Road carnage: January death toll goes through the roof

[wavemanwww]

What gets me is this carnage continues where insane drivers get 200-500 Bah fines ,,,Peanuts for westerners based on their fines from their country of origin, Yet you have a smoko on the beach its 100,000 bah fine and or a gaol term. Thailand has lost the plot!

[Thian]

3 hours ago, StevieAus said:

At what point was he arrested?

He seemed to be issued with some sort of infringement and was allowed to drive away after shaking hands with the police officer

Are all Dutch police so polite?

He didn't get arrested, they just took his car...you can see him handing the keys over and that was in front of his house. 

 

Yes the police is very polite as long as you're polite to them...If you have a big mouth that might change though. All dutch know that there's no way to escape from them, they can call their collegues who are there within some minutes or they can call the helicopter in case you try to escape. 

 

He'll get the car back i guess, after some weeks and a huge fine..maybe he lost his driverslicense if this wasn't his first time for speeding more than 50 km too fast. But for sure he won't be driving for some weeks, also he will have to pay for a course in safe-driving which is not cheap.

 

This driver also was very relaxed and he admitted what he did, he said that because there was national soccer on tv he thought the police was watching that as well haha. 

 

The police always shows the video of how they filmed the driver doing wrong so he can give his reply on that. He will get the fine from the judge because speeding over 50km/hr is a serious crime..under 50 km overspeed is not and that will be only a hefty fine..

[tifino]

4 minutes ago, wavemanwww said:

What gets me is this carnage continues where insane drivers get 200-500 Bah fines ,,,Peanuts for westerners based on their fines from their country of origin, Yet you have a smoko on the beach its 100,000 bah fine and or a gaol term. Thailand has lost the plot!

not really...  for there is more to be made, from a smoking falang

[Thian]

1 hour ago, moe666 said:

What you have stated above is why many move here stay at home with all your police and have a happy life in the nanny state. Yes sorry about the deaths but everyone has choices to make, tomorrow I will be driving to BKK from CNX and I will drive as safe as possible but that is all I can do for my safety and the safety of others.

You can drive as safe as you can but that doesn't mean you are safe in Thailand! It's the other drivers who are the danger and even if you drive a topmodel car there can be a truck with crappy brakes driving into you....

 

So you don't care about the very high deadly accidents in Thailand? Well that's up to you...i don't feel safe on the thai roads at all...

 

[Thian]

6 hours ago, wabothai said:

The whole world knows nothing about thailand, even travel agents. If all would know there would be no more tourists coming to thailand.

Just wait untill the whole world starts saying: You drive like a Thai....(to a bad driver)....

[crazydrummerpauly]

23 hours ago, wakeupplease said:

Make an appointment at specsavers if I was you. 1,452 deaths in Jan, UK for the whole year may be just 1700 and yes every day you see police on the road over last two nights while taking the wife to work we saw police pulling cars as those police cars have cameras that take a note of all car numbers as they are being driven and then run that number plate through the DVLA computers who have records of whether the car is insured, tax and MOTed and the results are sown to the police in seconds, so you get pulled and no insurance or license means you do not drive home your car is on the back of a transporter to the nick.

 

CCTV everywhere and they work and you get a ticket Average speed cameras yes loads of them and they work also, should you get too many speeding fines your driving license also gets taken by the boys at the nick.

 

So think again be4 posting rubbish.

Yep, and 1/3rd of those impounded cars end up crushed - imagine the face on a young hi-so Thai if that happened to his pride & joy !

[Jonmarleesco]

'... the government and other authorities saying they planned to address the carnage on the nation's road ...'

 

They are addressing it - they keep on talking about it.

 

But keeping the number one spot has its upside, one being that they can actually reduce Songkran's toll without getting off their a____s. 

