How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

[leither69]

Stop posting about it, then nobody will notice

[hotchilli]

How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

Easy answer is fast forward 50 years and catch up with the rest of the world who have found the solutions...

the answers are out there!

[digger70]

How stupid is that heading,,,,,The carnage is easy to bring down,,,,Get All the Cops and get a few thousand more of there <deleted>  and get Real serious in Policing All the Road rules and Laws 24/7 All year round,,,,They might have to build a few more jails  but it Will work,But this is Thailand,,,No Balls,,No one cares,,

[ThaiTrav]

9 hours ago, wicketkeeper said:

The bottom line is education. Import existing road safety tv commercials from ROSPA, the Royal Society for prevention of accidents, in the UK. Overdub the soundtrack in the Thai language and broadcast ad infinitum. Pick your topic: turning right; signalling; cutting corners; traffic lights; pedestrian crossings; courtesy; speed limits; riding a motorcycle; motorways; box junctions; seat belts, and so on. They all exist. They are all free. They are all shot driving on the left side of the road. They are ready to go. Sponsor? Probably Shell or Esso or an astute car manufacturer. 

 

yarda yarda yarda.......it's all been said on here a billion times before , the only real truth is they don't give a flying f@#k . Death to them is not a priorty.....simple!

[ThaiTrav]

Have a people elected Government that cares for its people!!

[AsianAtHeart]

Here are some ideas to start with:

 

1) Teach people to drive.  This includes knowing when to use the slow lane, and when to use the passing lane; knowing how to brake a vehicle on a steep grade without risking brake failure; knowing when to use turn signals and when to dim the high beams at night; knowing how to properly yield to right-of-way traffic at an uncontrolled intersection; understanding required stopping distances and safe following distances; etc.

2) Do not permit motorcycles to squeeze between vehicles in lanes at stoplights, nor to cut the queue at the light.

3) Construct a separate, dedicated turning lane for all mid-highway U-turns, with a minimum 100 meters in length to allow for safe slowing without impeding through traffic.

4) Use breathalyzer tests more regularly and comprehensively to reduce drunken driving.

5) Produce and broadcast widely a public announcement/advertisement series focused on key habits of courteous drivers.

6) Bring in foreign traffic engineers to teach Thai engineers how to properly regulate the flow of city traffic, including setting proper order and timing to traffic signals at intersections to enable more efficient flow of traffic.  Link all signals in the city to a network that can be timed to enable groups of vehicles to hit most every light green, preventing the inefficient and irritating slowdowns associated with the need to decelerate, stop, and later accelerate again.

7) Implement automatic signals for cross traffic in areas where the main road should be green all the time unless a car appears on the side road.

8)  Issue real fines (no corruption) for infractions, but maintain a reasonable appeals process to ensure fairness in disputed or ambiguous cases.

9) Do not permit traffic incapable of highway speeds to enter highways where speed limits are greater than 70 kph, and/or post and enforce a minimum speed limit for freeways/limited-access highways.

10) Do more to prevent loose loads, litter, and debris from cluttering the roadways.

11) Widen roads to ensure a safe shoulder space for disabled vehicles.

12) Outlaw windscreen tinting that hides the driver from others' view, preventing eye contact and permitting the driver to think no one will know who he or she is and he or she can therefore drive rudely without any social repercussions.

[AsianAtHeart]

1 hour ago, DavisH said:

When a Thai was quoted in the media as saying riding in the back of a pickup is "our way of life", I'm afraid there is not much hope. Combining "fate" and an ineffective police force has made Thailand the hub of road deaths. I don't think anything will change until there is a change in the mindset of Thais. 

Riding in the back of the pickup is not the cause of so many road deaths.  People like to keep beating that horse, but in actual fact, outlawing the practice will, with all other practices still in place, actually increase road deaths.  Let's look for some better solutions than merely treating the symptoms--we need to go directly to the causes.  For now, let people ride in pickups.  They're far safer there than on the back of a motorcycle.

[wakeupplease]

My Mum RIP would say Wish in the one hand and Sh>> in the other and see which gets filled first, I would say its about right in this case

[bluesofa]

28 minutes ago, ThaiTrav said:

Have a people elected Government that cares for its people!!

It's a contradiction in terms. I don't think any Thai government so far has honestly cared for its people.

