With this years numbers being higher so far, I will predict that the total numbers will

also be higher than last years, after all it sounds like there are lots of tourists in

Thailand for the festivities. I also have not heard of too many mini bus crashes, or

double deckers etc.so far..

Geezer

16 hours ago, Thaidream said:

Since motorcycles have the  most  accidents and deaths- the police should make these their priority.  Actually, most of the big bike operators are competent- know the risks and drive accordingly.  It is the smaller , everyday cycle that causes the problems.

the police need to  crack down on motorcycles driving the wrong way; underage drivers; cycles driving too fast for road conditions; cycles that attempt to pass turning cars on the left and cycles that are tailgating cars/

 

Speed kills and is a huge cause of accident and death.  Cars driving 160 kph on moorways; driving 120 on secondary roads;  Cars tailgating at high speeds; cars making illegal turns or lane changes.

 

Checkpoints are worthless- they will never stop speeding or motorcycle accidents. They are responsible for increasing traffic and causing disruption to traffic flow.

 

Drunk Driving will always be a cause of  accidents but I would not use checkpoints to catch  them. Thailand needs a  Traffic police division in which motorcycle police and police in cars run radar on heavily travelled rural roads and starts ticketing cars that speed and stop cars that are driving erratically change lanes constantly. They will get many more intoxicated drivers that way than at check points.

 

The final key is a public relations campaign started in High School and constantly on TV and radio explaining road courtesy and the penalties of  speeding and drink driving. How about a designated driver program when going out with the group. When speeding tickets reach  10,000 Baht per ticket and drink driving means a night in jail; appearance in court and upwards of a  30,000 Baht fine for a first offense- people will start to listen and comply.  To get compliance- the penalties have to cause some discomfort and hurt to the violator until they decide- they just can't afford to keep speeding or drunk driving.

Totally agree and your list of Thai road behavior woes is not even conclusive . However why do you think there is nothing done to mitigate the awful death toll on Thai roads when the Thai hieracy are well aware of western standards ? Could it be that the police have their menial wage subsidized by the roadside fines ? Lack of education & information passed to the lower classes so as to keep them easily under control ? 

I am pretty sure if you or many other TV readers were tasked with improving the safety on Thai roads there would be a massive shake up but for some reason it is not wanted here . Not easy for westerners to understand . I think just go with the flow , use your road skills to your advantage , never assume anything when using the Thai roads and always expect the unexpected .

Why would any sane person think that driving on the most dangerous roads in the World with ANY alcohol insider them is possible without dire consequences sooner or later ?

 

Drink driving anywhere is the action of a moron.

On 4/15/2018 at 12:04 AM, KittenKong said:

 

Difficult to implement car crushing or confiscation programmes in a county where most vehicles are bought on credit. The rightful owner is the credit company or bank and they have done nothing wrong.

No, the only workable answer to drink driving here would be something like public whipping as it costs very little to carry out. It could be applied to many other antisocial crimes also and I would be in favour of it.

 

Or this....