Seven deadly days - seven vehicle collision - darkness and wet conditions blamed

[gerritkaew]

no real driving lessons, no understanding of what can happen when driving, police don't check for license.  drinking and nothing happened when police stop you. And everyone can buy a car when deposit a small amount of money. the have nothing, no house but have a car and drive around, and always like in a car chase!!!  

example, my wife have girlfriend, she have boyfriend from UAE and he's not poor. She crash her Toyota Fortuner, one week later her daddy pic-up en 4 days later her brother pic-up!!!    Now her boyfriend stop her driving a car..

but this whats all thais doing, the just can't drive in Thailand!!  

 

STOP make it easy for people buying a car or motorbike !!!!!!!

[TKDfella]

Don't worry guys, this is just a practice warm-up.

[Russell17au]

2 hours ago, Cake Monster said:

Just be thankful that Thailand does not experience conditions such as Snow, Ice and Fog.

The mind boggles at the numbers of accidents, deaths, and injuries that would occur if this were the case

Thailand does have fog, there have been a few areas lately with some reasonably heavy fog

[off road pat]

8 hours ago, impulse said:

 

But only after the damage has been done.  If you asked them a week ago, they'd have been against speed bumps.

 

you are so right in this statement,...so true...

[Broken Record]

26 minutes ago, off road pat said:

you are so right in this statement,...so true...

I think you could include a huge percentage of the worlds population in that statement Pat.

[metisdead]

An off topic post has been removed.  

 

An overly denigrating post toward Thais has been removed.  

[masuk]

10 hours ago, impulse said:

With the prevalence of super dark window tinting, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more.  (Edit:  Or maybe it does, and that's one of the reasons for Thailand's dismal traffic safety stats)  Especially with older farts like myself whose night vision doesn't improve with age anyway.  But the degradation is so gradual, most of us don't realize it's happening.

 

I'm seriously considering taking a razor scraper to cut strategic sections of the window tint to see my rearview mirrors, to the left and right, and the road ahead of me.  But I drive so seldom, and almost never after dark.  And I can just hear the ridicule of the guys who see those patches cut out of the film...

 

A few years ago, I bought a new car.  It was delivered with tinting, and wow, it was so dark!   I couldn't drive at night, took it back and demanded that they retint it with recognised international standards.   I showed them a copy of Australian and NZ standards, and had the correct tint fitted. I then felt safe driving at night.    I could hardly see the lights of approaching m/cycles, let alone those who had no lights with the darker (and illegal) tint.

Seems to me no-one gives a durn about safety standards.

[KhonkaenExpat]

“Seven deadly days - seven-vehicle collision - darkness and wet conditions blamed.”

But doesn’t it get dark and rain in Thailand many times of the year, not just the festive time of year.

[KhonkaenExpat]

The front window of the vehicle should not be tinted.  

[yardrunner]

13 hours ago, Darcula said:

Taxpayers must demand their government immediately hires a team of international scientists to thoroughly investigate this unusual "darkness and wet" phenomenon.

and get a new safety video for when you get or renew your driving licence showing what the switches on the steering column are for and how and when to use them so that you do not see as many vehicles with no lights and not using indicators

[speedtripler]

6 hours ago, ThaiFelix said:

Mmmm  "darkness and wetness" ?  So speed had no part in it.  I also note that most vehicles in the pile-up were Isuzu's.  Maybe the need to send Isuzu a "Please Explain" request. 

The black pickup on top of the white one really says it all.... 

Probably  on an illegal raised suspension  and but I doubt anyone will be prosecuted 

I driven  ~700km to bkk one Sunday and saw accidents all along the way including big trucks that had managed to fall into the central reservation dip area and flip, cement mixers, minivans on their roofs etc and this was not even new years or songkran 

 

Just a regular normal Sunday in Thailand....... 

 

[Jonah Tenner]

4 hours ago, masuk said:

Seems to me no-one gives a durn about safety standards.

Safety standards? What do you mean, safety standards?

