THAILAND'S DEADLY ROADS: Tragically, these stats speak for themselves

[webfact]

 

[les Dennis]

I would love to see the fail rate from the driving test centre. It took me 3 times to pass my test in the UK and that spanned almost a year. Those stats quoted in the film will only get worse until the country gets decent policing. Any given day you could drive past a school and see a uniformed police officer picking up their kids right next to 3 or 4 pupils on an  motorbike heading home. In their eyes, its ok, or the officer would have said something.

[Jeremy50]

The police, government and the population are indifferent to the problem. None of them want to change anything they are now doing, or not doing.............................. So it will continue. 

 

Not quite sure why we saw those people fighting in the video.

[darksidedog]

The most tragic thing about the awful toll on the roads here is that nothing constructive ever seems to get done to improve it. One shudders to think how many more lives will be lost and people maimed before there is an improvement. This should be the Nations number one concern.

[Darcula]

I have forwarded that video to my contacts in Somalia. Let's see if they place G2G orders for yaa baa flavoured rice to level the playing field a bit.

 

 

 

Edited March 26, 2018 by Darcula

[YetAnother]

28 minutes ago, Darcula said:

I have forwarded that video to my contacts in Somalia. Let's see if they place G2G orders for yaa baa flavoured rice to level the playing field a bit.

 

 

 

Hey can I get some of that?

[CGW]

Nothing will change here until you change the way people think and perceive road safety, the hardest thing to change is peoples attitudes!

O boy! is it going to be an uphill battle!! a nation that is more interested in making noise than safe driving !!! Me, me & me first

[MrJohnson]

To be honest, after living and driving here for over twenty years, I'm surprised the death toll isn't higher,

[Nasrullah]

38 was the number when i last checked...congrats 44!!!...2861 injured a day.......Som nom na

[MrJohnson]

8 minutes ago, Nasrullah said:

38 was the number when i last checked...congrats 44!!!...2861 injured a day.......Som nom na

It is not som num na to the many innocent people who get caught up in the road craziness here. I've been lucky enough myself but have had plenty of friends who have been victims of other people's stupidity.  No need to tar everyone with the same brush. Not all are guilty.

[evadgib]

The number of drivers without seatbelts driving unrestrained kids to/from school every day never ceases to amaze ?

Edited March 26, 2018 by evadgib

[Nasrullah]

2 hours ago, MrJohnson said:

It is not som num na to the many innocent people who get caught up in the road craziness here. I've been lucky enough myself but have had plenty of friends who have been victims of other people's stupidity.  No need to tar everyone with the same brush. Not all are guilty.

I was being facetious...but one could be forgiven thinking this is the attitude of the thai people and authorities

[yellowboat]

Has anyone contacted Toon ?  He seems to be the most effective, non political Thai in Thailand. 

[Led Lolly Yellow Lolly]

10 hours ago, darksidedog said:

The most tragic thing about the awful toll on the roads here is that nothing constructive ever seems to get done to improve it. One shudders to think how many more lives will be lost and people maimed before there is an improvement. This should be the Nations number one concern.

My wife takes the kids to school in the morning. I pick them up in the afternoon. I'm a hotel manager and I tend to work very late, unsociable hours go with the territory. However, I just can't sleep until I hear the car come back from the morning school run. Everything I love is in that metal box travelling at speed along one of the most dangerous roads in the most dangerous country in the world for road accidents (Libya doesn't count). Frankly I really have to wonder why I live with this.

[lamyai3]

9 hours ago, yellowboat said:

Has anyone contacted Toon ?  He seems to be the most effective, non political Thai in Thailand. 

Quite amazing he completed and surpassed his goal, and didn't get run over. 

[mauGR1]

My impression is that a fast car/motorbike, and the carefree attitude of most Thais, are not good partners.

[mok199]

thailands biggest ''Lottery''..the odds are getting worse..

Edited March 26, 2018 by mok199
speliing

[blackcab]

5 hours ago, NilSS said:

...Libya doesn't count...

 

It was reported a while back that Thailand has now surpassed Libya in road traffic fatalities.

[peperobi]

The government must put that point on the priority level #1, the police officers must learn how to do the right traffic control work, not only during the big celebrations.

13 hours ago, evadgib said:

The number of drivers without seatbelts driving unrestrained kids to/from school every day never ceases to amaze ?

To see what bad state the most vehicles they use to bring the children to/from school is horrified!

[kannot]

1 hour ago, mok199 said:

thailands biggest ''Lottery''..the odds are getting worse..

