Songkran crackdown to battle road accidents, harsher penalties promised

[janpharma]

The best and most effective "crack-down" to be effected in Thailand is a crackdown on officials and police men not doing their jobs properly...

[Happyman58]

10 hours ago, mikebell said:

Again with the seven dangerous Songkran days!  Instead of paying thousands of police overtime to stare at their phones all day; why don't they send hundreds out on motor bikes arresting violators? Why don't Thai police work at night when the daily carnage is at its peak?

Because  they are to lazy to work at night  and have other interests to look after  at night such as gambling  prostituion etc

[SpicyMeatball]

Ahhhh, the staple headline carried over from the year before this & the year before that & the year before that...

Nothing substantial changes but a fatality or two. And they’ll consider it a successful campaign.

Big Joke!

[PEE TEE]

9 hours ago, meatboy said:

in the uk.we used to sing this song after anouncements like this.

it starts something like this,"TELL ME THE OLD OLD STORY" AGAIN,AGAIN AND AGAIN.

Yes another is The Band played believe it if you like . 

[utalkin2me]

I believe they are trying to make things better every year. But it’s just impossible. People are just ready to party and move around in vehicles stuffed full with people. That’s really the only difference I can see we “get right” in the states.... let them do as they’d please but try your best to take the damn cars out of the equation as much as possible. I know it just ain’t happenin though.n

[rosst]

13 hours ago, YetAnother said:

then the guy didn't know how to drive a bus

Correct, but worse still, how can a known convicted drug user obtain a passenger bus licence, please answer this, I would love to know. 

Did his employer know of his convictions? And if not, why not? 

I believe that each and every effected family should sue the company and the HR manager. 

[Cadbury]

3 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

More utter nonsense about brown envelopes. As original as saying those who don't like A B or C in Thailand should go home instead of pointing out shortcomings.
The real problem is that punishments are almost meaningless, set maybe decades ago. Don't fine someone 500, fine them 5000 as a minimum. And if they clearly have money then make it 10,000 or 20,000 or 50,000, something that will make them think twice about what they do on the roads.

You talk big numbers Barry - 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000. These are the required big numbers that go in the envelopes depending on the seriousness of the offence and the amount mental pressure applied. 

They bear no relationship to the realistic fines you dream about in a righteous and uncorrupt civil service. 

 

Edited March 24, 2018 by Cadbury

[Chrisdoc]

I believe they are trying to make things better every year. But it’s just impossible. People are just ready to party and move around in vehicles stuffed full with people. That’s really the only difference I can see we “get right” in the states.... let them do as they’d please but try your best to take the damn cars out of the equation as much as possible. I know it just ain’t happenin though.n

I remember last year they were going to fine people for not wearing seat belts. My Thai family started wearing seat belts -even when holding the baby on their lap in a car doing 120 kms/hr. But then the government pulled out of it and they all took their seat belts of again. I have been here 2 years but have seen no action to make things safer.

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[hotchilli]

requirement for an alcohol test after every road accident that causes serious injury and death.

 

Is like shutting the door after the horse has bolted!!!!

How about enforcing stricter public transport testing before a driver gets behind a wheel & random breath tests out on the roads for the public !

Just an idea...

[cookieqw]

9 hours ago, Airbagwill said:

"including a requirement for an alcohol test after every road accident"

AFTER???

 

Why not before?

 

The fact is that the authorities in Thailand have allowed a deadly road safety environment to develop over the last 3 or 4 decades - and now they are trying to fine or punish Thai people for entering the very environment they created.

It was successive Thai governments that have allowed the private motor to be king in a totally unplanned and unregulated transport system...so now they reap the rewards - human error is a constant in all countries it is the duty of governments to create systems where human error is mitigated and others are protected - they have patently failed in this.

 

the duty of this government is to create systems whereby they can remain as the government because they know what is best for the people, thailand and themselves

[cookieqw]

whatever happened to  "  CHICKEN ESSENCE  " ?

[cookieqw]

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

requirement for an alcohol test after every road accident that causes serious injury and death.

 

Is like shutting the door after the horse has bolted!!!!

