Nearly 7,000 killed in Thai road accidents since the start of the year

[peperobi]

6 minutes ago, mikebell said:

The figures are easily reduced by a little fiddling.  Thai accountants are the best in the world at this - just look at how long temples have been siphoning cash.

You right, I really hope to see the real amount soon because I'm the opinion that is increasing...

[FLHR]

11 hours ago, thonglorjimmy said:

When I approached the incident the rescue guys were carrying a body into an ambulance whilst another was scraping blood and matter off the road, whilst the traffic was trying go find their way round them, that's a job I couldn't do.

They must be very detached to not suffer from a job like that and it's not a rare thing in Thailand. These poor people are cleaning up morbid accident scenes pretty consistently.

[The manic]

The high figures are attibutle to the high use of motor bikes who h is linked to poverty. Motorbikes are an inherently dangerous, unstable form of transport, which in most counties are used by teenagers who then eschew them after their first scare or by MC gangs.  If You took the motor cycle related accidents out of these figures they would be greatly reduced.

[Lupatria]

15 hours ago, darksidedog said:

If 30 or 40 people were being knifed or shot to death every day, there would be massive outcry and action to try to stop it. But the roads? It is as if the authorities and the public simply don't care in the slightest. These numbers are rectifiable, but not with the current approach of zero traffic law enforcement.

Remember when an official called road deaths a fate? The carnage makes the 'governments' worries of an aging population look like a tasteless joke.

From "let them eat cake" to "let them die on the roads" it seems to be a small step.

[Jane Dough]

40 minutes ago, peperobi said:

1,242 per month average, compared to the 2,166 from 2017 is a positive sign, I hope that they can reduce it again.

Read the story and you might understand why there has been no reduction.

[TheFishman1]

So per day what the real number?TIT

[bristolgeoff]

Don't forget the gambling and drinking for the world  cup and all the little festivals.i wonder what the final total will be.this is Thailand

[BobbyL]

12 hours ago, grego49 said:

This is why Thailand will never be more than a 3rd world country,they always brag that they were never cononialised,mabe if they had been they might have a decent honest police force,

Nail on the head. 

[LuckyNo4]

43 minutes ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

And I get so much grief among discriminating hiso farang when I use the term 3rd world country instead of "developing country".

 

Hilarious

 

 

Its been developing for 1000 years lol

[Zack61]

Fortunately no tourists were seriously injured.

 

Yes. Fortunately. Think of the negative image this may portray and would require a whole lot of tiresome paperwork. 

[Easy Come Easy Go]

This is a shocking statistic, and it shouldn't be as I've been here long enough, but it still is shocking. 

Lets say things carry on the same for this, which they will, one can assume by the end of 2018 there will be around 14,000 deaths. Thailand has a population of 86 million, so that's around 0.166% of people dying in car or bike wrecks. Sounds like a small number, but when you visualise it, it is quite a lot. 

[lvr181]

19 hours ago, seajae said:

until the police start to go out on the roads and enforce the law it will never change, they just let people do as they please on the roads, they need patrol cars and bikes with officers that actually pull them over and issue tickets which are enforced, will never happen here

You're right - ain't going to happen anytime soon. The keystone cops are more interested in catching gamblers (better chance of monies changing hands in an upward flow?). Low IQ imbeciles! 

[lvr181]

52 minutes ago, car720 said:

artificial intelligence

Probably that is the only "intelligence" in the kingdom! 

[mehrdad]

There are two reasons: alcohol and driving; and secondly, driving licenses in Thailand are not important and meaningless, and many people drive without skills.

[klauskunkel]

road accidents and littering: no one cares

[Zack61]

55 minutes ago, The manic said:

The high figures are attibutle to the high use of motor bikes who h is linked to poverty. Motorbikes are an inherently dangerous, unstable form of transport, which in most counties are used by teenagers who then eschew them after their first scare or by MC gangs.  If You took the motor cycle related accidents out of these figures they would be greatly reduced.

Yeah. Put them all in cars, let them loose. More tailgating. More congestion. More overtaking on blind corners. More first generation car drivers. More deaths. Not sure less motorcycles and more cars is the answer. 

