208 deaths reported halfway through 7 dangerous days in Thailand

[Jonathan Fairfield]

208 deaths reported halfway through 7 dangerous days

 

 

Four days of the “7 dangerous days” have so far seen 208 deaths and more than 2,000 injuries on the roads across the country, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation’s Road Safety Directing Centre announced in a press conference today (December 31).

 

During the “7 dangerous days” (December 27-January 2), road accidents spike due to the overwhelming number of travellers heading home to spend New Year with their families.

 

“As of December 30, the fourth day of seven dangerous days, there have been 1,988 road accidents reported, with 208 deaths and 2,031 injured people,” said Department of Probation director-general Witthawan Sunthornkajit at the press conference. “The number one cause of accidents is drunk driving, 33.20 per cent, followed by speeding at 28.66 per cent.”

 

 

According to Witthawan, most of the deaths and injuries were recorded among people 50 years and over, or 29.70 per cent. Vehicles most involved in the accidents are motorcycles (81.76 per cent). The majority of accidents occurred between 4pm and 8pm (26.19 per cent), while the common spots where the accidents took place were highways (38.14 per cent), followed by district and local roads (35.46 per cent).

 

Through the four-day period, more than 64,000 highway officials and police worked at over 2,000 checkpoints countrywide. Meanwhile, 998,559 vehicles were stopped for inspection and 221,435 persons given tickets, mostly for not wearing a helmet (59,953 persons) and not having a valid driver’s licence (52,650 persons).

 

“Chiang Mai saw the most accidents – 61 – while Bangkok witnessed the most deaths – 11 persons. Nakhon Pathom had the most injuries, 66 persons, over four days,” he said. “There are 16 provinces that have not seen any fatal casualty yet during the 7 dangerous days.”

 

Witthawan added that today (December 31), more people would go out to celebrate New Year countdowns, therefore officials have been instructed to beef up security checks at checkpoints to prevent accidents, especially speeding drivers and drunk driving, and even monitor restaurants and pubs to make sure no alcohol is sold to those under 20 years old.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30380027

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-12-31

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[Chazar]

3 minutes ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

followed by speeding at 28.66 per cent.”

klaptrap

[Chazar]

4 minutes ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

beef up security checks at checkpoints

I  thought they were stopping doing these for the duration of  the holidays?

[buanmeerugsaa]

So terribly, terribly sad. Almost all of these deaths and injuries were avoidable if drivers were sensibly educated and proper safety measures were introduced. 

So much life wasted. So many families shattered. 

[Creasy]

The country is led by morons who blatantly break all the laws.

So expecting the average Somchai to abide by the laws written by the crooks who run the country is a bit much.

[scubascuba3]

I leave my bike at home when the roads get manic but even walking is dangerous in places

[Mbaki]

So much avoidable carnage and it’s the same every year, my wife won’t let me drive or ride anywhere at this time of year a lot safer preparing weeks before hand and staying at home.

[Chazar]

Catchy pc  buzzwords......"achieving the standard of " insert  your own answer to  liven up the carnage

Ill start "mediocrity"

[Chazar]

11 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

I leave my bike at home when the roads get manic but even walking is dangerous in places

if  u drink enough you can crawl

[PatOngo]

12 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

Through the four-day period, more than 64,000 highway officials and police worked at over 2,000 checkpoints countrywide. Meanwhile, 998,559 vehicles were stopped for inspection and 221,435 persons given tickets, mostly for not wearing a helmet (59,953 persons) and not having a valid driver’s licence (52,650 persons).

........and then sent on their merry way, those numbers add up to a lot of ****wits!

[neeray]

11 hours ago, Creasy said:

The country is led by morons who blatantly break all the laws.

So expecting the average Somchai to abide by the laws written by the crooks who run the country is a bit much.

Perfect @Creasy, perfect.

"Trickle down syndrome" is alive and well in Thailand. The only thing that doesn't trickle down is the prosperity.

[webfact]

Checkpoints focus on secondary roads as revellers join community countdowns

 

 

Road checkpoints have been moved from main highways to secondary roads, leading to communities where New Year countdown celebrations are to take place tonight, in a bid to reduce road accidents.

 

Mr. Witthawan Sunthornkachit, director-general of Probation Department, and spokesman for the Centre to Prevent and Reduce Road Accidents during the New Year festival, said today (Tuesday) that, since most travellers have already arrived at their destinations and are expected to join the countdown celebrations in their communities, it is necessary to move the checkpoints.

 

Other measures include stricter control on alcohol outlets, to prevent sales to those under age, as well as strict enforcement of crash helmet laws.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/checkpoints-focus-on-secondary-roads-as-revellers-join-community-countdowns/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2020-01-01

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[MaxYakov]

12 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

I leave my bike at home when the roads get manic but even walking is dangerous in places

Looking at the ordinary daily road casualties, I avoid the roads every day. I don't see a big risk improvement on the "non-deadly" days (if any improvement). It would be ironic to die in an accident on a non-deadly day, wouldn't it? I consider all the days to be "deadly" on the road and statistics support this. With driving distractions such as the the so called smart phone, drink driving and speeding, simply walking near a road can get one killed.

