Almost 11,000 killed on Thai roads so far this year

[chopin2]

I talked to a Thai guy a few days ago, he has been driving 10 years+ without a licence. When asked why he didn't get one, he said he was afraid he wouldn't pass....????

[bbi1]

3 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

The African nation was Libya. Thailand's now number one, although from the way I read it, that's more due to the fact Libya has been undergoing so much turmoil for years, they haven't produced any statistics.

From memory, the last published figures from those two winners: Deaths per 100,000 head of population - Libya was 67 and Thailand 'only' 35.

Ah, Thailand made it to number 1 finally! lol

[jgarbo]

6 hours ago, stanleycoin said:

Situation normal.

With a high focus on,  brass in pocket. from the Police.

Carry on Thailand, you care so much about your citizens. 

Who exactly is "Thailand"? Where do we meet this person? 

[stanleycoin]

Just now, jgarbo said:

Who exactly is "Thailand"? Where do we meet this person? 

Ok mate. is that your best. 

[fi42]

Thailands population 61m Germany's 82m. The UK's population of 66m, with 1729 road deaths in 2017, provides a better comparison.

[Tidybeard]

So roughly speaking, by year end we will be at 5 x 9/11 death toll. You would think that some bells would be ringing in the Thai Government's ears. But that said, it is estimated that around 700 - 800,000 Chinese die prematurely each year due to pollution - so maybe the odd 15,000 in Thailand is not so bad. 

All points to the fact that we should live our lives today while we can and enjoy the wonderful World we live in, for who knows tomorrow ?  

[Pattaya28]

If this statistic of 11,000 is correct, then the road deaths have halved.

I doubt this.

The road deaths was about 27,000 per annum.

[marko kok prong]

Oh,they will get compo,thats okay then.

[biggles45]

Why do they waste time, space and ink on these stories? Everyone knows, including those who could do something but no-one cares so why bother.

[TKDfella]

I see there's no mention of the poor trees that suffer...I mean it seems obvious that people's lives are unimportant so maybe the police should focus on crashes being environmental friendly.

[iamariva1957]

2 hours ago, jaiyen said:

The law might say a van can carry 14 people but Toyota build them to carry 12 people !

 

Nope they didn't build them. Te seats are added later by 3rd party for the standard Thai minivan.

 

[Purdey]

Being a hub makes Thais proud I guess. Now, on to Thailand 0.4!

[TumblinDice]

Amazing Thailand! 

[dallen52]

Day time police officers. 

Only work nights when it's tea money time of the month. 

 

Not exactly a visual deterrent are they?.

 

And the road toll keeps on keeping on. 

 

[dallen52]

1 hour ago, Pattaya28 said:

If this statistic of 11,000 is correct, then the road deaths have halved.

I doubt this.

The road deaths was about 27,000 per annum.

84 a day including the ones who die later.

I see somewhere. 

 

Nothing to be proud of is it?

 

The world's #1 place to holiday, and possibly die.

[toofarnorth]

3 hours ago, bluesofa said:

I see that too.

I'm guessing they a) don't know about vehicle positioning, or b) are scared they will be hit by an oncoming vehicle performing an overtake without looking ahead.

The logic they often use too, is to indicate right and move into the left, to wait for traffic in both directions to clear, before cutting across the entire road.

With you there bluesofa , last week on a quiet road ( on my Forza ) a girl on a scooter ahead signaled right , I slowed down behind , she knew I was there as her head was turning to look in the mirror , just by her turn she pulled over to the left to stop , I nearly re ended her ( the polite way ) as I thought she was about to make the turn.    As I say to my TW often , no tax , no insurance , no licence and most important , no idea.

[Boombum]

The Hours that these “drivers” work must also be a factor... driving Sleepy is FAR worse than driving whilst “Drunk” ... the Crash Helmet rules are a JOKE .. 400bt fine ( Falang Only) or a cheap Plastic hat Brand New from a Shop at 250bt... <deleted> 

I would be interested in a Breakdown of stats....

Falang/Thai/ Sex/Ages

Bike/Car/ Commercial

Areas/ Times 

only then could we begin to get a sketchy view of the problems.

Ive lived and bombed about on my PCX for 2 years in Pattaya...Not witnessed ANY Accidents involving injury in all that time... just about 5/6 very minor bike falls. 

I used to be a Travelling Rep in U.K. and would witness a Fatal crash Every week!! 

 

[Benmart]

6 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

If you want safer roads, you need police to patrol, deter bad drivers and enforce existing laws fairly.

 

Unfortunately, the police do not do that; until they do, nothing will change.

 

11,000? Is that all? I would have guessed higher.

 

Thousand and thousands more needless deaths are coming; stop being surprised.

 

 

I've driven all over Thailand since 1993, and more frequently since retiring here six years ago. Mobile, traffic enforcement is sorely absent, both in city and urban areas. The roadways are a free-for-all, and the local mentality is stuck in policing from stationary checkpoints. That is ineffective, excepting the collection of "fines".

 

The roadway death toll for this country of 64+ millions, is a shame upon it.

 

Perhaps someone in authority will recognize that being Number 1 in roadway carnage, can be turned around with modern techniques, policing and education. If I were a gambler, I wouldn't bet on it.

