Thailand road carnage: Nearly half of all bikers don't have a licence - almost two dead PER HOUR

[Kainor]

3 hours ago, doctormann said:

I'm not sure that having a licence makes very much difference when it's the mind-set that is in need of adjustment!

Change of mind-set comes by education!  Main problem in Thailand is education!  As for now, learn about culture is more important than learn about physics.  And not to forget,  the word "logic ", does not exist....

[cardinalblue]

Bikers are not trained on road safety nor do the follow rules of the road...

 

poor behaviors have consequences...when I am driving, I pay more attention to cars and other vehicles than cycles...I will always win a confrontation/accident with a motorcyclist...I hate when cars cross the center dividing line to give cycles space and now create a greater chance of 2 cars colliding...

 

I always hold my ground on my bicycle when a wrong way motorcyclist coming the wrong way in the emergency lane....

 

 

 

 

[actonion]

Times maybe hard in Thailand for a few, but while sat people watching the other day  mid afternoon, i was surprised at the amount on school kids ( in uniform, in East Pattaya) riding Honda PCX'S,  obviously un licenced....these were kids  in their early Teens, if that..

[thaisabai]

3 hours ago, Dellboy218 said:

I agree.  You don't need a license to know that  you stop at a red light and road markings are purely for decoration.  After 30 odd years here it is  getting worse, certainly more selfish.  It should start in schools but the Police and teachers generally know no better.

[klauskunkel]

Dear Dr Chaimaiphan Santikan, you have set yourself a daunting task and your goal is a worthy one. However, these are your obstacles:

Parents, Government, Police 

Parents for teaching their children by example to not obey traffic laws and signs to the point of damaging traffic pole barriers and endangering pedestrians in order to get somewhere faster.

Government for their indifference to the issue, and paying lip service when the issue comes up seasonally, and for forming yet another study committee whose purpose is for show only.

Police for mulling how to steamroll non-existent drivers' licenses, and for being useless.

 

I know you know, and I know why you didn't write it, and therefore we both know there will be 4 deaths/hr in the foreseeable future... 

[mr_lob]

I remember being in a police station talking to a copper at his desk and this couple came in amd interrrupted...they were furious that the driver of a car that hit their daughter when she came out onto the road on their motorbike without looking, would not pay her medical expenses. She was 12.

The copper angrily tried to make them see that she shouldn't have been driving. It didn't compute with them....

[toolpush]

3 hours ago, ChipButty said:

Nowhere in the New TV article were the police mentioned. 

 

She already knows thats a waste of time

She needs to learn that more laws are also a waste of time.

[ChrisKC]

The blame can be  placed fair and square at the door of the Road Traffic Ministry. Licenses, whatever use they have, are  a legal requirement and a source of legitimate revenue - WHY are they not reaching out for it?

 

Road deaths ditto!

Law enforcement ditto

Enforced payments of fines ditto

 

I thought Thailand only interested in money, so enlighten me somebody!

[SuwadeeS]

How make it???? THAI people!!!

 

I have seen it a million times!

Reckless driving.

Speeding.

Drunk driving.

Counter floor driving.

No helmets and other safety gears.

Arrogant offence driving.

On top of it......

 

...... The police who really do not enforce the traffic laws.

So, who is wondering that Thailand is the "World Champion in traffic fatalities".

[Guderian]

They need to make attendance at a full defensive driving course mandatory before they are allowed on the roads in any vehicle, though how you'd police it is beyond me. When I was sent to live and work in Nigeria, I already had a decade of experience driving cars in both the UK and Europe, and was affronted when I was told that I'd have to attend a full two-day defensive driving course in order to keep my company car.

 

But why me? Like everybody else, I thought I was a perfect driver and knew far better than all the other idiots on the road, why persecute me when it was clearly never going to be my fault, lol?

