Traffic authorities claim success as deaths down 11%

[webfact]

Traffic authorities claim success as deaths down 11%

By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM 
THE NATION

 

File photo

 

THE SEVEN-DAY road safety-monitoring period ended with what was considered a success as the accident count reduced by 2 per cent and the death rate decreased by 11.5 per cent.

 

Road safety experts and authorities gave credit for the accomplishment to strict law enforcement during the New Year period. Arrests for dangerous driving and traffic-law offences sharply increased.

 

Deputy Interior Minister Sutee Markboon said yesterday during a press conference at the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department that the New Year holidays ended on Wednesday with 423 deaths and 4,005 injuries from 3,841 accidents, which were lower than the last year’s figures.

 

 

On the final day of the monitoring period on Wednesday, 386 accidents occurred, killing 40 people and injuring 402 others, Sutee said. 

 

He thanked stakeholders, particularly officers, who had worked hard on road safety promotion and strictly enforced the law, which he said resulted in reducing accidents and the death rate by 2 and 11.5 per cent respectively.

 

National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) spokesperson Colonel Sirichan Ngathong also said accident prevention measures during the period had seen officers citing illegal driving behaviour 300,365 times, which was higher than the previous year.

 

 

However, Sirichan said the higher arrest rate contributed to behavioural adjustment and encouraged drivers to be more careful and respect traffic laws when they were behind the wheel. She also added that 245,356 people had been prosecuted for driving dangerously, 141,327 of whom were on motorcycles and the other 104,209 in cars.

 

Officers temporarily seized 6,326 vehicles, of which 4,823 were motorcycles and 1,503 were cars. A total of 38,190 driving licences were also confiscated.

 

Dr Thanapong Jinvong of the Road Safety Policy Foundation said authorities had progressed in the right direction to promote road safety by strictly enforcing traffic laws.

 

However, Thanapong said officers could further improve their performance in preventing accidents by increasing the penalty for dangerous driving, especially drunk driving.

 

“We have found that the arrest rate for drunk driving case has risen by 49 per cent, which made the roads safer,” he said.

 

However, he cited a poll finding that 74 per 

 

 cent of respondents had said they had seen drunk people driving, so the problem remained serious. 

 

He added that officers had to strictly enforce traffic laws throughout the year to make people afraid of the consequences of drunk driving, as Thailand’s roads were still the most dangerous in the world and drunk driving remained a prominent factor in road accidents throughout the year.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30335418

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-01-05

[ezzra]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

the New Year holidays ended on Wednesday with 423 deaths

That's 423 dead too many, but the authorities are boasting about 2% reduction, tell that to the grieving families.....

[gunderhill]

I feel so much safer now! 

OK let's  now  see  the figures  for  the  next  7   days.

Edited January 4, 2018 by gunderhill

[BigBadGeordie]

1 hour ago, gunderhill said:

I feel so much safer now! 

OK let's  now  see  the figures  for  the  next  7   days.

There is no "danger" over the next 7 days, just the "normal" death toll of 40 to 60 a day.

 

"Danger" does not return until Songkran.

[cornishcarlos]

Still world No.1 though.... !!!

[dinsdale]

So now after the 7 days the toll goes back up to normal.

[smedly]

so for 7 days police actually made an effort at normal police work, maybe they should consider doing it for 365days - why is it that everyone sees this except Thai authorities, time to stop looking at one 7 day period per year and start looking at yearly statistics - how much of an impact will this have on that figure ?????????? none.

 

Stupid people

[colinneil]

Traffic authorities claim success. !!Pathetic !!

The families of the 423 dead will surely not agree with that.

[wakeupplease]

Down 11% and you believe this, its a shame the facts do not! Now how many died in the UK? Um Um well that is the UK and it is policed properly so we expect what Thailand gets in a week the UK gets in a year

[ryldar]

I'm not sure who is doing the math, but 423 in 7 days is 60/day which is normal for everyday of last year according to recent reports - why the celebration? Maybe a reduction for this time of the year but hardly worth celebrating & applauding efforts of those who enforce the laws. 

[wvavin]

Could not figure out what mentality of these people have in this country to claim success over deaths.

[Easy Come Easy Go]

1 hour ago, cornishcarlos said:

Still world No.1 though.... !!!