Edited October 23, 2018 by Benmart

[lvr181]

Ask the PM and his Deputies why they don't seem to care? ???? Time for the public news media to man up and start demanding answers!

 

After all Govt. are not doing anything to stop the slaughter apart from playing the "blame game" (not getting to the root cause) and making useless pronouncements all the time!

 

Still, it is not the "elite" being regularly maimed and killed, so perhaps that is why they have no real committment to drastically reducing the road trauma. 

Edited October 23, 2018 by lvr181
Grammar correction

[Leatherneck]

8 hours ago, Creasy said:

We're number one !

We're number one !

Go team Thailand.

Actually only #2 (behind Libya somehow) per capita according to WHO...

 

"Thailand has the second highest road traffic fatality rate in the world at 36.2 per 100 000 with an annual estimate of over 24 000 deaths or 66 deaths every day."

 

If this estimate is correct, then November and December should be really deadly.

[Leatherneck]

8 hours ago, Creasy said:

We're number one !

We're number one !

Go team Thailand.

Actually only #2 (behind Libya somehow) per capita according to WHO...

 

"Thailand has the second highest road traffic fatality rate in the world at 36.2 per 100 000 with an annual estimate of over 24 000 deaths or 66 deaths every day."

 

If this estimate is correct, then November and December should be really deadly.

[ZeVonderBearz]

5 hours ago, sweatalot said:

I just looked up the number of traffic deaths in Germany 2017 - it was 3177 the whole year. Same number of population

Not a number to be proud of in a highly educated and well off country. 

[wvavin]

In my opinion, this fiasco is caused by the mentality of the people. Nothing else.

[Benmart]

4 hours 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. 

Well said. There are plenty of uniforms running about, with little substance. I wore one once, and from my experience here, it is comical and sad.

[gunderhill]

5 hours ago, edwinchester said:

Reading World Bank figures Germany has a population about 15 million more than Thailand so the figures are even worse.

My home country, the UK, has only a few million less than Thailand and the official death toll in 2017 was 1710.

You'd  be  quicker walking almost anywhere in the UK now, many 20mph  limits, road signs everywhere more signs and paint than road, people driving not more than 45mph on a road where 60 is  allowed, to be honest its painful now. Gone way to far.

Speed cameras which do nothing except  collect revenue. 25mph in a  20 zone =3  points+ £200 fine, 12  points and banned.

Result, a  country stultified with over regulation. 

There's never a "happy medium" on the one hand the UK's over use of regs and Thailand's  "total lack of  regulation and enforcement"

Rules cater for the morons in society and drag everyone down to that level.

[hotchilli]

8 hours ago, stanleycoin said:

Situation normal.

With a high focus on,  brass in pocket. from the Police.

Carry on Thailand, you care so much about your citizens. 

Correct, just fines, fines & more fines... which has a history of not making the blind bit of difference to the mentality!

How about trying something new... like closing down companies, life bans for drivers, even jail time for manslaughter... but then I forgot. we cannot stop the Thai people from making a shekel !!

[ebean001]

I accept the headline but feel it hides the real issues about the highways. Motorcycles account for a huge %. I think it is as high as 70% or more. Most are men age 18-25. Most alcohol related.  

Secondly, the number must include those who die within xx days plus …

I hate when we take ‘seriously injured’ lightly. I am sure many would have preferred to have died. Also, they have a life of suffering.

So…how does Thailand rate for private car accidents, trucks, and commercial? Age group, alcohol, weather, non-driver fault.

Ok, do we don’t know but we may find Thailand is not really number 1.

[stanleycoin]

8 minutes ago, ebean001 said:

I accept the headline but feel it hides the real issues about the highways. Motorcycles account for a huge %. I think it is as high as 70% or more. Most are men age 18-25. Most alcohol related.  

Secondly, the number must include those who die within xx days plus …

I hate when we take ‘seriously injured’ lightly. I am sure many would have preferred to have died. Also, they have a life of suffering.

So…how does Thailand rate for private car accidents, trucks, and commercial? Age group, alcohol, weather, non-driver fault.

Ok, do we don’t know but we may find Thailand is not really number 1.

Ok mate

So would it all be ok,  if they were no 2 or 3 or 4 or no 10 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What are you on about !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

 

Edited October 23, 2018 by stanleycoin

[gunderhill]

2 hours ago, connda said:

A camera on a pole taking pictures of speeder and spitting out tickets in the mail that are ignored and not paid - that isn't enforcement

And is  the tiniest part of the real problem often on LONG STRAIGHT good visibilty roads..how the hell does that help?

 Driving too close, not  looking, no anticipation, follow any Thai driver, brakes on brakes off brakes  on brakes  off, all theyd  have to do is take their foot  off the gas for a second to slow down  but on they go, brakes on /off/on /off.

Awful road design with U turns  where fast moving traffic merges with virtually stationary traffic.

Speeding is probably the least of the devils. Being totally unaware of their surroundings and capability of their vehicles combined with 1  second concentration span and selfishness = Deathland.

If Somchai ploughs into you at 90kph or 100kph the result will still be the same, yet in the second example he'd  be illegal.

[gunderhill]

18 minutes ago, wvavin said:

In my opinion, this fiasco is caused by the mentality of the people. Nothing else.

That's it in one.