, clearly. All this bluster from the government, with their never-ending legislature and redacting or reintroduction of policies will count for nought if the people they are legislating for possess neither the skill, mental accuity/attitude or experience required to drive safely - at speed or not. Throw into this mess the near-total lack of policing and you get 28k deaths a year nationwide. Shameful stuff.

The last time I saw a Honda Scoopy-complete with 4 helmetless riders texting to one another-busting onto a German autobahn was in 1973-good weed in those days...

[Beggar]

"Minister's speed proposal stuns Thailand: Collision at 120 kmph same as falling 19 stories, says media"

 

It is for sure more safe to fall only 9 stories... 

 

 

[Chiang Mai Bill]

17 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

Speed doesn't kill. Idiotic driving does.

 

 

Speed plus idiotic driving does though!

[brian2f2f]

5 hours ago, les Dennis said:

Does anybody know of anyone that has had a legitimate speeding fine under the current law ?

April 4 driving to bkk from maesai i got stopped for doing 140 and got a 1000 baht fine for it. They had the cameras and radars set up to take speed with pic of car then they haf a rd block set up matching every speeder that came through to car and plate. Everyone that was speeding got stopped and fined. 

[PEE TEE]

great idea why not make it 180 even better that will reduce the death toll on the roads NOT

[Redline]

6 hours ago, canopy said:

Collisions are caused by bad driving; too fast for conditions, dangerous maneuvers, falling asleep, drunk driving, etc. These types of accidents will happen at any speed. Trying to keep people falling from "only" 14 stories (90k/h) is no solution at all. 

 

Hello, the slower you are going, the less damage caused.  Or, maybe you will suggest an alternative reality 

[howbri]

It's not the speed that kills but the sudden stop.

[collingwood]

500 baht speeding fine for doing 103 kmph

[sambum]

6 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

...and who exactly is ThaiRath the new arbiter of Thailand and who exactly are the Thai society who have been or should be stunned.

 

What a complete load of tosh.

Who? :-

"Thai Rath is a newspaper published in Bangkok and distributed nationwide. The paper is a broadsheet published with two sections. The first section is devoted to news."

[MrMo]

What is the maximum number of floors you can fall without being killed ?   Once we know that we can workout what the maximum speed limit should be.   My guess that it will be close to the speed Thais go when shuffling around a mall or supermarket.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Well, I'll say two things for his proposal...

 

1. It certainly will cut down on government hospital expenses for emergency medical care.

 

2. It certainly will increase the business for temple and other funeral service providers...

 

 

I certainly know what he OUGHT to be proposing...but I'm not going to waste the web space here repeating it... Because it's been said many times before. And those with the power to change anything really don't care.

 

[DJ54]

Bump it up to 100-110 would be OK. One problem and it’s the same at 90 or 110. Big trucks in the slow lane usually don’t slow down when their passing a slower vehicle or? They just push to the fast

lane. Seems they take a lot of risks. 

 

My guess when seeing cars in the center gutter a good amount were probably pushed to avoid hitting the vehicle changing lanes/overtaking a slow vehicle. ....

[atyclb]

morons in motion

[richard_smith237]

6 hours ago, FarFlungFalang said:

If I hit a brick wall at 10 kms per hr not much damage if I hit a wall at 150 kms per hr probably death kills more than speed or at least the sudden stop.

The solution there would be not to put brick walls in the middle of a highway then....  

 

Of course, the above is a tongue-in-cheek response to your post which seems to take 'speed kills' a little too literally, of course it does, no one would argue that. But highways are for getting places, thus speed limits of 120kmh are not deadly, idiotic driving is.

 

Speeds in cities and towns need moderation, highway speeds of 120kms (which already exist in many parts) are fine. 

 

It is the driving standards themselves which need attention. For the most part Thailands existing laws and regulations are fine, it is the policing of those breaking these existing laws which is the issue. 

 

Police properly, fine properly the rest will come into line. 

 

 

The only reason I don't drive 90mph on a  quiet the motorway in the UK is because I don't want the points or a high fine... I suspect 90% of other drivers are the same. 

 

 

 

 

[Mick501]

Falling 19 stories is not the same as crashing at 120kph.   In he crash, the pedestrians will significantly soften the impact on your pick up.