[superal]

1 hour ago, Happyman58 said:

How about this for a radical idea Now its just an idea ok  Sack 40,000 cops  Go to America, England, Germany and Australia and hire 10,000 cops from each country Bring them over here and let them patrol the roads for 1 years Be interesting to see what happens I know one thing there wont be to many Thai smiles around fro a while and maybe not so many drivers around either lol

You are correct , however it has to start at the top , no point in having the tools if you do not know how to use them . One reason for not wanting to change to western ways may be because of the massive wage subsidies taken at the roadside and to end that would not be popular with police as it is an open secret in the way that their wages are boosted . Also if all road users complied with the traffic laws there would be little money to be had at the police check points so educating road users is like shooting themselves in the foot for the police , however having the laws in place and holding press conferences kind of vindicates them from the annual carnage and road fatalities which are seen as collateral damage . 

Not gonna change any time soon .

[chompolsky]

this is similar to how you all.... and Thai experts as well... "fix" the education system.... all they need are better police... better teachers.... will go nowhere and is lousy advice.  

[ayupee]

Thai government   understands the power of advertising .That is why they stopped it for drink and cigarettes. So why can't they use its power to stop drink driving 24/7/365  . The word enforcement keeps popping up , but that word is not a tea money word .. to quote the film Forest Gump ....Stupid is as stupid does

 

 

[chompolsky]

advertising. doing that for drinking... for Thai men..... would be like stopping people from eating pork or having sex.  wouldn't work for those either, would it? no amount of advertising.... those are ones we can relate to. not the drinking/Thai thing, unless you understand what it means to be 'Thai'.

Edited December 21, 2017 by chompolsky

[Damrongsak]

17 hours ago, Misterwhisper said:

Reverting back to ox carts might be a good start...

Used to see those in Loei on the main road to Chang Khan.  One day a girl riding along with one on a bicycle swerved out near the center of the road - hard to pedal straight when you're going slow.  The driver and everyone in the car gasped.  Just as suddenly she swerved back to the side.  She would have been hamburger if we had hit her at speed.  I'm sure she had no idea how close she came to death.  Had we swerved and gone off the elevated road down into a ditch, we would have died. 

[chompolsky]

take a good look. step way way back. we are surprised at examples of "stupidity". we shouldn't be. what we really are is way too taken in by the notion that we are special, endowed.... a socially significant percentage of westerners believe that we are very special.... we think in analogies, eh? try this one. We were made In The Image of God. it also allows us to pretend that we are not living on one of only 4 spheres circling a star in which H ions in a plasma make ATP in what is not at all a Miracle... and that we don't have thumbs for grabbing tree branches. crazy?
okay, start with this one. it's new. 2017. Robert Sapolsky. Behave. not crazy at all.

[01322521959]

Education, TV campaigns, no more stupid crack downs. For me I took a cycling proficiency test at school in the 70's, an ACU/RAC course when I bought my first motorbike, took my 2 part test for my motorbike and passed on the 3rd go with my driving test after learning for over a year. In Thailand they DO NONE OF THE ABOVE!! So what can we possibly expect the outcome to be. Oh, it will improve, over the next 50- 100 years. 

[Dave67]

Never going to get better only worse, too many changes need to be made

[Daveyh]

I think to make a real difference it's got to be taught in schools & with shocking videos to make young people "sit up & think". The mindset here is so "one track" that I can't see anything changing anytime soon ....... in my opinion, it's too late for the current generations that are driving ...... this attitude has been "inbred" by their families for years & years. There is such a lack of responsibility by drivers here ... it's as if they are all leading a "charmed life" & drive with the "me first" attitude all the time. It really is difficult to understand unless you are a Thai. What they don't seem to understand is that they continue to keep on killing each other year after year ............. mai pen rai? It's a major problem here & tempers flare at the slightest hint of a confrontation ...... add that to being in control of a vehicle & it's one explosive cocktail. Really heavy fines, long jail terms, confiscation of vehicles & life bans from driving will work, but it'll be painful for everyone on the receiving end & those that must administer it. No Thai will like any of it & the restriction on their freedom will certainly bring confrontation with government & especially the police who will have to deal with the dissent on a daily basis.

[madmitch]

If the article writer had been reading Thaivisa for the past few years he'd know all the answers and wouldn't have to ask the question!

Edited December 21, 2017 by madmitch

[Daveyh]

2 minutes ago, madmitch said:

If the article writer had been reading Thaivisa for the past few years he'd know all the answers and wouldn't have to ask the question!

Yup .............. In over 20 years the only thing that's changed here is the exchange rate :-(

[jamie2009]

As soon as they say they are going to enforce traffic laws there is always outcrys iof it will stop the kids getting to school, the poor people going too work etc.