 

It was an American course given by a Nigerian instructor who took it very seriously, if you were at all flippant he would threaten to fail you and you'd be reduced to begging lifts off your neighbours. In the end, I quite enjoyed the training, it was to some extent a formalisation of what was already common sense to you, but which may not have been to the Nigerians attending the training, and it was done in a structured manner that made it easy to remember the rules and guidelines that would allow you to drive more safely. A year later I was sent on the advanced defensive driving course, and I was quite happy to attend, to this day some of the mantras from the courses still play through my head when I''m getting ready to set off or when I'm driving. I'm grateful to my former employers for making me do that training.

[streetlite]

In our town we have an onset of these little electric scooters that parents are buying for their 7-8 year old children/grandchildren and allowing them to ride out into the streets.....

[sherwood]

The family owns three motor cycles here and all three are unregestered.

Not one of the four riders has a licence.

That is just my family group. There are at least another 50 familys in my area and most would be in the same class as my mob.

No chance for reform and I would think it is the same all over Thailand. I can only see the number of deaths rising in the future.

I only insure my pick-up (1st class) to cover the risk of being hit by a Thai because I know it will always be my fault and that the other party will not have any cover.

[Rimmer]

A conspiracy troll post from the usual suspect has been removed.

[keystonecoppers2]

 

                             We all know that nothing will change, ever! So, why go on about it?

                             They did make a change for BIG bikes (more than 400 cc:s) in february.

                             I`ve been driving 1.500 cc:s for many years and everyone that I rode with

                             had common sense and NEVER came into ANY accidents. They are

                             barking up the wrong tree on this issue, pretending that they are 

                             on the right track (so to speak). Well, they are not!

                             I would like to see data for 2019 and 2020, the results about BIG bikes

                             (400 cc and over) and the usual (small bikes), in fatalites over this

                             2 years. The data will show a staggering fatalities in the latter, I`m sure.

                             But they will never reveal that, because that will show that everything

                             is a failure In their (lousy) attempts to solve the problem.

                             Go on, let the carnage continue!  Have a nice Son Khran on the roads!

 

                                  Cheers!!

                      

 

 

[Asquith Production]

The Thai Government and Thai people do not appear bothered about changing this carnage. the only thing farangs can do is minimise the risk of being involved in an accident by driving defensively and having a dash cam to record any incidents.

[finnomick1]

5 hours ago, Dellboy218 said:

I agree.  You don't need a license to know that  you stop at a red light and road markings are purely for decoration.  After 30 odd years here it is  getting worse, certainly more selfish.  It should start in schools but the Police and teachers generally know no better.

You have to stop at a red light in Thailand ?

[dogfish180]

At least they wear their face masks, so they don't die from that deadly virus!

[Bundooman]

5 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

The problem here is that owning a license makes you legal.

However, it by no means makes you a competent rider/driver.

The licenses aren't really worth the plastic they are printed on. 

As I found out last Tuesday, on my way home, stopped on red in traffic at a major intersection and two young guys on a motocycle, you know, those shi**y little toy bikes - slammed into the back of my stationery vehicle, the younger passsenger somersaulted over the 21 year old driver, thumping my car three times before landing in the road in fromnt of me. No helmets - high speed in dense traffic at 6pm and of course - no license. The driver, 21 year's old still in hospital. At least one of the little shi*s off the road - only 10 million others to worry about.

My car will be available to me within 3 months! Great eh?

[Matthew2027]

I have been told the death toll is counted on DEATH AT THE SCENE, not if you die later due to the accident.. So therefore, if this is the case, the Death count would be a lot greater.

[ParkerN]

Just now, Kainor said:

Change of mind-set comes by education!

 

 

Hasn't worked yet... might work at some point in the future though.

 

I guess we'll see, though I'm not hopeful.

[dogfish180]

[nickmondo]

6 hours ago, JoePai said:

If they want to die let them - just don't hit my car when doing so ????

brilliant!  my thoughs exactly.