[Daveyh]

Road statistics here continuing to increase each year is a sad fact of life in the Land of Smiles. It's said that 80% of all road facilities are motorcyclists. The number of "big bikes" on the road now are frightening & no one is slowing down!! Fast cars & fast bikes are a receipe for disaster & that is what is happening on the roads here as we speak. Just look at the bike shops now in Pattaya that are selling top of the range motorcycles ......... Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Benelli, Ducati, MV Augusta, Triumph etc etc. They are all selling these powerful machines to customers that passed their test on a 100cc scooter! I see unhelmeted riders each day riding these big machines at 4-6 pm meal times "looking kool wearing shades for street cred". I for one just cringe when I hear a powerful motorcycle overtaking all the conjested traffic in town ........... no control, one false move & it's curtains. Lots of police around at the junctions, but just ignored. Even fast cars appear to be within reach of many Thai's & again they probably passed their test in a pickup. This love affair they have in fast cars & powerful motorcycles will never change. Their mindset is all about themselves & doing what they want. You cannot instill order in their mindset due to their lack of self discipline. They will flout laws as if they are not important & take any form of criticism or friendly advice personally. Even if your intentions are well meant it will never be accepted & you'll be accused of meddling & to mind your own business etc ......... exit stage left 'cos it can reach flash point with someone who was until you spoke a friend of yours ..????!  There's no getting through that Thainess barrier ...... it's their country, let them do what they want & hopefully they will not kill you whilst doing it! Given time they will some day start to realise that laws are there for a reason, which is to live an orderly life & take responsibility for your own actions.

[thaibry]

Interestingly Roiet city has many CCTV cameras at junctions and fines are sent out. Things are slowly improving.

My observation is that often vehicles on main roads with no obstruction travel at 20 kph for no obvious reason causing frustration, particularly to this ferang immediately behind. Usually they are looking in shop widows or talking on the phone but I wonder if some are frightened of driving faster than a rice-tractor.

Sent from my ASUS_Z010D using Tapatalk

[thaibry]

I also saw this road safety poster in Roiet city and I admit that I cannot read Thai but to me it suggests Mum and Dad should use seatbelts but kids can run riot if they want.

Sent from my ASUS_Z010D using Tapatalk

[boomerangutang]

There are so many ways in which Thai drivers are rude, and they don't even know they're being rude.  I guess it's a matter of differing perspectives.  Here are some observations from a third of a century driving in Thailand:

>>>  very selfish drivers, 

>>>  cutting corners, particularly 'blind corners'

>>>  cutting in front of other drivers, even if there's less than a car space between cars

>>>  All Thai vehicles have tinted windows, so it's usually not possible to see what the other driver is doing or where he/she/it is looking.

>>>  going through red lights.  Just in small city of Chiang Rai, I've guesstimated 10,000 cars/hour go through red lights, on average.  The number could be 150,000 cars/hour in Bkk

[tropo]

1 hour ago, Daveyh said:

Road statistics here continuing to increase each year is a sad fact of life in the Land of Smiles. It's said that 80% of all road facilities are motorcyclists. The number of "big bikes" on the road now are frightening & no one is slowing down!! Fast cars & fast bikes are a receipe for disaster & that is what is happening on the roads here as we speak. Just look at the bike shops now in Pattaya that are selling top of the range motorcycles ......... Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Benelli, Ducati, MV Augusta, Triumph etc etc. They are all selling these powerful machines to customers that passed their test on a 100cc scooter! I see unhelmeted riders each day riding these big machines at 4-6 pm meal times "looking kool wearing shades for street cred". I for one just cringe when I hear a powerful motorcycle overtaking all the conjested traffic in town ........... no control, one false move & it's curtains. Lots of police around at the junctions, but just ignored. Even fast cars appear to be within reach of many Thai's & again they probably passed their test in a pickup. This love affair they have in fast cars & powerful motorcycles will never change. Their mindset is all about themselves & doing what they want. You cannot instill order in their mindset due to their lack of self discipline. They will flout laws as if they are not important & take any form of criticism or friendly advice personally. Even if your intentions are well meant it will never be accepted & you'll be accused of meddling & to mind your own business etc ......... exit stage left 'cos it can reach flash point with someone who was until you spoke a friend of yours ..????!  There's no getting through that Thainess barrier ...... it's their country, let them do what they want & hopefully they will not kill you whilst doing it! Given time they will some day start to realise that laws are there for a reason, which is to live an orderly life & take responsibility for your own actions.

