Road accidents still account for most deaths in Thailand, report shows

[snoop1130]

Road accidents still account for most deaths in Thailand, report shows

By The Nation

 

 

Road accidents accounted for 20,169 deaths in Thailand last year, with most of those killed being students and youth.

 

Motorcycles accounted for up to 70 per cent of the fatal crashes, followed by 14 per cent involving personal cars or pickups and 10 per cent pedestrians. These numbers were released as part of the 2018 Thailand road safety situation survey conducted by the Thailand Health Promotion Foundation and road-safety watch teams. 

 

Preeda Jaturapong, a lecturer from King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, said the findings – based on information from the Public Health Ministry, the Royal Thai Police and Road Accident Victims Protection Co Ltd – showed that a third of the victims were men and most were between the ages of 15 and 24. 

 

He said the eastern provinces of Rayong, Chon Buri and Chanthaburi had the highest number of road fatalities at 65.53, 49.63 and 49.02 for every 100,000 people. Other high scorers were the provinces of Saraburi (48.06), Chachoengsao (47.55), Prachin Buri (47.19), Sa Kaew (45.97), Prachuap Khiri Khan (45.01), Ayutthaya (44.90) and Nakhon Nayok (43.06).

 

The provinces with the lowest road fatalities were Mae Hong Son (13.09), Bangkok (13.48), Yala (15.22), Pattani (15.60), Narathiwat (15.83), Satun (19.28), Nakhon Pathom (19.34), Nong Khai (19.34), Nong Bua Lampu (20.50) and Nonthaburi (20.78), the lecturer said.

 

The top 10 provinces with the fastest rising road death rates from 2011 to 2018 were Beung Kan at 38 per cent, Amnat Charoen at 30 per cent, Loei 30 per cent, Nonthaburi 28 per cent, Kalasin 27 per cent, Si Sa Ket 26 per cent, Sa Kaew 22 per cent, Yasothon 20 per cent, Chaiyaphum 13 per cent and Mukdahan at 13 per cent, he said. 

 

The provinces where road deaths were fast declining are Yala (-81 per cent), Satun (-77 per cent), Samut Sakhon (-71 per cent), Surat Thani (-63 per cent), Phuket (-62 per cent), Songkhla (-59 per cent), Phayao (-55 per cent), Chumphon (-55 per cent), Trang (-49 per cent) and Nakhon Phanom (-47 per cent), he added.

 

Dr Withaya Chartbanchachai, director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre, said that even though there were fewer road fatalities in 2018, the issue of road accidents remains a key and prolonged problem in Thailand, which still holds the top position when it comes to road fatalities in the Asean region. 

 

Thailand is also very far from achieving its 2020 goal of bringing road deaths down to less than 20 for every 100,000 people, he said, citing the WHO’s suggestion that this goal can only be achieved if problems such as lax law enforcement are solved. 

 

Withaya also said that related agencies and road-safety organisations and networks should push for: 

 

1. The establishment of a main agency that oversees the road-safety strategy direction, brings work procedures and implementation of measures up to par with international standards and ensures good supervising and follow-up systems; 

 

2. Ensures the strict enforcement of law in all areas and ensures the participation of all parties, who must also implement their own internal road safety-boosting measures. 

 

With motorcyclists accounting for the highest number of road deaths, based on a report of fatal head injury cases, it proves that wearing a helmet would have cut down on the deaths. Those not wearing helmets are seven times more at risk of fatal head injuries in crashes, he said, so there is a need to continually push for helmet use and implement measures that curb risky behaviour, such as speeding and reckless driving. 

 

He said agencies pushing for road safety want the government to make curbing road accidents a priority and perhaps include it in its 20-year National Strategy (2018-2037).

 

The government should also amend related laws and regulations to support the mission, and implement sound road-safety measures all year round – not just during Songkran or New Year’s. However, he admitted that the extra safety measures during festivals had significantly helped reduce the road toll from 21,607 in 2017 to be 20,169 in 2018.

