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

[maximillian]

They   could   not   care   less !!!

 

Drivers, Police, Politicians.  They simply couldn't care less.

[Jimdandy]

I hope somehow the Thais learn the value of Critical Mass and begin to speak out about this ongoing horrible situation. I think they do know the difference when it comes to farming but there is a huge chasm between Karma and negligence when it come to rebuilding the roads and enforcing basic traffic safety laws.   

[gregk0543]

The figures need to show how many were not  wearing seatbelts and helmets.

 

I know many thais put in a fake belt clip to stop the car beeping.

I see thousands without helmets on.

 

I see plenty of people driving drunk too. 

 

So the idea of safety which we have been taught in our own countries has not been taught here. It seems the opposite is taught. I dont wear a seatbelt or helmet because I am scared of a fine. I do it because I have seen the statistics and know it is safer for me but I seldom see a Thai who shows any concern in this respect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[joecoolfrog]

Isnt it strange that TAT can issue precise figures relating to money generated by tourists , apparently within days of the period in question ending. Yet figures for total road deaths , not just those who die at the scene , will not be available until the end of the year.

I would have thought collating figures from a relatively few hospitals would be somewhat easier than canvassing the literally tens of thousands of shops , restaurants , hotels and related establishments that suck up the tourist buck.

Call me a cynic but I highly suspect that the tourist revenue figures are plucked out of thin air , whilst the appalling traffic death numbers are buried as deep as possible under a large carpetm

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

2 hours ago, malibukid said:

why do they run red lights?

To lazy to put their foot on the break pedal!

[wvavin]

What is there to be surprised where the government could not be bothered at all?

[peperobi]

Don't worry, New year is coming, so the government will improve the security for a couple of days and give information to everyone how to drive, after???

[malibukid]

jail the buggers and take away their cars, only thing children will understand

Edited November 26, 2017 by malibukid

[Sid Celery]

24 minutes ago, HiSoLowSoNoSo said:

To lazy to put their foot on the break pedal!

I don't think it's that, though without a doubt, many Thais are exquisitely lazy.

There are several possibilities:

 

1. Thais often think that they know best, and if they don't see the need for a law, and if there is no penalty (which is usually the case given the competence of the police force), they just won't comply with it.

 

2. Thais are never educated in the usefulness of the law, which is in effect a code which allows us to live together peaceably, without killing each other. If there were no laws, it would be mayhem, but Thais are never taught this, because their education system is both incompetent and ineffective.

 

On balance I don't think it's either of these, though I think both up come into play.  I think the main reason is quite simply that the Thai is still emerging from a primitive society into a modern society. Their education is so bad that Thais are rarely  taught how to think. As a consequence, they are more or less dominated by automatic responses, which are subconscious. This certainly explains why the Thai psyche is dominated by matters involving face (self esteem).

 

So in the case of running a red light, they will see that the light changing to amber and their automatic instinct is to put  their foot down because they know the red light is coming and they want to beaded. Unfortunately their powers of judgement are also primitive, so they very often miss it.

 

Alternatively they may just not notice the lights changing. Thais are not really that observant, and their mind is often elsewhere (who knows where?) so they may just not  be aware of the danger. Particularly upcountry, many Thais don't have driving licences, which means they never been taught how to drive. They know best, and there is always somewhere they can buy a fake driving licence because although they don't have very many talents, copying is certainly a talent they possess in spades. Allegedly, up to about two-thirds of country Thais who drive do not have a legal licence. If this is true, then carnage on the roads is inevitable, especially given the quality of road maintenance upcountry..

Edited November 26, 2017 by Sid Celery

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, khunpa said:

On the way from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai right now. Have already passed 4 police check points. Not one police officer to be seen at any of them!

 

No police = No reduction in the road deaths stats. It’s that simple!

 

Hmmmmm. Police at check points do not have anything to do with road safety. That is not what they are for. Far as I know they are looking for illegals or contraband.

[jenny2017]

36 minutes ago, HiSoLowSoNoSo said:

To lazy to put their foot on the break pedal!

Nope, they run red lights because they also run green and yellow lights.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, genericptr said:

If you don't care about driving in Thailand then why waste your time posting on forums? Go out for a drive and have fun. If you get hurt there's nothing that could be done anyways and it was probably just your time, but don't forgot to visit the temple for good luck just in case.

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. 