How about enforcing stricter public transport testing before a driver gets behind a wheel & random breath tests out on the roads for the public !

Just an idea...

the word enforcing does not translate into thai

[Golden Triangle]

I actually traveled that that route today from Pattaya to Phimai to make a surprise visit to a very dear friend of mine, a number of points come to mind regarding the journey but I will start if I may at the downhill section where the crash occurred and as of this mid afternoon the wreckage was still there.

 

For those that have used that route you will be familiar with the Concrete dividing barrier between the 2 carriageways, that has to be at least 1 meter high if not more, the coach was travelling downhill, the driver lost control (we now know he was high on YaBa) it hit the divider, flew over it, landed on the opposite carriageway smashed into a truck coming up the hill, in the process wiping out a few roadside vendors and killing 18 people.

 

The whole way down that particular road the signs both in English & Thai state that the speed limit is 60 kph and if the road is wet it is slippery, there are also speed camera signs every kilometer or so, this particular jerk off should not have been behind the wheel of anything other than a toy car and he would probably be dangerous in that.

 

We made the journey in a Fortuner, and I can assure you all that I would not attempt some of those bends anywhere near 80 kph, even less so at night or if is or has been raining at any time of the day.

 

So in my book the driver should be hung drawn and quartered for being a prick and causing an unnecessary loss of life.

 

On a slightly brighter note, anyone now traveling from the Kabin Buri area to Korat area will be in for a treat in the next couple of years, the work that is ongoing to dual the main highway all through the mountains is phenomenal, at the moment due to lane restrictions if you get stuck behind a 20 or 30 kph truck you are gonna be stuck for a while, which is very frustrating (ask my Mrs :) )  we left Pattaya just before  10.30 am and arrived in Phimai just after 4.00 pm,  but, I never go above 110 kph and only when safe to do so, the journey was 381.3 km and I managed to average  63 kph for the whole journey including comfort breaks where I left the engine running, slow moving traffic in general, traffic lights and of course the multitude of roadworks on the whole route, 331 - 304 - 2.

 

Hope this helps some of you 

 

 

[Thian]

6 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

More utter nonsense about brown envelopes. As original as saying those who don't like A B or C in Thailand should go home instead of pointing out shortcomings.
The real problem is that punishments are almost meaningless, set maybe decades ago. Don't fine someone 500, fine them 5000 as a minimum. And if they clearly have money then make it 10,000 or 20,000 or 50,000, something that will make them think twice about what they do on the roads.

Then everything stays the same except farang offenders will pay a 10foulded price...

 

It's time the thai start horning to those coaches which violate trafficrules..they always stay on the fast lane...citybuses in BKK drop a passenger to immediatly go to the 2nd , even when the 1st lane is totally empty.

 

Last night a foreign coach full with tourists got a bullethole in the driverswindow...they 're investigating it but he probably pissed somebody off while driving. Sure he won't do that again.

[Bob1million]

Here we go brain dead people again, you couldn't make this stuff up. Alcohol test AFTER a accident causing death or a serious accident, What about BEFORE an accident or would that be in the hard basket. And how about getting in your Police cars and driving around and pulling suspect drivers over. Or pulling over pick up trucks that have passengers in the back. Observe and do
Not hard really, oh it must be.

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[HLover]

13 minutes ago, Bob1million said:

Here we go brain dead people again, you couldn't make this stuff up. Alcohol test AFTER a accident causing death or a serious accident, What about BEFORE an accident or would that be in the hard basket. And how about getting in your Police cars and driving around and pulling suspect drivers over. Or pulling over pick up trucks that have passengers in the back. Observe and do
Not hard really, oh it must be.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Yawn, said already.

[eddie61]

17 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Why do these measures come up only for Songkran? Yes, Thai roads are worse during the holidays, but they suck year-round; why not work to reduce the carnage year-round?

 

Why not test for alcohol on every serious accident, all the time?

 

This has all the usual noise of being a "crackdown" which is essentially meaningless noise that passes in a day or two. Like a fart.

 

Thailand- are you proud to have the most dangerous roads in the world? Do something!

