Road deaths rocket by 3,000 as Thailand set to be named world number one in carnage, say academics

[snoop1130]

Road deaths rocket by 3,000 as Thailand set to be named world number one in carnage, say academics

 

 

Thailand is facing the likelihood of being named the most dangerous place in the world to drive. 

 

Figures revealed at a meeting of road safety experts showed that the death toll on the nation's roads jumped dramatically last year.

 

The country was previously named as number two in the world for road deaths - now it looks like being number one as road safety campaigns have failed to have any effect on the carnage.

 

Experts have pointed the finger at "tens of millions" of lawbreakers on the roads painting a bleak picture of the future as law enforcement and budgets fail to cope with the dangerous behavior of the Thai public. 

 

TNA reported from a meeting in Bangkok on Monday that the death toll in 2016 was 22,356 - that was 2,877 up from the figure for 2015 which was 19,479. 

 

Figures for 2017 were not yet announced but officials were not holding out any hopes of improvement.

 

The statistics show that the most dangerous place to drive in Thailand is in the east of the country with Rayong the worst province.

 

Far more men die than women and the group most likely to perish on the roads are aged 15-29.

 

Statistically the safest place to drive is Bangkok where you would have a quarter of the chance of death compared to Chonburi.

 

Three out of four deaths are male.

 

For each 100,000 people the six most dangerous provinces are as follows:

 

Rayong 72 deaths per 100,000 per year, Sa Kaew 69, Chonburi 58, Chantaburi 57, Nakorn Nayok 56 and Prachinburi 55.

 

The six provinces with the least deaths per 100,000 are:

 

Bangkok, 14.3, Yala 17.2, Mae Hong Son 18.2, Satun 18.3, Amnat Charoen 18.4 and Pattani 20.

 

Some 45% of deaths involve motorcycles, 5% are pedestrians and 1% cyclists.

 

Provinces where accidents increased the most from 2014 were: Sa Kaew, Lopburi, Nakorn Nayok, Ang Thong and Singburi.

 

Less accidents happened in Tak, Chumphon, Prachinburi  and Nakhon Sawan. 

 

Dr Withaya Chartdanchachai, an expert on road safety from Khon Kaen hospital, said that the statistics showed a damning and sharp rise depite road safety efforts. 

 

Dr Withaya said that 22,000 was terrible for a country of just over 60 million people and the death figures were only one part of the issue.

 

Some 1 million people suffer injuries or are handicapped by road accidents. And damages per year are put at a staggering 500 billion baht.

 

He said that when the figures are crunched by international agencies it will be no surprise if Thailand is now named as the most dangerous place in the world to drive.

 

He said that safety campaigns were not working.

 

Law breaking and lack of law enforcement is routine on Thailand's roads. Tens of millions openly flout the law  and when proposals are made to solve problems on the roads they are met with stubborn resistance from the public. 

 

Not enough is spent, there are insufficient funds available and there is not enough technology employed to help with the situation, said TNA.

 

Source: http://www.tnamcot.com/view/5a092853e3f8e40ae18e55e1

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-11-13

[coulson]

No surprise. And they get defensive when foreign media calls it a dangerous place to visit?

 

Wake up please!

[Thaiwrath]

Let's face it, it was only a matter of time, and will probably stay top for quite a while.

[NCC1701A]

number one in the world!

well done team Thailand!

[Rc2702]

F1 being in thailand is an absolute disgrace with carnage like this on the rd.

[KhunBENQ]

So many points to work on (proper driving education e.g.).

 

But for a start a traffic police force that deserves the name would help.

Speed checks, drug and alcohol checks.

Working (!) cameras, much more civil patrol cars.

Fines tenfold (for some maybe 20 or 50 fold). The amounts are laughable (must be from the 70s).

Imprisonment for negligent homicide not just paying funeral and a wai.

 

Driving without number plates is a criminal offense in many countries, here it's the norm for new cars seen daily.

 

 

 

 

[Get Real]

That has been long coming. Nice to get the top score at something. Now the country can feel pride!

[KhunBENQ]

16 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

Statistically the safest place to drive is Bangkok

Yep. Few heavy accidents in the gridlock.

 

16 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

Amnat Charoen 18.4

One of the poorest provinces of the country.

Still not enough vehicles to kill each other.

 

What a contrast: richest "province" vs. poorest province.

Safe for different reasons.

[jollyhangmon]

Well, congrats are in order then, decades of hard work finally rewarded - and ... another hub created! 

Awesome!

[Eric Loh]

Not sure if the bad economy got anything to do with the increase in 2016. Money hard to come by and drivers are doing more shifts and less sleep to make ends meet. Maybe even drinking more to ease their misery and behind the wheels. There must be a logical reason. The junta government has been imposing tough measures and still the accidents piled up. 

[jenny2017]

 

   The hubs never end. 

[Anythingleft?]

Bangkok tops the list as safest, no suprise really as your never far from a traffic jam! Goes a long way to show how diligently the law enforcement carries out the job of controlling the roads and enforcing traffic laws though. Some of the things you see here on a daily basis in the presence of police is mind boggling and pretty scary

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[wakeupplease]

With the Me first attitude and the bib off sleeping somewhere what else do you expect, but finally no lies in the statement they are the death roads of the world driven by the worlds deadliest drivers. The Hub of death.

[Cuchulainn]

And what will be done about it?

 

a  Nothing

b  Bugger all

c  <deleted> all

d  Sweet <deleted>

e  Sod all

f  All of the above.
 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

We're No. 1!!!  We're No 1!!!  Go Team Go Yaaa Team!!!!