[fdimike]

8 hours ago, ezzra said:

When i travel long distances, what i don't see on the roads is police

presence on bikes and cruisers, and when i see them, they pay no

minds to the traffic around them, you can fly by them speeding and

you'll not get stopped, a lot more police cars and bikes needed to be

patrolling the roads keeping drivers honest, stop and search for alcohol

and drugs use, and heavy fines on the spot for badly behaving drivers, 

put the fear in the hearts and minds of all drivers, show of force urgently

needed, not just the occasional  road blocks....

Thai traffic police are the ONLY police which deal with traffic and they ONLY do that at authorized traffic checkpoints.  The problem is in their laws regarding how the police operate or in most cases fail to operate.

[NeoDinosaw]

8 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

On the plus side, the percentage of people who believe road survival/death is up to "fate" (the 'add more amulets crowd') is down to 32% form 50% just a few years ago. So that's progress.

 

8 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

If this were progress, why have the deaths not decreased ?

 

[Boedog]

Only 61 thats surprising thought it would be higher, maybe if thai,s learn that mirrors are for knowing what is behind you or next to you and not to for checking your makeup, or indicate when changing lanes instead of everyone guessing what your doing, maybe police doing some visual roadworthy checks on vehicles/scooters, or having 3/4 or 5 on a scooter but as long as the driver has a helmet on all ok

[Sid Celery]

6 minutes ago, fdimike said:

Thai traffic police are the ONLY police which deal with traffic and they ONLY do that at authorized traffic checkpoints.  The problem is in their laws regarding how the police operate or in most cases fail to operate.

Perhaps most of the fault lies with management. That would make sense, but then management in Thailand is usually useless. Managers don't have a customer-facing role, are hopeless if you speak better English than Thai, because almost none of them speak English at all (perhaps they're waiting for the world to adopt Thai as the lingua franca as Prayuth has suggested. Also, managers only stay in their jobs if the staff don't object, If they require too much productivity they get fired because someone in staff puts the knife in. There's always someone on the staffwho has contacts above the manager and is happy to shaft the boss...

[wavemanwww]

7 hours ago, Russell17au said:

it is not just PM Prayut, this has been going on long before him it has become part of Thai culture. What is needed is a much better approach than just road check points it needs those police out patrolling the roads in cars and on bikes with much higher fines where the police write out a ticket and it is paid into a central place and the money not put in the pockets of the police officer. So there are 2 separate issues here 1: more police on the roads patrolling and issuing tickets. 2: corruption in the police force. Both these issues need to be fixed and then the numbers might drop

You sum it up nicely. I will emphasise one point you made the police are useless . They do  not even do basic road rules fines because they do not give a sh...t?  Thus more Thais and some Falangs  will die because of this. If any Thai cop reads this maybe one day it will be your wife, your sister, your brother,your friend and so on etc etc... All because you do NOTHING!

[650721]

An average of 18 US servicemen were killed per day during the 9 years of the Vietnam War. Thailand is really fighting its own war on the road with over 3 times that average last year and no relief in sight. Think twice before you venture on the roads.

[kaorop]

1 hour ago, gregk0543 said:

 

 

I know many thais put in a fake belt clip to stop the car beeping.

I see thousands without helmets on.

 

I see plenty of people driving drunk 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So thats what those blanks i see at markets are for, always wondered what those seatbelt stubs were for...

........yes thousands pass my place everyday.............yes just came back from the beach, roads busy and easy to spot the drunks  and more than just one here or there.......its like a civilian war zone, i dont dare imagine what the emergency units in hospitals must see..particullarly with so many children and babies travelling on mocys with zero protection...

[650721]

An average of 18 US serviceman died per day in the 9 years of the Vietnam war. Thailand is fighting its own war on the roads with more than 3 times that average deaths per day in 2016 with no improvement in sight. Think carefully before you venture onto the roads.

[cardinalblue]

Starts with a quality education and training and this is so lacking....

 

ten  minutes on the roads one sees near misses poor driving habits and illegal behaviors....the problem is 25-30% of the drivers vs say the usa 1-2%...it's all about #s and probabilities of high risk behaviors/non compliance...

 

incredibly dangerous just to be on the road as a bicyclist pedestrian or driver....so sad

Edited November 26, 2017 by cardinalblue

[wavemanwww]

Thailand! It has a war within. Called traffic! Another term maybe Civil War. Yet no enemy but their own laws and lack of police enforcement?

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

1 hour ago, Sid Celery said:

I don't think it's that, though without a doubt, many Thais are exquisitely lazy.

