Bangkok police could lower city speed limits to "halve road accidents by 2020"

[klauskunkel]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Police could lower city speed limits to "halve road accidents by 2020"

no, they couldn't. Not without a committee. And I don't see a committee anywhere.

[wvavin]

This is not going to happen when you are facing a bunch of corrupt police. They need accidents to have additional incomes.

[ebean001]

I remember USA had a movie people had to watch when given a certain type of ticket...and even maybe when they got their driver's license. It was not pretty. It showed what speed does. It showed the results of many accidents on the highway. Also, showed what drugs and alcohol does. Even listed the penalty for certain actions...like prison. This movie makes a very lasting impression. It is very educational...but the down side is ... a little too bloody and scary.

[sammieuk1]

76% just can't drive would be the real reason .And why more zebra crossings would help is a mystery  .

[Jimdandy]

Only lowering the metropolitan speed limit will do absolutely nothing to reduce the carnage on the antiquated highway system (if you call it that) throughout the country. How about 'enforced' traffic safety laws, i.e. highway Patrol, better highways with barriers just to start. 

[connda]

They miss the point.  They can put another 100 laws on the books.  But without enforcement?
The people running this dog and pony show are < enter your own description here>. 

[observer90210]

A very efficient way to calm the fast and furious is to make steep road bumps....they force one to go dead slow due to the risk of damaging the front spoiler of a car.

 

And this works worldwide with all the Mad Max roadrunners !

Edited November 29, 2017 by observer90210

[lvr181]

Government needs to stop with this meaningless drivel! 

[hobobo]

It's easy to pass a law, but to enforce it? That's a different matter.

[Micbozy]

What's the point of having speed limit but no policie enforcing the law?

[Knee Jerk Reaction]

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

 

"Given Bangkok's insufferable traffic congestion, one can understand why the average speed around the metropolis is barely above walking pace...."

 

That may well be true in some areas and at certain times, but there are many more Bangkok roads where there is a lot of speeding.

 

Just one example - Ramkhamhaeng Road in many spots, when there is a green light, and in some stretches there's quite some distance between the traffic lights, there is continuous speeding way over the posted speed limit, plus the distance between the cars is way less than sensible.

 

In one spot at night time it's more like a raceway with cars and m/cycles travelling way way over the speed limit.

 

Many other Bangkok roads are the same. And same in Chiang Mai, many many spots where the cars and m/cycles are travelling way above the limit and in surounding conditions where accdent are just waiting to happen.

 

Bring on the automated speed cameras that the cops can't interfere with. 

 

Now stand by for the comments about 'don't want to live in a nanny state etc....'

That's true. High speeds are attainable on many roads in Bangkok. Even downtown before the morning congestion gets too heavy bikes are ridden at crazy speeds between the lights. I've haven't seen many four wheeler accidents in Bangkok but I've witnessed a fair few fatal accidents involving two wheelers.

[kcpattaya]

Another amazing plan in amazing Thailand....not

[johnny49r]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

The Bloomberg Foundation that works on public safety issues had done some surveys with the academics at Chulongkorn University and worked out that the faster people go the more accidents there are.

Uh huh, alrighty then...

Another brilliant conclusion from the same folks that found drinking causes more accidents. This report should be filed under D for 'duh'.

Come on guys, everybody knows what causes accidents. The question is: how can you prevent accidents without an active police force? Setting a lower speed limit or enacting more laws is pointless if there is no law enforcement. 

[shady86]

Speeds doesn't kill. Educating the bike riders and wearing helmets should save more lives. 

[soalbundy]

How is that going to help? nobody takes any notice of laws and rules, least of all the police

[Oldgumshoe]

When you combine excessive speed, drivers that do not understand driving to the conditions, overloaded vehicles, poorly maintained vehicles, tail gating drivers, idiot motor cycle riders that appear to be brain dead with no comprehension of consequence and a need to be in front then speed is only one small part of the problem.As the saying goes, "it is not the speed that kills it's the sudden stop. 

[OnTheRun]

5 hours ago, Ruffian Dick said:

These issues usually boil down to educating the public. In the schools (am I right to assume that driver safety isn't taught in schools?) via billboards and television programs. Then enforcing them in a predictable and meaningful way.
I rarely see a Thai wear a seatbelt; thought they were going to crack down on that?

Growing up in the UK in the 70's there was always govt sponsored TV advertising about the dangers of various driving habits. Tailgating and motorcycle awareness are 2 that spring to mind which would be relevant in LOS. I've always felt Thailand should try and attract royal patronage to schemes such as these (litter also springs to mind) as the public tend to ignore politicians and officials. Perhaps that is not allowed in LOS? 

[rwill]

Let's do anything except what we need to do to correct the problem as long as it can bring more revenue in.

[PAIBKK]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Silom should have barriers and pedestrians in Yaowarat should be kept from wandering on the roads, he said. Sukhumvit, Petchaburi, Rama IV and Charoen Krung among others were also recommended for improvements.

Average speed on these roads is about 1 km/h.

Walking goes faster !!!

Edited November 29, 2017 by PAIBKK

[xen]

1.Cannot see speedo and still look motorcye everywhere !! 

2.has to catch  time for being  stopped in traffic when road is clearer.

3. my speedo it no work

4. not watch speedo - have to look at phone

5. drive same speed as other cars not hold up other car and truck

6. spider crawl down pants and my foot press go pedal when i try to find spider

7. BIB no worry about me go fast 

 

 

[PumpkinEater]

All this will do is snarl traffic.

I saw this firstbhand tried before and traffic goes into KAOS.

 

EDUCATION EDUCATION EDUCATION!

 

Heavey fines for people passing on blind corners or forcing other traffic off the road!

