
kwilco
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I've studied road safety world over and over 20 years in Thailand. I'm amazed by the ignorance and rubbish written in the social madia about driving in Thailand Just because you can drive doesn't make you an "expert" on road safety.......... Thailand has one of the highest road fatality rates in the world, with around 25,000 deaths annually. The public and government responses to road safety issues are often misguided, focusing on blaming "bad drivers" rather than addressing systemic failures. Road Safety and Media Reporting The media often reports crashes as isolated incidents rather than as part of a larger public health crisis. Comprehensive road safety strategies, including better data collection and analysis, are lacking in Thailand. International organizations have provided recommendations, but these are often ignored. Common Misconceptions and Cognitive Biases Confirmation Bias: People tend to focus on evidence that supports their existing beliefs about Thai drivers being reckless. Cognitive Dissonance: Many fail to accept new information that contradicts their assumptions about road safety. Many foreigners perceive Thai drivers as incompetent, but the real issue is inadequate enforcement of laws and poor road infrastructure. Key Causes of Road Accidents Speeding: Higher speeds significantly increase crash severity. Drink-Driving: A major contributor, with Thailand’s rate among the highest in the world. Lack of Helmet Use: Over 75% of road deaths involve motorcyclists, often due to non-compliance with helmet laws. Distracted Driving: e.g - The rise of mobile phone use has worsened the problem. Unsafe Infrastructure: Poor road design and lack of pedestrian safety measures. Inadequate Law Enforcement: Existing traffic laws are weakly enforced, often due to corruption. Statistical Issues Thai crash statistics are inconsistent and unreliable. The Thai police primarily record deaths at the scene but fail to track later fatalities and injuries. WHO data suggests Thailand has a road fatality rate of 32.7 deaths per 100,000 people, one of the worst globally. Driving Culture in Thailand Traffic norms in Thailand differ from Western countries. Drivers often don’t use indicators and have an unusual codes and styles of driving, making defensive driving crucial for newcomers. Road social hierarchies exist, with wealthier individuals facing fewer consequences in traffic incidents. Don't overlook the historical influence of river traffic either! Legal and Enforcement Challenges Corruption among law enforcement makes proper road policing ineffective. Many traffic stops are aimed at collecting bribes rather than enforcing safety. Legal fines are often negotiable on the spot. Potential Solutions: The Safe System Approach Education: Public awareness campaigns on safe driving. Enforcement: Stricter implementation of traffic laws. Engineering: Improved road and vehicle safety standards. Emergency Response: Faster and more efficient post-crash care. Evaluation: Data-driven policy-making. Thailand needs a systemic shift in road safety management. Road safety is a public Health issue. Instead of blaming individual drivers, authorities must focus on structural changes, stricter law enforcement, and improved road design. Implementing proven international strategies like Sweden’s “Vision Zero” could significantly reduce fatalities. Until such reforms take place, Thailand’s roads will remain among the deadliest in the world.
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A rant about Thai driving.. I know.. Yaaaawwwnn
kwilco replied to 1happykamper's topic in Thailand Motor Discussion
he obviously doesn't realise how he's losing it as he gets older and doesn't understand Thai vculure (e.g. laughing and smiling at mistakes) and rather than admit he can't adjust, toes to blame oters. -
A rant about Thai driving.. I know.. Yaaaawwwnn
kwilco replied to 1happykamper's topic in Thailand Motor Discussion
Basically blaming Thai people for his old age. -
It's some kind of aberration but I don't know why -
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So what speeds are you getting on 5G data around Thailand?
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700 Stray Dogs Starving in Thai Landfill - Rabies Fears Rise
kwilco replied to snoop1130's topic in Central Thailand News
doesn't sound as if they are at all consumable. -
Teenage Brit Involved in Fatal Road Collision in Pattaya
kwilco replied to Georgealbert's topic in Pattaya News
So ‘deaths not at the scene are not counted.” Is a myth - the figures during holidays are released by the police - but they make no claim to them being final figure only angry expat amateurs do that. “Lies, Damned lies and Statistics”- Stats are not facts – tey are aids to understanding and it is how they are interpreted that is important. There are quite a mix of stats available about road safety in Thailand but the ones you usually see in the media are firstly from the Thai police and later from the WHO. The Thai police could almost be dismissed out of hand and the WHO is usually misrepresented by the media as they only quote only the set of stats relating to DEATHS out of 100,000 population. If you want to get an idea of how pathetically incomplete Thai road safety stats are just compare them with a brief look around the UK government web sites - https://roadtraffic.dft.gov.uk/downloads The way statistics are usually gathered is usually governed by internationally recognised methods, but Thailand has had dreadful statistics gathering and collation. Their statistics are incomplete inconsistent and inaccurate – Organisations like the WHO have to try and make sense of them, but in some categories, the statistics simply aren’t available. How they are gathered and applied in Thailand can be very haphazard. Having said that, it is fair to conclude that the stats for Thailand however vague, are genuinely frightening and there is a serious road safety problem in the kingdom. Other collations of statistics may include Deaths per 1 million inhabitants Serious Injuries per 1 million inhabitants Minor injuries per 1 million inhabitants Deaths per 10 billion vehicle-KM Deaths per 100,000 registered vehicles Registered vehicles per 1000 inhabitants Here are some of the main data sources for road safety statistics in Thailand Police Information System (POLIS) - Royal Thai Police Department of Highways (DOH) – Monitors road conditions and accident statistics on national highways. Department of Land Transport (DLT) – Manages vehicle registrations, driver licenses, and safety compliance data. Thai Road Accident Data Center for Road Safety Culture (ThaiRSC) – A key database managed by the DLT, compiling accident reports from multiple agencies. Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand (EMIT) & National Institute for Emergency Medicine (NIEM) – Provides data on injuries and fatalities from road crashes. TRAMS - "Thailand Road Accident Management System," 7. E-Claim - Road Victim Protection Company 8. Injury Surveillance (IS) - Ministry of Public Health 9. Trauma Registry - Ministry of Public Health 10. 