[zyphodb]

3 hours ago, actonion said:

Times maybe hard in Thailand for a few, but while sat people watching the other day  mid afternoon, i was surprised at the amount on school kids ( in uniform, in East Pattaya) riding Honda PCX'S,  obviously un licenced....these were kids  in their early Teens, if that..

Yep, quite a few of those in Isaan too.....

 

[digger70]

7 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Thailand has one of the worst per capita death tolls in the world - maybe 24,000 to 26,000 per annum -  and 70-80% of that is from motorcyclists, notes Thaivisa. 

That's not going to change if the Road Rules are not Policed . 

Than the big Factor is , Who Cares ,  the kids,The parent's,the cops ,the Gov'ment .

None of them care ????

[connda]

Blame it on "Big Bikes."  What utter nonsense.

Lack of traffic law enforcement.  Lack of driving skill and training.  Lack of licensing enforcement.

It's pretty much all on the government which allows untrained and unlicensed drivers to drive.  And then their so-call pre-license training videos that are required viewing prior to getting a license:  Don't spit.  Don't litter.  If an aggressive driver cuts you off, you should bow your head and raise your hand to your forehead.  When pulling out from a curb, accelerate slowly (instead of getting on the accelerator and getting up to the speed of the flow of traffic).  And given that virtually every motorcyclist in Thailand will pull out of a left hand side street and onto a main street or thoroughfare without looking to the right and yielding to oncoming traffic, I can only assumed that the government teaches them this suicidal tactic and condones it's use.  File it under "population control."
Every year we get hand-wringing, promises, and photo-ops.
What is needed is a complete revamping of Thai driving including putting cops in patrol cars that are used for pulling fools over for committing moving violations instead of escorting VIPs.
Will that happen?  Nope.  Nothing will happen other than more hand wringing, promises, and photo-ops.  And the continuation of this horrid, senseless slaughter.

[geisha]

Total lack of education in Thailand, you see it in all walks of life, in their work, in the way they trash their own country, in the way they totally don’t educate their children, and in the way they behave on the roads. Try cross a road,  the lights are red, off you go, kids, grown ups they just carry on ahead driving around you , on their smart phones, moronic attitudes, policeman standing there too, makes no difference. Put up cameras everywhere, fine and confiscate, hit them where it hurts, drunk driving, confiscate the car for x months, big fines. Radars on all roads and motorways. Try the British way, it’s at least working. 

[biggles45]

A waste of time coming up with these plans. They all fail due to a lack of enforcement... remember the limit on pickup passengers? 

Special licence for over 249cc, how many of the 24,000 killed had bikes over that size and compare it to the 50% with no licence at all. Trying to regulate to fix the wrong problem. 

[Phaser]

So as a serious and dedicated big bike rider I see the issues first hand every time I ride. First - the problem is not the big bikes - the bulk of the problem is the scooters. You name it - no helmet, no lights, U turns with no signal or looking before they turn, drunk, whole families on one scooter etc etc etc. also no consequences for anything - other than dying which one would think would be consequences enough. 
 

The laws need updating, as do driving licenses but the police are in fact part of the solution - for bikes and for cars. The law must be enforced and the police need to conduct themselves properly. This also means real on the record fines, actual traffic stops on the road not just checkpoints and real tickets given. I love riding in Thailand but I don’t pretend it’s safe - scoffers are a big issue but so are cars. When is the last time you saw someone pulled over for tail gating ? Doesn’t happen ....

[bluesea]

The whole Drivers licence & Car Registration needs to be reviewed thoughly from scratch, Cars, Mortorbikes going up the road the wrong way, no lights, no licence registration for a Sidecar on a Motorbike.

The Police should be made more accountable in doing there jobnot only for speeding but breaking the Road laws but to protect the innocent from these unlicenced drivers & Vehicals..

[Burma Bill]

5 hours ago, overherebc said:

Add in no helmet then any insurance is invalid to cover them and their bike ( 3rd party only ) plus any accident they are in is their fault.

Yes indeed, my thoughts as well, and could also include no valid motorcycle road fund license in addition to no driving license.