Network, road accident victims call for tougher traffic law

By The Nation

 

 

Representatives from Life Quality Improvement Network and more than 30 victims of road accidents handed in a petition to the Prime Minister at the Government House today( November 14), seeking a strengthening of traffic law and measures to reduce accidents on the roads. The letter was received by Tewan Liptapallop, Minister Attached to the Prime Minister’s Office, The visitors arranged 60 pairs of shoes into the slogan "STOP VICTIM", to raise awareness that 60 people are killed daily in traffic.

 

Krurmads Srichan, a coordinator of the network, said it would forward four suggestions to the government, following the UN announcement designating every third Sunday in November "World Victims Day".

 

The measures are:

 

1.Strengthen the traffic law to reduce road accidents

 

2. In case of drink-driving, the punishment should increase from 1-year imprisonment to 15-20 years. Stores selling alcoholic drinks to clients under 20-years old should be charged with violation of the law.

 

3. Increase the budget for support of road accident victims.

 

4. Widen access to justice for the victims.

 

“Thailand ranked 9th in the world and first among Asean countries in the numbers of road accidents. I believe the government will strengthen the law and take extra measures on drink-driving, ahead of the year-end festive season ” Tewan said.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30378345

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-11-14

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I just thought of something. You'd think the insurance companies would be apesh1+ about all the accidents and payouts. You'd think they alone could press the case for better roads. Country is just corrupt to the core.

 

It's not tougher laws they need it's enforcing the ones they have, tougher laws just ignored will be useless. Don't they realise they have to start with basics, like a real driving test.

You don't need more laws

 

You need

 

a) brain implants for the general population

 

b) import high ranking police officers from overseas to fix the current circus

a great shame they are the forgotten majority, that no one hears about, forever looked after by family. probably the wrong word to say burden, but its so true , many bread winners unable to provide

 

it has always struck me as strange that, given the huge number of families here that must have been affected by death and injury of loved ones on the roads that none ever seem to get themselves sorted out and put pressure on the government and authorities to bring about change, maybe it will happen now?

Hello, hello......get a new police force!!!!!!!

I speak/spell English. I would have no idea what those shoes were supposed to be saying unless they had told me. And how many Thais would decipher it. Utterly stupid.

28 minutes ago, samsensam said:

 

it has always struck me as strange that, given the huge number of families here that must have been affected by death and injury of loved ones on the roads that none ever seem to get themselves sorted out and put pressure on the government and authorities to bring about change, maybe it will happen now?

How do you expect the affected to "put pressure on the government and authorities" in a de facto military dictatorship ...?

Wonder how many of these victims have also been breaking the law

It was hard to write this post after laughing so hard.

 

Your 15 minutes are up. Please bring forth the next local with a grand idea that will never happen.

To achieve a total change within Thailand you’ve got to start with a small segment first. Hence the authorities should just concentrate on   Implementing and enforcing strict traffic rules in one small province along with improving road signage and conditions. Plus of course better driver education. I’m sure over time the results would be amazing. This is what I call growing change within a network. Create an anomaly then let it grow. I can’t see any other way out of the quicksand that buries so many accident victims. 

As long as 30% admit to driving without having a license, 50% of people with a license have bribed someone to get it, everyone things that the best protection is a good amulet and a police force that don't enforce the current laws I don't think there is much hope.

11 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

a strengthening of traffic law and measures to reduce accidents on the roads.

The laws are already in place.  The main measure is a police force. 

In Pattaya next to two police stations, four drivers go through red lights at every change.  There are no police about as they are robbing motorists outside The Ambassador in stick-up road blocks. Chonburi is challenging for number 1 in the County road deaths league.

This always make me laugh, They get stopped riding a bike with no helmet and no license pay the fine and they are allowed to ride off still with no helmet and no license, confiscate the bike. ok walk sunshine and the police will only release the bike to somebody with a license

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand ranked 9th in the world

Now they are exaggerating...

14 minutes ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Now they are exaggerating...

My wife will be <deleted> off at that she think we should be No1

all the laws are there BUT who is THERE to ENFORCE SUCH??