19 External Causes of Injury - Ministry of Public Health 11. Information Technology for Emergency Medical System (ITEMS) - Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand 12. Emergency Claim Online (EMCO) - National Health Security Office 13. OP/PP Individual Record - National Health Security Office 14. Death Certificates - Ministry of Interior 15. Public Health Ministry (MOPH) & Bureau of Epidemiology – Tracks road traffic injuries and fatalities through hospital records and death certificates. 16. Road Safety Directing Centre (RSDC) & Thailand Road Safety Committee (TRSC) – Collects and analyses data to improve road safety policies. 17. Academic and Research Institutions – Universities and think tanks conduct studies on traffic accidents and road safety trends. 18. World Health Organization (WHO) & Global Status Reports on Road Safety – Provides international comparisons and estimates for Thailand’s road safety situation. These sources put together, provide a comprehensive view of road safety They are seldom used or even acknowledged by the mainstream media. -
Teenage Brit Involved in Fatal Road Collision in Pattaya
kwilco replied to Georgealbert's topic in Pattaya News
only partly right - stat collection in Thailand is very poor but the idea that only deaths at the scene are counted is a myth....as you would see if you knew where and how the stats were gathered -
700 Stray Dogs Starving in Thai Landfill - Rabies Fears Rise
kwilco replied to snoop1130's topic in Central Thailand News
Stray dogs cn only exist so long as there is a food supply. -
can anyone explain this? I've never got more than 75mbps off 5G Dtac...
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Teenage Brit Involved in Fatal Road Collision in Pattaya
kwilco replied to Georgealbert's topic in Pattaya News
personal anecdote - worthless information - the plural of anecdote is not data. -
just reading the climate change deniers on this thread gives you a good impression of their shortcomings - they clack a basic understanding of MMCC - eve trying to argue about what to call it, and cling to simplistic interpretations thinking they. are the only ones who have noticed and and cherry-pick anomalies without realising that this makes them look even more out of touch and lack the skills to either understand or argue against. They need to watch this video by John Cleese on being stupid -
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Teenage Brit Involved in Fatal Road Collision in Pattaya
kwilco replied to Georgealbert's topic in Pattaya News
So you realise that in this case the insurance my not have been notified - however they will eventually be making and receiving claims so they will want to get an accurate picture of what went on to protect their company against any claims. THis requires professional accident reports - whether they rely on the police or not is up to them - in most countries a forensic report will have been made that they can work from - they are unlikely to find anything from the scene of the accident much after the event as the evidence will have been cleaned away and destroyed. The unfortunate situation in Thailand is that the companies will have to rely a lot on incomplete "amateurish" police reports. (and of course the hopitals) - the police are used to being overly involved in the judicial roles. -
Teenage Brit Involved in Fatal Road Collision in Pattaya
kwilco replied to Georgealbert's topic in Pattaya News
Rubbish and racist. -
Teenage Brit Involved in Fatal Road Collision in Pattaya
kwilco replied to Georgealbert's topic in Pattaya News
THe first thing you should do in an incident (if you are physically capable) is call the insurance company - they send an agent to the seen within minutes. THey act as an intermediary between you and other parties.... they also represent the interests of the insurance company. THey are likely to be better at collecting significant evidence too if it is to their advantage. Most motoring stats in Thailand are not collected by the police, they come from insurance companies and hospitals who are more interested in accurate recording of incidents. -
A few years ago I was offered a job in Suratthani - I accepted - they then said how do you feel about working on Samui? I didn't realise the job was on the island. I know Samui really well over 20 years but I really didn't want to live there - however as the salary was quite good I accepted the job and lived there for about 3 years. Firstly the idea of living on an island is an anathema to me - having mwt many island dwellers over the years, they all developed some kind of "stir crazy" - they are all expats and slightly weird - in previous jobs I had very limited contact with expats, partly because I was outside tourist areas. Samui however only exists for tourism - it's expensive and even the locals aren't - BTW there is also a Thai mafia there. THe idea of living on Samui without transport makes me shudder - it's not like Pattaya where everywhere is a short (and cheap) baht bus ride - Samui has Songtheaws but they are dearer and don't effectively cover much of the island - there are of course loads of idiots tourists and expats lurching around on scooters I like to tour Thiland so I have a car and make frquent trips apurond th ountry - but on Samui you have the added expense and time (90 minute) of having to use a ferry every time you want to go somewhere
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you are overlooking income and distance - tourists from India and China are short haul tourists - just like people from Europe the cost of flying to Thailand is very high and people are unlikely to come in the same numbers as from India and China. Also worth remembering that tourist numbers still haven't reached pre-Covid levels
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British Nationals Arrested with Cannabis and Laughing Gas in Phuket Raid
kwilco replied to webfact's topic in Phuket News
couldn't resist a racist comment, could you? -
"Climate Change" is causing the LA fires...or is it?
kwilco replied to connda's topic in Off the beaten track
"nut" being the operative word in this case what's the prevention then? -
"Climate Change" is causing the LA fires...or is it?
kwilco replied to connda's topic in Off the beaten track
Climate deniers you are displaying the Dunning Kruger Effect In a nutshell, climate deniers ignore overwhelming scientific evidence that human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, are driving climate change. They often rely on misinformation, cherry-picked data, or flawed logic to downplay the severity of the crisis or deny its existence entirely. This hinders meaningful action, perpetuates environmental harm, and delays necessary responses to mitigate the impacts of global warming