 

TIT

[The Old Bull]

I have heard this before at many new years and songkrans , sixteen years anyway.

[beowolf2012]

18 hours ago, colinneil said:

Another brain dead official spouting nonsense, every year we here about crackdowns at songkran.

Yet every year there is carnage on the roads.

Mandatory  drink/ drug test for every driver involved in any accident is needed.

The alcohol test also have to function not only at accident, but most of the time hole year. Not only at Songkran.

[dallen52]

10 hours ago, Happyman58 said:

Because  they are to lazy to work at night  and have other interests to look after  at night such as gambling  prostituion etc

I don't get it.... 

Official figures say around 250,000 on the police payroll, not counting the ones who drive around with the flashing lights on the bikes and trucks that we have no idea what they are doing?, or what their role is... 

 

Yet you only see them when a government edict says they have to make their presence seen. 

 

Or its that time of the month when they collect tea money, and protection money from the gold shops. 

 

Evenings and night times, there is sweet FA, regards a effective presence. 

The unpaid tourist police take some of the job functions the paid bib don't do. 

In the resort areas. 

 

Here is a suggestion. 

Get the whole bunch of them to write down what they actually do!! 

Get rid of the deadwood (not going to be many left, is there?) 

And make the remaining ones actually work for a living. 

Give them a copy of the Thai highway code. 

Yes there is one. 

And start enforcement. 

With fines, and vehicle seizures. 

We know license cancellation has no impact, because so many don't have licenses, or never actually did a driving test. 

 

It works in Oz and the UK. 

Hit the hip pocket hard. 

Start with the bike taxis, and it will flow on pretty quickly. 

Plus make the pavement and roads safer. 

 

Realistic enforcement if realistic fines, is a great place to start. 

Government revenue will skyrocket. 

 

Personal officers revenue will drop obviously. 

But use the fines to pay reasonable wages and overtime costs if this is what the bib bitch about. 

[metisdead]

A post containing an aberrant misspelling of a person's name has been removed. 

[Bangkok Barry]

5 hours ago, Bob1million said:

Here we go brain dead people again, you couldn't make this stuff up. Alcohol test AFTER a accident causing death or a serious accident, What about BEFORE an accident or would that be in the hard basket. And how about getting in your Police cars and driving around and pulling suspect drivers over. Or pulling over pick up trucks that have passengers in the back. Observe and do
Not hard really, oh it must be.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

 

That's a tough one. One one hand, if people want to put their lives in danger by sitting in the back of pickups, fully knowing the risk, that's entirely up to them and the police shouldn't get involved. On the other hand, there is poor public transport so the pickup way as the only way to get around. It isn't like in farangland where if people live in isolated communities they usually have a car. There's no easy answer. There is also the fact that, for example during Songkran, people would rather play Russian Roulette with their life and pile into the back of a pickup instead of spending a few hundred baht on a long-distance bus.

[Jingjock]

22 hours ago, mikebell said:

Thai police work at night when the daily carnage is at its peak?

WHAT and miss there beauty sleep, come on be reasonable

[meatboy]

16 hours ago, reargunnerph3 said:

Correct!

what about smaller buckets.

[bbbbooboo]

hmmm.... these Songkran crackdowns usually mean the number of road fatalities will go up.... TIT

[Airbagwill]

I think this article sums up the shortcomings of the authorities policies on road safety.

Basically they are suggesting actions to be taken AFTER the event.

True road safety is about the PREVENTION of crashes deaths and injuries. AFTER is too late.

[metisdead]

A troll post about Trump has been removed.

 

Edit:   And another troll post also removed.

Edited March 25, 2018 by Scott

[Patje55]

This is becomming a mantra: if you say it long enough maybe it will become true (not) !

[farcanell]

21 hours ago, Airbagwill said:

if the system was out of air, the brakes would have locked on.

Ah... thanks... I was about to ask about the skid marks supposedly left by the bus

 

[lvr181]

15 hours ago, utalkin2me said:

I believe they are trying to make things better every year.

Only if it doesn't disadvantage the ruling class! 

 

The kingdom is still a feudal society.

 

Edited March 25, 2018 by lvr181
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