61 people killed EVERY DAY: More damning stats reveal the carnage on Thailand’s roads

[oldlakey]

3 hours ago, NanLaew said:

It also was abolished in the UK about 3 years ago.

 

Maybe bluesofa hasn't been back home for a while?

Maybe he was still using a Guinness label

[Jonah Tenner]

4 hours ago, Sid Celery said:

 

 

1. Not really, but it's not just Thais, I don't like people generally.

I am not a bigot, I hate everybody separately, but equally...

[Maggusoil]

3 hours ago, Russell17au said:

The rule about people traveling in the back of pick ups was shelved for the time being because they did not want to inconvenient anyone over Songkran and it is still on the shelf

Because of the lack of infrastructure, laziness, infrastructure planning, being an agrarian economy, relying on the family ute for "everything". What's there to do? Put safety belts in the back of utes? I can see that working . . . or not. . . 

[Happyman58]

19 hours ago, Thian said:

A committee who will do a total crackdown for 1 whole week. In this case they will have many roadblocks where they fine motocycles who are willing to stop for them.

 

After the week it's same old....

 

It's all because of the lazy police....61 killed on the spot on the road EVERY DAY...thank you police, when will you go for the worldtournament candycrush??

When you have police standing there and watching drivers break the law  and do nothing then you have a problem  61 die at the scene  20 die on way to hospital and in hospital= 81 Aliens like Mayanmar people 5 per day  =86  Plus you can triple the people who have disability after accident  About 258 per day  So all in all the number of Dead and disabled =344 Every day this happens and you have a minister in there trying to stop it He has to be blind Freddy to see he has a police force of 256,000 men who are not doing there job  As i said  Cambodia has the killing fields  Thailand has the killing roads Oh about the candycrush dont encourage them they prob find that more interesting than  doing there job

[Airbagwill]

3 hours ago, Maggusoil said:

Because of the lack of infrastructure, laziness, infrastructure planning, being an agrarian economy, relying on the family ute for "everything". What's there to do? Put safety belts in the back of utes? I can see that working . . . or not. . . 

You might also consider that Thailand has a major industry building fiberglass covers for passengers to travel in the rear of pick ups

[Airbagwill]

14 minutes ago, Happyman58 said:

When you have police standing there and watching drivers break the law  and do nothing then you have a problem  61 die at the scene  20 die on way to hospital and in hospital= 81 Aliens like Mayanmar people 5 per day  =86  Plus you can triple the people who have disability after accident  About 258 per day  So all in all the number of Dead and disabled =344 Every day this happens and you have a minister in there trying to stop it He has to be blind Freddy to see he has a police force of 256,000 men who are not doing there job  As i said  Cambodia has the killing fields  Thailand has the killing roads Oh about the candycrush dont encourage them they prob find that more interesting than  doing there job

These stats are pretty much worthless, but you are reading them wrong as well.

61 deaths per day relates to the figure of 22000 deaths not the " found dead" at the scene figure, which nobody uses anyway.

The fact is that the DDD campaigners are using half baked stats in a way that is both clumsy and misleading.

The article even attempts to portray a drop in minibus deaths as if it's an increase.

The fact is that buses, minibuses are statistically far safer than motorbikes and cars.

There are no valid annual stats for injured as they are not categorised by international standards.

[metisdead]

A post in violation of fair use policy has been removed as well as the reply.

 

Some posts containing inflammatory comments directed at other members have been removed, the replies were removed as well. 

[canuckamuck]

34 minutes ago, Airbagwill said:

These stats are pretty much worthless, but you are reading them wrong as well.

61 deaths per day relates to the figure of 22000 deaths not the " found dead" at the scene figure, which nobody uses anyway.

The fact is that the DDD campaigners are using half baked stats in a way that is both clumsy and misleading.

The article even attempts to portray a drop in minibus deaths as if it's an increase.

The fact is that buses, minibuses are statistically far safer than motorbikes and cars.

There are no valid annual stats for injured as they are not categorised by international standards.

I would love to know the ratio of deaths per vehicle type based on how many of each vehicle types are on the road.

In the article they are saying there were 107 deaths in minivans out the 23,000 killed. But minivans are what percentage of the vehicles on Thai roads? I am willing to bet the kill ratio of minivans is much higher than cars, pickups, or buses.

Although I don't know where you could expect to get good numbers. This article claims there were only 226 minivans accident in 2016. I think there is possibly that many each month in any given province.

[lvr181]

14 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I've already been hospitalised for an accident, but that doesn't make me want to make LOS have the same policing I despise back home. They are quick to fine if 5kph over the limit but do sod all about the dangerous driving on the roads or deal with truckkies travelling too closely together to pass safely. Just a revenue gathering service for the treasury. 

"...doesn't make me want to make LOS have the same policing I despise back home."

