Thais not yet in the habit of driving safely

[webfact]

OPINION

Thais not yet in the habit of driving safely

By The Nation

 

No holiday traffic campaign will succeed until year-round discipline is inbred, so start with the kids

 

A perennial certainty on newspaper front pages ahead of the New Year and Songkran festivities is appeals for improved traffic safety.

 

The pleas are going out again this year amid government pledges that more money will be spent on measures to curb the holiday carnage – and perhaps even knock Thailand off its notorious perch atop the list of the world’s most dangerous countries for highway accidents.

 

It’s clear, though, that imposing traffic discipline on Thais is as difficult as getting them to meet in the middle ground of politics. Even on Bangkok streets, where traffic police are in abundance, motorcyclists and their passengers skim around without helmets. Even if they could be persuaded to don protective gear at this time of year, it wouldn’t be the sustained “discipline” needed to reduce casualties year round.

 

In Vietnam, people on motorbikes wear helmets even in remote rural areas, where there are no police to enforce the law. That is discipline – genuine awareness of the risk of going unprotected. Good practice has become habitual and is thus followed without a second thought.

 

If there is light at the end of the tunnel, perhaps it’s in a decline in the number of drunk drivers on the road. Thais increasingly avoid driving when they head to parties or pubs, but this is best seen as a product of fear of arrest rather than the discipline to guard against mishap.

know there are checkpoints on the streets at night and don’t want to pay a fine (or a bribe) if they’re caught driving while intoxicated. 

 

With the New Year holiday season upon us, several new measures are being pondered, including tougher penalties for drunk driving and lower and better-enforced speed limits. Another idea is to make it mandatory for children to be taught about traffic discipline beginning at a young age.

 

This last approach seems particularly promising, since bad driving habits might be eased aside in a generational shift, just as cigarette smoking has become less popular among youth. Safety campaigns have always tended to focus on adults, the ones behind the wheel, and yet the fear of heavy fines and losing your driving licence has remained the persistent factor in getting adults to obey the law. The fear is an automatic response. Good habits take longer to foster. Once ingrained, though, good habits last forever. The fear and the discipline would make a solid combination in bringing down the casualty statistics. 

 

What’s most important is that efforts not be merely seasonal. Safety measures are typically stepped up during holiday periods and in the aftermath of highway tragedies that draw a public outcry. Then they evaporate for the rest of the year.

 

The situation at present is not promising. Children learn bad traffic habits from the adults driving them around. Bangkok is filled with young motorcyclists too young to drive. The ones riding pillion are allowed to go without helmets. In the provinces you see youths on bikes running red lights and making U-turns in risky places. These are the dangerous habits of adults, the disdain for the law and personal safety, being passed on to the next generation.

 

What the authorities are instilling each holiday season, rather than true discipline, is a droning message: “Drive carefully”. Unfortunately, it’s rendered inaudible by constant repetition. This is an annual tactic that annually fails.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/opinion/30333549

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-12-11

[Smiley Face]

11 minutes ago, webfact said:

Thais not yet in the habit of driving safely

Oh really! ! ! !   I am shocked by this startling revelation!  I just thought that they were more suicidal than the rest of the known world.  

[Dave67]

We have a small causeway next to our house going along the side of a klong about a metre wide, I went to come down our steps from the house and and was about one step up from the causeway when a motorbike shot by doing about 40kph, Turns out it was a 17 year old cousin of the missus, he got a severe group dressing down from the ladies in our family was looking at his feet when I walked in. I could have quite easily have been severely injured or even killed by this <deleted>, This happened yesterday afternoon and I was thinking about it for most of the night, basically a second away from a serious accident through no fault of my own.

