kwilco

Bangkok has one of the lowest road death rates in Thailand.

"Vulnerable Road users account for 80% of deaths on Thai roads. Motorcyclists account for 73% of deaths on Thai roads. Vulnerable road users (VRU) are road users not in a car, bus or truck, generally considered to include pedestrians, motorcycle riders, cyclists, children 7-years and under, the elderly and users of mobility devices. In the event of a crash, VRUs have little to no protection from crash forces.

Reporting of accidents with death, or injury etc are stats compiled by hospitals and insurance companies, the rate of reporting is very similar in most countries. The police are not the main source of motoring stats in Thailand. However if someone ends up dead or in hospital or has a claim or damages, against them, the accident will be reported.

Yes anyone involved. The initial error could be caused by another driver, yet the alcohol in the " innocent" driver who may have been driving quite correctly, might have caused a delayed reaction. Apportioning blame is not really part of road safety...it is to do with insurance claims mostly and then legal actions.

Motorcyclists are part of a group of road users referred to as "vulnerable". In Thailand they account for 80% of ALL deaths... motorcyclists account for about 73% of all deaths. Only a fraction of this is head injuries preventable by helmets. Although it is still a significant amount. What don't you understand?

This comparison is very complex and not very relevant. In Thailand 50% of vehicles on the roads are 2 wheelers. Big bikes are a relative rarity. ( for a long time they were illegal to own or even manufacture) In America, riders are four times more likely to get injured. Although motorcycles only make up 3% of the registered vehicles in the U.S., they contribute 14% of all traffic fatalities....but the ratio of 2 wheelers to cars is totally different from Thailand and so is the nature of their usage, mileage etc. Thailand actually has more motorcycles than Vietnam, the difference is that in Thailand, this is accompanied by a much larger 4 wheel vehicle ownership than in V/N, a very unhealthy combination.

Random breath testing is illegal in many countries but they still manage the lowest DUI rates.... in the UK the police can stop you at any time and ask you to take a breath test ('breathalyse' you) ONLY if: they think you've been drinking. you've committed a traffic offence. you've been involved in a road traffic accident. So they must have a reason.

30 % of accidents in the US involve alcohol. ( be careful how you read that!). In Thailand it is about the same. Countries with best records are getting down below 20%. But oddly enough stats like "alcohol" " speeding" etc don't change a lot in percentages. I haven't looked at the US figures for couple of years but in Europe there have been some alarming rises. A lot of this is difficult to assess at present due to the effects of Covid over nearly 3 years. One of the major factors that is being investigated is the rise in phone, digital and media usage in 4 wheeled vehicles in particular. Most countries, hand held is illegal, but it has been shown that even hands free can distract drivers and consuderablt interfer with reaction times. Then there is all the other digital displays available in modern vehicles.This is probably the area that is of most concern to road safety workers. To understand this, you need to realise that speed, drink and reckless driving are not in themselves the main causes of crashes.... it is in fact human error that is the main factor .... this refers to daily minor slips that all drivers make every day... and they result in up to 93% of crashes.

I'm in a car on a phone on a chat site .... I assume people can work out the vagaries of predictive text for themselves.

Safe roads save money. Deaths and injuries on Thai roads cost between 3 and 5% of GDP

Certainly helmet wearing is on the increase in Thailand and a good helmet is becoming a status symbol. Remember in US and UK organisations like MAG actually campaigned AGAINST making helmets compulsory?...so idiocy is by no means the preserve of Thailand. However you need also to look at the stats re. the efficacy of helmet-wearing as it can only have limited results in certain accidents. Motorcyclists are part of a group of road users referred to as "vulnerable". In Thailand they account for 80% of ALL deaths... motorcyclists account for about 73% of all deaths. Only a fraction of this is head injuries preventable by helmets. Although it is still a significant amount. I have to say though that the obsession of the media and contributors to this thread with only DEATHS gives a rather distorted view of the overall picture and leads to some rather bizarre generalisations on road safety. This coupled with a massive overdose of confirmation bias and a general inability to separate anecdotal evidence from fact or theory, leads to some wildly inaccurate assumptions about road safety in Thailand

They are not actually traffic police proper...they have no relevant traing and when was the last time you saw a calibrated crash report? Police are a paramilitary force in Thailand, they simply don't have the right mandate to deal with matters like road safety....they do of course have 10 year old brown Hondas

I agree with the idea Thai drivers are improving but that is not what road safety is about. Road safety is based on the premise that the range drivers abilities is a out the same worldwide. The difference is the effectiveness of governments in dealing with this. If they a very good, as in Norrhern Europe, rhe side effect is that the drivers themselves think it is they that should take the credit, when in fact it is the government created driving environment that is where the real credit is due. The fact that the OP came from a country with one of the lowest accident rates in the world andstill managed to break every code in the book surely shows this. A few interesting "factoids" Thailand has the same number of reported collisions as the UK, but the resulting death rate is about 12 to 20 times higher. Factoid - statistically you are LESS LIKELY to die in a 4 wheeled private vehicle in Thailand than you are in the USA. Factpid Thailand still doesn't gather statistics to international standards I.e. diving resulting injuries into 3 categories.... minor, serious and fatal. They also don't do other stas consistently. Cars per pop mileage covered per 100k vehicle deaths etc etc. You need all this to devise a proper road safety policy. PS US death rates are about 4 times that of countries like Germany, UK and Sweden

I know exactly what an M/C lane should be and me original post indicates this.. This is a discussion about a guy in hospital and potential solutions to the situation.. All I see on this thread are wildly ullinfirmedcomments about road safety and demands that boil down to letting the guy die.

