Thai media continues with "Cut the Carnage" campaign as death toll mounts on Thai roads

[webfact]

Thai media continues with "Cut the Carnage" campaign as death toll mounts on Thai roads

 

File photo

 

Daily News continue to press ahead with their year round campaign to lower road accidents.

 

Their "Cut the Carnage" campaign records the death toll on a daily basis in attempts to prompt the authorities to do something about the state of Thailand's roads.

 

But their figures for death from accidents should be treated with caution - they only refer to those that die at the scene of accidents.

 

Thaivisa notes that the reality is much worse when it includes those that succumb in hospitals.

 

Daily News said that the death toll since the start of the year now stands at 12,541.

 

Some 44 people died yesterday alone at the scene of accidents.

 

In the last four days since the start of December the figures were 43 on Friday, 33 on Saturday and 31 on Sunday.

 

The news organisation further cautioned that the weekend's figures would rise as reports are not made from some areas until Tuesday.

 

Even so they put the December figure as 151 dead so far.

 

Figures show that road accidents are up on last year, said Thaejing Siriphanich of an anti drink-drive foundation.

 

Their "video accident of the day" showed a minor but all too common accident. Three bikes pile into each other as the the leading vehicle brakes suddenly as they race through dense traffic.

 

 

The man on the third bike apologizes: "Sorry, khrap....you braked so sharply I couldn't stop".

 

Source: Daily News

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-12-05

[rkidlad]

More like “cut the crap”

 

leave the slogans for your boards and super boards who go for their prawn lunches. What’s needed is something tangible. Enforcing the law could work wonders. 

[akirasan]

8 minutes ago, rkidlad said:

More like “cut the crap”

 

leave the slogans for your boards and super boards who go for their prawn lunches. What’s needed is something tangible. Enforcing the law could work wonders. 

Honestly I don't think it would make any difference. 

"Ok you fine me?  I won't pay the fine.

Take my licence?  Ok I will drive without it."

Thai people don't want to change their habits.  Just now I saw one teenager racing through the village on his moped at speed, the same kid who had a moderately serious accident last year.  

I hate driving here now because I have to be so cautious and drive so slowly all the time due to the unpredictability of other road users.  
 

Edited December 5, 2017 by akirasan

[darksidedog]

There is lots of talk about the issue, but despite all the promises I have not yet seen a single thing actually happen to reduce the carnage. It being Thailand, talk is all we are really likely to see.

[seajae]

until they actually make these people obey the road rules nothing will change, they need to make the police get out and patrol the roads on proper road bikes and cars not their stupid trucks. Impound cars and bikes of repeat offenders, not let the drivers/riders simply ride off after being caught drink driving. The reason for the majority of deaths is the lack of respect for the laws and the police not enforcing them, they need to fix this before anything can be achieved

 

[George Bowman]

Numerous young drivers in our neck of the woods. Fast too.

Edited December 5, 2017 by missoura

[ezzra]

And i thought that Thais chalk the dead on the roads as bad luck,

bad karma and the Thai version of Ce la Ve,  No?....

as long as the Mai Pen Rai attitude is prevalent, and the thinking

that this is something that happenad to others and not me, the

carnage will continue....

[anon467367354]

reminds me of the campaign against smoking back in the '60's, the more you talk about it, the more smokers created.

[Artisi]

2 hours ago, akirasan said:

Honestly I don't think it would make any difference. 

"Ok you fine me?  I won't pay the fine.

Take my licence?  Ok I will drive without it."

Thai people don't want to change their habits.  Just now I saw one teenager racing through the village on his moped at speed, the same kid who had a moderately serious accident last year.  

I hate driving here now because I have to be so cautious and drive so slowly all the time due to the unpredictability of other road users.  
 

At least driving in Thailand fine tunes your reflexes. 

[jaywalker]

This is the only answer to Thai road carnage (self driving cars)...But it will never work in Thailand.

 

The on-board computers will all be like this guy. Come to think of it, I usually feel a lot like this after a while on the roads of Thailand.

 

[grego49]

Untill the police at least start to inforce helmet laws nothing will change.had a chat a while ago with a traffic cop and surgested helmet fines should be doubled his said oh thais can  not afford it, i said its simple just wear a helmet he didnt get my point.

[mark01]

There's never any "real" thought into how to solve problems in Thailand.

Wait for the knee-jerk, I'll conceived, and ineffective Thai solution, like adding more video hours to the driving test.

 

 

[silent]

 "they race through dense traffic."

The problem isn't as much the density of the traffic as how dense.

