Thai road carnage: A MILLION injuries and 24,000 deaths per year, official admits

[Airbagwill]

2 hours ago, Brunolem said:

The "environment" has nothing to do with that!

The road from Sisaket to Ubon is a nice stretch of asphalt with 4 lanes all the way, plus bikes lanes on the sides.

And yet there are countless accidents.

Among the most frequent cases are the drivers who fall asleep at the wheel and go crash while driving on a stretch of straight road with no obstacles whatsoever.

Yet, there is the pure lack of brains...such as this guy who, in the night, was crossing this same 4 lane road while pushing his motorbike! I and another driver had to jump on the brakes not to hit him at full speed!

Then there is this other one who came from a small dirt road and crossed directly in front of wife, just to go crash himself against a big truck that was coming on the other side of the road!

He lost his leg in the process.

Children 12 years old, with no licence obviously, ride a bike with no helmet to go to my son's school!

And I could go on with countless examples which I have witnessed firsthand.

Don't put the blame for this disaster on the roads, the police or whatever...it is first and foremost the result of a totally irresponsible behavior from the population!

They don't care! I know, I speak to them about it, only to see them keeping on doing as they please, no matter the consequences!

You see this is exactly what we're up against total ignorance of road safety.

That road is a death trap - poorly designed without proper armco too straight...it is a classic example of a dangerous road yet the average TV punter just doesn't understand even the basics.

[Misterwhisper]

8 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Dr Thaejing said that the situation led to untold misery for the population with people robbed of life and a proper existence due to the carnage.

Perhaps if that population showed a little interest in following traffic rules and learning how to steer  and control a motor vehicle properly, they wouldn't be "robbed of life and proper existence"; or at least not so many of them. But all I see is utter ignorance of road rules, appalling driving skills, total disregard for other motorists, as well as the typical "me, me, me" attitude that seems to prevail in pretty much every aspect of daily life here.

 

But kudos to Dr Thaejing for his honesty and bravery in admitting that something is going terribly wrong on Thai roads.

Edited October 28, 2017 by Misterwhisper

[expat_4_life]

2 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Multiply 1,700 times 20-40X as dangerous for scooters and see where you end up.

 

Here are some statistics you can comb through ... 73% of fatalities are on 2/3 wheeled vehicles.

http://www.searo.who.int/thailand/areas/roadsafety/en/

 

The death rate quoted in the OP looks fairly certain, not sure about the injury numbers though.

Edited October 28, 2017 by expat_4_life

[petedk]

3 hours ago, Sirbergan said:

There is no way 1 out of 68 people are injured in vehicle accidents every year. No way!

 

#fakenews

I think it depends on what you mean by injured.

 

I meet hundreds of Thais every week and believe me, many of them have been involved in some kind of road accident. Maybe not always serious, but I am really amazed at the number.

 

Not only that, but I seem to meet a lot of people who have a family member or friend that has been killed in a road accident.

 

When I lived in England I think I know of maybe 10 - 20 people involved in accidents and only one death.

[jesimps]

8 hours ago, z42 said:

Absolutely abhorrent. The sheer stupidity of a decent % of those behind the wheel / handlebars is the chief culprit.

The cops are too lazy and inept to do anything, but it is a gargantuan task that without any huge smartening of the population will only look worse in future years.

Incidentally went to Cambodia recently and the driving standards and attitudes there are even more pathetic than here ?

Three things to stop the carnage and they are deterrent, deterrent, deterrent.

 

They need to hit them v hard in the pocket and throw in some jail time and bans.

 

[mommysboy]

1 hour ago, impulse said:

 

I may agree with you if I didn't pass a hundred foreigners every day in Bangkok who've gone native and drive exactly like the locals.  Wrong way, on the shoulder, no helmet, weaving lanes, and everything.  Their nationality didn't change.  Their driver's training and decades of experience back home can't be unlearned.  In fact, about the only difference is the lack of enforcement.  Human nature will have people acting in a way that maximizes the perceived benefit to them.  When there's no enforcement, saving a few seconds looks like a benefit, and accidents don't happen often enough to change that perception.  Unlike getting pulled over back home...

