Songkran accidents cost Thailand 5 billion baht

[webfact]

Songkran accidents cost country 5 billion baht

BANGKOK, 21 April 2016 (NNT) - The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) has reported that the country might have to spend more than five billion baht on healthcare for casualties during the Songkran holiday.

According to MOPH Permanent Secretary Sopon Mekthon, road fatalities throughout the Songkran holiday rose to 504, compared to 479 last year. More than 28,000 people were injured. Around 4.6% or 195 of those hospitalized will likely suffer some form of disability. Medical expenses are estimated to be at least five billion baht.

Reports indicated that road casualties peaked at 15,184 between April 13 and 15, leading to 244 deaths. The number of accident victims during the first three days of the Songkran festival represented more than half of accident victims throughout the week-long holiday.

Dr. Sopon said relevant agencies had been applying traffic accident prevention measures since the beginning of fiscal year 2016. Accident-prone areas have been fixed and more than 500 vehicle checkpoints have been set up in different areas before the long holiday. Emergency medical services have also been improved, both in the number of personnel and life-saving equipment.

The MOPH is analyzing the root causes of accidents that occur during the Songkran festival. The study should be completed within May.


-- NNT 2016-04-21

[Reigntax]

May be so but it keeps the unemployment rate low and the undertakers and monks incomes high.

[clockman]

Disgusting, they praise themselves for killing more people!

[jaltsc]

"The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) has reported that the country might have to spend more than five billion baht on healthcare for casualties during the Songkran holiday."

Another successful Songkran safety campaign by the government. Next year they will "Urge" even harder without taking any effective actions. I think the biggest healthcare casualties are sprained arms from them patting themselves on the back.

[mercman24]

here we go another year, and they are "analysing" results. ok here is two to start with, number 1.most driving pissed up, and number 2. got no <deleted> road sense at all, so is it only one week they are worried about ?? not the other 51 weeks that make up a year. yep thought so .

[DM07]

...but at least we will been nicely dressed and not have danced provocatively!

All hail to another government initiative, getting all priorities right!

[Pattaya28]

The MOPH is analyzing the root causes of accidents that occur during the Songkran festival.

These causes are known.

Been published .

Year after year the causes are the same.

Intoxication + excessive speed.

And the causes will be re-analysed

[tracker1]

A study of the root cause of the blatantly obvious ! Oh my !!! Secondly 5 billion in medical expenses, if the authorities enforced the traffic laws with substantial fines they would recover that money Im sure and in the process possibly save some lives.

[chicowoodduck]

Safe and sane are bygone words during Dumbkran...???

Cancel the whole darn thing.....??

[SOTIRIOS]

.....all this human carnage....deaths...injuries....disfigurement .....handicaps....lives and families ruined.....

...all they can think of is baht......

...pretty sick.......

[jamesbrock]

Root cause: excessive drink driving and speeding? Or, generations of utterly ineffective, virtually non-existent law enforcement leading road users to believe they can drink drive and speed with relative impunity?

[leeneeds]

Mop did you say? that comes after sweep,

dam bunch of meat heads.

4 x 2 = across the numb skulls head would not make a difference

a doctor of what ? sure is not common sense,

may be a doctor of spin , how these (educated ) keep their positions

is just amazing.

[gandalf12]

They took many precautions except one. They still have not taught them to drive

[AsiaCheese]

It costs the government a stash of cash - but it also costs you and me higher insurance premiums!

[Beng]

A study of the root cause of the blatantly obvious ! Oh my !!! Secondly 5 billion in medical expenses, if the authorities enforced the traffic laws with substantial fines they would recover that money Im sure and in the process possibly save some lives.

very true.

[Khun Paul]

it is nice to see thgat someone has the guts to put a bill on the amount of accidents over such a short period of time, one then wondes what the actual bill is per year of the senseless and often easily stopped accidents do actually cost. We have had poor brakes, drivers drunk, badly maintained vehicles, overloaded vehicles and of course un-licensed and un-insured drivers/riders.

If the costs were made public the outcry would make the Government realise this is a really serious problem that needs really serious action not just sound bites to placate but action to stop and cure.

[thesetat2013]

Songkran accidents cost country 5 billion baht

BANGKOK, 21 April 2016 (NNT) - The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) has reported that the country might have to spend more than five billion baht on healthcare for casualties during the Songkran holiday.

According to MOPH Permanent Secretary Sopon Mekthon, road fatalities throughout the Songkran holiday rose to 504, compared to 479 last year. More than 28,000 people were injured. Around 4.6% or 195 of those hospitalized will likely suffer some form of disability. Medical expenses are estimated to be at least five billion baht.

Reports indicated that road casualties peaked at 15,184 between April 13 and 15, leading to 244 deaths. The number of accident victims during the first three days of the Songkran festival represented more than half of accident victims throughout the week-long holiday.

Dr. Sopon said relevant agencies had been applying traffic accident prevention measures since the beginning of fiscal year 2016. Accident-prone areas have been fixed and more than 500 vehicle checkpoints have been set up in different areas before the long holiday. Emergency medical services have also been improved, both in the number of personnel and life-saving equipment.

The MOPH is analyzing the root causes of accidents that occur during the Songkran festival. The study should be completed within May.