[Odysseus123]

26 minutes ago, Dave67 said:

We have a small causeway next to our house going along the side of a klong about a metre wide, I went to come down our steps from the house and and was about one step up from the causeway when a motorbike shot by doing about 40kph, Turns out it was a 17 year old cousin of the missus, he got a severe group dressing down from the ladies in our family was looking at his feet when I walked in. I could have quite easily have been severely injured or even killed by this <deleted>, This happened yesterday afternoon and I was thinking about it for most of the night, basically a second away from a serious accident through no fault of my own.

At least the family gave him a good dressing down...

 

All I ever heard amidst the carnage in the local villages was..

"It's up to him.."

"It's up to her.."

"It's up to them..."

 

Which did not seem (to me)to be a good philosophical foundation on which to base a road safety campaign.

Edited December 10, 2017 by Odysseus123
grammar

[Thaiwrath]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Thais not yet in the habit of driving safely

It is now 2017.

Unfortunately, if I am still alive, I can see the same headline being used in  2027, 2037, 2047 etc., etc........... 

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Thais not yet in the habit of driving safely

Will they ever be???? 

[Dave67]

17 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

At least the family gave him a good dressing down...

 

All I ever heard amidst the carnage in the local villages was..

"It's up to him.."

"It's up to her.."

"It's up to them..."

 

Which did not seem (to me)to be a good philosophical foundation on which to base a road safety campaign.

Yeah, I don't think road safety will improve here at all probably get worse. Where would you start, Police, Roads, culture, awareness of danger, etc. As mentioned in post above so easy to get caught up in the carnage just going about your daily Business 

[jaywalker]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Thais not yet in the habit of driving safely

It's like Eskimos being used to the cold or camels being used to the heat or fish being used the water.

 

The Thai populace is just used to psycho driving habits & daily carnage. Very few know of any other experience.

Edited December 11, 2017 by jaywalker

[Geoffggi]

I have said this before but until there are severe penalties in place and the police & courts hand out meaningful sentences for the people caught instead of handing out "Fines the Thai people can afford" nothing will change, Thai's know they can get away with almost anything on the roads. Early mornings are a typical example when the young Thai's are going home (around 05-30 - 06:00hrs) from the discos three on a motorcycle and obviously tanked up, going the wrong way around traffic islands or the wrong way along a one way street.

[George Bowman]

I'm thinking that starting from scratch might be the only way forward.

[Crossy]

I've removed a post containing reference to the Royal Family along with the reply.

 

Sensible as it was, with the LM laws as they are the comment could be taken as a criticism which none of us want.

[overherebc]

11 minutes ago, Geoffggi said:

I have said this before but until there are severe penalties in place and the police & courts hand out meaningful sentences for the people caught instead of handing out "Fines the Thai people can afford" nothing will change, Thai's know they can get away with almost anything on the roads. Early mornings are a typical example when the young Thai's are going home (around 05-30 - 06:00hrs) from the discos three on a motorcycle and obviously tanked up, going the wrong way around traffic islands or the wrong way along a one way street.

Related to your post.

I know a few Thais who are regular visitors to Australia and  NZ, I've asked them about driving there. 

None of them have ever had a ticket or been 'pulled' by the cops because, in their words, you have to be very careful because the police are always watching you and waiting for you to do something wrong and they have police cars and cameras 'everywhere.'

 

[Colabamumbai]

Road safety education is necessary in Thai schools from a young age as they start driving at about twelve.

[Odysseus123]

8 minutes ago, Crossy said:

I've removed a post containing reference to the Royal Family along with the reply.

 

Sensible as it was with the LM laws as they are the comment could be taken as a criticism which none of us want.

Okay, Crossy-point understood and accepted.

[BuaBS]

4 minutes ago, overherebc said:

because the police are always watching you and waiting for you to do something wrong and they have police cars and cameras 'everywhere.'

Repression to tax/fine people more . And that why we like it much better here. Well untill those f.. speed camera's came to Thailand .

[overherebc]

5 minutes ago, BuaBS said:

Repression to tax/fine people more . And that why we like it much better here. Well untill those f.. speed camera's came to Thailand .