 

[AhFarangJa]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

However, Thanapong said officers could further improve their performance in preventing accidents by increasing the penalty for dangerous driving, especially drunk driving.

It is not up to the police to impose penalties, that is the job of the government. It is the job of the police to enforce the Law......

[akirasan]

So in one report they are claiming a rise in drunk drivers by 50%.

Yet now they tell us traffic deaths are down 11%.

I guess the solution is let the whole country drive drunk, seems like it's safer. 
 

[YetAnother]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

THE SEVEN-DAY road safety-monitoring period ended with what was considered a success

what astonishingly small minded people; judge it by absolutes and it is hardly a success

[outsider]

1 hour ago, smedly said:

so for 7 days police actually made an effort at normal police work, maybe they should consider doing it for 365days - why is it that everyone sees this except Thai authorities, time to stop looking at one 7 day period per year and start looking at yearly statistics - how much of an impact will this have on that figure ?????????? none.

 

Stupid people

 

That's how shortsighted they are. New levels of stupidity but, as the saying goes... TiT.

[mikebell]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

officers could further improve their performance in preventing accidents

Agree 100%.  Every day would be a start.

[madmitch]

I think the term "strict" enforcement of the law is taking it a little too far.

 

"Stricter" is perhaps better

[Airbagwill]

it remains to be

42 minutes ago, AhFarangJa said:

It is not up to the police to impose penalties, that is the job of the government. It is the job of the police to enforce the Law......

E - for enforcement - in Thailand unfortunately the line between enforcing the law and judgements is not drawn, police seem to decide guilt and penalties in many circumstances - obviously a situation like this cannot exist is the motoring laws are to have any real effect.

[Bluespunk]

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

That's 423 dead too many, but the authorities are boasting about 2%

reduction, tell that to the grieving families.....

That’s 2% in accidents.

 

11% is the figure for reduction in the number of people who died. 

 

But yes, small comfort to the families of those who died. 

Edited January 5, 2018 by Bluespunk

[Orton Rd]

It's still like a jumbo jet crashing every week killing all on board, month after month

[smedly]

52 minutes ago, wvavin said:

Could not figure out what mentality of these people have in this country to claim success over deaths.

it truly is bizarre and shows yet again how incapable these people are at doing or thinking anything for themselves, the whole place is like never ending monty python sketch except it's not comedy fiction but real horror 

 

when I first came here my impression was adults that never progressed beyond a mental age of 10 and that still stands true today 

[Bluespunk]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

 

He added that officers had to strictly enforce traffic laws throughout the year to make people afraid of the consequences of drunk driving, as Thailand’s roads were still the most dangerous in the world and drunk driving remained a prominent factor in road accidents throughout the year.

For all those asking “what about the rest of the year”...

[kiwikeith]

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

That's 423 dead too many, but the authorities are boasting about 2%

reduction, tell that to the grieving families.....

I drove to Ratchaburi and back yesterday and it was  highway madness as usual a lot of weaving wondering vehicles and high speed overtaking, defensive driving by us all the time, the maniacs will never learn until some serious enforcement prevails.

[Pomrakuhn]

Success is when nobody died !

Sent from my CAM-L21 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[peperobi]

GOOOOOD!!! - 11%...from today on will going more down or up again???

[mercman24]

i think its about time people on here start blaming the drunken and speeding idiots for this carnage, cops cant be everywhere, and about grieving families, these are adult (well maybe), drivers, cops dont go around pouring booze down their throats,  there are a lot of innocents involved, who will not see tomorrow, that is a statistic we will never see.

[jenny2017]

Road safety experts and authorities gave credit for the accomplishment to strict law enforcement during the New Year period. Arrests for dangerous driving and traffic-law offences sharply increased

 

I just read it out loud and my two hamsters died instantly, one was happily on the wheel.

 

    Who's going to compensate me for my loss?  

[NanLaew]

5 hours ago, ezzra said:

That's 423 dead too many, but the authorities are boasting about 2% reduction, tell that to the grieving families.....

The award for "glass half-empty" post of the day goes to... the usual suspect.

[zaZa9]

The screamers on here have been demanding action.

Now action has been taken and a step in the right direction achieved.

But the Thai geezers here just dont have it in them to applaud anything done by Thais.

Anything.