Thailand is World’s Deadliest Country for Motorcyclists

[hobz]

7 minutes ago, LannaGuy said:

Thais are irresponsible and selfish on the roads and will just go where they want because they are "Thai".  This is evidenced, clearly, by flashing headlights. Most countries it means 'after you' or 'thank you' or 'you go first'  here it means 'get out the way' or 'I'm not going to stop'. It's a metaphor for Thai thinking. I ride much less than i used to and much slower you have to assume an idiot will turn without indicating at any time.

A majority of them change lanes without indicating... Smart breed they are...

[quadperfect]

 I would have to say the thai riders are very skilled weaving in and out of traffic at high speed , probobly the best i have seen in asia.For sure the fastest

They are good but the cars are the problem here and the electical polls too.

Other than that just like in america.

 

Its rediculouse here in thailand. Soo much worse than tourists realize untill its too late.

[anon467367354]

I don't think it comes down to enforcement, it should be less enforcement.

The problem here is the law. Motorcycles are required to ride on the left side of the road.

We motorcycle riders must stay in the other vehicle's, buses', van's, truck'[s, car's, songteaw's blind spot. They can't see us. No one seems to do anything about illegal parking. People park right under the no parking signs. People park illegally where a car pulling into a road cannot see oncoming traffic. Businesses work on cars in the streets, change tires, brakes etc right under no parking signs. Motorcycles are forced to navigate through intersections with all the other cars slowing down traffic at the same time rather than safely use the overpass that has no traffic. Not to mention cars stopping in the middle of the roads to buy food, let passengers get in or out of their cars, taxis buying moo yang etc.

Change the laws, let us ride where it's safe rather than risking our lives in order to avoid a ticket which is merely extortion because we get ticketed for trying to be safe.

Why don't the police target what makes the roads dangerous rather than target the poorer people that have no choice but to ride a motorcycle because they can't afford a car or have the time to sit in traffic.

These stupid laws are a money maker for the police.

They don't have to show you any ID, They don't have to tell you their name, they don't even have to tell you which law you broke. They just say "left side". Give them the book, they can't find the law. We give them our licenses because they have guns, we have to. It's mafia style extortion and motorcyclists pay with money and their lives. How about taking away the commission police get every time they write a ticket. The most absurd thing I ever heard. Writing tickets for profit.

Change the laws that are killing us and see what happens. What do they have to lose, certainly less than we do.

[asiaexpat]

Ghost riders, five on a motorcycle, no or unfastened helmet, u-turns without looking, riding on sidewalk, no lights at night, etc. What can be expected but heavy loss of life. At least in a car there is some protection. 

[wombat]

if you ride a bike in LOS, its not if you are going to have an accident its when.

 

[Rawnthai]

I've lived here 20 yrs., and I hate to see the children and babies accompanying the ignorant adults. I hate to say it but, it is a weeding out of the shallow end of the gene pool. The problem is,  it seem shallow enders are born faster than the weeding process can handle.

[ICECOOL]

3 hours ago, wakeupplease said:

Oh come on stop the spin, everyone who uses the roads here are in danger, including the dam dogs.

 

World Health Organisation

 

What the hell do they know, sat in their air con offices talking bullS>>>

“If you take motorcycles out of the equation, Thailand’s roads will be as safe as (those in) Switzerland, the United States and Britain,”

 

what a stupid statement from a supposed reputable organisation. Did they ever stop to think if these idiots had not been on motorbikes they probably would have been in cars and may well have killed more people

[Jonmarleesco]

Sounds as though the country is the problem, not the motorcyclists, who dice with lives - theirs and everyone else's - day in, day out. 

 

As for the claim that: '“If you take motorcycles out of the equation, Thailand’s roads will be as safe as (those in) Switzerland, the United States and Britain ...', one has to wonder from which weird and wonderful planet that fool originates.

[dibley69]

2 words..responsibilty and consequences. Once they learn these words things will improve. As an ex test rider for UK motorcycle publications in the late 80's I feel i have above average motorcycle skills with bikes like the first Honda fireblades the Yamaha R1 and the Hayabusa's but I won't swing my leg over anything bigger than a moped in this country due to.the things I see on a daily basis here in Thailand. Its pick up driving only for me. Ride safe

[Jonmarleesco]

15 minutes ago, Rawnthai said:

I've lived here 20 yrs., and I hate to see the children and babies accompanying the ignorant adults. I hate to say it but, it is a weeding out of the shallow end of the gene pool. The problem is,  it seem shallow enders are born faster than the weeding process can handle.

Yes, well they all need leadership. TiT, where leadership has long proven elusive. 