 

My conclusion is that the Thais are suicidal and I'm not going to let the take me with them. This also applies to air pollution, noise pollution, other pollution and food poisoning and communicable diseases.

 

 

Edited December 31, 2019 by MaxYakov

[scubascuba3]

3 minutes ago, MaxYakov said:

Looking at the ordinary daily road casualties, I avoid the roads every day. I don't see a big risk improvement on the "non-deadly" days. It would be ironic to die in an accident on a non-deadly day, wouldn't it? I consider all the days to be "deadly" on the road and statistics support this.

 

My conclusion is that the Thais are suicidal and I'm not going to let the take me with them. This also applies to air pollution, noise pollution, other pollution and food poisoning and communicable diseases.

 

 

you stay at home and don't go out? you need to work out your own risks for your area rather than just look at national statistics. Frightened rabbits severely restrict their life by not having a motorbike

[MaxYakov]

48 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

54 minutes ago, MaxYakov said:

Looking at the ordinary daily road casualties, I avoid the roads every day. I don't see a big risk improvement on the "non-deadly" days. It would be ironic to die in an accident on a non-deadly day, wouldn't it? I consider all the days to be "deadly" on the road and statistics support this.

 

My conclusion is that the Thais are suicidal and I'm not going to let the take me with them. This also applies to air pollution, noise pollution, other pollution and food poisoning and communicable diseases.

 

 

you stay at home and don't go out? you need to work out your own risks for your area rather than just look at national statistics. Frightened rabbits severely restrict their life by not having a motorbike

I cycle every day to breakfast in lower Sukhumvit, which I consider to be very dangerous if one does it on the road. I don't see my life as being "severely" restricted by not having a motorbike or any other type of motor vehicle. In fact, using a bicycle is less restrictive than having and using a motorbike or car. If I want to travel long distance I can use MRT, BTS, river boats or city and intercity buses with my bicycles since they are foldable and allowable on all of these public transports 24 X 7.

 

I am also materially richer and more free by not having the expense of a motor vehicle, nor the responsibility and the risk of operating one. Plus, I get some exercise in the process.

 

Yes, it takes me longer to get to my destination, but my injuries in a crash would be much less severe because of my lower speeds and the avoidance, for the most part, of co-existence with the much more dangerous motor vehicles.

 

I'm rarely cycling in a hurry and never get caught in traffic jams. I can go anywhere a motorbike can go and many places they cannot. When I get out in jammed traffic, I have often indicated to motorbike operators to move aside because they were too wide to lane split in some cases. Also, parking my bicycles is much less of a problem and doesn't cost me anything. I am thankful every day that Thais, in general, do not like to cycle.

 

You seem to be, from your very comment, I would bet you are someone who forms conclusions based on minimal information and minimal depth or scope of thought and those conclusions are often wrong.

 

Bold (or drunk) rabbits often end their existences being road kill on Thai roads. I see many of them every day on Rachada Phisek between Asok and Rama IV and on lower Sukhumvit opening their muscle motorbikes up in a vacuous display of massive acceleration and reckless speed and, often, wide open, ridiculously loud exhaust systems.

 

Are you one of these type/style of motorbike operator by any chance?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 31, 2019 by MaxYakov

[scubascuba3]

34 minutes ago, MaxYakov said:

I cycle every day to breakfast in lower Sukhumvit, which I consider to be very dangerous if one does it on the road. I don't see my life as being "severely" restricted by not having a motorbike or any other type of motor vehicle. In fact, using a bicycle is less restrictive than having and using a motorbike or car. If I want to travel long distance I can use MRT, BTS, river boats or city and intercity buses with my bicycles since they are foldable and allowable on all of these public transports 24 X 7.

 

I am also materially richer and more free by not having the expense of a motor vehicle, nor the responsibility and the risk of operating one. Plus, I get some exercise in the process.

 

Yes, it takes me longer to get to my destination, but my injuries in a crash would be much less severe because of my lower speeds and the avoidance, for the most part, of co-existence with the much more dangerous motor vehicles.

 

I'm rarely cycling in a hurry and never get caught in traffic jams. I can go anywhere a motorbike can go and many places they cannot. When I get out in jammed traffic, I have often indicated to motorbike operators to move aside because they were too wide to lane split in some cases. Also, parking my bicycles is much less of a problem and doesn't cost me anything. I am thankful every day that Thais, in general, do not like to cycle.

 

You seem to be, from your very comment, I would bet you are someone who forms conclusions based on minimal information and minimal depth or scope of thought and those conclusions are often wrong.

