Thailand resolves to reduce road accidents, a national road safety event was told

[DavisH]

If they put the same effort into enforcing traffic law as they did into enforcing TM30, they could halve the number of road deaths. There's no point to tell people to "do the right thing", if there are no consequences to not doing the right thing. 

[DavisH]

38 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Honestly I don't think Thai Governments really care about the number

of people killed on the roads everyday,as they would have taken effective

steps to at least trying to curb it,hot air and talking is not going to do it.

regards worgeordie

Death is one thing, but injury and disablement cost the government millions every year in healthcare. Even just for that reason they should make a serious attempt to reduce accidents. 

[moonseeker]

Would need a complete turnaround and change of culture, which is not gonna happen in our lifetime. MS>

[cooked]

Education, engineering, prevention, and only then repression. I left my job as a traffic engineer 50 years ago in the UK and even then, attitudes towards road safety were well in advance of what passes for a policy here. 

It'll be, like every year :1.  increase penalties and : 2. do nothing about corruption and non-enforcement / ignorance of, already existing regulations.

[ChipButty]

1 hour ago, mikebell said:

Does this suggest Thailand is about to get a police force?

One that works you mean?

[ChipButty]

55 minutes ago, DavisH said:

If they put the same effort into enforcing traffic law as they did into enforcing TM30, they could halve the number of road deaths.

Exactly what I was going to say

[ChipButty]

My wife is disappointed she thought Thailand should be No1 

Correct me if Im wrong but these figures are based on the deaths at the accident? not taking into account the ones who die weeks later

[NCC1701A]

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

or, to give it its Thai name, “Walk, Ride, Drive Go-and-Come Safely”.

in fact, i just got home from Pattaya.

[Pilotman]

1 hour ago, Prairieboy said:

This seems to be a weekly (or more frequent) announcement.  All the plans, rules, laws, etc. are useless without adequate enforcement. 

Perhaps the government should make attendance at a driving school mandatory from age 12 with emphasis on defensive driving.  Perhaps there should be a certified driver education centre in every major centre in every province!  Perhaps parents should learn to say NO! so little Somchai does not ride, or have access to a motorcycle until he (she) has passed the mandatory course and is properly equipped!  Perhaps making the children walk to and from school would alleviate many of the traffic woes with the added benefit of reducing obesity!

good idea, except that the school may be 10km  away and there is no public transport and Mum and Dada don't own anything more than a buffalo or two.  It's nonsense to expect that rural riding and driving will change any time soon until the root problems are resolved.  The people are poor, the system of transport in most areas is none existent or inadequate. Nothing will change until the economic and social society of the country changes and the education system is modernised, that will not happen in anyone's life time that is alive today.   

[quadperfect]

This is comedy central today

[FarFlungFalang]

1 hour ago, mikebell said:

Does this suggest Thailand is about to get a police force?

I think it should suggest that those that instruct the police to start doing so in a manner which has a positive impact on the safety of road users.The police are an effective tool if used correctly and if sharpened to a razors edge it will cut more effectively.Those that instruct the police are more interested in putting money in their pockets.

[nong38]

Like the strength of the baht they do not have a clue how to deal with the situation.

[FarFlungFalang]

1 hour ago, DavisH said:

Death is one thing, but injury and disablement cost the government millions every year in healthcare. Even just for that reason they should make a serious attempt to reduce accidents. 

This is where those in charge make real money for those in charge own the hospitals and medical establishments which supply services and medicines to the victims.

[Reigntax]

3 hours ago, Crossy said:

Do you ever get the feeling of déja-vu?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you ever get the feeling of déja-vu?

 

Just same same and same again

[Fred white]

When pigs fly ????

[Misterwhisper]

3 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Thailand is aiming to reduce the rate of road accidents by half by next year

A ludicrous statement. Even reducing the rate by 10% in such a short time frame already would pose a formidable challenge that Thailand will be unable to meet under the current circumstances, including an astonishing level of indifference and ignorance prevailing among motorists themselves, not to mention non-existent driver training.

 

How exactly is Thailand intending to achieve that lofty goal? The article doesn't mention it at all... but we all know why: Because there is no actionable plan. It's all talk and bla bla bla, but no actual idea how to implement it. 

[simtemple]

1 hour ago, Is this real said:

First thing to reduce traffic casualties.....

Hire a large group to patrol the roads to enforce traffic laws.  Currently, there is no enforcement of speed limits, drunk driving, tailgating, reckless driving, or any other.  These should all be policed and enforce.