[Jonmarleesco]

2 minutes ago, dibley69 said:

2 words..responsibilty and consequences. Once they learn these words things will improve. As an ex test rider for UK motorcycle publications in the late 80's I feel i have above average motorcycle skills with bikes like the first Honda fireblades the Yamaha R1 and the Hayabusa's but I won't swing my leg over anything bigger than a moped in this country due to.the things I see on a daily basis here in Thailand. Its pick up driving only for me. Ride safe

There are few mopeds on this country's roads, but plenty of small motorcycles, a difference I should have expected you to have appreciated. And it's those that are probably involved in the most accidents.   

[Neilly]

[Jonmarleesco]

36 minutes ago, gr8fldanielle said:

I don't think it comes down to enforcement, it should be less enforcement.

The problem here is the law. Motorcycles are required to ride on the left side of the road.

We motorcycle riders must stay in the other vehicle's, buses', van's, truck'[s, car's, songteaw's blind spot. They can't see us. No one seems to do anything about illegal parking. People park right under the no parking signs. People park illegally where a car pulling into a road cannot see oncoming traffic. Businesses work on cars in the streets, change tires, brakes etc right under no parking signs. Motorcycles are forced to navigate through intersections with all the other cars slowing down traffic at the same time rather than safely use the overpass that has no traffic. Not to mention cars stopping in the middle of the roads to buy food, let passengers get in or out of their cars, taxis buying moo yang etc.

Change the laws, let us ride where it's safe rather than risking our lives in order to avoid a ticket which is merely extortion because we get ticketed for trying to be safe.

Why don't the police target what makes the roads dangerous rather than target the poorer people that have no choice but to ride a motorcycle because they can't afford a car or have the time to sit in traffic.

These stupid laws are a money maker for the police.

They don't have to show you any ID, They don't have to tell you their name, they don't even have to tell you which law you broke. They just say "left side". Give them the book, they can't find the law. We give them our licenses because they have guns, we have to. It's mafia style extortion and motorcyclists pay with money and their lives. How about taking away the commission police get every time they write a ticket. The most absurd thing I ever heard. Writing tickets for profit.

Change the laws that are killing us and see what happens. What do they have to lose, certainly less than we do.

Somewhat difficult to have less of nothing. 

 

As for your notion that such changes would improve things: for you, perhaps, but the way the majority of motorcyclists act, they're dead men riding. 

[snoopy21]

Simply the problem on the driving attitude! A year ago, my friend was crashed by a speedy motorbike for which it came from the opposite direction of a one-way small road inside the complex area.

[jaiyen]

Another feather in the cap for the Thai government.    Hub of Motorcycle Deaths

 

[crystal sauce]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

15 deaths a day,making Thailand the world’s deadliest country for two-wheelers.

That's a lot for real !

[hotchilli]

“If you take motorcycles out of the equation, Thailand’s roads will be as safe as (those in) Switzerland, the United States and Britain,” 

This statement alone speaks volumes.. 

[dick dasterdly]

59 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

i believe this is a flawed measure; s/b deaths per motorcycle rider

 The above post was responding to  " there were 26.3 motorcycle-related deaths for every 100,000 people"

11 minutes ago, Jonmarleesco said:

There are few mopeds on this country's roads, but plenty of small motorcycles, a difference I should have expected you to have appreciated. And it's those that are probably involved in the most accidents.   

Which is why I agree with YetAnother's post, but I'd change it to accidents rather than deaths - as those on 'bikes have no protection  and are therefore are going to die disproportionately compared to other types of vehicles involved in accidents.

 

Surely the important statistic should be the number of each type of vehicle involved in an accident - per that type of vehicle on the roads?

 

Otherwise, its far too easy and simplistic to conclude that as so many scooter riders die - they must be entirely responsible for all the accidents and deaths.

[robblok]

2 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

 The above post was responding to  " there were 26.3 motorcycle-related deaths for every 100,000 people"

Which is why I agree with YetAnother's post, but I'd change it to accidents rather than deaths - as those on 'bikes have no protection  and are therefore are going to die disproportionately compared to other types of vehicles involved in accidents.

 

Surely the important statistic should be the number of each type of vehicle involved in an accident - per that type of vehicle on the roads?

 

Otherwise, its far too easy and simplistic to conclude that as so many scooter riders die - they must be entirely responsible for all the accidents and deaths.

Correct, when I am on my motorbike i have far less protection then when I am in my car. I was in a car accident in Thailand (ex fell asleep behind the weel and we hit a concrete pillar). Had I hit that pilar on my bike i would have been dead.. but the car had airbags (was total loss) and I had no injuries, the ex had a broken collar-bone from the seat-belt (without seat-belts she would have been dead. So yes motorcycles will more often result in dead. Not to mention how many here drive without helmets. So many could have been saved if they just wore a helmet. 

