Minister's speed proposal stuns Thailand: Collision at 120 kmph same as falling 19 stories, says media

[webfact]

Minister's speed proposal stuns Thailand: Collision at 120 kmph same as falling 19 stories, says media

 

Picture: Thai Rath

 

Influential media Thai Rath has said that Thai society has been "stunned" by proposals from the transport minister to increase speeds up to 120 kilometer per hour on roads of four lanes and up. 

 

Saksayam Chidchob - whose family run a Moto GP racetrack in Buriram - thinks higher speeds will help traffic flow. 

 

Thai Rath said he also wants to stop and fine people for only going 80 kmph in the right outside lane. 

 

They said that studies showed unequivocally that speed kills. 

 

Speed was seen as a contributing factor in 73% of all accidents, they said citing various studies and two out of every three deaths could be put down to speeding. 

 

In a piece warning Thais about speeding they said that having a collision at 120 kmph was the same as falling to the ground from 19 stories up. 

 

They gave details about braking distances and reaction times to inform the public. 

 

Thaivisa notes that in more developed countries such data would form part of stringent driving tests, conspicuous by their absence in Thailand. 

 

Surviving an accident at 120 kmph was difficult, they said. 

 

They said that Saksayam's proposals had made Thai society "jang ngang" - dazed or stunned. 

 

Source: Thai Rath

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-08-02

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[Chelseafan]

Speed doesn't kill. Idiotic driving does.

 

 

[YetAnother]

22 minutes ago, webfact said:

proposals from the transport minister to increase speeds up to 120 kilometer per hour

thais cannot manage the current speed limits, much less higher ones

[RotBenz8888]

29 minutes ago, webfact said:

Saksayam Chidchob - whose family run a Moto GP racetrack in Buriram - thinks higher speeds will help traffic flow. 

Thai roads are like one big racetrack, but without rules. 

Edited August 2, 2019 by RotBenz8888

[canopy]

Collisions are caused by bad driving; too fast for conditions, dangerous maneuvers, falling asleep, drunk driving, etc. These types of accidents will happen at any speed. Trying to keep people falling from "only" 14 stories (90k/h) is no solution at all. 

 

[darksidedog]

39 minutes ago, Chelseafan said:

Speed doesn't kill. Idiotic driving does.

 

 

Idiots driving at higher speeds kills even more.

The only sensible part of the whole proposal is the one to fine drivers who hog the right hand lane at slow speeds, causing people to overtake on the inside lane. The rest is just madness for a country with such appalling road statistics.

[FarFlungFalang]

18 minutes ago, Chelseafan said:

Speed doesn't kill. Idiotic driving does.

 

 

If I hit a brick wall at 10 kms per hr not much damage if I hit a wall at 150 kms per hr probably death kills more than speed or at least the sudden stop.

[VocalNeal]

...and who exactly is ThaiRath the new arbiter of Thailand and who exactly are the Thai society who have been or should be stunned.

 

What a complete load of tosh.

Edited August 2, 2019 by VocalNeal

[les Dennis]

Does anybody know of anyone that has had a legitimate speeding fine under the current law ?

[Gumballl]

45 minutes ago, Chelseafan said:

Speed doesn't kill. Idiotic driving does.

 

 

And piss poor road construction. What Thai moron decided it was safe to put a U-turn on a highway?

[Worldplus]

I really wish we could ride motor bikes of 400 CC up on motorways...  Cannot work out why this is not applied..

[NCC1701A]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

They said that studies showed unequivocally that speed kills. 

i have not had my coffee yet so i will just stare at the screen.

[Chelseafan]

33 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

If I hit a brick wall at 10 kms per hr not much damage if I hit a wall at 150 kms per hr probably death kills more than speed or at least the sudden stop.

Safe driving can be done at higher speeds, the Autobahn is a prime example. The problem is that Thai's are not trained or mentally equipped to do so.

[Cadbury]

There is a simple reason for this bizarre proposal. 

It is nothing more than a troll by Saksayam Chidchob who is a new minister in town and needs a "look at me" press announcement to get some media attention.

The media (Thai Rath) sure took it, hook line and sinker. 

[Dmaxdan]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Thai Rath said he also wants to stop and fine people for only going 80 kmph in the right outside lane. 

But supposing they are overtaking motorists in the other lanes that are only doing 70 Kph? Not everyone is a lane hogger. 

 

He just hasn't thought this through. 

 

[sn1per]

20 minutes ago, Worldplus said:

I really wish we could ride motor bikes of 400 CC up on motorways...  Cannot work out why this is not applied..

it's probably a blessing in disguise, think of the money you are saving.... instead of lane swapping, tailgating, phone calling, text reading idiots trying to wipe you out at 120kph,  you can get wiped out by, lane swapping, tailgating, phone calling, text reading idiots for free on any general road.....????????????

Edited August 2, 2019 by sn1per

[Lungstib]

For those of us around Chiang Mai and Rai it makes no difference because we don't have that type of road. I imagine much of the country is the same, 3 lanes but one hard shoulder, 2 real lanes and U-turns, parked cars and crossing people to deal with. In these conditions even 90kph is dangerous most of the time. Especially when drivers are playing with phones, watching movies and holding kids in their laps. But it all makes no difference, since when did speed limits actually limit speeds here in Thailand.

[Jane Dough]

1 hour ago, Chelseafan said:

Speed doesn't kill. Idiotic driving does.