So 20,000 ++ dying on the roads here every year is 'ok' with you?

 

[mikebell]

I often bang on about Thai police and their inability to make inroads into the daily carnage.  I then read only 4% of miscreants given tickets ever pay!  What could be easier and a nice little earner than to go round to a dozen houses & tow away their cars?  Give them a one week warning that this will happen; charge them a late payment fee then do it.

[BuaBS]

10 minutes ago, overherebc said:

So 20,000 ++ dying on the roads here every year is 'ok' with you?

 

Yes ! It's only 0,03 % of + 66 M in Thailand.

[overherebc]

9 minutes ago, mikebell said:

I often bang on about Thai police and their inability to make inroads into the daily carnage.  I then read only 4% of miscreants given tickets ever pay!  What could be easier and a nice little earner than to go round to a dozen houses & tow away their cars?  Give them a one week warning that this will happen; charge them a late payment fee then do it.

The tow away for a week and if the fine not paid the car will be crushed works because the social standing or the perceived social standing of the driver is not a part of the equation.

[overherebc]

8 minutes ago, BuaBS said:

Yes ! It's only 0,03 % of + 66 M in Thailand.

So if you are seriously injured by an uninsured speeding driver you will not complain or ask for money to pay your bills etc because you're part of that small percentage.

My hero.

Edited December 11, 2017 by overherebc

[hdkane]

It’s clear, though, that imposing traffic discipline on Thais is as difficult as getting them to meet in the middle ground of politics.

 

It would be more successful if police actually did their job reliably. The problem doesn't rest only with the public...

[owl sees all]

8 minutes ago, hdkane said:

It’s clear, though, that imposing traffic discipline on Thais is as difficult as getting them to meet in the middle ground of politics.

 

It would be more successful if police actually did their job reliably. The problem doesn't rest only with the public.

Of course the police do not want changes. A good part of their income comes from 200 Bt on-the-spot fines.

 

Another interesting stat' recently is the increase in deaths; in  percentage terms. I've worked it out that if the increase continues the Thai population will be eliminated in about 25 years time. 

Edited December 11, 2017 by owl sees all

[sammieuk1]

One idea might be convincing the average Thai that crashing is not a pain free transition to the after life.

[Dave67]

12 minutes ago, BuaBS said:

Yes ! It's only 0,03 % of + 66 M in Thailand.

The figure should be done per vehicle Thailands rate is 0.075 

[akirasan]

They don't know how to drive because nobody is teaching them.

[irwinfc]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

No holiday traffic campaign will succeed until year-round discipline is inbred, so start with the kids

no no no. start with the grown-ups that those kids will emulate

[Crossy]

25 minutes ago, akirasan said:

They don't know how to drive because nobody is teaching them.

Indeed, Thailand, like several other Asian countries, teaches a student how to operate the vehicle, it does not teach them the other vital parts of "driving", anticipation, observation, courtesy etc. which are generally lumped together as "road sense".

 

[stereolab]

1 hour ago, BuaBS said:

Repression to tax/fine people more . And that why we like it much better here. Well untill those f.. speed camera's came to Thailand .

They are here already, coming from Udon Thani to Nong Khai on Friday, I passed, at high speed, 2 Policemen using a speed camera mounted on a tripod. First time I have seen that in Thailand.

[johnny49r]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

No holiday traffic campaign will succeed until year-round discipline is inbred, so start with the kids

You mean the kids that I see driving everyday with no license, no insurance, no helmet, and certainly no driver training? 

Thailand has to start by implementing law enforcement. Without police participation in law enforcement things will never improve and the kids will grow up driving however they like. 

[Ahab]

If the police in your home country did not enforce the traffic laws how "safe" do you think most of the drivers would be? The problem is there is nearly zero effective enforcement of existing laws outside of Bangkok (at times) and maybe one or two other places. Where I live it is common/routine to see kids driving motorcycles recklessly without helmets and with impunity.