Are Road statistics continuing to increase each year? How do you know that? From the OP it is stated that this January number hasn't been reached in over a year, which means it has been reached before.

 

I believe you are wrong about big bikes being a reason why road deaths are so high. I'll bet money that most deaths are on standard 100 - 150cc bikes which make up the majority of bikes used on roads here. A lot of the carnage is from these bikes being run over or into by speeding cars, not from losing control at high speed. I don't know the stats, but I would estimate that big bikes make up less than 1% of all bikes. Not all big bike owners are idiots addicted to speed either. My Thai neighbor owns 3 of them and one scooter. He putters along like a grandma on the road.

[MrY]

If this atrocious January rate of fatalities remains unchanged, then February death toll is guaranteed to be 90% of January's death toll. Just saying.

[philipwooduk]

The numbers of people killed unfortunately die at the scene of the accident, What is never told is the amount of people who die as a result of the accident, i.e. taken to / on the way to hospital.

As always the officialdom never publish the true figures of deaths as a result of a vehicle accident.

[joecoolfrog]

On 02/02/2018 at 2:50 PM, wotsdermatter said:

Please, tell us if you travel in Europe< Canada, and the USA, if you see many police "managing traffic" because when I travel in other countries it is a rare occurrence to see police unless they are hiding somewhere with their radar guns or controlling traffic at collision scenes, etc.  While Thailand has a poor record other countries do not necessarily fare better, regardless of reports from worldwide agencies.

Well on the whole , most other countries fare a great deal better and for obvious and fairly simple to replicate reasons.

[shaurene]

On 2 February 2018 at 8:59 PM, darksidedog said:

I just drove from Pattaya to Phrae and back and encountered seriously awful driving continuously. Tailgating on the Motorways, when they can clearly see dozens of vehicles ahead of you, especially pisses me off, especially since every 30km or so, you could see 2-6 cars involved in dents and insurance claims from such stupidity. Cars overtaking the other way, not letting your lane free was pretty common.

Giving right of way? Yeah, Right!

Over a 750 Km journey, each direction, I saw the cops twice. And both times were paperwork check or search, not one out there managing traffic.

And then they wonder why the death toll is up? Hmmm! I think I know! No one is stopping idiots driving like buffaloes.

You are DEAD right Dark-Dog, I often drive from Khon Kaen to Pattaya 550K's and see so many frightening sites. The speed some of them go. Very little indications to let you know where they are turning etc. Public Buses hogging the outside right lanes and all clear in front of them. Police at checkpoints sitting under the sun covers, just a bloody laugh.

Will never change in a million years. The Police get paid Jack shit so why should they bother.

 

[Airbagwill]

On 2/2/2018 at 10:21 PM, Thian said:

In Europe there are undercover cops in cars who also have videocams at all sides. If you drive too close to another car or stay on the fast lane when the slow lane is empty they will give you a huge fine...for speeding they have camera's littery everywhere, the ticket will come to your home. They also use cars with computerequipment who can read licenseplates and check if the car is insured or checked for safety yearly.

 

They also register the licenseplate and do it again after 50 km or so, they then calculate the travelled speed over that distance and will send a fine if necessary.

 

There's no way to do drive like a Thai in Europe, you'll get stopped by police within 10 minutes...and there's no way to bribe them at all. When they stop you for an offence they also check the whole car if all is working properly, if not more fines are written.