I think everyone is  guaranteed a prize at some point!!

[CGW]

13 hours ago, evadgib said:

The number of drivers without seatbelts driving unrestrained kids to/from school every day never ceases to amaze ?

Yep! if I am driving behind someone, generally driving a pickup and you can see a child in the middle, you know they are unrestrained and that the driver has no concept of safety, I then go into extra, extra caution mode to try and account for the next act of stupidity!

[lvr181]

16 hours ago, darksidedog said:

The most tragic thing about the awful toll on the roads here is that nothing constructive ever seems to get done to improve it. One shudders to think how many more lives will be lost and people maimed before there is an improvement. This should be the Nations number one concern.

We westerners have the answers that may help reduce (dramatically I would think) the road trauma.

Unfortunately the 'authorities' would rather re-invent their own wheel (if they knew how) than learn from those who have already dealt with these problems.

Secondly no one in authority here reads Thai Visa forums.

Lastly but not least, where there is no will there is no way! 

Making "silly" announcements from time to time does not pass the 'pub test'.

[ignis]

16 hours ago, les Dennis said:

I would love to see the fail rate from the driving test centre. It took me 3 times to pass my test in the UK and that spanned almost a year. Those stats quoted in the film will only get worse until the country gets decent policing. Any given day you could drive past a school and see a uniformed police officer picking up their kids right next to 3 or 4 pupils on an  motorbike heading home. In their eyes, its ok, or the officer would have said something.

Maybe something to do with motorbikes and kids ?...........  never worked out, uniformed police man picking up his 2 kids most days, he has a big Police bike [with blue lights] he arrives on bike with crash helmet at school, he take off helmet straps to handle bars, kids get on he rides takes them ? home ?  no one with helmets on.

 

You do not need crash helmet with kids on bike ?  must be NO because a Policeman upholds the Law and set the example.........  there again when he is off duty out of  uniform he and his wife go to the local market without a helmet between them still on the 650 cc big Police bike.

[mikebell]

Twice a week I drive into Pattaya at night.  I must pass 50 motorbikes without rear lights and never see a policeman ....until last night!  I was half blinded by some flashing lights on a pick-up and assumed it was just another duckhead (excuse the misspelling) with non-standard lights.  I was shocked to see it bore the insignia of the local mafia; it was overtaken frequently by light-less drivers at ridiculous speeds.

[Briggsy]

It is not for the white man to impose white man culture and mentality on South East Asians. The South East Asian society prefers to eschew all manner of rules and regulations including safety regulations for a freer, less regulated, more laid-back way of life. One of the consequences of this is they die in droves on the roads. This is a part of their culture.

[quandow]

17 hours ago, darksidedog said:

This should be the Nations number one concern.

Damn straight since Thailand became the country with the most road fatalities on earth this year. I can't WAIT to see how this year's Songkran will affect these stats. And ANY holiday that the local news outlets report daily on "how many died yesterday for a total of" should REALLY be reconsidered.

[lvr181]

21 minutes ago, Briggsy said:

It is not for the white man to impose white man culture and mentality on South East Asians. The South East Asian society prefers to eschew all manner of rules and regulations including safety regulations for a freer, less regulated, more laid-back way of life. One of the consequences of this is they die in droves on the roads. This is a part of their culture.

And they have no thought or concern for those who are not Thai. But expect to increase their country's wealth and their personal wealth in many instances, from non Thai tourists and others!

 

Grrrr............

[Justfine]

What are the stats on passengers sitting in the back seat of a car?

[janpharma]

17 hours ago, CGW said:

Nothing will change here until you change the way people think and perceive road safety, the hardest thing to change is peoples attitudes!

O boy! is it going to be an uphill battle!! a nation that is more interested in making noise than safe driving !!! Me, me & me first

The problem is: Th(ai)ey don't think...

[ZL1DD]

There is much international research on this. To change accident rates far and away the single most effective measure is enforcement of road rules. This has to be done intensively enough to generate public perception that breaking the rules has a high chance of detection and subsequent penalty. Until the powers that be adopt this as policy there will be little or no change. Note that Thai road engineering and traffic law follows what might be called 'western' practice. But in Thailand there is a much higher proportion of what are classed as 'vulnerable' road users, mostly motorcyclists. This would be the largest single factor in the high death and injury rate on the roads in Thailand. It is likely that significant improvement in road death and injury rates could come about by changes in road engineering and rules that would favour motorcycles, but to my knowledge there is no accepted data base of best practice to follow.