 

“But 20,000 road deaths a year is still unacceptable, when most victims are aged 15 to 24. The Thailand Development Research Institute in 2017 cited that deaths and injuries in Thailand’s road accidents from 2011 to 2013 caused approximately Bt545 billion worth of damages per year – or 6 per cent of the country’s GDP,” he said. 

 

Withaya also urged Thailand to adopt recommendations included in the World Bank’s 2018 “High Toll of Traffic Injuries: Unacceptable and Preventable” report, which showed that cutting traffic deaths and injuries by half can add 7 to 22 per cent to the GDP per capita over 24 years in specific countries.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30373606

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand  2019-07-24

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[surangw]

not old age ?

 

[klauskunkel]

12 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

said the findings showed that a third of the victims were men and most were between the ages of 15 and 24. 

and the other 2 thirds are...non-men?

[Artisi]

Is this something new, a new discovery by any chance.. 

[londonthai]

Surely, cancer is the leading cause of death, with some 200k per year. 

 

As to road deaths, estimated figure is 35k. Thai official statistic doesnt include those who died from injuries within 30 days, that’s how is calculated everywhere else

[CNXexpat]

Wow! So many people with helmets on the pic. Usually only 50% of Thais and expats and 90% of the tourists wear helmets in Chiang Mai. 

[mike787]

They simply do not care...drive fast and if you see a brick wall, drive through it...

[nickstav]

A friend's 15 year old son recently needed brain surgery for a motorbike accident. No helmet of course. He's alive, but his mental capacity will never be the same. Such a shame.

There must be enforcement of helmet laws by the police, whatever it takes. 

Don't let children drive! I was cut off on my motorbike by a kid who couldn't have been older than 12 and in his school uniform. If a kid is driving the police should impound the bike and the parents have to go claim it and pay a hefty fine to have it released. Let that happen a couple of times and they won't let the kid drive.

[MaxYakov]

And improving road safety did not even make the recent published two lists of priorities of things to have the (so-called) new democratic government address. What can be expected from a country that is afflicted with a serious case of "motorbike disease" which cannot be fixed.

 

Can anyone suggest a practical replacement of motorbikes that will satisfy Thai people an meet their travel requirements and be critically, much safer (and make as much noise as motorbikes)?

 

 

 

 

 

[geoffbezoz]

7 hours ago, nickstav said:

A friend's 15 year old son recently needed brain surgery for a motorbike accident. No helmet of course. He's alive, but his mental capacity will never be the same. Such a shame.

There must be enforcement of helmet laws by the police, whatever it takes. 

Don't let children drive! I was cut off on my motorbike by a kid who couldn't have been older than 12 and in his school uniform. If a kid is driving the police should impound the bike and the parents have to go claim it and pay a hefty fine to have it released. Let that happen a couple of times and they won't let the kid drive.

When you have a culture where corruption is the norm from the top to the bottom, law enforcement in line with laws will never happen. Thai culture is solely  based on ar$e licking and bribery and nothing else matters to them.

 

Yes some Thais say they are not corrupt and it is wrong - that is until they jump a red light or some other traffic infringement and when BIB try to extort money from then, Guess what ? those holier than though hypocrites are the first to give them a bribe to make it go away.

 

An old Nigerian work colleague of mine who still keeps in touch often tells me that Thais make Nigerians look like saints yet the world over Nigerians are lambasted yet Thais appear to roam the globe untouched.  I have to admit he has a point and until that changes minor things like road accident prevention will never ever change unfortunately, more so because those that control Thailand consider it is only low lifes that get killed or injured on the roads so hence have no concern for them or those they leave behind.

[cerox]

Why is everyone wearing a helmet on that pic???

Good photo.