 

Thailand, the hub of bad driving and road fatalities...

 

They could put a major dent in all these deaths and carnage, of course, if the country only had a functioning, functional law enforcement presence committed to actually enforcing the laws.

 

A wave of fines, arrests, motorcycle and car seizures, and jail sentences would catch drivers' attention real quickly, I'm sure. But alas, this is Thailand, and all of that ain't likely to happen any time soon.

 

[Cuchulainn]

..............He said that safety campaigns were not working...............

 

No shit Sherlock.

[agudbuk]

Another reason is the poor condition of many roads. The traffic manoeuvres around deep holes and drivers use the outside lane because the nearside lane is rutted by heavy trucks . 

[stanleycoin]

Soon to be awarded the title of the most stupid on the roads in the 

world.   I'm  most surprised. 

Well they had to be top of the class of two things 

 

[Ceruhe]

Thailand Hub of Road Fatalities, didnt even need to be announced or get a new shiny all talk no show committee to reach that status. Not to mention the goverment didn't even need to spend money on it or create corruption in the process.

 

Gratz!

[jenny2017]

46 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

So many points to work on (proper driving education e.g.).

 

But for a start a traffic police force that deserves the name would help.

Speed checks, drug and alcohol checks.

Working (!) cameras, much more civil patrol cars.

Fines tenfold (for some maybe 20 or 50 fold). The amounts are laughable (must be from the 70s).

Imprisonment for negligent homicide not just paying funeral and a wai.

 

Driving without number plates is a criminal offense in many countries, here it's the norm for new cars seen daily.

 

 

 

 

Similar thoughts?

 

  

 As long as we can see three speeding teenage students on motorbikes with bicycle rims, racing over a Thai school's campus, who do not even know that they are doing anything wrong, because their educators were doing the same, without even knowing their mistake(s), there'll never be a change. 

 

   I'd send a lot of these wrongdoers to a few months of weekend shifts, right at an emergency entrance of a bigger hospital, and I'm sure that after bloodbath # 365, where they'd be directly involved to help the victims, they'd start to slow down.A bloody experience, for sure, but one that will give them a wake up call. 

 

I've always wondered why it seems to be easier for a lot of Thais to pay 200 baht, instead of having a real license to do so? Doesn't make sense, does it?

 

No idea where you are, but have you ever seen a proper driving school, where people then learn how the brakes work, and stuff like that? And people who can differentiate between an ABS and the ABC. Driving schools should be allowed for foreigners with the right qualifications. 

 

Any ordinary tourist from an European country who had to undergo a proper license with driving and schooling, seems to be "road traffic educated" enough to immediately start as the Minister of Transport/security. 

 

Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to fill all these positions with soldiers? Who knows? 

 

  Brakes do not work when you don't know how to service them. It's as easy as that.

 

And people are somehow like brakes.Brakes fail, and so do people. And the educators. 

[KhunBENQ]

1 minute ago, jenny2017 said:

As long as we can see three speeding teenage students on motorbikes with bicycle rims, racing over a Thai school's campus, who do not even know that they are doing anything wrong, because their educators were doing the same, without even knowing it, there'll never be a change. 

And the parents don't care, not held responsible.

Also a matter of education/upbringing, specially for the boys who are totally out of control.

[Rally123]

I think Thailand has been the worst country for a long time now. Thailand doesn't count a death from a traffic accident if the person makes it alive to hospital and expires there?

[jenny2017]

10 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

And the parents don't care, not held responsible.

Also a matter of education/upbringing, specially for the boys who are totally out of control.

You could basically replace the word parents with educators and it would still be true.

 

  I've seen three tenagers dying on the local roads and I'm not proud of it. It left me so speechless that i'm trying my best not to remember it. The failure is already in the educational system and it's worse to fail in accident prevention than it is to fail in English. Lost faces all over. 

 

  Do all these Songtaeuw drivers really know what happens to the kids on the roof if they have to hit the brakes? I'm afraid that many kids do not know it. Asia developed a different "common sense.". 

 

  It's in no way stupid. You can't blame them for not knowing it. They're not even allowed to ask questions at school.....

 

 Isn't somehow the current "selfmade" government to blame for not letting education getting to those who need it? 

[stanleycoin]

Reckon only one thing will work.

Confiscate the vehicle and destroy it.

No if's or but's.

You would get there attention,  very quickly.

 

[Sir Dude]

It's a moronic situation and few care.....not good.

[anon537687643]

It’s been number 1 for road deaths for years but only in number 2 officially because of the “fake” figures previously released


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[moonseeker]

All comes down to lack of respect & brains. No education, no proper policing...They drive like maniacs here  in Pattaya and on highways, mainly. Had a cabdriver the other week tailgating less than 5 meters at 140/km. Totally nuts. My warning lasted 2 minutes..Then same sh....Closed my eyes an prayed.

All this contributes to the the changing new quality tourism...Indians & Chinese who happily walk in the middle of the road, unaware of any danger....55555

I feel BKK is already much more respectful. I don't see any changes for the better....Yeah, more malls, that I could care less for....MS>

[grego49]

When they cant even enforce helmet laws what do they expect and most Thais dont even know their own road rules.

[Nerone]

Finally Thailand is N.1 at something!
When they will learn that all this viability made of constant U-turn on high speed roads are one of the main issue? Closing the U-turns and building roundabouts could save a lot of people. Instructing them about priorities of way in intersection and such should also make a difference...

[Just1Voice]

Way to go, Thailand!  I knew you could be #1 if you tried hard enough.  Now, can you hold on to the position?