 

Be that as it may BUT there is much room for improvement in the Kingdom, possibly without getting to that stage you so despise. And the advantage could have been you did not need to end up in hospital as a result of a road crash!

 

BTW, if it was a partner or other family member killed would you have the same thought?  Rhetorical question.

[Artisi]

2 hours ago, Airbagwill said:

You might also consider that Thailand has a major industry building fiberglass covers for passengers to travel in the rear of pick ups

Do you actually live in Thailand?

After living her for nearly 20 years, I could count on 1 hand the number of pickups with fibreglass covers I have seen used with passengers. 

[bluesofa]

2 minutes ago, Artisi said:

Do you actually live in Thailand?

After living her for nearly 20 years, I could count on 1 hand the number of pickups with fibreglass covers I have seen used with passengers. 

Surely the only thing a fibreglass cover at the rear of a pickup will do is keep the sun off those in the back?

It's not going to have any safety qualities at all in the case of an accident.

[Keesters]

22 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

I presume a large percentage of accidents would be when bikes and cars/pickups collide, Maybe a step in the right direction would be separating them. Bikes only for small soi's, suburbs etc, dedicated bike lanes on major roads. It works on the express-ways as bikes are not allowed and no bike car accidents.

If bikes are not allowed on expressways of course they'll be no bike car accidents. Duh. Take all the vehicles off the road and there would be no accidents at all. Way to go Somchai.

 

If your plan to separate vehicles is taken up, and I doubt it will, then cars must stay away from the bike areas. I.E. No cars in small sois, suburbs etc. I'm sure the car owners will enjoy not being able to drive to their cars to their houses in the suburbs but have to find other means.

 

 

 

 

[canuckamuck]

15 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

Surely the only thing a fibreglass cover at the rear of a pickup will do is keep the sun off those in the back?

It's not going to have any safety qualities at all in the case of an accident.

I have seen it and I have been under those toppers dozens of times. I have seen them with air con and seats too.  

I did a three hour trip in one. If you lay down it can be rather cozy.  Quite often you will see people use them to haul kids to school.

[Russell17au]

It is a total waste of time carrying on about the statistics, they will not change the situation that too many people die because of road accidents. There is only one way to reduce the carnage on the roads and that is to change the mindset of the people. How do you achieve that? There are ways. I don't care if I upset anyone on here that cannot face up to the reality that Thailand needs to have a proper working police force and more police on the roads, the fines need to be high for different offenses and they need to be enforced. If you know that you are going to be caught and your pocket is going to be hit and hit hard then you might change your mindset and if you see the police being active and serious about this then you might abide by the law. The road traffic laws are there for a reason and they need to be enforced. Being hit in the pocket is the one sure way to change peoples mindset and if you see a policeman every few kilometres then you will make sure you are doing the right thing, if you don't do the right thing then you are an idiot. The money that comes in from the fines could go towards improving the condition of the roads to make them safer. Remember this, the fine system in any country is a voluntary system, you do not have to contribute to it if you do not want to, the simple answer is do the right thing and you will not get fine.

[SmartyMarty]

In New Zealand I worked for the government road safety board for nearly 12 years. The recipe for success is a very simple combination of education, training & enforcement.

[bluesofa]

1 minute ago, SmartyMarty said:

In New Zealand I worked for the government road safety board for nearly 12 years. The recipe for success is a very simple combination of education, training & enforcement.

It does sound straightforward, I'm in favour of it. The problem in Thailand is the first and third point.

[Russell17au]

1 minute ago, SmartyMarty said:

In New Zealand I worked for the government road safety board for nearly 12 years. The recipe for success is a very simple combination of education, training & enforcement.

Unfortunately here it is too late for many for the first two to be effective.

[brewsterbudgen]

In New Zealand I worked for the government road safety board for nearly 12 years. The recipe for success is a very simple combination of education, training & enforcement.

Exactly. People seem to expect an overnight change, when it's likely to take decades. With any luck self-driving/automated cars will be the norm by then.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[bluesofa]

1 minute ago, brewsterbudgen said:

People seem to expect an overnight change, when it's likely to take decades. With any luck self-driving/automated cars will be the norm by then.

That's food for thought.

However, I'm waiting for the witty comments on the idea of self-driving cars in Thailand and the 101 additional things it they'd need to look out for...

 

[Russell17au]

2 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Exactly. People seem to expect an overnight change, when it's likely to take decades. With any luck self-driving/automated cars will be the norm by then.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

They could start the changes tomorrow if they wanted to. Training: They simply change the requirements for a license to have a drivers learners permit with 120 hours with driving restrictions before they can get a license. Enforcement: The police get of their backside and enforce the laws. Both of these could come into effect tomorrow.

[Sid Celery]

8 hours ago, Jonah Tenner said:

I am not a bigot, I hate everybody separately, but equally...

 

Don't make up stuff that you don't understand. It makes you look foolish.