You can't even identify a fact I have driven far more than you on Thai roads and am currently doing so .. the fact that you cite this just shows howblittle you understand what you see. It is pointless discussing this with a "flat earther" like yourself.

As ever, you are a one quote wonder and not it seems capable of really understanding the topic.. spend a year or so researching and get up to speed. You will, if you ever drive round Thailand see that attempts have been made. All you are doing now is attempting to move the goal posts after your first blunder and getting that wrong too.

Yes...but the death rate is lower over during these periods.

I would largely agree with you, but the government does want to change things...the situation is causing them to loose face....unfortunately they are simply too ill-informed to implement and effective policy. It is the Safe System they have to adopt and they have ignored advice and think they know better. Strangely enough since Covid I have been driving round Thailand and noticed a few encouraging signs..... the "green shoots" of road safety science. But you are correct in assuming this is a public health issue for government and science and not the utter nonsense spouted by most people on this thread.

Reas .y post you have completely misread itiy post. It also looks like you are incapable of using Google, where you will find there are in fact schemes to demarcate m/c lanes in places like Bkk. I doubt if you've read the studies on this as you don't appear to have even read my few lines earlier. It is a constant source of amazement to me that people think that by one search on Google they can rectify years of ignorance. There is a difference between search and research. Stick that in your Google and run it.

As you show by this that you don't understand road safety or what I've said. I said (typos corrected) - "You're citing Thailands traffic laws and their enforcement which you don't understand are not the whole issue" I'm not sure whether you lack comprehencion or are just being obtuse. You profound lack of knowledge of raod safety makes it impossible to discuss with you. You need to get up to speed on raid safety and not fixate on single issues ... then you'll get the whole picture and be able to make a reasoned comment without fallacious premises.

As you say they "believe" (incorrectly) it is the motorcycle lane, surely that means that THAI motorist are well aware there are motorcycles there and LESS likely to have a crash there?

Road deaths are generally lower over Songkhran

You're xiting Thailands traffic laws and their enforcement which you don't understand are not the whole issue...it is intact a complex situation that is centred on public health issues amongst others...you're seeking a simplification because you fail to grasp the fill complexities of the overall situation. You are fixating on this one individual and applying an incorrect assessment of Thai Road safety issues to it. That won't get a solution.

Your assessment of road safety solutions is quite wrong....however I believe that Thailand has a responsibility towards visitors' safety as they are contributing to 20% of the country's income. To cite a single issue road safety is not a valid argument especially as you don't have a comprehensive overview of that situation. In reality it is general safety of tourists that needs to be addressed...health and safety issues, crime etc etc. Many buildings and resorts don't comply with international safety standards, electricity safety, hygiene, swimming pools, standard of healthcare, corruption all are ome of the factors that can endanger visitors

But not enough said...there is no solution offered. Millions of people visit Thailand every year. Statically people make mistakes and misjudgements. This is bound to happen. Just saying "I told you so" achieves nothing. It is just regurgitating the obvious. I suppose it makes people feel smug when it isn't them. The truth is that it can happen to them too....maybe not in the same way but rhey may find themselves locked up, hospitalised or stranded in Thailand for one reason or another and then what? " it wasn't MY fault", I didn't know" "my insurance company conned me"... or are all the posters on this thread infallible? The solution is that both embassies and Thailand should acknowledge a duty of care. People either should be repatriated or fully treated in these circumstances...not left to die like the amateur Nazis on this thread are implying. We can all see the errors and just reiterating them achieves nothing, apart from showing how dim those posters are...they contribute nothing to the situation. Then there are those who point out that a more humane approach will lead to abuse. In fact they are wrong.... people who do this are a small constant...so are they suggesting that a whole scheme should be scrapped because of a few rotten apples and those in need should be left to suffer? And the cost? As a portion of a nation's foreign expenditure or the Thai tourist industry's turnover, this is a drop in the ocean. To think otherwise just shows a lack of understanding of large numbers.... it is also perfectly reasonable to expect people to pay back the cost once they are recovered or repatriated ... this is a system that works all over the world from medical aid to education to buying a house. It seems though that rather than think constructively, most posters on this thread prefer to stick to a nape of the neck regurgitation of the "bleedin' obvious" (John Cleese).