They have the newest Buddha figure hanging from the rear view mirror

and the best amulet the temple has to offer. Isn't that safety enough?

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

There is only one good thing about this and the April "clamp down" and that is it highlights what happens every day 365/12 year after year.

Nobody can do anything to stop it without a real police force.

Two weeks a year they have more check points, and collect money and fine a few minor offenders.

 

 

 

 

[Blackheart1916]

good thing about darkness - it only comes out at night.

[Happyman58]

I know one thing during these deadly days i wont be riding my push bike any more Was riding it along the road the other day my god i could not have been any further off the road I was was nearly in the paddock and still some idiot nearly ran me over And no it was not a tractor it was a car  Maybe he thought he was driving a tractor Who know what goes through their head 

[Dexlowe]

9 minutes ago, Happyman58 said:

I know one thing during these deadly days i wont be riding my push bike any more Was riding it along the road the other day my god i could not have been any further off the road I was was nearly in the paddock and still some idiot nearly ran me over And no it was not a tractor it was a car  Maybe he thought he was driving a tractor Who know what goes through their head 

Serves you right. Next time, ride in the paddock. Just watch out for submerged buffaloes. 

[jacko45k]

So what surprised them more, the darkness or the wetness.

[Airbagwill]

After a period of dry weather, newly wet roads are particularly slippery and dangerous. This always results in a spate of collisions and crashes regardless of country.

However the situation is exacerbated if road surfaces are substandard and the rubber compounds of tires are below par.

Furthermore in Thailand both road markings and lighting are inappropriate and inadequate for both wet and poor light conditions.

[captspectre]

Speed! Speed! Speed! and the I don't give a damn attitude is the cause of most accidents here, will never change!

 

[outsider]

Darkness and slippery conditions were blamed. When are these idiots going to wake up to the fact that ONLY TWO things are to blame:

 

1. The idiots driving the vehicle

2. The idiots supposed to enforce the law.

[Airbagwill]

3 hours ago, captspectre said:

Speed! Speed! Speed! and the I don't give a damn attitude is the cause of most accidents here, will never change!

 

I drive several thousands KMs per year in Thailand and I'm of the opinion that speeding is no more a factor here than in any other country.

I often compare my speed to others whilst driving and seldom see "speeders". E.G. who is overtaking me, how and where and what is my speed compared to the surrounding traffic.

There are basically 2 kinds of speeding - driving over the legal limit and too fast for the conditions - any glance at the available stats for Thailand will show that it figures just about the same as any country in crashes.

What I do believe however is that someone who is not comfortable driving in a new environment finds the whole experience rather overwhelming and one of the first impressions they get (like learning a new language) is that "everyone is driving too fast" when in reality it is their own perception brought about by their inability to adapt to the new circumstances.

 

in short, those who find themselves shouting at other drivers in Thailand should seriously question whather or not they themsleves should be driving at all.

[Rimmer]

An off topic attempt at humor has been removed

[poohy]

1 hour ago, Airbagwill said:

I drive several thousands KMs per year in Thailand and I'm of the opinion that speeding is no more a factor here than in any other country.

I often compare my speed to others whilst driving and seldom see "speeders". E.G. who is overtaking me, how and where and what is my speed compared to the surrounding traffic.

There are basically 2 kinds of speeding - driving over the legal limit and too fast for the conditions - any glance at the available stats for Thailand will show that it figures just about the same as any country in crashes.

What I do believe however is that someone who is not comfortable driving in a new environment finds the whole experience rather overwhelming and one of the first impressions they get (like learning a new language) is that "everyone is driving too fast" when in reality it is their own perception brought about by their inability to adapt to the new circumstances.

 

in short, those who find themselves shouting at other drivers in Thailand should seriously question whather or not they themsleves should be driving at all.

Interesting, but speed or otherwise, i am sure you will agree the majority of driving in thailand for whatever reason(s) is deplorable    

[Airbagwill]

Just now, poohy said:

Interesting, but speed or otherwise, i am sure you will agree the majority of driving in thailand for whatever reason(s) is deplorable    

No I don't, I think that most Thai drivers make the best of a deplorable situation - I don't make racist or general slurs about the people of Thailand. I think it is just a cop-out by farang drivers who are unable to adapt to driving in Thailand.