-- NNT 2016-04-21

It's hard to believe that after decades of having songkran that they are only now doing a study of why their are so many accidents. Surely this is yet another waste of taxpayers money. Just as surely, the causes are fron uneducated or untrained drivers who could care less about being a considerate driver or by following the laws of driving

[chainarong]

What about the loss for twelve months in road accidents , it is critical that Thailand starts to realize that economics is not just about the interest rates or the CPI adjusted to suit, it also includes losses , massive losses wouldn't be hard to find, the drought will cause untold loss in production due to water miss- management ,Rail transport is a mess , inefficient departments is another award loss winner , Thailand would be great if it wasn't always in a losing position before the starting gun is fired , time to get real Thailand........................................... .

[siliconvalley]

Wow.

I wish Songkan occurred every day.

[silverhawk_usa]

What about the loss for twelve months in road accidents , it is critical that Thailand starts to realize that economics is not just about the interest rates or the CPI adjusted to suit, it also includes losses , massive losses wouldn't be hard to find, the drought will cause untold loss in production due to water miss- management ,Rail transport is a mess , inefficient departments is another award loss winner , Thailand would be great if it wasn't always in a losing position before the starting gun is fired , time to get real Thailand........................................... .

You are correct. It has been posted a number of times, including by me, that the Songkran carnage toll isn't that much different, if at all, from the average normal daily road toll. They need to address the loss of life and also the economics on the annual toll, not just bring it to the forefront on long holidays.

[hanuman2543]

If we assume that the number of accidents and fatalities during Songhkran or New Year are actually lower than at other times ,how much does it cost Thailand in a whole year? At least half of the amount of the rice disaster.

[taony]

It costs a lot more than just the medical costs. There are now many less families with breadwinners and more families now on a downward spiral into further poverty. The economy has shrunk.

[tuanku]

The MOPH is analyzing the root causes of accidents that occur during the Songkran festival. The study should be completed within May.

The real causes are rooted very deep within the society and are not likely to be easily changeable.

Sure there are a lot of drunk, careless and incompetent drivers whizzing around at high speed, but what is it about Thai society that makes this possible, even acceptable?

For instance;

I observed two teenage boys, about 14 sitting in a sala today, after a while a girl of about 13 in a "bar girl" costume drove up on a newish motorbike with an 8 year old. She handed the bike over to one of the boys, all 4 of them piled on and they drove off at high speed, none of them with helmets.

These are possibly part of the demographic of the majority of fatalities over Songkran.

None of the group either owned the motorbike or presumably had ever been taught how to ride it. They were all too young to have licences. The parents or older siblings who presumably bought and were still paying for the bike were either unaware of it being used in this way or had condoned it.

This kind of thing is repeated every day in every village in Thailand. What are the chances of any of these kids reaching maturity? If they do survive what are the chances of any of them becoming responsible users of motor vehicles in the future and passing those attitudes on to their own children?

To say the root cause is alcohol, or speeding, or anything else is mistaking the symptoms for the disease. The root cases are to do with parenting, education, religious attitudes to some extent though I doubt these kids spend much time in temples, and attitudes to responsibility, accountability and death. Not easily changed IMHO.

[tuanku]

To take my point further, watch this LiveLeak clip of a very Thai road accident (not gory but quite amusing)

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=efc_1461029414

Ask yourself, not why they were all on that trailer in the first place, but why, after their spill, did they all, including mothers with toddlers in arms, climb back on to continue their journey? Somewhere in the answer to that question is an insight into the root causes of Thai driving attitudes.

[alanferdi]

The MOPH is analyzing the root causes of accidents that occur during the Songkran festival.

These causes are known.

Been published .

Year after year the causes are the same.

Intoxication + excessive speed.

And the causes will be re-analysed

Goldfish syndrom....dementia and brainless behaviour.......This year brings only curses!!!! Blessings for what to get drunk again?

[Pattaya28]

We read "Thai Netizens" are "up-in-arms" over this, over that, bla bla bla, but these "Netizens" don't appear to be "up-in-arms" over all this road carnage.

Why Not ??

[dcnx]

Wow.

I wish Songkan occurred every day.

In terms of road casualties and accidents, it does.

[dcnx]

We read "Thai Netizens" are "up-in-arms" over this, over that, bla bla bla, but these "Netizens" don't appear to be "up-in-arms" over all this road carnage.

Why Not ??

Because they really don't get up in arms. Ever notice most of those stories are from Coconuts? A handful of people leaving nasty comments is hardly news unless you make it so.

[kannot]

"The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) has reported that the country might have to spend more than five billion baht on healthcare for casualties during the Songkran holiday."

Another successful Songkran safety campaign by the government. Next year they will "Urge" even harder without taking any effective actions. I think the biggest healthcare casualties are sprained arms from them patting themselves on the back.

i would have said "sprained wrists" myself but readers might have to think about that more

[mikebell]

The quoted figure is a small fraction of what the drought is really going to cost after pouring billions of gallons of water down the drain. Songkran should be a one day festival for adolescent farangs in three or four big Thai cities. The biggest cause of death is millions of Thais go home for a drunken orgy & drive there & back.