 

 

I think it is time for Thailand to have adverts such as these from the UK about 25 years ago regarding speed. Such an add is so shocking that it might have the desired effect in Thailand. Viewer discretion is advised....

 

The Thai people need to be badgered and shocked into changing their ways, not encouraged to go faster. 

 

Rooster

[ChrisY1]

50 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

...and who exactly is ThaiRath the new arbiter of Thailand and who exactly are the Thai society who have been or should be stunned.

 

What a complete load of tosh.

I take it you don't know what Thai Rath is then?

[RickBlaine]

What difference will it make? Thais travel at whatever speed they think appropriate, without regard to limits.

I take the wife to work everyday and see the same problems;

It's the impatient guy driving down the motorcycle lane, jumping the lights.

It's tailgating, refusing to use lights in the rain or at night, people pulling out of junctions without looking.

It's the motorbike/bicycle/tuk-tuk/somtam-seller coming at you on the wrong side of the road, often at night, with no lights - who'd have thought that would end badly?

It's the lack of awareness, poor quality of driving instruction and the joke of a driving test.

And it's not just hot-head teens on motorbikes, it's ma and pa, taking their kids to school on the family machine, weaving across traffic at junctions, turning right without looking.

I've been here 12 years and very little has changed. Sadly, I've become desensitized to the sight of dead bodies on the side of the road.

This is one the Thai government can't pin on foreigners - this is Thais killing Thais on Thai roads - but no one seems to care.

[jvs]

40 minutes ago, Victornoir said:

120 km/h is a good speed on 4-lane highways

You are soooo right about this,but only if everyone goes by the rules.

There is where it all ends,no enforcement and therefore no respect for traffic rules.

Again it all comes down to no enforcement of the laws,who is to blame?

I guess all of the Thai people are but it would be a good idea for the RTP tto become pro-active.

And there it ends.

[RickBlaine]

5 minutes ago, Jane Dough said:

I think it is time for Thailand to have adverts such as these from the UK about 25 years ago regarding speed. Such an add is so shocking that it might have the desired effect in Thailand. Viewer discretion is advised....

 

The Thai people need to be badgered and shocked into changing their ways, not encouraged to go faster. 

 

Rooster

Agreed.

Thais don't like being told what to do - none of us do, but they might be open to persuasion. The public information films we used to run in UK helped educate drivers - plus the quality of driving instructors and a real driving test...

[dwcrist]

If you're worried about keeping speeds at acceptable comparable levels of building floors to fall from, what is an acceptable floor to fall from, 1 - 1.5? And how many kph does that translate to, ~30kph? Now tell me that you want that to be the speed limit.

 

Yes, the higher the speed the greater the damage/risk in the case of crashes. But the solution is not to make crashes benign, it should be to reduce crashes. Thais kill themselves and each other on the roads at all speeds because of the idiotic, selfish, and absent minded maneuvers they try to pull.

 

Too low speed limits like 80-90kph actually increase risk as it encourages people to exceed the speed limit and causes more overtaking and weaving between lanes.

 

Increase the speed limit and you will not see a significant or any rise in deaths. And yes, fine the slow drivers (especially trucks) for not making way in the right lane. This and other similar traffic controls is what is needed to curb the Thai driver psyche to reduce crashes/fatalities at all speeds.

 

 

[LennyW]

1 hour ago, Dmaxdan said:

But supposing they are overtaking motorists in the other lanes that are only doing 70 Kph? Not everyone is a lane hogger. 

 

He just hasn't thought this through. 

 

If they are overtaking then they wouldnt be hogging the lane.

[dwcrist]

50 minutes ago, Lungstib said:

For those of us around Chiang Mai and Rai it makes no difference because we don't have that type of road. I imagine much of the country is the same, 3 lanes but one hard shoulder, 2 real lanes and U-turns, parked cars and crossing people to deal with. In these conditions even 90kph is dangerous most of the time. Especially when drivers are playing with phones, watching movies and holding kids in their laps. But it all makes no difference, since when did speed limits actually limit speeds here in Thailand.

 

(A four lane road is only 2 lanes going in each direction)

 

[LennyW]

Higher speeds need a higher level of concentration, dawdling about at 70/80/90 on a highway probably causes more accidents.

[brokenbone]

its fine, but only after the practice of cutting others have been

culled. i no longer venture on big roads,

the odds of suddenly get cut off by someone deciding to cut all lines there is while doing a U-turn is just too great,

i cant handle the stress and unpredictability any longer

Edited August 2, 2019 by brokenbone

[thaiguzzi]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Saksayam Chidchob - whose family run a Moto GP racetrack in Buriram - thinks higher speeds will help traffic flow. 

 

Thai Rath said he also wants to stop and fine people for only going 80 kmph in the right outside lane. 

Concur.

1 hour ago, Gumballl said:

What Thai moron decided it was safe to put a U-turn on a highway?

Disagree.

Great idea. Should have them in the West.

Again, used with discretion.

[essox essox]

2 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Idiots driving at higher speeds kills even more.

The only sensible part of the whole proposal is the one to fine drivers who hog the right hand lane at slow speeds, causing people to overtake on the inside lane. The rest is just madness for a country with such appalling road statistics.

overtake on the left side of a vehicle IS CALLED UNDERTAKING....which IS ILLIGAL HERE......but is done every hour of every day of every week and months.......

[VocalNeal]

1 hour ago, ChrisY1 said:

I take it you don't know what Thai Rath is then?

Media crap.