 

And I can't fathom why anyone would claim that the type of vehicle wouldn't play a role, since it was studies in the USA and Australia that show a scooter is 20-40x as hazardous per km driven than a 4 wheel vehicle with steel all around and seatbelts.  You can drive a scooter safer than the  nimrod in the next lane, but you can't drive a scooter safer than you can drive a 4 wheeled vehicle.  Wearing a helmet is like putting on a condom to boink a crack whore.  Sure, it's a good idea.  If you just have to boink a crack whore, or you can't afford 4 wheels.

 

I basically agree with you that the kind of vehicle makes a difference, but it is speed and bad driving that are the main factors regardless; the two being synonyms in this context.  Impact speed largely determines mortality rate.  It's Thai mentality regarding driving that needs to change.  Motor bikes are dangerous, even more so when ridden by young men.  Fatalities would decrease if people were in cars, but there would still be an unusually high incidence of crashes imo.

 

I also think that when one takes to the Thai roads on a motor bike, it's actually more dangerous to observe the highway code,eg, stopping at a zebra crossing as soon as a pedestrian puts a foot on it, increases the chances of being hit from behind by the Thai riders who aren't expecting it.

Edited October 28, 2017 by mommysboy

[kaorop]

Its a hypocrisy I face, I enjoy the non nanny state conditions here, but i am still shocked, enraged and in disbelief of how so many drive here...I meticulously plan my trips to avoid certain times and certain routes. You can meet the nicest Thai person ever who instantly becomes a stock car driver on the roads. 

[mommysboy]

2 minutes ago, kaorop said:

Its a hypocrisy I face, I enjoy the non nanny state conditions here, but i am still shocked, enraged and in disbelief of how so many drive here...I meticulously plan my trips to avoid certain times and certain routes. You can meet the nicest Thai person ever who instantly becomes a stock car driver on the roads. 

What do you mean by nanny state in this instance- do you mean the highway code?

[kaorop]

8 minutes ago, mommysboy said:

What do you mean by nanny state in this instance- do you mean the highway code?

Punitive and extensive fine systems in many western countries that are more about revenue than safety.

[tryasimight]

5 hours ago, poyai111 said:

By far the greatest component of these road deaths is the motorcyclist component - in excess of 30% -over 20 per day! A scorched earth policy to reduce their anarchy would be desirable and effective if the police were to be effectively motivated.

Try 80% of the deaths are on motorbikes and the vast majority are young men. 

[kaorop]

4 minutes ago, tryasimight said:

I think you need to post a link to where the Thais do not count a death in  hospital from a road accident on the death toll or stop regurgitating bar stool nonsense. 

Well true or not they are fudging the numbers and it wouldnt suprise to find that its also sanctioned at that level of reporting, so it matters little and can you prove they do include them. No. 

Edited October 28, 2017 by kaorop

[Ossy]

1 hour ago, Airbagwill said:

yet the average TV punter just doesn't understand even the basics.

Hmm . . that should get them going. Take cover, chaps!

[tryasimight]

16 minutes ago, kaorop said:

Well true or not they are fudging the numbers and it wouldnt suprise to find that its also sanctioned at that level of reporting, so it matters little and can you prove they do include them. No. 

There have been numerous reports published on this forum stating that a person has died in hospital and subsequently included in the road toll death count

[lockman07]

These numbers are not accurate, the authorities admitted earlier this year during Songkhran that the fatality statistics are much higher because they are only counting the fatalities of people who died on the site of the accident.  They didn't count the people who died on the way to or at the hospital or later.  Not selling alcohol between 2-5 pm is working out isn't it?  What a joke.  The most selfish drivers I've encountered.  Life means nothing here in the land of scams, I meant smiles, sorry.

[Confuscious]

"1,000,000 injured people per year and 10 % of them will end up with some kind of invalidity."
 

This means that every year 100,000 families end up with (huge) medical bills and struggling for week/months/years with a disabled family member.

Whilst the 64,000 deaths are dead and forgotten, the disabled people keep living for many years to come and are a burden to the other members of the family who need to take care of them.
The number of disabled people increase every years with 100,000.

And somehow, these number only reflect the traffic deaths and disabled people by traffic accidents.
Many people die or are injured every year by faulty electricity; Faulty factory machines; Accidents in the construction field by poor safety standards; etc.

And Thailand Government is still smiling and covering up these numbers?