Maybe call this force "Police." 

 

Second thing is to provide quality helmets that actually offer some protection.  Really, no such thing at the amount.  They are expensive, at least B10,000.  The government could subsidize them and bring the cost down to B1,000, by not waste money on submarines, armored personnel carriers, and other weapons of war that Thailand has no use for.

Successful international road safety strategies entail what are known as the three Es: Education, Enforcement, and Engineering. Thailand has never demonstrated any willingness to adopt any facet of this sratategy. 

 

[Fred white]

42 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

in fact, i just got home from Pattaya.

Did you do your tm30

[JAG]

2 hours ago, smedly said:

They don't know how, also it would involve huge spending even if they did

 

the key is proactive law enforcement - detecting and prosecuting traffic law offenders before the are involved in an accident, some law changes also required 

I'm not sure that it would cost (the state) that much more money actually. There is no shortage of policemen, as you will see every time a "VIP" transits through the city en route to or from the airport. There are laws a plenty on the books,. It needs the will and leadership on the part of the senior policemen to go out and enforce them, or more properly to get their men out to enforce them. I suppose they are the ones who will lose money - it will take them away from managing their "informal fiscal schemes".

 

Apropos of which, I had a fascinating conversation with a Thai who was "in the know" the other day. The system works just like the prize money system in "Hornblower's" Navy! The money is pooled: 50% for the Captain, 25% for the Officers, 25% shared amongst the "lower deck"!

 

That, along with the fact that the chosen people are unaffected by the death toll, is why nothing will change.

[NCC1701A]

7 minutes ago, Fred white said:

Did you do your tm30

no

[JAG]

2 hours ago, mok199 said:

They actually used dry ice for a ''rock star '' effect...That's real smoke and mirrors..

Oh, it was dry ice? I assumed it was the visible manifestations of fumes from another one of the Generals' unfortunate sudden "health occurrences" That, I thought, explained the looks of horror on the faces of some of the panel, and the fact that the copper seemed to be having a "fit of the giggles"!

[Justgrazing]

Meanwhile yesterday Thai's were amused by a kid riding about with a pot on his head .. 

[Justgrazing]

4 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Walk, Ride, Drive Go-and-Come Safely”. 

Especially applicable in Pattaya .. Or you might find you're way to the Subscriber Trunk Dialling clinic .. 

[spidermike007]

This is not going to happen. More hyperbole by perhaps the least competent administration since Samak, Yingluck and Abhisit. Wow. What a lineup of incompetents. The extent of work that needs to be done to improve traffic safety here is astonishing, and massive.

 

The best place to start, would be to increase the number of highway patrol cars by at least triple, and somehow get them to patrol the highways. Maybe if they are found sitting in the office for more than 30 minutes, mandatory firing and a large fine? These guys sit around and play cards, or play with their phones, until an accident happens, then they hit the road. What about preventative patrolling of the highways? Pulling over the thousands of reckless drivers, and fining them heavily for their inane behavior?

 

When I was growing up, we took drivers education courses. They showed us horrendous films, of 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. Also, I remember my Mom telling me abut the good reasons to be a courteous driver, and to think of the other people on the road, etc. Does that ever happen here? 

 

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? It does not seem to exist. So, there needs to be a deterrent, like there is in the rest of the world, where the police are taken seriously, and not considered just another franchisee.

[RichardColeman]

5 hours ago, rooster59 said:

 

I'd have more faith in this lot

[dcnx]

Simple. Stop reporting the deaths.

 

Problem solved Thai style.

 

Next!

[trainman34014]

Jokers the lot of 'em.....and Thieving Jokers at that !

[Assurancetourix]

7 hours ago, kotsak said:

Another fanfare on the same subject. It's like beating a dead horse.. SSDD

 

or brush with merchurochrome a wooden leg

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merbromin

[Orton Rd]

Traffic deaths in the UK were comparatively very high in the 1930's until a proper DRIVING TEST was introduced, after which the numbers plummeted. The solutions are child's play, unfortunately children seem to be in charge here.

[Classic Ray]

5 hours ago, simtemple said:

Successful international road safety strategies entail what are known as the three Es: Education, Enforcement, and Engineering. Thailand has never demonstrated any willingness to adopt any facet of this sratategy. 

 

From experience in the UK this works. But because the problem is fundamentally one of the poor who don’t travel in airbag and safety belt equipped Mercedes Benz saloons, it gets no attention from the Government who do.