[CLW]

"1. The establishment of a main agency that oversees the road-safety strategy direction, brings work procedures and implementation of measures up to par with international standards and ensures good supervising and follow-up systems;"

Duh, not yet another new agency. Is someone looking to skim off money or jobs for him or his family?

Law enforcement, that's the only thing needed.

[malt25]

18 minutes ago, cerox said:

Why is everyone wearing a helmet on that pic???

Good photo.

Another look will reveal all helmets are the same.

[BobbyL]

These things get mentioned monthly on here. We drove to Hua Hin and back last week for a little holiday and the amount of idiots driving was just incredible. As usual, I don't recall seeing any traffic police during both trips. 

[Geoffggi]

Enforcement of any law in Thailand is a bridge too far for Thai's in general...

[dlclark97]

1 hour ago, MaxYakov said:

And improving road safety did not even make the recent published two lists of priorities of things to have the (so-called) new democratic government address. What can be expected from a country that is afflicted with a serious case of "motorbike disease" which cannot be fixed.

 

Can anyone suggest a practical replacement of motorbikes that will satisfy Thai people an meet their travel requirements and be critically, much safer (and make as much noise as motorbikes)?

 

 

 

 

 

No suggestion for replacing motorbikes.  Strict enforcement of existing laws would help but this would mean police would have to confront offenders and confrontation does not seem to be a good thing in the Thai culture.  A law I would like to see is that all motor vehicles operating day and night must drive with their lights on.  All motorized vehicles including vendor's carts must be equipped with all front and rear lights and turn signals and brake lights.  The many roadside traffic stops could check the operation of all lights in about a minutes time.  Tickets should be issued for any non working lights with fines excused if repairs are made in 7 days and verified by police.  Many people seem to think if they can see the road without using their lights they are good to go.  The big issue is that working lights enable other drivers to see you before it is too late to prevent an accident.  Lights help you see but more important they help others see you.

[RotBenz8888]

27 minutes ago, cerox said:

Why is everyone wearing a helmet on that pic???

Good photo.

And when the photographers are gone, so are the helmets.

[randy723]

that come to 55 people killed in road accident each day. and the police do not do anything but collect 200 baht to people driving without a license.

When I went to renew my Thai driver license last month most of the people in the class were just talking to each other or sleeping and the person in charge of the class just put on the video and left the room for the 45 minute video. 

[Old Croc]

5 minutes ago, RotBenz8888 said:

And when the photographers are gone, so are the helmets.

A closer look will show police standing on one side of the parade and banner wavers in matching shirts on the other.  Some sort of special event, possibly free helmet giveaways as they all seem to be wearing similar headwear.

[Old Croc]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

a third of the victims were men

That has to be wrong!  Must have meant 2 thirds.

[Asquith Production]

Can anybody tell me why their is no patrol enforcement, They only do stop checks.  When I see a Policeman on a motorcycle he his usually being passed by helmet less kids and they do nothing.

[mikebell]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Chon Buri and Chanthaburi had the highest number of road fatalities at 65.53, 49.63

Proof that Pattaya police are more interested in writing tickets than active policing; they are minting more than 12,000 baht an hour at soi 9 and still can't afford proper A/C.  Meanwhile the death toll mounts; tourists are stung and hoteliers bemoan their empty rooms.

[RotBenz8888]

3 minutes ago, Old Croc said:

A closer look will show police standing on one side of the parade and banner wavers in matching shirts on the other.  Some sort of special event, possibly free helmet giveaways as they all seem to be wearing similar headwear.

And most of them are using the strap, which is a pretty rare sight. Can only be some kind of spectacle.

[TheFishman1]

I don’t believe those are the real numbers TIT

[essox essox]

12 hours ago, klauskunkel said:

and the other 2 thirds are...non-men?

who knows could all be lady boys !!!!

[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Road accidents accounted for 20,169 deaths in Thailand last year, with most of those killed being students and youth.