 

[Stradavarius37]

Darwin at work

Sent from my SM-N920C using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[farcanell]

10 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Not surprisingly he laid the blame for much of the death and injury at the door of drink driving.

Whilst having no doubt in my mind that alcohol is contributory to the carnage, the good doctor should have underscored his claim with a statistic to prove it.... after all, autopsies (or a simple blood sample from the corpses.... or person causing the accident) will give a verifiable result.

 

without this, its an opinion.... and it need not be. The truth would make a better story and be of more worth, probably highlighting other issues that go unaddressed. (Ignored)

Edited October 28, 2017 by farcanell

[connda]

Blaming primarily on drunk driving does not explain the carnage.  It's aggressive driving, lack of driving skills, and a total lack of law enforcement.  
Passing on blind corners, inability to maintain a lane, no understanding of right-of-way, and simply hostility on the road.  Being drunk no doubt makes the problem worse. 

If you want to know what anarchy on the road looks like - Thai roads provide the poster child of what roads become when there are no patrol cars patrolling the roads for driving infractions.

Why the insurance companies don't press the Thai parliament to put some teeth in fines and penalties for driving with total abandon, and pressure the police to start enforcing the laws and actually performing the work of traffic police is beyond me.  

[Bigfarang1948]

I have been reading about these anti drunk driving campaigns for at least ten years now and  it is the same empty  action campaign year after year. The focus seems to be on drinking and driving only during holidays and the day after another road carnage weekend, Thai Transportation Minister will claim that the campaign was a huge success and everyone gets a pat on the back while business returns to normal on Monday, and the carnage is ignored until the next holiday.

[oldlakey]

3 hours ago, impulse said:

 

I may agree with you if I didn't pass a hundred foreigners every day in Bangkok who've gone native and drive exactly like the locals.  Wrong way, on the shoulder, no helmet, weaving lanes, and everything.  Their nationality didn't change.  Their driver's training and decades of experience back home can't be unlearned.  In fact, about the only difference is the lack of enforcement.  Human nature will have people acting in a way that maximizes the perceived benefit to them.  When there's no enforcement, saving a few seconds looks like a benefit, and accidents don't happen often enough to change that perception.  Unlike getting pulled over back home...

 

And I can't fathom why anyone would claim that the type of vehicle wouldn't play a role, since it was studies in the USA and Australia that show a scooter is 20-40x as hazardous per km driven than a 4 wheel vehicle with steel all around and seatbelts.  You can drive a scooter safer than the  nimrod in the next lane, but you can't drive a scooter safer than you can drive a 4 wheeled vehicle.  Wearing a helmet is like putting on a condom to boink a crack whore.  Sure, it's a good idea.  If you just have to boink a crack whore, or you can't afford 4 wheels.

 

The farangs you mention are irresponsible no question, but as many freely admit thats one of the attractions of Thailand for them

YES I know why they do it, lack of enforcement

The only reason that bikes / scooters are so hazardous is mainly the way they are operated, its a fact and it applies anywhere in the world, plus lack of care for other road users in Thailand by every other road user just compounds it

Motor vehicles of all types in the hands of all round muppets are a sight to behold

Without a sea change in all the Thai road users mind set the carnage will continue

Bike users will bear the brunt for the obvious reasons you mentioned, plus more than a little self input

 

 

 

[oldlakey]

2 hours ago, kaorop said:

Punitive and extensive fine systems in many western countries that are more about revenue than safety.

Its called draconian enforcement, well thats what I call it anyway

A quick squint at the figures suggests to me it seems to be working, well for accident figures anyway

[csabo]

Put me in charge and give me the resources and authority. I'll write a plan on a cocktail napkin during my morning coffee that will cut those numbers in half in a year. 

[Blackheart1916]

15 hours ago, ezzra said:

A one day holiday in Thailand equate to a hundred or more dead

and god knows how many injurered, the sad part is that Thailand has

no shortage of days off and holidays...and yet, more holiday are added

every year. but i'm sure that nearly 900 million baht spent on the new

breathalyzers will surly bring theses numbers down...Yeah right...

It's true that every holiday occasion here there is great carnage, but when you look at the sheer number of deaths and injuries every day is a shocker by any measure.