 

What you see on the Thai roads every day is unbelievable for the Europeans. It can be a primetime tv=show for them to watch Thai traffic.

 

I really can't understand why Thailand let this all happen, they do have police but they won't do their job...and even a big general can't fix that.

Soon the whole world will make jokes about driving like a Thai...and they totally deserve it.

 

As said, lunacy is not the preserve of Thailand....it's just that in other countries they are prevented from doing what comes naturally.

The EU road safety systems work because they are effective.

If you simply introduce the technology in Thailand it can't work.

It's not simply a case of the police not doing their job either....it isn't even part of their job; Thai police aren't trained in road safety. For the most part, they don't know the laws, they aren't trained in the technology and they certainly can't evaluate a crash scene.

To introduce most of the EU technology you would need to have a new legal system that separates police and judiciary, even number plating would need to be change and the whole bureaucracy for registering cars and enforcing and collecting fines. All graft and corruption would have to be removed as well as those who simply couldn't do the job. The police would have to set up train and equip a road traffic police force capable of handling all this.

On top of that to effectively administer the law in respect to road safety, the roads themselves need to be redesigned. The basic design of even new roads in Thailand is flawed. On top of the roads themselves, a proper consistent and universal system of signage needs to be introduced and the positioning needs to clear unobstructed a scientifically calculated. You'd need to illegallise billboards and drastically restrict all commercial signage. This requires a total rethink of road construction and maintenance.

Europe has over a period of 60 years or so scientifically developed road systems that are safe and effective, when new problems arise they have the mechanisms to scientifically analyse what is going on and introduce measures to cope.

Other countries are not so well sorted..... USA has a fragmented insurance driven approach to road safety and it is reflected in their relatively poor road safety record on the world scale.

Thailand has none of this....... they have had national, ASEAN and international organisations that have given governments advice, but as it involves money that doesn't benefit big business it is ignored. There has also been the problem of misinformed ministers who think they know better than science.

The longer it goes on the more difficult and costly it becomes to address.

At present Thailand is embarking on a major road building phase....The roads built so far are inherently dangerous by design....it is no wonder that stats seem to show an increase in deaths....so long a incompetent people are appointed to design the roads and run road safety systems, there will be no improvement.

Racist comments that suggest Thai people are inherently incapable of driving is just ignorantly barking up the wrong tree. Road safety is not just about driving. ...not matter how far you have driven or good you think you are, it doesn't make you an "expert" on road safety.

[Ron19]

A troll post has been removed.

[jacko45k]

On 2/2/2018 at 8:13 PM, snoop1130 said:

But if this January's figures are anything to go by 10,000 could have perished by mid-year.

That appears to be a projection made my multiplying January's figures.  Which of course contain the deadly New Years period. There is of course the Songkran carnage yet to come. I hope it won't be so bad. Even driving around Pattaya I have felt it 'more dangerous' lately. High season, more traffic, more frustration and those in a hurry do silly selfish things.

Surely they have some idea what the solution is, it isn't focusing on foreign tourists to maximise income.

[Prairieboy]

On 02/02/2018 at 9:50 PM, wotsdermatter said:

Please, tell us if you travel in Europe< Canada, and the USA, if you see many police "managing traffic" because when I travel in other countries it is a rare occurrence to see police unless they are hiding somewhere with their radar guns or controlling traffic at collision scenes, etc.  While Thailand has a poor record other countries do not necessarily fare better, regardless of reports from worldwide agencies.

They are there - patrolling in their unmarked vehicles - cars, pickup trucks and vans And yes some are hiding with their radar guns and traffic cams.  The traffic cams are real and working.

[cyberfarang]

There are rarely times when I`m out on the road when I haven`t seen the aftermath of road accidents, mostly young people on motorbikes.

 

They just don`t have the experience regarding defensive driving and the need to be observant at all times, taking for granted that other vehicles will be considerate and try to avoid colliding with them.