In most civilised countries that had road death figures amounting to this many the minister in charge would have been removed from his position to make way for someone who had a conscience and an understanding of how to drastically reduce the numbers !!!!

[essox essox]

13 minutes ago, Asquith Production said:

Can anybody tell me why their is no patrol enforcement, They only do stop checks.  When I see a Policeman on a motorcycle he his usually being passed by helmet less kids and they do nothing.

i saw this yesterday......2 coppers on a bike who had overtaking 5 or 6 other bikes ALL NOT WEARING helmets....they did nothing except dash into the seven eleven shop......!!! This was on beach road in Jomtien, so much for ENFORCING THE LAW!!!!

[essox essox]

27 minutes ago, randy723 said:

that come to 55 people killed in road accident each day. and the police do not do anything but collect 200 baht to people driving without a license.

When I went to renew my Thai driver license last month most of the people in the class were just talking to each other or sleeping and the person in charge of the class just put on the video and left the room for the 45 minute video. 

when i went quite a few were asleep....and the vid was ALL in Thai, even the effin subtitles were in Thai.....I DO NOT NEED TO WATCH such crap, being an older driver for many years....

[cerox]

40 minutes ago, malt25 said:

Another look will reveal all helmets are the same. 

They got money for the pic and helmet was provided ????

[Scott3000]

Any society that fails to provide safe transport is committing passive aggressive genocide.

 

These fatalities are NOT accidents. They are more accurately called crashes or incidents. 

 

My last day in Thailand, in Chiang Mai, while heading out to a shop in my now former neighborhood, within 50 meters of my old guest house, I observed a motorcyclist driving the wrong way on a one-way soi in a residential neighborhood, just outside the south wall of the Wat Phra Singh complex. He drove right by a traffic policeman driving his motor bike the opposite direction, and the cop behaved as though he didn't even notice it.

 

In my experience, I have found that discipline is far more effective than punishment, especially in highly conditioned, rigidly structured societies such as Thailand. If you think about it, rules are construed as means for exercising social power, and easily mistaken as arbitrary.

 

So rather than implement punitive measures, it makes a lot more sense to do one thing:

 

Impound.

 

Do not punish the offender, unless they are a repeat and/or habitual offender. Rather, if a person is putting other people's and their own lives and safety at risk, take the motor bike or other motor vehicle away from them immediately, to put a stop to the risky behavior. Then issue a citation, showing where and how they can pick up the vehicle in question, after a pre-determined time. The latter would be based on the severity of the infraction. The offender would pay a fee amounting to the cost of impound, plus a reasonable, though not excessive premium, which would be contributed to improving national traffic safety. Furthermore, all driving professionals -- not only in transport, but also all couriers, would require re-certification within a month or two, or risk losing their jobs. Any infraction committed by a professional driver of any type would result in immediate suspension, leading to termination as appropriate. Most people are aware of the recklessness of tuk tuk drivers, but I have found the couriers are far and away the most risky drivers, operating recklessly, at excessive speeds, and using residential sois for transit. Postal couriers are the worst.

 

ALL reckless behavior must be identified, including driving on the sidewalk, rounding turns and/or driving in  the wrong lane while turning, running traffic lights, driving the wrong way/on the wrong side of the road, driving on the shoulder, passing on the shoulder, passing on the shoulder in the wrong direction, etc.

 

I noticed the above reckless driving practices on a perpetual basis as a pedestrian in Chiang Mai, to the point where I was almost continuously looking over my shoulder to determine if a reckless motor bike operator was threatening my safety. On those rare occasions when I noticed somebody driving safely and responsibly, I always thought, "I wish everybody in Thailand drove like that person... life would be so much better here!"

 

And speaking of the soi just outside of that south wall of the Wat Phra Singh complex, when is a watchdog operation going to take a ground sample there and test for pollution? The notion that Chiang Mai pollution is limited to March and April air is delusional to the point of land-of-the-blind absurdity... but that's a whole other, also very serious, topic...