[ThaiTrav]

14 hours ago, dcnx said:

Meh. Let them die. There is only one way for a “up to me” society to learn, and it’s the hard way. If they want to drive drunk, let them. In fact, I would support a national drunk driving day once per month just to thin the herd.

 

Year after year these reports and warnings come out but they never help. You can’t teach them and they are unwilling to learn or change. So death and injury it is. It’s their country and the people have clearly spoken, they want it.

 

Sooner or later they will figure it out.

yeah thats fine..... but you forget one thing they kill innocent lives in the course .. Let them accidently kill your kid , kids or family ,you will most certainly change your tune and not talk like this !! Sounds like you don't have anyone you love or concept of!!!!!

[Blackheart1916]

6 hours ago, kaorop said:

Punitive and extensive fine systems in many western countries that are more about revenue than safety.

I agree with your statement to a point. I am Australian and in Australia when I get a stiff fine for driving 5km over the limit it feels like revenue raising but the anti drink driving campaigns are definitely about saving lives. Bottom line is, both methods have proven to be effective. Difference is, Thailand is in a lot of ways still a third world country, no matter how many shiny new apartment towers go up on Sukhumvit. 

[selftaopath]

14 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Exactly what will happen.

 

They are so willfully ignorant and arrogant that they will never be able to solve this problem.

 

When they drive their true inner-child comes out, like a young teenager, belligerent and selfish to the extreme, you can really see their true selves that hide behind the smiles and wais, and it isn't pleasant. 

I agree. Another variable is the apparent "caste system" in Thailand.  On the road these systems are not that relevant/noticeable/embraced. I think some and maybe many Thais feel angry toward those who hover over them e.g. rich. The "lower class" can not question the "upper class" but on the road who knows where the class system is (primarily).This anger/frustration is unleashed during road travel hence the aggression.... in at least some individuals.

[hotchilli]

Take your pick...

alcohol, drugs, medicine, lack of sleep, lack of driving skills, impatience they are all to blame for these deaths & injuries

the driving system needs a complete overhaul to reduce the carnage... not just road side fines but severe penalties for serious accidents or repeat offenders !!!!

Plus of course the police actually doing their jobs instead of just collecting roadside tea money!

Driving offenders should be made to report to the nearest police station where the appropriate fine is paid (not to the roadside officer)

the details should be put on a nationwide computer system and points added to the drivers licence, when a certain number of points have accumulated they're automatically banned from the road for a minimum of one year.

Driving while banned incurs jail time & confiscation/destruction of the vehicle !!

Driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs should be an automatic one year ban & confiscation/destruction of the vehicle !!

Time to get tough...

[oldlakey]

3 hours ago, csabo said:

Put me in charge and give me the resources and authority. I'll write a plan on a cocktail napkin during my morning coffee that will cut those numbers in half in a year. 

My advice would be not to count the 18 - 24 club members but add 10% to the saga members, females only, that would take the edge off the figures

[Ossy]

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

Driving offenders should be made to report to the nearest police station where the appropriate fine is paid (not to the roadside officer)

All sound stuff, as usual, HC. On the subject of fines, wasn't the issuing of bar-coded tickets, with fines being paid, against the ticket, at a police station, the subject of a Junta PR show, a few months ago? It was supposed to be up and running a month later. Like the rest of Prayut's lies, dreams and promises . . . just hot air. And why? . . . simply because it involved someone in the RTP to get up off his arse and get these tickets printed and distributed.

"Leg work + brain work = no work and, besides, we really do need that tea money that everybody slags us off about."

[Happyman58]

14 hours ago, Brunolem said:

What happened is that many Thai people complained to the authorities and that the latter caved in!

Yes you are right They brought the law in and then all the Thais complained So the law was dropped They are very happy to die these Thais. Guess it is a bit like murder laws Law says you cant kill anyone because that is murder But if all the murderers in Thailand say hey we dont like that law they prob drop that law as well. Come on i was joking but that it is how silly it is here They bring in a law which might save people' s lives like riding in back of pick-up and the people complain so they drop it Anyway if law was still in they have to find cops to enforce it That would  be a bigger headache

Like they have road laws in Thailand

You must wear a helmet

2 people to a bike

stop at red lights

no speeding

do drink driving

no tailgating

must have license

car must be registered

car must be roadworthy

Tell one which one of these laws do the keystone cops enforce  NONE