[Sid Celery]

6 hours ago, Maggusoil said:

Because of the lack of infrastructure, laziness, infrastructure planning, being an agrarian economy, relying on the family ute for "everything". What's there to do? Put safety belts in the back of utes? I can see that working . . . or not. . . 

They shelved it because:

a. they knew it was unenforceable

b. the police would not try to enforce it anyway

c. it was unpopular with the major targets (upcountry Thais) due to vote in an election at some point.

 

It hadn't been thought through, was someone's bright idea as they say on (or above the toilet that morning, and would make the government even more of a laughing stock than they already were when it was ignored.

 

A metaphor for this government really.

[Russell17au]

9 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Exactly. People seem to expect an overnight change, when it's likely to take decades. With any luck self-driving/automated cars will be the norm by then.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

But remember that Thailand like many asean countries are land of motorbikes and they will still need to be educated, and trained to abide by the road laws

[bluesofa]

1 minute ago, Russell17au said:

They could start the changes tomorrow if they wanted to. Training: They simply change the requirements for a license to have a drivers learners permit with 120 hours with driving restrictions before they can get a license. Enforcement: The police get of their backside and enforce the laws. Both of these could come into effect tomorrow.

Could: Sorry to sound negative on what is a good idea, but that has as much chance of happening here as nailing jelly to the ceiling...

[Peterw42]

1 hour ago, Keesters said:

If bikes are not allowed on expressways of course they'll be no bike car accidents. Duh. Take all the vehicles off the road and there would be no accidents at all. Way to go Somchai.

 

If your plan to separate vehicles is taken up, and I doubt it will, then cars must stay away from the bike areas. I.E. No cars in small sois, suburbs etc. I'm sure the car owners will enjoy not being able to drive to their cars to their houses in the suburbs but have to find other means.

 

 

 

 

You can take it literally if you choose, or you can use your imagination. Restrict cars to residents, deliveries, taxi's etc. Keep cars on major arterial/ through roads and avoid having small soi's as major thoroughfares.

Lots of cities in the west have something similar, car restrictions in centre of the city etc.

There are areas were I live were its no point driving your car there, small sois were two cars cant pass each other, literally no parking, by defaut they are baht bus and bike areas.

There are currently car only roads, expressways and the centre lanes of major arterial roads, why not have the same for bikes, the less places they are sharing a road the less places they run into each other.

Encourage bike and Taxi use for small local trips within designated areas and car use for travelling between local areas.

[Russell17au]

1 minute ago, bluesofa said:

Could: Sorry to sound negative on what is a good idea, but that has as much chance of happening here as nailing jelly to the ceiling...

I can dream can't I. You have to have someone who in the government cares about peoples lives

[Sid Celery]

19 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

If allowing bikes on “fast” roads, they must be capable of driving at the correct speed, otherwise they are nothing but mobile hazards.

Which is why they build m'bike lanes on the side of expressways here.

 

Indeed. Many folk don't know that driving too slowly can be dangerous, same as driving too fast. My personal favourite is the motorcyclist without a helmet that drives down the centre of the lane on a 1-lane (each way) country road - doing 30kph. When you try to overtake them and can't (usually because the road is winding and you wont pass on a blind bend because you're not a Thai), they they to help you by slowing down to 20kph.

 

Jesus...

 

As Napoleon was alleged to have said, "do not attribute to malice what is sufficiently explained by incompetence". Or words to that effect.

[bluesofa]

1 minute ago, Russell17au said:

I can dream can't I. You have to have someone who in the government cares about peoples lives

True.

sadly I think the phrase someone in the "government who cares about people" is a classic oxymoron here.

[Russell17au]

1 minute ago, bluesofa said:

True.

sadly I think the phrase someone in the "government who cares about people" is a classic oxymoron here.

Unfortunately I don't think it is only the government that don't care about peoples life. What person in the right mindset would get on a motor scooter with 4 children and not put helmets on the children. There was an accident that I came across where a woman with 4 children on the bike fell asleep and crashed, her 9 year old daughter was nursing the 11 month old baby and the babies head hit the road and was killed instantly. I wont say what I think about that accident

[Russell17au]

17 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

You can take it literally if you choose, or you can use your imagination. Restrict cars to residents, deliveries, taxi's etc. Keep cars on major arterial/ through roads and avoid having small soi's as major thoroughfares.

Lots of cities in the west have something similar, car restrictions in centre of the city etc.

There are areas were I live were its no point driving your car there, small sois were two cars cant pass each other, literally no parking, by defaut they are baht bus and bike areas.

 

The idea is good and like you say there are many countries that have this, issue parking permits to residents only. The big problem with that here is that there is only enough room in the Soi's to park on one side and the house frontage is only big enough for 1 car. So only half the residents of the Soi can park there cars in the Soi. Question: Who gets the parking permit and where do the other residents park? There could be a solution and that would be no parking for residents but a parking area set up in the centre of the Soi for resident parking.