Thai road carnage: Nearly 8000 dead at the scene this year - July tops 1000 - Wednesday's 76 is worst yet

[MaxYakov]

3 hours ago, essox essox said:

why are there many many motorbikes on the roads WITH NO MIRRORS....I see brand new bikes on trhe roads WITHOUT MIRRORS....why are they allowed to be sold and put on the roads ???

Why are you assuming they were sold without mirrors? Thais are very much into style and group conformance and can possibly figure out how to remove them. Bicycles aren't sold with mirrors and the Thai cyclists generally eschew them (farangs as well, BTW). I had a young, relatively HiSo Thai cyclist tell me he didn't have mirrors because he could hear the motor vehicles behind him. I guess it's just like the helmets and wide-open exhaust systems - effective absence of law enforcement.

Edited August 3, 2020 by MaxYakov

[toofarnorth]

On 7/31/2020 at 5:25 PM, geoff65 said:

 Yes these U-turns are madness and a death sentence, the only really way to solve the problem is roundabouts, It might take some time for the Thais to understand how it works but it will save lives  slow and keep the traffic flowing at a steady pace.

There is a roundabout in Maechan up here.  A couple of weeks ago a new transmission pole was being put next to the roundabout.  The road to the roundabout was sectioned off with lumps of concrete and tape meaning take a side road but no. I observed folk driving round the roundabout anti clockwise , they don't care , no BiB around.

BUT get rid of U turns , put in roundabouts , locals would get it after a year or two.

[billd766]

3 hours ago, essox essox said:

why are there many many motorbikes on the roads WITH NO MIRRORS....I see brand new bikes on trhe roads WITHOUT MIRRORS....why are they allowed to be sold and put on the roads ???

They are actually sold as new with the mirros fitted. The new owners actually take theb mirrors off because 

1.  The bike looks cooler now

2.  The bike will go at least 3 kph faster wirh less wind resistance

[fredwiggy]

4 hours ago, essox essox said:

why are there many many motorbikes on the roads WITH NO MIRRORS....I see brand new bikes on trhe roads WITHOUT MIRRORS....why are they allowed to be sold and put on the roads ???

Because they don't look behind them anyway

[WhatsNext]

On 8/1/2020 at 2:12 AM, MaxYakov said:

No, I'm not cowering in my room 24 X 7. I'm out and about every day on a vehicle with two 26 inch wheels on both the sidewalks and, often, the road.

 

So you think a motorbike without a motor is a safe thing ? Seriously get in a car, close to 80% of the traffic related deaths in Thailand are on motorbikes as everyone knows. In a car Thailand is on par with Canada for "safety".

[MaxYakov]

16 hours ago, WhatsNext said:

On 8/1/2020 at 2:12 AM, MaxYakov said:

No, I'm not cowering in my room 24 X 7. I'm out and about every day on a vehicle with two 26 inch wheels on both the sidewalks and, often, the road.

 

So you think a motorbike without a motor is a safe thing ? Seriously get in a car, close to 80% of the traffic related deaths in Thailand are on motorbikes as everyone knows. In a car Thailand is on par with Canada for "safety".

Maybe if you had spent as much time reading my post for comprehension as you did editing it, you would not have made such a comment. Here's the entirety of the paragraph you have extracted from my original comment which is HERE. Here is the entire paragraph:

 

"No, I'm not cowering in my room 24 X 7. I'm out and about every day on a vehicle with two 26 inch wheels on both the sidewalks and, often, the road. Hint: I have not purchased even a single drop of gasoline while residing in Thailand. I avoid walking in Bangkok as well unless I'm inside a building or for some good reason I do not have access to one of my bicycles."

 

Seriously (as you put it), I'll  be neither owning nor operating a motor vehicle while in Thailand and I actually avoid even using the machines given the well-known reputation of Thais on the road in terms of deaths, admittedly mostly with motorcycles/bikes involved maybe Thailand would be on a par with Canada, but I don't know of a source for such a conclusion, do you? Here's a link to the Wiki List of Countries by Traffic-related Death Rate [link](2016 is the latest data). According to the List, Thailand has 6 to 8 times the death rate of Canada depending on whether it's measured by population or distance traveled.

 

Admittedly, motorcycle-involved accidents in Thailand contribute greatly to the high death rate. Even then, the death rate on Thai roads, eliminating 75% of the deaths in Thailand due to motorbikes, is still twice that of Canada (around 5,000 - non-motorcycle rate Thailand vs around 2,000 - overall Canada) Check this out through the above link. Thailand has about twice the population of Canada, but I don't have the miles-traveled information, however, comparing the Thai road situation with that of Canada is a little dicey, don't you think (apples can be compared to oranges - they are both spherical, both have seeds and they are both fruit , but that's about it, yes ?????

 

Having said that, there is this:

 

I do not want to be involved in any accidents on the road in Thailand whether its in a car, Tuk-Tuk or motorbike. I will share the roads only under duress with Thai people and only in a bus or while on a bicycle or walking and, ideally, while facing oncoming traffic as would a pedestrian. Capeesh?

 

I said in the first paragraph of my comment (that you edited down to a single sentence) this:

 

"I early-on, over ten years ago, resolved to not do two things: Not to earn the Thai language (written or spoken - only a few elementary phrases) and not to own or operate a motor vehicle of any kind (I expanded this to avoid roads in Thailand altogether unless I'm in some sort of bus - in a taxi only under duress)."

 

So where do you get off advising me to buy a car? There are other reasons why I will neither own nor operate a motor vehicle while in Thailand, but I'm (unbelievably) trying to keep this short.

 

Do you think cars in Thailand are "safer" than bicycles? What do you know about cycling in Thailand? Are you an experienced cyclist in urban Bangkok (the only place where I allow myself to cycle and even then it's largely on the sidewalks/pavements)?

 

Do you have ten years experience cycling in urban Bangkok as I do? Are you going to pay for my owning a car in Thailand? How would you pay for my (still existing even in a car) risk of driving on Thai roads that are infested with largely poorly-educated (especially on motorbikes) Thai people whose road skills are infamously bad and even involve unlicensed children? Then again, there are issues of the quality of the roads in Thailand and the quality of their law enforcement.

 

The bottom line is I want to entirely eliminate (or get as close to it) my risk of being involved in a road accident in Thailand, especially an accident where I could be seen in any material way as being at fault.

 

Bottom, bottom line: I don't like the way the roads are run in Thailand or anything else about them and have and will continue to minimize my participation in them. Again, Capeesh?

 

EoR (End of Rant)

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 6, 2020 by MaxYakov