4 minutes ago, Natai Beach said:

Plenty of expats out drinking everyday. Most drive home. Spend an afternoon on the dark side of Pattaya, pretty much everyone drink driving. 

spend an afternoon in Phuket or Samui. You won’t go 20 minutes without seeing foreigners on motorbikes without helmets. And without licenses. As a tourist I did that also. I have licenses now.
 

Seen farangs riding helmetless  on their phones plenty of times. 
 

And read news reports of drunken/speeding foreigners killing people on the thai roads. Just google. 

 

It is more ridiculous to claim farangs don’t and only Thais do. Turn it up.

 

Valid points: A lot of Westerners also go native and abuse the rules, drink drive, don’t use helmets, drive while using their phones etc.

 

That said, I have a lot of Western friends in Bangkok none drink and drive. I have a some Thai friends (male) all do drink and drive !!!...  I also have a lot of Western acquaintance (through sports etc) I only know of one Westerner who drinks drives / rides (in the past 1.5 years he’s been caught and had to pay a fine driving over the limit, he also nearly killed himself riding his motorbike while drink)....

 

I think this may a lot more to do with the fact that Bangkok has such an easy transport network compared to other areas like Pattaya, Phuket, Samui etc... where those choosing not to drive because they want a drink will surely get ripped off / over charged by a taxi - almost getting punished for doing the right thing.... 

I have thought about this and would institute the following.

 

A  Maximum of 20 or 40% protection at the front of a car. I am sick of people driving through the middle of Bangkok at 15km per hour with full headlights on because they can't see.

 

When 90% of police income comes from imposition of fines, official or unofficial, there is little incentive for reduction of offending by police action, as after the blip of collecting more fines, law compliance would reduce the proportion of people to fine. Just look at how even Immigration Police are scraping by on basic salaries as no tourists to fine.

 

Time to fund the police properly through taxation and transfer fine collection to the courts rather than the police.

You guys all want to make Thailand like England.  So first of all put the taxes up through the roof, now most people can't even afford to drive.  Now the economy has gone down and unemployment shoots up.  Put parking meters everywhere and inspectors.  Color the roads with double yellow lines, single yellow lines, single yellow bands, double yellow bands, double red lines and so on.  So now we have to buy permits.  Don't forget speed bumps on every single road in a built-up area.

 

Also because everyone complains daily about PM2.5 the government will happily tax oxygen.  We now have the congestion charge as well.

 

On top of higher taxes you all seem to want excessive fines as well.  So now everyone has to be crammed into buses and public transport will be pushed to breaking point.

 

You all seem to be promoting the British system of driving tests which is a total scam.  Firstly we have to go through a computer test and each time there are no results only 'fail' or 'pass' so there is no way to improve.  Each time we fail we have to wait a month or more.  The cycle continues, and we waste hundreds of pounds on this garbage that should have already been taught in high school.

 

If you have the slightest bump on the car they call it a write-off.  It just isn't worth owning a car in England.

 

All pick-ups are banned from the road.  So again a huge hit to the economy and well-being of Thai people.

1 minute ago, johnray said:

You guys all want to make Thailand like England.  So first of all put the taxes up through the roof, now most people can't even afford to drive.  Now the economy has gone down and unemployment shoots up.  Put parking meters everywhere and inspectors.  Color the roads with double yellow lines, single yellow lines, singe yellow bands, double yellow bands, double red lines and so on.  So we have buy permits. 

 

Also because everyone complains daily about PM2.5 the government will now happily tax oxygen.  We now have the congestion charge as well.

 

On top of higher taxes you all seem to want excessive fines as well.  So now everyone has to be crammed into buses and public transport will be pushed to breaking point.

 

You all seem to be promoting the British system of driving tests which is a total scam.  Firstly we have to go through a computer test and each time there are no results only 'fail' or 'pass' so there is no way to improve.  Each time we fail we have to wait a month or more.  The cycle continues, and we waste hundreds of pounds on this garbage that should have already been taught in high school.

