Thai road carnage: A motorcyclist is killed every 30 minutes in Thailand

[zyphodb]

5 hours ago, bigupandchill said:

From where I live to where I drive at night is a fast 4 lane road with many bikes with no rear lights. What is it about these riders that they want to endanger themselves and me for the cost of a rear bulb?

A lot of them, especially upcountry, actually believe it'll stop them from being chased by ghosts, they'll also put red lights in the headlight sockets and white lights in the rear, for the same reason. I kid you not...

[zyphodb]

5 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

No common sense and no law enforcement. A terrible  combo. 

Common sense is very uncommon worldwide...

 

[Whip]

I missed my calling: mortician

[SPREX]

6 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

Baskets and tires are just excuses, it's the riders and drivers of cars who are to blame, not the vechiles

Please,  before to talk and write  read that ...2019 Report final   146 page 

 

motorcyclist is killed every 30 minutes in Thailand it is impossible !!! 

 

 

2019 

 

http://roadsafety.disaster.go.th/upload/minisite/file_attach/196/5f4ca0c3c24fd.pdf

 

Edited February 4, 2021 by SPREX

[mrfill]

12 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

Fairly immaterial if a car is doing 60/70/80 and hits you or runs over you!!!!

They could have chosen to report the facts (like the UK does not have speed lights and the correct speed limits) but they didn't and came out with pure fiction, which puts doubt on the veracity of the rest article. You may prefer stories full of misinformation but, as we have seen elsewhere, the use of lies and deception when reporting is less than helpful. Getting the basic facts right and reporting them is a reporters job isn't it?

[Magenta408]

Very sad to read folks. Very sad to those who are suffering injuries or are totally incapacitated or have died, but you see, it just ain't as sexy COVID-19!!!

[Sydebolle]

Unless the holy BiB are starting to do their job and implement the law:

- reprimand drivers without driving license to a juicy fine of, say THB 10'000 AND 20 hours of community work in a morgue
- reprimand kids by fining their parents THB 10'000 and the kid to 20 hours of community work around the countless yards where the police is keeping damaged bikes. If the owner of the bike is not a parent, then fine the owner also with THB 10'000 

If they cannot cough up the money, then let the adult (parent and/or bike owner) sit it off in a jail at THB 1'000/day, i.e. 10 days jail

The extra income (millions and million in the first few hours) to be used to prepare proper educational material and not that absolutely silly nonsense shown at the Department of Land Transport on a repetitive basis (two hours, first hour going through all the different vehicle plates in Thailand).

Thailand's biggest problem is the godforsaken NON implementation of anything ...... 

I'm dreaming, I know, but it accounts for venting my spleen when I read such rubbish! 

[zyphodb]

4 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

I've long thought that what is needed is shock tactics aimed purely at the teenage kids. (Most of the adults are  far to arrogant for anything to work)

They should go around the schools and show graphic, uncensored videos and photos of the aftermath of road accidents.

The point being to really make the kids to sit up and take notice.

Then, they should make sure the kids fully understand that if they screw around on motorbikes then it will be their body parts that will be scattered all over the road.

No one is exempt from being involved in traffic accidents, no matter how good a driver you think you are.

The time for the softly softly approach has long gone. 

It won't work, thais seem to love looking at gory pictures of people in pieces at accidents. Thai FB groups are full of them. It's the first thing a lot of Thais do at the sight of an accident, take pics or vids then post them on FB ???? 

[Artisi]

13 minutes ago, steevjee said:

HINT TO STAY ALIVE:

Do not ever drive onto a divided road in Thailand without looking both ways, as there could be a motorcycle barrelling down the wrong side in the Bike Lane with the rider half tanked on Thai Whiskey or just simply ignorant

I came within half a second of killing my passenger and the rider in such a situation recently and I've seen few very nasty crash sites where that was obviously the circumstance

Everyday occurrence, on any road with or without a bike lane - I get this probably 4 out 7 days each and every week - bikes on my side of the road, the saver is there is no dedicated lane that bikes would normally be using in the correct direction, so they tend to be driving at a slower pace into on-coming traffic knowing they shouldn't be where they are - - so you're right, you need to look both right and then left before entering the road proper. 