[FitnessHealthTravel]

"The real figure will be much higher" The actual resorts are 26,000 per year. The average is 71 people PER DAY. If there was a disease that killed this many people per day there would be billions of dollars spent to prevent it.  No so with the road toll.  It's how the population is culled.  Many more people are born each day than die.  Unfortunately so many victims are innocent and their lives are cut short by the stupidity of a few.  As tragic as it is, this is the way of the world.

[flyingtlger]

Same old, same old....

[Artisi]

2 hours ago, MrJohnson said:

the only that surprises me about this figure is that it isn't higher!

 

I would suggest it's much higher - but there is face involved in admitting higher numbers - so, just report lower numbers and it's ok.

[Artisi]

15 minutes ago, lvr181 said:

Probably that is the only "intelligence" in the kingdom! 

most intelligence displayed here IS artificial ….. 

[connda]

No police in patrol cars on the road issuing citations = anarchy on Thai roads as drivers drive in any manner they please
Thailand not adopting First World Traffic Policing Standards = Number 1 Most Dangerous Roads in the World.....ad-infinitum

[connda]

14 hours ago, kaorop said:

Someone I know said he went thru 9 "check points" , buriram to pattaya...

.

.

.

idiots prevail

innocent people die cops pocket bigtime..

....

 

 

Thai strategy for ending the road carnage from Buriram to Pattaya

----------------------------------------------------------------

Good bye Buriram
* Tax Stamp pay for this year -- check

* Wear seatbelt - check

* Wear helmet - check

<wave along>

* Tax Stamp pay for this year -- check

* Wear seatbelt - check

* Wear helmet - check

<wave along>

* Tax Stamp pay for this year -- check

* Wear seatbelt - check

* Wear helmet - check

<wave along>

* Tax Stamp pay for this year -- check

* Wear seatbelt - check

* Wear helmet - check

<wave along>

* Tax Stamp pay for this year -- check

* Wear seatbelt - check

* Wear helmet - check

<wave along>

* Tax Stamp pay for this year -- check

* Wear seatbelt - check

* Wear helmet - check

<wave along>

* Tax Stamp pay for this year -- check

* Wear seatbelt - check

* Wear helmet - check

<wave along>

* Tax Stamp pay for this year -- check

* Wear seatbelt - check

* Wear helmet - check

<wave along>

* Tax Stamp pay for this year -- check

* Wear seatbelt - check

* Wear helmet - check

<wave along>

Hello Pattaya

[dick dasterdly]

1 hour ago, The manic said:

The high figures are attibutle to the high use of motor bikes who h is linked to poverty. Motorbikes are an inherently dangerous, unstable form of transport, which in most counties are used by teenagers who then eschew them after their first scare or by MC gangs.  If You took the motor cycle related accidents out of these figures they would be greatly reduced.

 

29 minutes ago, Zack61 said:

Yeah. Put them all in cars, let them loose. More tailgating. More congestion. More overtaking on blind corners. More first generation car drivers. More deaths. Not sure less motorcycles and more cars is the answer. 

And therein lies a large part of the problem - an ever increasing number of cars.

 

It would be interesting to read the statistics as to the number of 'bike rider serious injury/deaths, compared to the number of those killed/seriously injured in 4 wheeled vehicles.

 

The mix of a large number of 'bikes, and an increasingly large number of cars, can only result in more 'bike rider deaths.

 

[KiwiKiwi]

13 hours ago, thonglorjimmy said:

I came across another fatal accident in Thonglor at lunchtime today, it was about 50 meters away from where I saw an old lady get taken out by a lorry who ran a red light at speed some months ago, what shook me was the fact that traffic drove round her body on the road whilst the motorcycle taxi guys were helping the rescue guys.

I didn't see today's accident, I don't know if it was a motorcyclist or pedestrian, or whatever, in fact I'm assuming it was an accident.

When I approached the incident the rescue guys were carrying a body into an ambulance whilst another was scraping blood and matter off the road, whilst the traffic was trying go find their way round them, that's a job I couldn't do.