[sweatalot]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

The metropolitan police were told something they already knew at a meeting on Monday - speed kills!

Rubbish. Speed does not kill. Stupidity does, careless driving does, drunk driving does, uneducated drivers do ...

Edited November 29, 2017 by sweatalot

[KIWIBATCH]

.....The Bloomberg Foundation that works on public safety issues had done some surveys with the academics at Chulongkorn University and worked out that the faster people go the more accidents there are.........

 

So it takes a Foundation and academics at a University to figure this out

[flyingfox1]

The key answer has been said by many on here many times and that is the Thai mentally of driving, they can reduce the speed Limit to 5kmph but it won’t stop them doing 200kmph nor will it improve their driving!!

Every Thai who does “dangerous driving” should be forced off the roads and made to take a “real” retest

Loonies on the road..
aside from the 65 bodies recovered on the roads, does anyone know actual road death tolls inc those who die in or on route to Hospital?

How many killed in road rage I wonder to!!





Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[spidermike007]

There is zero interest on the part of the authorities or the police, to prevent road deaths. Zero. The police refuse to engage in any sort of traffic safety. They never, even pull anyone over for reckless driving, or speeding. 

 

When I was growing up, we took drivers education classes. They showed us these horrendous films, of semi trucks crashing into cars, and literally obliterating them, and everything inside. Also, they showed very graphic images of head on collisions. Even as a young kid, it left a lasting impression, and I realized driving was no joking matter. Especially when you have your friends, or loved ones in the car with you. I am constantly astonished at the kinds of chances people take here, with their entire family in the car with them. Why? What is the logic? What is the reason? Why take those risks? Often, when someone cuts onto the highway in front of me, as I am doing 100kpm or more on the highway, I look in my rearview mirror, and there is nobody behind me for quite some distance. Which means, had they paused, and waited 2 or 3 seconds, there would have been zero risk to them, their family, or me and my family. What can one even say? All of this matters even more when driving a motorbike, where there is no protection. 

 

The only way to survive here on the road, is to be patient, have eyes in the back of your head, drive with caution, and always, and I mean always watch out of the other guy. Chances are, he does not have much driving skill, nor patience, nor reason, nor common sense. You cannot be too careful on the road here. Especially considering that the toy police offer no traffic safety, nor enforcement of the law. 

Now for my scooter rant:

 

Many of us drive motorcycles or scooters here, and it is dangerous getting on the roads with some of these other drivers. 

 

Getting on a scooter, or a motorcycle anywhere in Thailand, much less Phuket, Phangan, Dark Tao, or Samui without a very good helmet, is like playing Russian Roulette with three or four bullets in the chamber. It is absolutely asking for problems. The degree of recklessness here is astounding. And many foreigners come here thinking "how much trouble could I get in on a little scooter, on a tropical island"? Well, the answer is alot. The amount of foreigners who are killed on the Southern islands is staggering. Most are not reported in the media. I had a friend who worked for Samui rescue for many years, and said the numbers were about 30-60 a month, on Samui, Phangan and Koh Tao. The official number is about 3 a month. Rider beware. Use as good a helmet as you can afford, and do not use these eggshells pieces of crap. They crack at the first impact, and what lies underneath them? Your skull, which is very delicate. 
 
Just ask yourself- do I have enough problems already, without a broken skull, or smashed head, or face injury, or lost eye? I have two friends who have been in motorbike accidents on Samui within the last two years. One still cannot walk, or talk or function on her own, from a motorbike accident, where she hit her head on the pavement going only 20 kph. The other one has lost alot of his mental capacity after hitting his head. He insisted for years he would never wear a helmet. Now, he seems 15 years older. 

 

I was told by a very reliable source. He did not have an agenda. He rescued alot of the survivors. He attended to alot of the ones who did not make it. The press here is highly censored. The report only what the so called leaders want them to report. Nothing else. Social media? Why would social media report these statistics? They report individual accidents, but not overall statistics. Anything you read about accidents on Samui in the media would be false. 

 

 

• Road deaths are now calculated based on fatalities on-site. Victims dying later in hospital not counted.
• In 2000 there was an average of 30 deaths a month on Koh Samui (official figures released each month).
• Now it is stated that Koh Samui has 3-5 deaths each month (using the new way of reporting road deaths).
• In the last ten years the population has almost doubled and there are now 5x more vehicles on Koh Samui.
• Based on ‘official figures’ today it is possible to estimate that Koh Samui currently has 60 deaths per million per year. (Compared to 23 in London.) Based on the population and traffic density statistics from 10 years ago Koh Samui has in reality 720 deaths per million per year. This is probably the highest rate of road deaths in the world. Samui is a fatality death spot that nobody is willing to acknowledge!

[KhonkaenExpat]

It should apply Nationwide not just Bangkok

[Jonmarleesco]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

The meeting was told that 76% of road accidents happen because drivers go too fast.

 

On Asoke they said that expanding the zebra crossings, introducing barriers to stop pedestrian encroachment and introducing central reservations would be a good idea.

Seventy six per cent of road accidents are Thai drivers waiting to happen.

 

Expand zebra crossings, eh? Not much use if Thai drivers have no idea what the black and white stripes are there for.

 

 

[malibukid]

meaningless if it is not enforced

[craigt3365]

A serious fine. Points on your record. And an increase in your insurance would help a lot

 

[Mattd]

34 minutes ago, flyingfox1 said:

The key answer has been said by many on here many times and that is the Thai mentally of driving

100% true.

Enforcement is only a small part of a big puzzle, the police cannot ever be in all places at once, nor can cameras.

Most of the Thai drivers on the road have no awareness and simply do not care, they drive with zero thought for others.

Until that part changes then nothing will improve.