[PETERTHEEATER]

Great moments in history! Today just before 1230 Channel 3 TV aired a road safety video showing three typical traffic 

incidents,

 

First was a  car driver in an outside lane forcing their way in front of the dashcam car in the inner lane who was behind a car in front turning into a gas station entrance. No contact but 'me first' attitude.

 

Second was on-board video of a bus driver pulling out and using a mobile phone visually (texting?) the forward camview showed the bus drifting toward the median and then impacting an obstacle. As I recall the driver was killed.

 

Third was stop start traffic in left and center lanes of a three lane highway. The outside lane is empty. The dashcam car gives way to a pedestrian with a phone pressed to their right ear, crossing from left to right. A couple of seconds later a body - impacted by an MPV moving ahead down the outside lane - flies through the air falling in front of a car in the middle lane . The MPV does not appear to be driving too fast but the force of the unseen impact is considerable.

 

Each of the above vids is overlaid with warning  text in Thai. The video was shown again a few minutes later this time with a besuited male giving a verbal explanation and, presumably, warning against poor driving standards. It also showed the financial penalties (traffic violation fines) applicable pathetic as they are.

 

 

[scotbeve]

Any of you long term expats ever take your blood pressure after driving for only 20 min.?

Sent from my SM-N900 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[sammieuk1]

Start with the much more important purge of smokers first death and destruction can take a back seat until the fine targets have been met .

[wvavin]

"CUT THE CARNAGE"? It is just another hopeless campaign in this country.

[mercman24]

me being a motor bike rider for more years than a care to mention, is seeing riders with no helmets, it is the law for christ sake, should be, first offence 1000 baht fine (OK I AM BEING LENIENT) next offence , lose your mode of transport, it just needs proper policing, sorry i am talking absolute rubbish again  i wonder how many thai families are looking after injured family members caused by not wearing a helmet, i bet there are quite a few.

[scotbeve]

There's never any "real" thought into how to solve problems in Thailand.
Wait for the knee-jerk, I'll conceived, and ineffective Thai solution, like adding more video hours to the driving test.
 
 

Yup. Reactive in lieu of being proactive. Re: videos, should start showing the very graphic accident videos to the kids in school aged 12+. As was seen in schools in the 60's and 70's in quite a few countries. The class being social studies / drivers ed.

Sent from my SM-N900 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[malibukid]

jail time, stiff fines, impound. get real Thailand

[natway09]

Methinks some outside help required here

[simtemple]

It's the Thai Government's responsibility to develop a Road Safety Strategy not Newspaper.  What the hell does the Thai Ministry of Land Transport do?  In the World of Road Safety Management, Thailand must be a standing joke. While others are reducing road fatalities, through best practice zero fatality road safety strategies, Thailand is managining to achieve new and ever increasing records in road deaths. The statistical cost of a life must be low.

[robertthebruce]

 

I stopped driving here a year ago....less stressful,life,now...

 

Dangerous....., but it’s only us Farangs who think this., 99 Percent Thais can’t see a problem...??.

 

Hence.....

[MrY]

57 minutes ago, scotbeve said:

Any of you long term expats ever take your blood pressure after driving for only 20 min.?

Sent from my SM-N900 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Anything above zero is good.

[gandalf12]

2 hours ago, Artisi said:

At least driving in Thailand fine tunes your reflexes. 

There are worse places to drive. Try Saudi

[slippery snake]

3 hours ago, missoura said:

Numerous young drivers in our neck of the woods. Fast too.

Maybe if they were fined 100,000 B,,  The same fine as a person for smoking on the beach ..  

They might learn that they need to wear a helmet ???? 

That law has been around for a long time now but nothing changes.. especially when police at check point I watched the other night,  just waved the Thais through and only booked the farangs.. 

[observer90210]

Why care ? it's mostly poor or middle class people who only have one bike as means of transport for the family...and who use the mobile death trap minivans....perhaps also a farang or two here and there !!....so why bother ?!

 

........and this can justify some efficient police response at the road blocks for tea money,  mainly from farangs!! ...so everybody is happy !!?

Edited December 5, 2017 by observer90210

[happysanook]

4 hours ago, darksidedog said:

There is lots of talk about the issue, but despite all the promises I have not yet seen a single thing actually happen to reduce the carnage. It being Thailand, talk is all we are really likely to see.

There's zero enforcement of speeding. You could blow by a cop at 180 and they wouldn't even bat an eye. It's not alcohol IMO, but the speeding that's the main culprit.

[Jonmarleesco]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Three bikes pile into each other as the the leading vehicle brakes suddenly as they race through dense traffic.

Race and dense, the two operative words. 

[Jonmarleesco]

Carnage is one syllable too many for the the authorities to pronounce, never mind address.