 

If you have the slightest bump on the car they call it a write-off.  It just isn't worth owning a car in England.

 

All pick-ups are banned from the road.  So again a huge hit to the economy and well-being of Thai people.

 

 

I’m surprised you didn’t use the phrase ‘nanny-state’ and the words ‘sheeple’ in such an apologist response. 

 

It seems you like Thailand as it is, and don’t care that so many innocent Thai’s die unnecessarily each year. 

It also seems you don’t mind facing unnecessary elevated risk. 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

In fact it has nearly doubled. 

 

...from 20 to 29.  I think i'll pour my own drink in your pub.

4 hours ago, Titan1962 said:

The biggest factor contributing to the death toll here is lack of law enforcement. 
Buy a few trucks,set up the road blocks and start pulling over bikes first. No license,bike in the back of the truck,issue the ticket to appear in court. No helmet,park the bike issue a ticket and walk home or get a helmet delivered or go buy one and get the bike back. Drink driving,confiscate the bike or car,cancel the license until court appearance. Have more highway patrol cars on the road actually pulling over dangerous drivers and according to the infringement,park up the car or issue a huge on the spot fine. A better system so the police have access to drivers history,that will determine the course of action taken at the point of being pulled over. 
until that happens,things will not improve.

Can you imagine the change in attitude if they applied these simple adjustments,yes I know it’s Thailand.

Teah them defensive driving instead of :how to steer" a vehicle or stay upright

 

3 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

 

I’m surprised you didn’t use the phrase ‘nanny-state’ and the words ‘sheeple’ in such an apologist response. 

 

It seems you like Thailand as it is, and don’t care that so many innocent Thai’s die unnecessarily each year. 

It also seems you don’t mind facing unnecessary elevated risk. 

Imagine what the economic impact and ongoing medical costs for the survivors, let alone the ripple effect on families, if the injured/dead is the primary income source. How may children are miaimed or sustain permanent injury. How many acquired brain injuries?

 

The insanity on the roads here is incredible and the lack of will to do anything about it is mind boggling.  Its horrible to know that in an 80 year lifespan you have a 2.5% chance of dying on the roads.

1 minute ago, Jimbo2014 said:

The insanity on the roads here is incredible and the lack of will to do anything about it is mind boggling.  Its horrible to know that in an 80 year lifespan you have a 2.5% chance of dying on the roads.

 

Calculations on a beer mat please....... 

 

The stats and risk faced are actually quite variable and are highly dependent on vehicle type, age, drinking etc....

 

75% of road fatalities are motorcyclists - if you don’t ride a bike your risk stats drop significantly. 

xx ??? of those 75% are motorcyclists without helmets -  if you wear a helmet your risk stats drop significantly. 

xx ??? of those 75% are motorcyclists that are drunk -  if you don’t drink and ride your risk stats drop significantly. 

xx ??? of those 75% are motorcyclists are are night - if you don’t ride at night your risk stats drop significantly. 

 

Many of the 25% >2 wheeled vehicle accidents are due to speeding, occur at night, and involve alcohol. 

If you don’t drive a car (on the open roads out of town) at night, while speeding and drunk your risk stats drop significantly. 

 

 

In aggregate Thailands road stats are damning, yet when we look a little closer our risk profile is significantly reduced simply by modifying our behaviour and applying common sense. 

 

 

 

10 minutes ago, Jimbo2014 said:

The insanity on the roads here is incredible and the lack of will to do anything about it is mind boggling.  Its horrible to know that in an 80 year lifespan you have a 2.5% chance of dying on the roads.

So you have a 97.5% chance of it not happening

 

It's taken them 10 years to work out that plan failed 

9 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Calculations on a beer mat please....... 

 

The stats and risk faced are actually quite variable and are highly dependent on vehicle type, age, drinking etc....