As soon as the body was removed and the road cleaned the traffic carried on as normal. Not sure that I would have expected anything else but it seemed so low key and matter of fact and indicative of local people's attitude to road deaths.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

 

 

 

I've felt for a while that there's something a bit dodgy about the way Thais treat death and grieving. Yes, it's primitive with close rellies putting on a hysteria show, but it's more than that, and typified by the quoted post. The way Thais 'bring up' ('drag up' is more accurate) by letting the kids do whatever they want' largely unsupervised is a recipe for disaster, and then, when there are gang fights or kids dying when they come off their m/bikes, parent act all surprised and can't wait to get down to the God shop to pray for better luck.

 

Then of course there's the ubiquitous tale of the bar-girl whose son died. Friends comforted her by saying 'Never mind, you can always make another one'. I kid you not. Thais make kids in response to an urge of nature. Parenting skills just pass right on by.

 

Perhaps it's the culture - carefully designed to keep them dim and compliant, plus the religious nonsense they're exposed to, but I think there's something seriously unhappy and unhealthy about the Thai's inability to empathise. I keep hearing that Thais have a low IQ but a high EQ. This is complete nonsense, apart from the fact that the two things are linked, the EQ of Thais is as low as any population I've ever known, and I've known a good few. Thailand is closer to Thatcher's ideal of 'no society, just a collection of individuals' than Britain ever was and the whole concept had a huge and unhappy effect on Britain in my view. Thais are the same, lots of talk about Thais loving Thais - mosty coming, it seems from that senile old meddler Prem. The reality is that unless you already have a personal relationship with a Thai, you could burst into flames and they'd just pass right on by. No empathy to speak of unless you're already a mate (by which I mean someone you might be able to exploit).

 

Or perhaps it's an understanding thing, like the guy in the picture - surveying the mayhem of a car wreck and just not being able to register any thought or feeling about it. Thick as pudding and dissociated from everything. Maybe that's it. That might partly explain why they'll like as not get right back into their own car and behave like a lunatic as if the sight of carnage has no lessons for them at all.

Edited June 14, 2018 by KiwiKiwi

[smew]

Many people accept that the Thai roads are the most dangerous on earth.

BS: here we go again blaming roads and driving conditions

it is the idiots drivers that are dangerous, these people turn to morons once in a vehicle of any sort, 10 yr old children without helmets driving motorbikes right in front of police and they do nothing, even adults have no idea how to drive, a stop sign where 98% do not stop, don’t even slow down.

Finally Thailand will be number one at something traffic fatalities 

[spidermike007]

And why are these drivers speeding in the first place? The primary reason is the toy police force. Nobody, and I mean nobody takes these guys seriously. There is absolutely nothing in the way of a deterrent here, and both the local governments, the central government (weak Little P.) and the police do not take traffic safety seriously. Not even one iota. The safety of the public means less than zero to the small men in charge here. Nothing. They show that on a daily basis.

 

They will not do a thing. Why? They do not care about the people one iota. Not the common people. Not the average pleb. No way. Never have cared, and may never care in the future. It is all about protecting the elite, the super wealthy, those that are connected, and those in power. The rest of the population? They do not matter. The ex-pat community does not matter. And the police will not get involved unless an accident has already occurred. There is no prevention. None. The idea of getting the police more involved, is an interesting one, and it would be an effective one. But, the issue is money. They are grossly underpaid, and until the government steps up, and spends the trillion baht on updating the police equipment, and paying each cop a living wage, it is not going to happen. Until then, they will just work the franchise. 

 

When I was growing up, we took drivers education classes. They showed us these horrendous films, of semi trucks crashing into cars, and literally obliterating them, and everything inside. Also, they showed very graphic images of head on collisions. Even as a young kid, it left a lasting impression, and I realized driving was no joking matter. Especially when you have your friends, or loved ones in the car with you. I am constantly astonished at the kinds of chances people take here, with their entire family in the car with them. Why? What is the logic? What is the reason? Why take those risks? Often, when someone cuts onto the highway in front of me, as I am doing 100kpm or more on the highway, I look in my rearview mirror, and there is nobody behind me for quite some distance. Which means, had they paused, and waited 2 or 3 seconds, there would have been zero risk to them, their family, or me and my family. What can one even say? All of this matters even more when driving a motorbike, where there is no protection. 