 

All motorcyclists should be imposed to go on a motorbike training course and refused licences until they pass the course. But presently it`s a free for all on the roads, and the carnage will continue.

[thaibeachlovers]

19 hours ago, Humpy said:

 Get rid of tinted widows, ecclesiastical nick-knacks dangling from rear view mirrors , windscreen and rear window stickers of all sorts blocking the drivers view . Rear view mirrors for all motorcycles and only two persons with helmets, on the bike. Road safety instruction in all schools. Better signage at roundabouts well before the roundabout and not on the roundabout ! The reason for the double and broken yellow road makings must be made clear. 

A 15 second TV road safety 'advert' should be shown with clips of idiot drivers and riders ... and the crash results including the mangled and lifeless bodies .

(The TV  road safety tips should not shown during the PM's weekly chat because very few watch it !!)

Better signage at roundabouts well before the roundabout and not on the roundabout !

Nearest I came to being killed that didn't involve another driver overtaking in my lane was at a T junction on the way to the village. No warning signs at all, and over a hill so didn't see it in the rain at night. Only reason I'm here at all is that my wife knew the road and screamed at me to slow down.

Next time we went to the village I double checked but no signs visible.

I think different authorities must put up signs, rather than a central body, as on some roads signage is excellent and almost excessive, while other areas are poorly signed if at all. Some places they'd even have a flashing orange light to warn of the T junction or have those judder strips, but on that one nothing.

[thaibeachlovers]

8 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

There are rarely times when I`m out on the road when I haven`t seen the aftermath of road accidents, mostly young people on motorbikes.

 

They just don`t have the experience regarding defensive driving and the need to be observant at all times, taking for granted that other vehicles will be considerate and try to avoid colliding with them.

 

All motorcyclists should be imposed to go on a motorbike training course and refused licences until they pass the course. But presently it`s a free for all on the roads, and the carnage will continue.

You must drive on dangerous roads, as I've seen only about 3 serious accidents in all my years of travelling on Thai roads.

Seen plenty of young Thais on m'bikes sure to be statistics though.

[mindfulness]

... Mai Pen Rai, Mai Pen Rai ! 

 

Bow, Bow, Jai Yen Yen ! 

[manhood]

It is like with nearly everything in Thailand: Most Thais don't want to change anything and never learn their lesson!

As long sanuk, sanuk is around they not care at all!!!!!!!!

And yes: it's is also a big fault of the government as they just look to buy new tanks or ships for military instead get

things done good or better for the people if Thailand!!!

There are smart and clever people in this country who show the way the country should go to but as long you have THIS kind of "government" nothing will happen at all!

[thaibeachlovers]

4 hours ago, Airbagwill said:

As said, lunacy is not the preserve of Thailand....it's just that in other countries they are prevented from doing what comes naturally.

The EU road safety systems work because they are effective.

If you simply introduce the technology in Thailand it can't work.

It's not simply a case of the police not doing their job either....it isn't even part of their job; Thai police aren't trained in road safety. For the most part, they don't know the laws, they aren't trained in the technology and they certainly can't evaluate a crash scene.

To introduce most of the EU technology you would need to have a new legal system that separates police and judiciary, even number plating would need to be change and the whole bureaucracy for registering cars and enforcing and collecting fines. All graft and corruption would have to be removed as well as those who simply couldn't do the job. The police would have to set up train and equip a road traffic police force capable of handling all this.

On top of that to effectively administer the law in respect to road safety, the roads themselves need to be redesigned. The basic design of even new roads in Thailand is flawed. On top of the roads themselves, a proper consistent and universal system of signage needs to be introduced and the positioning needs to clear unobstructed a scientifically calculated. You'd need to illegallise billboards and drastically restrict all commercial signage. This requires a total rethink of road construction and maintenance.

Europe has over a period of 60 years or so scientifically developed road systems that are safe and effective, when new problems arise they have the mechanisms to scientifically analyse what is going on and introduce measures to cope.