 

[Bobydog]

As I follow this thread I notice that anything on 2 wheels and an engine is called a motorcycyle or bike, I have ridden in Thailand more recently on Koh Samui and the majority of machines I saw were "Scooters". The owners I observed on these Scooters had played with their scooters to make them sound louder which is what they got off on, I was nearly wiped out by one of these lunatics as I was stationary in the middle of the road with indicator flashing, as I started to move off here comes this cowboy on the wrong side of the road passing me.   Sit it a bar in Chaweng (when they were open of course) and you could hear them coming, at night during dinner hours, down the street, how the death toll of tourists crossing the road didn't make the news goes  more to good luck.  Where were the Police that allowed this sort of behavior day after day totally unchecked. Multiple persons on a Scooter, Dad smoking a cigarette with baby on the tank and Mum & Daughter behind him all in plain view. The deaths of all these people belong squarely on the shoulders of Local Administration.  But I forget, this is Thailand. I have spent the last 25 years on 1 litre machines and have never seen such a disregard for road rules anywhere I have been.

[Artisi]

15 minutes ago, SPREX said:

Please,  before to talk and write  read that ...2019 Report final   146 page 

 

motorcyclist is killed every 30 minutes in Thailand it is impossible !!! 

 

 

2019 

 

http://roadsafety.disaster.go.th/upload/minisite/file_attach/196/5f4ca0c3c24fd.pdf

 

Why impossible?

 

[dave moir]

I ride a motorbike and also drive a car, but when on the bike I find pickups, SUV's and cars don't give a dam about motorbikes and will pull out in front of you or carve you up when turning!!!

Yes you get the poor riders but if there were more respect for others there would be far fewer accidents!

[Artisi]

Just now, dave moir said:

I ride a motorbike and also drive a car, but when on the bike I find pickups, SUV's and cars don't give a dam about motorbikes and will pull out in front of you or carve you up when turning!!!

Yes you get the poor riders but if there were more respect for others there would be far fewer accidents!

It would be interesting to see true stats. on the ~80% of road deaths being motor cyclists correlated as bike rider fault, other vehicle fault. 

And I think you are spot on with your observations, I don't ride (never have) but see many stupid acts by car drivers, probably not as many as bike riders - - - so it's not only bike riders who don't give a rats a rse. 

[KannikaP]

5 hours ago, Surelynot said:

Rightly or wrongly I am now pushing up close behind the car in front to stop them diving between both cars in order to switch lanes.

And texting while you are driving?

[SPREX]

50 minutes ago, SPREX said:

Please,  before to talk and write  read that ...2019 Report final   146 page 

 

motorcyclist is killed every 30 minutes in Thailand it is impossible !!! 

 

 

 

50 minutes ago, SPREX said:

2019 

 

http://roadsafety.disaster.go.th/upload/minisite/file_attach/196/5f4ca0c3c24fd.pdf

 

 

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, steevjee said:

HINT TO STAY ALIVE:

Do not ever drive onto a divided road in Thailand without looking both ways, as there could be a motorcycle barrelling down the wrong side in the Bike Lane with the rider half tanked on Thai Whiskey or just simply ignorant

I came within half a second of killing my passenger and the rider in such a situation recently and I've seen few very nasty crash sites where that was obviously the circumstance

 

Very true...  The amount of times I’ve been edging out into a 3 lane (on each side) decided highway, cars screaming by, visibility not great because of the 10 or so resort signs up blocking each other (and my view) - I’m looking intently to the right and just glance quickly left out of habit. 

 

I know I don’t need to glance left because its a divided highway and only traffic will be coming from the right, no ?

 

Upon glancing left I see a motorcycle wellying it up the shoulder in the wrong direction, I slam on the brakes as he screams by. I was a split second from taking the motorcycle out !!!.

 

(I’ve found the road between Cha-am and Hua Hin to be one of the worst for this)

 

Dash-Cams are essential ( I have them both in my car and on my motorcycle - both forward and rear facing )

 

[kiteman9]

Lyrics to the Canned heat song 

Amphetamine Annie

This is a song with a message
I want you to heed my warning

I wanna tell you all a story
About this chick I know
They call her "Amphetamine Annie"
She's always shoveling snow

I sat her down and told her
I told her crystal clear
"I don't mind you getting high
But there's one thing you should fear"

"Your mind might think its flying, baby
On those little pills
But you ought to know it's dying, 'cause
Speed kills"

But Annie kept on speeding
Her health was getting poor
She saw things in the window
She heard things at the door

Her mind was like a grinding mill
Her lips were cracked and sore
Her skin was turning yellow
I just couldn't take it no more

She thought her mind was flying
On those little pills
She didn't it was going down fast, 'cause
Speed kills

Well I sat her down and told her
I told her one more time
"The whole wide human race has taken
Far too much methedrine"

She said I don't care what a Limey says
I've got to get it on
I'm not here to just see no man
Who come from across the pond

She wouldn't heed my warning
Lord, she wouldn't hear what I said
Now she's in the graveyard, and she's
Awfully dead

 

[Suua]

58 minutes ago, zyphodb said:

It won't work, thais seem to love looking at gory pictures of people in pieces at accidents. Thai FB groups are full of them. It's the first thing a lot of Thais do at the sight of an accident, take pics or vids then post them on FB ???? 