 

The only way to survive here on the road, is to be patient, have eyes in the back of your head, drive with caution, and always, and I mean always watch out of the other guy. Chances are, he does not have much driving skill, nor patience, nor reason, nor common sense. You cannot be too careful on the road here. Especially considering that the toy police offer no traffic safety, nor enforcement of the law. 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. 

 

The police are not here to protect you. They do not care one iota about your well being, your safety, or traffic safety. Expect that. Do not employ them, unless absolutely necessary. 

If driving, especially on a motorbike, treat the activity as an act of war, in a sense that you may be mowed down or killed at any moment. Maintain eyes in the back of your head. Watch everyone. Expect craziness, insanity, lack of reason, and a complete lack of courtesy and respect on the roads, at all times. Expect cars and trucks to be coming at you in the wrong lane. Expect people to overtake you with the slimmest of margins. Expect trucks to be driving very slowly in the fast lane of a highway. If riding a motorbike, only do so if you have many years of experience. Especially on the southern islands, where huge numbers of foreigners leave Thailand in a wooden box. Wear the best helmet you can afford. And drive like a grandmother. This applies to ex-pats too. Bring along an international drivers license. This helps you to avoid being fleeced by the local police franchisee.

 

The police only show up after the accident takes place. There is nothing in the way of traffic safety on the roads, or on the highways. Those traffic stops are all about weapons, drugs and handouts. Nothing to do with safety. I suppose there is no money in traffic safety. However, if they levied real fines for speeding over 120kph, for reckless driving, making severely quick lane changes, etc, there would be some money to be made, and the highways would be safer. 

 

Just a few days ago, I was driving along at about 110kph, on a good, straight stretch of highway. A safe speed. And some joker cuts in front of me with his pickup truck. Within two meters in front of me, then slams on his brakes. I guess he never stopped to look at the lane he was cutting into to see that there was no room for him! I slammed on my brakes to avoid the numnut, and barely missed him. Would have been a horrific crash. Why? What was the point of him changing lanes? Why didn't he look first? Who changes lanes without looking first, when they are doing over 100 kph? Why so little regard for his wife, and for others? Where does that mentality come from? Why do Thais seem so polite, yet when they get into a car, everything they have ever learned in life goes right out the window? Why so little in the way of common sense, reason, and the ability to be careful and maintain some vision? Why such idiocy? The apparent lack of skill and peripheral awareness on the road here is very scary.

 

 

[smew]

3 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

And why are these drivers speeding in the first place? The primary reason is the toy police force. Nobody, and I mean nobody takes these guys seriously. There is absolutely nothing in the way of a deterrent here, and both the local governments, the central government (weak Little P.) and the police do not take traffic safety seriously. Not even one iota. The safety of the public means less than zero to the small men in charge here. Nothing. They show that on a daily basis.

 

They will not do a thing. Why? They do not care about the people one iota. Not the common people. Not the average pleb. No way. Never have cared, and may never care in the future. It is all about protecting the elite, the super wealthy, those that are connected, and those in power. The rest of the population? They do not matter. The ex-pat community does not matter. And the police will not get involved unless an accident has already occurred. There is no prevention. None. The idea of getting the police more involved, is an interesting one, and it would be an effective one. But, the issue is money. They are grossly underpaid, and until the government steps up, and spends the trillion baht on updating the police equipment, and paying each cop a living wage, it is not going to happen. Until then, they will just work the franchise. 