 

75% of road fatalities are motorcyclists - if you don’t ride a bike your risk stats drop significantly. 

xx ??? of those 75% are motorcyclists without helmets -  if you wear a helmet your risk stats drop significantly. 

xx ??? of those 75% are motorcyclists that are drunk -  if you don’t drink and ride your risk stats drop significantly. 

xx ??? of those 75% are motorcyclists are are night - if you don’t ride at night your risk stats drop significantly. 

 

Many of the 25% >2 wheeled vehicle accidents are due to speeding, occur at night, and involve alcohol. 

If you don’t drive a car (on the open roads out of town) at night, while speeding and drunk your risk stats drop significantly. 

 

 

In aggregate Thailands road stats are damning, yet when we look a little closer our risk profile is significantly reduced simply by modifying our behaviour and applying common sense. 

 

 

 

Dont forget motorbike coming up the inside at night I could take one out everynight as I need to turn left into my soi I make a point of indicating well before the soi and slow right down so my break lights are on and they still want to come up the inside, 

3 hours ago, brucegoniners said:

Maybe if the police here would enforce the laws there would be less accidents. Namely small children on motorbikes, motorbike riders with no helmets, 4 or 5 people on a motorbike, motorbikes and cars speeding on city streets, people driving without licenses, cars that are dangerous and need to be fixed or get off the roads. I could go on and on. It's the wild west out here in Pattaya. I'm not surprised there are lots of accidents. There needs to be some enforcement. There is absolutely none. So when people can do whatever they want on the roads accidents happen. There are also many dangerous intersections that are blind and many that need working traffic lights. The lights are there, but they are either flashing or turned off.

Thailand is a major Potemkin village...probably numbah neung.

The laws look good on the books...many,many leather bound tomes..

But we all know that it is a farce,don't we?

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand's "Ten Year Plan" to improve road safety has failed - instead of halving the death toll it's nearly doubled!

Sounds like the mirror image of Thailand's plan to cut bribery and nepotism by half. 

There are much more serious problems than road casualties... and nobody but some students dare to talk about it.

4 minutes ago, Deli said:

There are much more serious problems than road casualties... and nobody but some students dare to talk about it.

Really?

Whilst I get the gist of your of what you say-mass slaughter is surely a serious issue.

 

5 hours ago, webfact said:

He pinpointed the need to focus on three main areas:

 

1. Improving the driving skill and road use behavior of Thais.

 

2. Improving the safety of roads.

 

3. Ensuring law enforcement

Another 10 years won't change a thing until they change the whole system.

24 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Dont forget motorbike coming up the inside at night I could take one out everynight as I need to turn left into my soi I make a point of indicating well before the soi and slow right down so my break lights are on and they still want to come up the inside, 

 

Indeed... It's also a daily occurrence exiting my soi where its only possible to make a left hand turn yet the motorcycles squeeze up the inside. I (we - any drivers) have little choice but to stop and let the bikes squeeze through for if we don’t stop we will knock them off and our cars will get scratched... The motorcyclists just don’t care - they ride around knowing that the cars will yield to them. 

 

Each and every time I drive my car, almost without fail, my avoiding action (braking or not moving as motorcyclist squeezes up the inside etc) prevents a motorcyclists from getting knocked off their bike.

 

Yet when I am out on my motorcycle, its nearly always another motorcyclist which poses the greatest threat to me on the roads as they sit in my blind spot, ride too close brushing elbows, cut across me, pull out in front of me without looking etc etc... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seems I've heard this lament before. let's do something rational  as of midnight to night  close all roads to any sort of vehicle and

all drivers licence holders must forego a practical and theory test.

Roblem solved. 

Harsh you say?

Better than the current slaughter.

I can summarise the Thai 10 year plan in 5 little words: wishing it would go away, yep that was always going to work...

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand's "Ten Year Plan" to improve road safety has failed - instead of halving the death toll it's nearly doubled!

Wow, another ten year plan they could solve the unemployment levels.... cunning plan !