Other countries are not so well sorted..... USA has a fragmented insurance driven approach to road safety and it is reflected in their relatively poor road safety record on the world scale.

Thailand has none of this....... they have had national, ASEAN and international organisations that have given governments advice, but as it involves money that doesn't benefit big business it is ignored. There has also been the problem of misinformed ministers who think they know better than science.

The longer it goes on the more difficult and costly it becomes to address.

At present Thailand is embarking on a major road building phase....The roads built so far are inherently dangerous by design....it is no wonder that stats seem to show an increase in deaths....so long a incompetent people are appointed to design the roads and run road safety systems, there will be no improvement.

Racist comments that suggest Thai people are inherently incapable of driving is just ignorantly barking up the wrong tree. Road safety is not just about driving. ...not matter how far you have driven or good you think you are, it doesn't make you an "expert" on road safety.

The roads built so far are inherently dangerous by design

Don't know which roads you are referring to, but I drove on a lot of "new" dual carriageway roads between Lamphun and the village, and none of them would be described as "inherently dangerous". Apart from one very dangerous U turn, I doubt the design could have been bettered anywhere. I was able to safely drive at the speed limit without any sudden surprises.

However, the "old" two way roads with no dividers were very dangerous, but built many years ago.

[thaibeachlovers]

9 minutes ago, manhood said:

It is like with nearly everything in Thailand: Most Thais don't want to change anything and never learn their lesson!

As long sanuk, sanuk is around they not care at all!!!!!!!!

And yes: it's is also a big fault of the government as they just look to buy new tanks or ships for military instead get

things done good or better for the people if Thailand!!!

There are smart and clever people in this country who show the way the country should go to but as long you have THIS kind of "government" nothing will happen at all!

????????????

New, safe, dual carriageway roads are being built in many places.

[Keesters]

On 2/2/2018 at 10:15 PM, NanLaew said:

It's not the "graduates from motorbikes" that are the majority of victims, it's still the 2 -wheelers.

It matters little who the victims are. What counts is stopping the causes of the accidents which from my observation as a two wheel rider is madly driven, speeding cars who have a compulsion to push every smaller vehicle off the road.,. If that is handled properly the victim rate will drop automatically.

 

In Thailand  people have little regard for other people. This is often referred to as the ME FIRST syndrome. Along with MAI PEN RA aka APATHY they are the root cause of most Thailand's problems, social and political. Change those and you would change Thailand more than any, unenforced, law, crackdown, or coup.

[selftaopath]

23 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Thank you. A highly observant post. All the checkpoints do is clog traffic on the highways, and put alot of cash into the pockets of the toy police. It is all about catching people performing moving violations. That is what causes most accidents. And herein lies the deterrent. As long as everyone is allowed to get away with extremely reckless driving, entering the highway in front of an oncoming vehicle that is only 100 meters away, going 100kph, cutting in front of vehicles within one meter at high speeds, swerving like crazy idiots all over the highway, trucks and 40 year old cars occupying the fast lane doing 40kph, when other vehicles are approaching doing 120kph, drunk driving, etc, accidents, major injuries and deaths will continue to happen, and no amount of rhetoric and platitudes by the fabulously incompetent and insincere authorities are going to make any difference. 

 

Real men do what is necessary to save lives. Kids and highly underdeveloped people make promises, tell lies and engage in deflection.

 

Little P.  - Moving Thailand backwards at a breath taking, alarming, and astonishing pace. 

Is little P. related to little T. ?

[lvr181]

14 hours ago, moe666 said:

What you have stated above is why many move here stay at home with all your police and have a happy life in the nanny state. Yes sorry about the deaths but everyone has choices to make, tomorrow I will be driving to BKK from CNX and I will drive as safe as possible but that is all I can do for my safety and the safety of others.

Hope you retain the same fatalism when you or a member of your family are killed or disabled for life.