I have also pointed out before that several western countries had similar death rates to Thailand or in the case of the US even worse, did they all suddenly become "good drivers"? no they were forced into a situation where bad driving is no longer possible.

I also think that it is a shortcoming of most road safety "critics" that they fail to realise that driving and road safety are not one and the same. Driving is only part of th problem, what is needed is a general "environment" that is safer for people to drive in.

I think as someone who drives all over the country that the worst drivers in Thailand tend to be the western expats who drive about with an air of superiority and an expectation that driving here is the same as at home.

 

The amount of geriatrics cruising the streets of places like Pattaya and Phuket is quite deplorable - many of these drivers would have had their licences revoked years ago at home.

 

It is interesting that the regions with high expat numbewrs also have the highest fatality rates - in particular changwatsChonburi and Rayong

[speedtripler]

5 minutes ago, Airbagwill said:

No I don't, I think that most Thai drivers make the best of a deplorable situation - I don't make racist or general slurs about the people of Thailand. I think it is just a cop-out by farang drivers who are unable to adapt to driving in Thailand.

I have also pointed out before that several western countries had similar death rates to Thailand or in the case of the US even worse, did they all suddenly become "good drivers"? no they were forced into a situation where bad driving is no longer possible.

I also think that it is a shortcoming of most road safety "critics" that they fail to realise that driving and road safety are not one and the same. Driving is only part of th problem, what is needed is a general "environment" that is safer for people to drive in.

I think as someone who drives all over the country that the worst drivers in Thailand tend to be the western expats who drive about with an air of superiority and an expectation that driving here is the same as at home.

 

The amount of geriatrics cruising the streets of places like Pattaya and Phuket is quite deplorable - many of these drivers would have had their licences revoked years ago at home.

 

It is interesting that the regions with high expat numbewrs also have the highest fatality rates - in particular changwatsChonburi and Rayong

Bkk is more dangerous than rayong or chonburi as far as I can remember reading

 

And 99.9% of the daily accidents  are NOT attributed to farangs lol

 

You need to lay down the crack pipe if you think farangs are responsible for the accident statistics on Thai roads... 

 

 

[Airbagwill]

30 minutes ago, speedtripler said:

Bkk is more dangerous than rayong or chonburi as far as I can remember reading

 

And 99.9% of the daily accidents  are NOT attributed to farangs lol

 

You need to lay down the crack pipe if you think farangs are responsible for the accident statistics on Thai roads... 

 

 

"99.9%" ? - this is a figure of speech, I presume, there are no attribution stats in Thailand according to nationality.

 

Your "reading" is out of date -  BKK used to have a very high collision rate, but the death rate which was 50% of the country is now no longer the case.

the latest figures I saw claim Chon and Rayong to be the highest. ( find them yourself!). the most common - but not necessarily the most informative - method for working out deaths is to rate them at deaths per 100k......

 

Although I'm not suggesting that foreigners make up a significant part of road deaths,, Their driving clearly leaves a lot to be desired as they struggle to contend with the new driving environment they find themselves in.

 

Rayong and Chonburi are the industrial heartlands of Thailand and the populations are rising and vehicle ownership is essential, it also means that there is a high number of foreigners driving there.

I don't take any "recreational" drugs at all including alcohol.....and I take exception to the idea that any of my arguments are drug-fuelled. I can only guess that you are applying your own standards to others.

[speedtripler]

2 minutes ago, Airbagwill said:

"99.9%" ? - this is a figure of speech, I presume, there are no attribution stats in Thailand according to nationality.

 

Your "reading" is out of date -  BKK used to have a very high collision rate, but the death rate which was 50% of the country is now no longer the case.

the latest figures I saw claim Chon and Rayong to be the highest. ( find them yourself!). the most common - but not necessarily the most informative - method for working out deaths is to rate them at deaths per 100k......