You're right, and it's something I don't understand. They seem fascinated by the gory details....weird. 

[Histavia]

people posting anecdotes about "bad driving" they have seen, clearly don't understand the issues surrounding road safety.

 

Basically you can go on youtube and see "bad driving" videos from every entry in the world. 

What these posters don't realise is that all their "evidence" is just confirmation bias. If you don't know what that is, that's probably why you think your anecdote has any value.

furthermore ranting about a single issue young drivers, motorcycle, red lights etc etc doesn't make the blindest bit of difference because unless they are part of an holistic approach, there will be no significant change.

 

Crashes - (not "accidents") are caused 93% of the time by human error - this isn't the "crazies" they cite, it is almost always by perfectly normal drivers who make a slight error. How severe this is depends on the driving environment they are in.....this is dictated governments. If the systems are in place then the ramifications of these errors can be mitigated.

Unfortunately the authorities in Thailand are totally oblivious to the science of road safety preferring to believe in their own prejudices and myths perpetrated by those who are totally unaware of their own ignorance of the subject.

 

We've all seen crashes all over the world  - I've had car fly OVER the roof of mine from the oncoming lane of a motorway..... but I don't draw generalised conclusions about a whole country. 

Edited February 4, 2021 by Histavia

[Netzero]

It goes beyond motorcycles - the fundamental issue is that accidents - which should be a deterrence and learning experience - are not - and except for accidents there are really no/insufficient consequences for speeding, reckless driving, running red lights, or driving without lights etc etc etc. Thai police uses checkpoints not traffic stops. Education is needed, but proper law enforcement (including traffic stops and real fines for breaking vehicle laws for both scooters, cars and big bikes) are needed. Dream on. 

[Surelynot]

42 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

And texting while you are driving?

Errrrr......of course.   God that makes me so angry when I see it

[denishuahin]

It will never change, Bike are the worst >  no rear lights, no lights at all, turning right at junction and going against the traffic, coming out of a junction without stopping, going across red lights, turning right by crossing the road 200mt before the turning. 
I was in an "accident" 4 years I turned right into my drive off the main road I was completely off the road back of my car was 2 mt from the road  ( dead straight road 2 lanes with 30mt wide )  it was 3pm . I was just about get out the door to unlock my gate, and two motorbikes hit my right side door at about 100Kph they knocked my car 2.5 tonne 2.5mt of my drive, both died they were 17 and 18. 
1: they were racing
2: no licence
3: no helmet
4: No tax 
5: Wrong side of the road Going against the traffic.  
Why they came off the road and hit my car the car behind me said there were laying on the bikes laughing at each other when they passed him and seemed to veer of the road.  My Lawyer said i need to pay the families 300,000 or go to jail for 5 years. I had to stand in the court room and hand over the cash. After the the judge sentenced me to 1 years probation and 5000 baht fine. It was explained to me that they ( the boys ) can't be blamed because they were dead. So it was my fault 50%, the Lawyer say if I didn't pay it would have been my fault 100%. 
until they take the immunity away from motorbikes and the stupid law it's always the bigger vehicle that's at fault. 
It's too far gone to put it all right, in the UK it's not your right to drive on the road here in Thailand the attitude it's my right to do what I want. It's freedom go too far.  But most of us farang are here because of this "freedom" .
   I know there are going keyboard Lawyers on here saying You should of! you done it all wrong!       

[Surelynot]

2 minutes ago, denishuahin said:

It will never change, Bike are the worst >  no rear lights, no lights at all, turning right at junction and going against the traffic, coming out of a junction without stopping, going across red lights, turning right by crossing the road 200mt before the turning. 
I was in an "accident" 4 years I turned right into my drive off the main road I was completely off the road back of my car was 2 mt from the road  ( dead straight road 2 lanes with 30mt wide )  it was 3pm . I was just about get out the door to unlock my gate, and two motorbikes hit my right side door at about 100Kph they knocked my car 2.5 tonne 2.5mt of my drive, both died they were 17 and 18. 
1: they were racing
2: no licence
3: no helmet
4: No tax 
5: Wrong side of the road Going against the traffic.  
Why they came off the road and hit my car the car behind me said there were laying on the bikes laughing at each other when they passed him and seemed to veer of the road.  My Lawyer said i need to pay the families 300,000 or go to jail for 5 years. I had to stand in the court room and hand over the cash. After the the judge sentenced me to 1 years probation and 5000 baht fine. It was explained to me that they ( the boys ) can't be blamed because they were dead. So it was my fault 50%, the Lawyer say if I didn't pay it would have been my fault 100%. 
until they take the immunity away from motorbikes and the stupid law it's always the bigger vehicle that's at fault. 
It's too far gone to put it all right, in the UK it's not your right to drive on the road here in Thailand the attitude it's my right to do what I want. It's freedom go too far.  But most of us farang are here because of this "freedom" .
   I know there are going keyboard Lawyers on here saying You should of! you done it all wrong!       