 

When I was growing up, we took drivers education classes. They showed us these horrendous films, of semi trucks crashing into cars, and literally obliterating them, and everything inside. Also, they showed very graphic images of head on collisions. Even as a young kid, it left a lasting impression, and I realized driving was no joking matter. Especially when you have your friends, or loved ones in the car with you. I am constantly astonished at the kinds of chances people take here, with their entire family in the car with them. Why? What is the logic? What is the reason? Why take those risks? Often, when someone cuts onto the highway in front of me, as I am doing 100kpm or more on the highway, I look in my rearview mirror, and there is nobody behind me for quite some distance. Which means, had they paused, and waited 2 or 3 seconds, there would have been zero risk to them, their family, or me and my family. What can one even say? All of this matters even more when driving a motorbike, where there is no protection. 

 

The only way to survive here on the road, is to be patient, have eyes in the back of your head, drive with caution, and always, and I mean always watch out of the other guy. Chances are, he does not have much driving skill, nor patience, nor reason, nor common sense. You cannot be too careful on the road here. Especially considering that the toy police offer no traffic safety, nor enforcement of the law. 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. 

 

The police are not here to protect you. They do not care one iota about your well being, your safety, or traffic safety. Expect that. Do not employ them, unless absolutely necessary. 

If driving, especially on a motorbike, treat the activity as an act of war, in a sense that you may be mowed down or killed at any moment. Maintain eyes in the back of your head. Watch everyone. Expect craziness, insanity, lack of reason, and a complete lack of courtesy and respect on the roads, at all times. Expect cars and trucks to be coming at you in the wrong lane. Expect people to overtake you with the slimmest of margins. Expect trucks to be driving very slowly in the fast lane of a highway. If riding a motorbike, only do so if you have many years of experience. Especially on the southern islands, where huge numbers of foreigners leave Thailand in a wooden box. Wear the best helmet you can afford. And drive like a grandmother. This applies to ex-pats too. Bring along an international drivers license. This helps you to avoid being fleeced by the local police franchisee.

 

The police only show up after the accident takes place. There is nothing in the way of traffic safety on the roads, or on the highways. Those traffic stops are all about weapons, drugs and handouts. Nothing to do with safety. I suppose there is no money in traffic safety. However, if they levied real fines for speeding over 120kph, for reckless driving, making severely quick lane changes, etc, there would be some money to be made, and the highways would be safer. 

 

Just a few days ago, I was driving along at about 110kph, on a good, straight stretch of highway. A safe speed. And some joker cuts in front of me with his pickup truck. Within two meters in front of me, then slams on his brakes. I guess he never stopped to look at the lane he was cutting into to see that there was no room for him! I slammed on my brakes to avoid the numnut, and barely missed him. Would have been a horrific crash. Why? What was the point of him changing lanes? Why didn't he look first? Who changes lanes without looking first, when they are doing over 100 kph? Why so little regard for his wife, and for others? Where does that mentality come from? Why do Thais seem so polite, yet when they get into a car, everything they have ever learned in life goes right out the window? Why so little in the way of common sense, reason, and the ability to be careful and maintain some vision? Why such idiocy? The apparent lack of skill and peripheral awareness on the road here is very scary.

 

 

Yes, simply moronic culture when it comes to driving No one does shoulder checks here: in their opinion that’s for people who do no know how to drive or how to use side mirrors, everyone of them believes he is M Schumacher, sadly it will never change 

[Broken Record]

20 hours ago, Wiggy said:

Save that headline for next year, and the year after.

they do

 

 

Edited June 14, 2018 by Broken Record

[USMC RETIRED 2015]

It is absolutely hilarious to read all these comments complaining and you all still choose to live here....<deleted>!!!!  Remember it is your choice to be here....deal with it.

[mserror]

15 hours ago, FaFaHead said:

We are moving to Chiang Mai soon and this is a MAJOR concern for us. 

It is a major concern for all reasonable people. I live here and have the following advice:

• Get a new car with a high level of safety.
• Good tyres.
• A dashcam.
• Premium car insurance.
• Give way to everyone who might run into you. Note that most other drivers do not know or follow the rules. Many do not have licences. There is usually a motorcycle on the wrong side of the road, sometimes a car.
• If someone else is in the car, get them to help you look for trouble.
• Do not ride a bike or motorbike on main roads.
• Treat driving as a survival activity.
• Do a defensive driving course in your home country.