No body......I see so much bad driving ans laws being broken....every day.....but do I see any BIB's doing anything to enforce road laws NO NO NO NO !!!

Nothing is going to stop the road carnage in Thailand until the following happens.

1.  A professional police on the roads in force, properly paid, trained and equipped to stop and ticket or arrest offending drivers.

2.  Standardized fines and jail sentences need to be applied equally to all and in amounts needed to get peoples attention.

3.  The payments (blood money) to persons at fault for an accident needs to be stopped.  If they caused the accident they do not deserve compensation.  Persons causing an accident need to accept responsibility for their actions.

4.  Personal status in the Thai society should not be a factor in whether fines or imprisonment is applied.

5.  DRIVER EDUCATION, DRIVER EDUCATION and repeat!

6.  All motorized vehicles should drive with ALL their lights on at ALL times, day and night.  These lights not only help you see but equally, if not more important, they help others see you.  Roadside check points should also check for this and check that ALL lights are working properly.

If existing laws were actually enforced just the properly applied fines that could/should be imposed on offending drivers could pay for the police training and enforcement needed.

In 60+ years of driving in various countries I have never before seen the total ignoring of speed limits, stop and other warning signs as seen daily in Thailand.  

15 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

It's not tougher laws they need it's enforcing the ones they have, tougher laws just ignored will be useless. Don't they realise they have to start with basics, like a real driving test.

 

Yes. They just don't get it, do they. Amazing.

14 hours ago, samsensam said:

 

it has always struck me as strange that, given the huge number of families here that must have been affected by death and injury of loved ones on the roads that none ever seem to get themselves sorted out and put pressure on the government and authorities to bring about change, maybe it will happen now?

 

I would bet everything I have that there is not a single family in Thailand who has not had a member killed or seriously injured on the roads.

 

I live on a long straight road in the sticks, and in my six years here there have been around 20 (I've now lost count) accidents within 200 metres of my house that have involved death, amputations, months-long coma, two large lorries having to be pulled out of the roadside ditch, one car even flying through the top of a tree which takes some doing.

 

In my own family here, one sister-in-law died on her motorcycle, a brother-in-law was knocked off his motorcycle as he waited to make a right turn and had to have a steel rod bolted to his leg, and another brother-in-law ended upside down in a ditch in a pickup he was a passenger in.

 

No-one has ever done anything to try and change things because the government has no interest in what the people say as it's easy to sit and do nothing. As I wrote elsewhere yesterday, this should have been dealt with decades ago when people first started driving cars, beginning with proper tuition demanded and a proper driving test. Now it is out of control and insoluble, another reason no-one does anything. The problem is too big.

They could, but won't, put patrol cars on the roads as well as actually enforce the law. One, it's very expensive to buy the cars and train the drivers, and culture dictates that people are polite to each other and forgive their misdeeds with a smile and a wai instead of prosecution. Basically, in a Me First society Thais are not mentally or culturally qualified to drive.

Nothing about enforcement again!   And, there is no way they are ninth in the world-they only count deaths and the scene, surely they are in the top three per capita 

Enforcement of current laws. That is all that is needed. PM knows this but unwilling to tackle the monster corruption in RTP. 

18 hours ago, Fred white said:

Wonder how many of these victims have also been breaking the law

From my experience, 100%  

Everything to do with road safety  seems to go in the bin, just 1 hour ago in Kk i saw a pick up go through a red light not amber but red, almost collect a policeman on a motorbike and not a word was spoken to the driver almost an apology by the policeman for being in the way, i was following the pick up and with 5 seconds on the counter he floored it black smoke aplenty ample time to pull up but no the thai way, here i come get out of the way.

Start with improvements to the number of police out and about on the roads and doing what they need to be doing... stopping and fining people breaking the law eg: going through red traffic lights, speeding ++++++ that we see every day on the roads. 

2 hours ago, jerojero said:

Enforcement of current laws. That is all that is needed. PM knows this but unwilling to tackle the monster corruption in RTP. 

He can't tackle the corruption in his govt