 

Although I'm not suggesting that foreigners make up a significant part of road deaths,, Their driving clearly leaves a lot to be desired as they struggle to contend with the new driving environment they find themselves in.

 

Rayong and Chonburi are the industrial heartlands of Thailand and the populations are rising and vehicle ownership is essential, it also means that there is a high number of foreigners driving there.

I don't take any "recreational" drugs at all including alcohol.....and I take exception to the idea that any of my arguments are drug-fuelled. I can only guess that you are applying your own standards to others.

I can tell you from experience because I drive a lot of km and see many  accidents per day and the ones where a farang was responsible is.......... Basically not any that I can recall..... 

 

Seen a Thai crash a bike yesterday coming down a hill when light rain started

 

Next time you're in bkk look at the white spray paint on the ground where the police mark accidents before they move the vehicles to the side (you will see these a LOT) 

 

 

[alien365]

4 minutes ago, speedtripler said:

I can tell you from experience because I drive a lot of km and see many  accidents per day and the ones where a farang was responsible is.......... Basically not any that I can recall..... 

 

Seen a Thai crash a bike yesterday coming down a hill when light rain started

 

Next time you're in bkk look at the white spray paint on the ground where the police mark accidents before they move the vehicles to the side (you will see these a LOT) 

 

 

Considering the volume of traffic in bkk I'm surprised there are not more accidents, especially when people push in at junctions and drive along the hard shoulders of tollroads so close to the wall. 

 

I've never seen a western stood at the side of the road calling his insurance company(that's not to say it doesn't happen), but considering the ratio of Thai: westerner that's not surprising.

 

[Airbagwill]

23 minutes ago, speedtripler said:

I can tell you from experience because I drive a lot of km and see many  accidents per day and the ones where a farang was responsible is.......... Basically not any that I can recall..... 

 

Seen a Thai crash a bike yesterday coming down a hill when light rain started

 

Next time you're in bkk look at the white spray paint on the ground where the police mark accidents before they move the vehicles to the side (you will see these a LOT) 

 

 

The worst possible thing you can say when discussing a topic as big as road safety is "in my experience" - in a situation when we are dealing with millions an untutored comment like that is meaningless.

 

I drive extensively all over Thailand including BKK  (yesterday) and I am very careful how I interpret my personal observations. (words like "lot" are particularly unhelpful. you also need to take into account who why and when lines are drawn on the road - not just by police and not in just fatal accidents. How do they mark the roads in your home country?

It is this kind of observation that leads to grossly misleading perceptions of what the issues surrounding road safety really are, it also lead some people to believe the earth was flat.

 

debating the finer points of driving is not helpful, it is this kind of fixation that in reality has prevented any progress from being made. So long as people confuse driving with road safety, we can't even start to address the problem

 

Road safety is a health and safety issue - with much more in common with factory/work health and safety than of whether or not someone can operate a car.

 

we need to scientifically analyse what is ACTUALLY happening , not what we THINK is happening based on our own preconceptions.

[speedtripler]

Just now, Airbagwill said:

The worst possible thing you can say when discussing a topic as big as road safety is "in my experience" - in a situation when we are dealing with millions an untutored comment like that is meaningless.

 

I drive extensively all over Thailand including BKK  (yesterday) and I am very careful how I interpret my personal observations. (words like "lot" are particularly unhelpful. you also need to take into account who why and when lines are drawn on the road - not just by police and not in just fatal accidents. How do they mark the roads in your home country?

It is this kind of observation that leads to grossly misleading perceptions of what the issues surrounding road safety really are, it also lead some people to believe the earth was flat1

In Thailand, almost everyone driving is Thai

 

It's statistically improbable to suggest that any significant number of accidents are   caused by farangs who "wouldnt be allowed to drive in their home counties" 

 

Your statement just doesn't make sense and most farangs were taught to drive at a much higher level than the Thai joke of a driving test so even if 50% of the drivers were farangs I think they would be responsible for much less than 50% of the accidents....