 

Bold (or drunk) rabbits often end their existences being road kill on Thai roads. I see many of them every day on Rachada Phisek between Asok and Rama IV and on lower Sukhumvit opening their muscle motorbikes up in a vacuous display of massive acceleration and reckless speed and, often, wide open, ridiculously loud exhaust systems.

 

Are you one of these type/style of motorbike operator by any chance?

 

 

 

 

 

I agree about the cycling, i do about 250km a week which i do for exercise, for getting about the scooter is still king. You just have to assess the risks and ride safely whether its cycling or a motorbike

[meechai]

They call it the 7 dangerous but really if I remember correctly while living there is was always around 450 for the 7 "Most Dangerous"

 

But really the other 358 days are only slight & I mean very slightly less dangerous as they average 60 dead on any given day

[cyril sneer]

I don’t even walk to places anymore after seeing that gas explosion video last week

 

Can happen to anyone, better to just stay in the room

[ChipButty]

14 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

I leave my bike at home when the roads get manic but even walking is dangerous in places

I saw last week a bike slam into the back of 3 people walking

[MaxYakov]

32 minutes ago, cyril sneer said:

I don’t even walk to places anymore after seeing that gas explosion video last week

 

Can happen to anyone, better to just stay in the room

It's OK to be paranoid about personal safety in Thailand, but not too paranoid. 

On the other hand, it may not be possible to be too paranoid about safety in Thailand.

 

PS: I spend a lot of time in my room because I find Bangkok not as interesting and instructive as the internet and, besides, my room has a lot cleaner air than the often highly-pollution Bangkok air (even though I always wear a PM2.5/N95+ mask when out and about).

[RichardColeman]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Checkpoints focus on secondary roads as revellers join community countdowns

....................on main roads

[cyril sneer]

20 minutes ago, MaxYakov said:

 

PS: I spend a lot of time in my room because I find Bangkok not as interesting and instructive as the internet and, besides, my room has a lot cleaner air than the often highly-pollution Bangkok air (even though I always wear a PM2.5/N95+ mask when out and about).

Food panda for eating, Google streetview for travels 

[wgdanson]

16 hours ago, Jonathan Fairfield said:

while the common spots where the accidents took place were highways (38.14 per cent), followed by district and local roads (35.46 per cent).

 

Wonder where the rest took plce?

[MaxYakov]

23 minutes ago, cyril sneer said:

Food panda for eating, Google streetview for travels 

Agree with Google street view for travel (especially in Thailand) - worldwide (except for those countries that disallowed street view (China and Iran to name a few). However, even only a satellite view can be very informative about a city. I was looking at a city in southern Iran the other day that had extreme air pollution reported (waqi).

 

I wasn't able to isolate the source for the air pollution, but the city's "International" airport had only one plane parked at the terminal and the parking lot had absolutely no cars parked in it. I concluded that nobody wanted to visit that city. There were other clues that it definitely was not a fun place and was very poor (except for the elite housing, of course).

 

I don't order in food, but maybe I should consider it so I can spend more time on Google Maps. ????

Edited January 1, 2020 by MaxYakov

[MaxYakov]

12 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

Wonder where the rest took plce?

In parking garages where the vehicles were accidentally accelerated through the barriers and finished upside down in an alley below, of course (to name one of many other places I'm sure).

Edited January 1, 2020 by MaxYakov

[scubascuba3]

2 hours ago, ChipButty said:

I saw last week a bike slam into the back of 3 people walking

it doesn't surprise me, often i will ride 150 metres to Big C rather than walk as its safer but this time of the year the roads are more dangerous than ever

[legend49]

Chiang Mai saw the most accidents – 61 in total.

 

Agree with that because all the hopeless drivers from Bangkok are up here making the roads look like a Mad Max movie being filmed. Yesterday i witnessed a Bangkok registered car, it cut me off 10 metres from exiting a supermarket parking area. Then the idiot turned right into oncoming traffic of a one way lane leading to a ring road, the second truck it took on can claim a ten pin bowling strike. 50 ton truck perfect score, Suzuki Swift quashed.

[worgeordie]

Not easy getting to sleep last night after 12.00, the sound of

sirens,sometimes 3 different ones at a time,it's not just about those

that get killed or injured, its their friends and family,losing a bread

winner here is serious.

regards worgeordie

[Grumpy John]

Out here in the sticks I have a 25km trip to Lotus Express (50km round trip) and I am damned sure I won't be doing it on a push bike!  When I just want a bottle of milk and loaf I take the bike.....which is safer if you need to get off the road quickly.  

[AhFarangJa]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Centre to Prevent and Reduce Road Accidents

I have a new Acronym for all this verbal diarrhea they keep spouting about how they will reduce deaths.............

Centre for Road Accident Prevention ...