Its farcical for one day the Police too stop and fine people for not wearing crash hats then completely ignore it the following day.

 

[Cereal]

Fully 1/3 of Thais have a strong external locus of control. Changing that mindset is the first priority.

[jvs]

3 hours ago, AsianAtHeart said:

Here are some ideas to start with:

 

1) Teach people to drive.  This includes knowing when to use the slow lane, and when to use the passing lane; knowing how to brake a vehicle on a steep grade without risking brake failure; knowing when to use turn signals and when to dim the high beams at night; knowing how to properly yield to right-of-way traffic at an uncontrolled intersection; understanding required stopping distances and safe following distances; etc.

2) Do not permit motorcycles to squeeze between vehicles in lanes at stoplights, nor to cut the queue at the light.

3) Construct a separate, dedicated turning lane for all mid-highway U-turns, with a minimum 100 meters in length to allow for safe slowing without impeding through traffic.

4) Use breathalyzer tests more regularly and comprehensively to reduce drunken driving.

5) Produce and broadcast widely a public announcement/advertisement series focused on key habits of courteous drivers.

6) Bring in foreign traffic engineers to teach Thai engineers how to properly regulate the flow of city traffic, including setting proper order and timing to traffic signals at intersections to enable more efficient flow of traffic.  Link all signals in the city to a network that can be timed to enable groups of vehicles to hit most every light green, preventing the inefficient and irritating slowdowns associated with the need to decelerate, stop, and later accelerate again.

7) Implement automatic signals for cross traffic in areas where the main road should be green all the time unless a car appears on the side road.

8)  Issue real fines (no corruption) for infractions, but maintain a reasonable appeals process to ensure fairness in disputed or ambiguous cases.

9) Do not permit traffic incapable of highway speeds to enter highways where speed limits are greater than 70 kph, and/or post and enforce a minimum speed limit for freeways/limited-access highways.

10) Do more to prevent loose loads, litter, and debris from cluttering the roadways.

11) Widen roads to ensure a safe shoulder space for disabled vehicles.

12) Outlaw windscreen tinting that hides the driver from others' view, preventing eye contact and permitting the driver to think no one will know who he or she is and he or she can therefore drive rudely without any social repercussions.

All the rules mean nothing if they are not enforced,that is the only thing that will bring about a change.

[thaibeachlovers]

19 hours ago, Just1Voice said:

It's simple - They can't.

 

Got it right.

If they were to make it "safe" on the roads it wouldn't be LOS anymore, it would be a more decrepit version of a western country.

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

16 minutes ago, jvs said:

All the rules mean nothing if they are not enforced,that is the only thing that will bring about a change.

That is true, but where are all these "enforcers' going to come from. There are hundreds of thousands of km of roads in the kingdom, and that would require a police force of many, many thousands of extra cops. Who is going to pay for that- all the TVF posters calling for stricter enforcement?

All the most dangerous driving I see is outside towns and cities.

[thaibeachlovers]

1 hour ago, Daveyh said:

Yup .............. In over 20 years the only thing that's changed here is the exchange rate :-(

Not entirely true. In that time they have managed to ruin most of the nice beaches, and Pattaya has been ruined a bit.

[ThaiTrav]

2 hours ago, jvs said:

All the rules mean nothing if they are not enforced,that is the only thing that will bring about a change.

you forgot about the trinket collection on the dash

[d4291797]

Frankly this is so easy to sort ,if they had the gonads to take the bull by the horns.

Yes nationwide 1000 baht fine for no helmet.

Anyone taking a pic from camera ,or dashcam ,showing overtaking on double yellow lines is rewarded by police ,with 5000 baht reward. Perpetrator 10,000 baht fine and points off license .

Why no spot checks for vehicles, checking roadworthiness and drivers license.

Make more sense than hounding farang tourist with passenger footrest down on scooter while solo riding!


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[jvs]

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

That is true, but where are all these "enforcers' going to come from. There are hundreds of thousands of km of roads in the kingdom, and that would require a police force of many, many thousands of extra cops. Who is going to pay for that- all the TVF posters calling for stricter enforcement?

All the most dangerous driving I see is outside towns and cities.

Well the police could start by doing their job for one thing.Many times i see traffic laws being broken in front of policemen and the just can't be bothered.And i don't think any TVF poster has anything to do with it.

 

[jerojero]

Duh! Question has been asked hundreds of times for years, Tim! Try Police law enforcement and punishment that fit the crime, as an answer.

 

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