[peteregion]

2 hours ago, dcnx said:

“If you take motorcycles out of the equation, Thailand’s roads will be as safe as (those in) Switzerland, the United States and Britain,” Dr Liviu Vedrasco

 

B.S. 

 

They are maniacs in cars and trucks too, they just don't die as easily.

 

I could sometimes go months without seeing a car accident in the US. I see one or two (cars) per week here, usually late night. 

BS

I am a CDL A Truck driver in the US and drives an average 400 to 500 miles per day. I see accidents everyday though many are not fatal. Many of these are cause by drivers on the phone or texting. There is almost no law in the US against drivers using the phone or texting whrn driving.

[hocuspocus]

2 hours ago, dotpoom said:

I said it before, they seem to look at it this way.....If I don't look and check then I won't see anything coming, and if I don't see anything then it is OK for me to glide onto the main road regardless.

 

I guess that is the one brain cell approach.

[free123]

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I certainly don't feel that way, I am very cautious. I was thinking that very thing the other day, not only do I have to be cautious, I need to fear others around me.  And I tell you, trucks and cars also turn directly into the path of motorcycles without care.

trucks and cars also turn directly into the path of motorcycles without care.

 

Well this is the usual if they would not I would be very very surprised

[MekkOne]

 "If you take motorcycles out of the equation, Thailand’s roads will be as safe as (those in) Switzerland, the United States and Britain,” Dr Liviu Vedrasco, health cluster chief at the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Bangkok, told The Sunday Times.

It's not riding a motorbike that put you in danger, the danger comes from the fact that pretty much everyone is completely unaware of the basic traffic rules in this country.

Personally I've got over 150.000 km over a motorbike in Thailand and never been in a accident, but I'm riding since I'm 5, I've been a professional race driver for a bit more than 15 years and since my first ride 36 years are passed, I know the difference between riding and sitting on a motorbike and the attention that you need while you are on the road (in every country), how much is important using mirrors, keeping distances from the other vehicles, check what's going on in front of you as well as what's happening behind you, know very well the power that you can get from your bike as the brake performance and of course try to follow the road rules even if nobody is actually doing it.

Said so this so called Doctor should just get in the bin.


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[lucjoker]

In Thailand there is Thai_driving. 

You don't understand it..... Unless you are a Thai 

And if you are Thai....... You can  not  explain  it. 

WE DON'T  UNDERSTAND  THAI........ 

[MekkOne]

Oh, thank you very much. I always like to start the day with a good old chuckle.  Dr Liviu Vedrasco you haven't got a clue.
I wonder what the stats are on speeding, drunk, drivers killing motorcyclists.

They have no idea... You think that on over 2800 accident they got during songkram they figure out who was right and who was wrong in at least 1 accident? I don't think so.


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[Spike1938]

I know the problems are manifold. It bothers me when I see a ten year old driving a motorbike or a couple with a baby on her lap and then the wrong way drivers etc. And I realize that the first two are sometimes a matter of economic necessity when one can't afford a car. So, in the end, it is easy to identify the problems but not so easy to find a solution.

 

[hocuspocus]

1 hour ago, Rawnthai said:

I've lived here 20 yrs., and I hate to see the children and babies accompanying the ignorant adults. I hate to say it but, it is a weeding out of the shallow end of the gene pool. The problem is,  it seem shallow enders are born faster than the weeding process can handle.

Brought our newborn home from hospital two days ago and I was not happy at seeing in my rear view mirror MIL holding the baby after I put the baby in the car seat. I had another problem when I took MIL to the market and she refused to wear her seat belt. I have made new rules: No seat belt-No ride in car. If baby can't go in car seat then baby does not travel in the car.

[khunpa]

I think most people are not really aware of how easy it is to get a drivers license in Thailand. In short people have absolutely no driving skills, when they are handed over their license here and it is really scary to think about.

 

Add to that a "me go first" and "me not thinking about others at all" mentality + an invisible police force, then you are bound to come in as the worlds no. 1. 

 

I drive daily around in Thailand on a big bike and also in car. It is a complete "mad-house" and the police is no where to be seen. Will never understand the tourists who drive around here. They seem to have no idea about how dangerous it is and many of them are actually also dangerous in the traffic, because they do not drive Thai-style. (Thai-style = Drive like you have no brains and do everything to get as close to and  in front of all the others on the road)

[speckio]

I had a friend who opened a scooter shop in Bangkok...   one of his customers died like a week after buying a scooter, few weeks later same thing... a few weeks later same thing... he closed his shop and stopped selling motorbikes after that.

[silent]

4 hours ago, hobz said:

A majority of them change lanes without indicating... Smart breed they are...

It's because they all drive on the wrong side of the road!!