That is ridiculous especially as you say they hit the drivers side.........is there simply no commonsense anymore?

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, Histavia said:

We've all seen crashes all over the world  - I've had car fly OVER the roof of mine from the oncoming lane of a motorway..... but I don't draw generalised conclusions about a whole country. 

 

Do you also ignore the damning statistics ???

 

We’ve all seen silly, stupid and dangerous driving outside of Thailand. 

 

I’ve just seen more silly, stupid and dangerous driving in Thailand, when combined with numbers of motorcycles here its understandable why the death toll is so high. 

 

------

 

More conformation Bias: A 2 hour drive from the Airport to home in the UK, I see zero or maybe one silly manoeuvre that makes me thing “<deleted>”... in Thailand in the 30mins from the Airport to the home I see multiple situations which make me things that !!!.... Confirmation bias or not I have witnessed stupidity on the roads here I would never see in a lifetime driving the roads back home in the UK. 

 

 

 

 

[SupermarineS6B]

Sadly as one Doctor i was speaking to about Thailands road carnage described it...... "Motorcycles ?  You mean Donar cycles" ?    Which brings up another question....... Kidney anyone ?   $$$$$$$$$ 

[Kurtf]

I'm surprised that the number isn't higher considering the way some of these motorcyclists and scooter operators drive weaving in and out of traffic and swerving into the fast lane without looking. Just today I was stopped at a red light and several scooter drivers squeezed into the turn lane and made u-turns while the light was still red. The driving test for motorcycles in Thailand is a joke. If you can drive in a circle, you pass. I would be willing to bet that not one in 20 could pass the motorcycle driving test in America. And then again there is the complete lack of road law enforcement. I'm just guessing but about 30% of Thai bikes do not have a rear light that works. But I'll bet the number of tickets given out for that infraction is close to ZERO.

[keithkarmann]

6 hours ago, LennyW said:

A big problem i can see in most drivers here - they firmly believe they are the only one on the road, they exist in their own little bubble, cutting corners, pulling out without looking, going across to the right when exiting a side road, double parking, stopping at a foodstall without indication or warning, blocking access...the list goes on and on, just zero consideration of what is going on around them!

Tunnel vision. 

[quake]

Nothing will ever change until Thai people want to change.

They all know what they do is wrong on the roads.

it's just all part of there deep down ingrained selfish behavior.

 

[richard_smith237]

1 minute ago, quake said:

Nothing will ever change until Thai people want to change.

They all know what they do is wrong on the roads.

it's just all part of there deep down ingrained selfish behavior.

 

 

Society imitates itself. So, for a society where driving is of a poor standard, me first attitude etc anyone else will think why should they be the ‘good one’ when everyone else is taking liberties. 

 

In other countries, where people are extremely curious on the roads, everyone else is courteous because everyone else is. 

 

In Thailand when I drive and I think, no, I don’t want to give way because if I do I’ll be stuck where I am while 35 cars follow though until gridlock occurs and I am blocked - thus I try not to slow down, I flash my lights and assert my presence preventing the car which looked like it might pull out from pulling out. Of course, there was plenty of time for the car to pull out, but I don’t want all the others to follow it !!! 

 

The selfishness is self perpetuating, and I don’t like that I need to drive like this in Thailand so that I can get anywhere !

 

 

 

 

[quake]

Just now, richard_smith237 said:

 

Society imitates itself. So, for a society where driving is of a poor standard, me first attitude etc anyone else will think why should they be the ‘good one’ when everyone else is taking liberties. 

 

In other countries, where people are extremely curious on the roads, everyone else is courteous because everyone else is. 

 

In Thailand when I drive and I think, no, I don’t want to give way because if I do I’ll be stuck where I am while 35 cars follow though until gridlock occurs and I am blocked - thus I try not to slow down, I flash my lights and assert my presence preventing the car which looked like it might pull out from pulling out. Of course, there was plenty of time for the car to pull out, but I don’t want all the others to follow it !!! 

 

The selfishness is self perpetuating, and I don’t like that I need to drive like this in Thailand so that I can get anywhere !

 

it's a choice they make every day.

They chose selfishness, on a great deal of things.

100 years and it will still be the same.

The true Hub of selfishness. 

TIT.