5 hours ago, Titan1962 said:

The biggest factor contributing to the death toll here is lack of law enforcement. 
Buy a few trucks,set up the road blocks and start pulling over bikes first. No license,bike in the back of the truck,issue the ticket to appear in court. No helmet,park the bike issue a ticket and walk home or get a helmet delivered or go buy one and get the bike back. Drink driving,confiscate the bike or car,cancel the license until court appearance. Have more highway patrol cars on the road actually pulling over dangerous drivers and according to the infringement,park up the car or issue a huge on the spot fine. A better system so the police have access to drivers history,that will determine the course of action taken at the point of being pulled over. 
until that happens,things will not improve.

Can you imagine the change in attitude if they applied these simple adjustments,yes I know it’s Thailand.

Can you imagine the  increased amount of money finding its way into the pockets of the police  charged with reducing the death toll? 

I think they have done a reasonable job, it ONLY doubled in 10 years -

(it's sarcasm if you're not sure) 

Oh no, I told you Frankie mouse , Thailand would fail again.

ok Benjy,  we will leave Thailand out on the next simulation.

 

 

 

58 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Calculations on a beer mat please....... 

 

The stats and risk faced are actually quite variable and are highly dependent on vehicle type, age, drinking etc....

 

75% of road fatalities are motorcyclists - if you don’t ride a bike your risk stats drop significantly. 

xx ??? of those 75% are motorcyclists without helmets -  if you wear a helmet your risk stats drop significantly. 

xx ??? of those 75% are motorcyclists that are drunk -  if you don’t drink and ride your risk stats drop significantly. 

xx ??? of those 75% are motorcyclists are are night - if you don’t ride at night your risk stats drop significantly. 

 

Many of the 25% >2 wheeled vehicle accidents are due to speeding, occur at night, and involve alcohol. 

If you don’t drive a car (on the open roads out of town) at night, while speeding and drunk your risk stats drop significantly. 

 

 

In aggregate Thailands road stats are damning, yet when we look a little closer our risk profile is significantly reduced simply by modifying our behaviour and applying common sense. 

 

 

 

There are also a great number of safe drivers here too. The minority of idiots wouldn't last  a month in the UK before being stopped and banned which would help the situation.

 

One other calculation to place this in perspective, is the size of Thailand and the lengths of journeys made. One of my daily commutes takes over 3 kilometres just to get to the other side of the road. I would hazard a guess that the amount of distance travelled here in a motor vehicle is twice that of the UK .

 

Then it becomes a matter of calculating the accidents/incidents/deaths per journey or per kilometre.

 

 

6 hours ago, webfact said:

the next three to four decades could see a MILLION people lose their lives on the nation's roads. 

What a horrifying thought:-

5 minutes ago, DaLa said:

There are also a great number of safe drivers here too. The minority of idiots wouldn't last  a month in the UK before being stopped and banned which would help the situation.

 

One other calculation to place this in perspective, is the size of Thailand and the lengths of journeys made. One of my daily commutes takes over 3 kilometres just to get to the other side of the road. I would hazard a guess that the amount of distance travelled here in a motor vehicle is twice that of the UK .

 

Then it becomes a matter of calculating the accidents/incidents/deaths per journey or per kilometre.

 

 

Again?

No..the majority of Thai are not safe drivers even if the distance was between Moscow and Vladivostok..it is,after all, a piddling small country.

 

The vast majority of Thai that I knew were lucky to drive 50 kms per day.

 

The problem (apart from mickey mouse law enforcement) is surely that the Thai learn to drive motorcycles-from about the age of 10 and are rarely professionally taught to drive automobiles.

37 minutes ago, DaLa said:

There are also a great number of safe drivers here too. The minority of idiots wouldn't last  a month in the UK before being stopped and banned which would help the situation.

 

One other calculation to place this in perspective, is the size of Thailand and the lengths of journeys made. One of my daily commutes takes over 3 kilometres just to get to the other side of the road. I would hazard a guess that the amount of distance travelled here in a motor vehicle is twice that of the UK .

 

Then it becomes a matter of calculating the accidents/incidents/deaths per journey or per kilometre.

 

 

"Minority of idiots"? I guess 49.9999% is a minority 

Mai pen rai....