There are several possibilities:

 

1. Thais often think that they know best, and if they don't see the need for a law, and if there is no penalty (which is usually the case given the competence of the police force), they just won't comply with it.

 

2. Thais are never educated in the usefulness of the law, which is in effect a code which allows us to live together peaceably, without killing each other. If there were no laws, it would be mayhem, but Thais are never taught this, because their education system is both incompetent and ineffective.

 

On balance I don't think it's either of these, though I think both up come into play.  I think the main reason is quite simply that the Thai is still emerging from a primitive society into a modern society. Their education is so bad that Thais are rarely  taught how to think. As a consequence, they are more or less dominated by automatic responses, which are subconscious. This certainly explains why the Thai psyche is dominated by matters involving face (self esteem).

 

So in the case of running a red light, they will see that the light changing to amber and their automatic instinct is to put  their foot down because they know the red light is coming and they want to beaded. Unfortunately their powers of judgement are also primitive, so they very often miss it.

 

Alternatively they may just not notice the lights changing. Thais are not really that observant, and their mind is often elsewhere (who knows where?) so they may just not  be aware of the danger. Particularly upcountry, many Thais don't have driving licences, which means they never been taught how to drive. They know best, and there is always somewhere they can buy a fake driving licence because although they don't have very many talents, copying is certainly a talent they possess in spades. Allegedly, up to about two-thirds of country Thais who drive do not have a legal licence. If this is true, then carnage on the roads is inevitable, especially given the quality of road maintenance upcountry..

Your observations are very interesting and I agree to many of them.   

 

"Thais are not really that observant, and their mind is often elsewhere (who knows where?)" 

When walking in a shopping center or on a footpath, Thais who walk next to you often just change direction and walk into you, just like they are daydreaming and on another planet. For non Thais I think it is basic instinct to watch where you put your next step. 

 

" I think the main reason is quite simply that the Thai is still emerging from a primitive society into a modern society."

Like going from riding on the Buffalo back on the farm to a modern car - a huge step.

[rwill]

looking at past WHO reports in regards to 'official' traffic fatalities vs. actual fatalities you can about double that number.

[hobz]

6 minutes ago, rwill said:

looking at past WHO reports in regards to 'official' traffic fatalities vs. actual fatalities you can about double that number.

Exactly.

[metisdead]

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[Sid Celery]

18 minutes ago, HiSoLowSoNoSo said:

Your observations are very interesting and I agree to many of them.   

 

"Thais are not really that observant, and their mind is often elsewhere (who knows where?)" 

When walking in a shopping center or on a footpath, Thais who walk next to you often just change direction and walk into you, just like they are daydreaming and on another planet. For non Thais I think it is basic instinct to watch where you put your next step. 

 

" I think the main reason is quite simply that the Thai is still emerging from a primitive society into a modern society."

Like going from riding on the Buffalo back on the farm to a modern car - a huge step.

The more I think about it and watch them, the more I think that many if not most Thais function on auto-pilot for a good part of each day. Given their willingness to rush off and get a skinful of cheap whiosley, I wonder how happy they really are. Not very I think, which could be one reason why when Thaksin comes along and makes them feel worthwhile, they flock to him and remain loyal, possibly for life, certainly until the next election.

[hobz]

They have made the driving license harder to get. Now it requires a couple of days before it was all done the same day.

Less and less people believe that road accidents are caused by "fate" or "bad luck" ... 32% now, 50% before.

 

So why do we see this increase in accidents? Is it an actual increase? Or are they just counting / reporting differently now?

 

If there is an increase, is it related to that poor are getting poorer in Thailand? Poverty = more Debt. More debt = More alcoholism = More stress = More drug abuse = More frustration = More anger = More road rage = More speeding = More reckless driving?

 

What are your theories? 
 

[Airbagwill]

DDF don't seem to know what they are talking about ..... they are using dubious stats to shock without really understanding the situation

It is possible in fact that the figure may be as high as 80 per day....but so long as this ignorance prevails, nothing will happen.

There are plenty of road  safety  let's in Thailand  offering sound advice, but with this kind of nonsense being  promulgated, they might as well just bang their heads  against  the wall.

[Sid Celery]

7 minutes ago, hobz said:

Exactly.

When I did some research a few years back, the incidence and increase in suicides reflected the same growth as road deaths, and were equally under-reported. Don't quite know what that means. Actually, I think I do but it's not for here.