Twice as many motorcycles as cars on the Thai roads

[webfact]

FILE PHOTO. Credit: Wikipedia

 

Thai media Bangkok Business News quoting the latest figures reported that motorcycles rule the roost on Thailand's roads.

 

Data from February 28th 2021 indicated that there were 41,633,891 vehicles registered in Thailand. 

 

The top seven kinds of vehicles were as follows:

 

1. Motorcycles : 21,452,050
2. Cars (up to seven seats) 10,530,697
3. Vans and pick-ups: 6,897,580
4. Tractors: 579,128
5. Microbuses (seven seats up) 435,360
6. Motorcycle taxis 168,837
7. Other agricultural vehicles: 109,284.

 

Data on the roads (from 2016) indicated there were 51,527 kms of highways.

 

These were split up as follows:

 

Central region: 10,960 kms
North: 15,689
Isaan: 15,014
South: 9,863.

 

 

BBN said the large number of vehicles on Thai roads were a contributing factor to the poor air quality and high PM2.5 levels seen throughout Thailand. 

 

Thaivisa also notes that accidents involving motorcycles make up for up to 80% of the carnage on Thai roads.

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2021-03-22

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[robblok]

Maybe its time to also make sure the motorcycle parkings are a bit bigger. Because its always hard to park them while cars get far more room. Time to change that too and make some more motorcycle friendly rules.

[ctxa]

Hence why Thailand has so many fatal accidents. So many cars + so many motorcycles together = so many accidents. 

 

Couldn't be otherwise, I am quite sure you start enforcing traffic laws as strictly as they do in the West, and the percentage of traffic accidents won't go down that much, just slightly.

[CharlieH]

"Thaivisa also notes that accidents involving motorcycles make up for up to 80% of the carnage on Thai roads."

 

Hardly surprising when the apparent only requirement to ride one is a pulse !

No training, No proficiency test of any real meaning, total lack of law enforcement and stupid piddly fines that are of no consequence.

 

Generally anyone of any age will jump on a bike and do what the hell they like.

Including and not limited to....

No helmet

No licence

No plates

No lights

4 up

Riding against the flow

No use of signals

no lane discipline

No highway code

Ignoring red lights

 

and probably many more !

 

[robblok]

14 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

"Thaivisa also notes that accidents involving motorcycles make up for up to 80% of the carnage on Thai roads."

 

Hardly surprising when the apparent only requirement to ride one is a pulse !

No training, No proficiency test of any real meaning, total lack of law enforcement and stupid piddly fines that are of no consequence.

 

Generally anyone of any age will jump on a bike and do what the hell they like.

Including and not limited to....

No helmet

No licence

No plates

No lights

4 up

Riding against the flow

No use of signals

no lane discipline

No highway code

Ignoring red lights

 

and probably many more !

 

Yes like the fact that its mostly car drivers who kill motorcycle drivers. Just look at the news today car plows into motorcycles that are waiting in front of a shop. You also often see cars plowing into motorcycles who wait for a traffic light. While there are people who go against the flow i seldom see it in BKK. I did see it more in Nothaburi. 

 

Guys with no lights on their motorcycles are idiots, i drive a car and bike and those without light (often trucks too with minimal lighting) are a danger.

[CharlieH]

2 minutes ago, robblok said:

Yes like the fact that its mostly car drivers who kill motorcycle drivers. Just look at the news today car plows into motorcycles that are waiting in front of a shop. You also often see cars plowing into motorcycles who wait for a traffic light. While there are people who go against the flow i seldom see it in BKK. I did see it more in Nothaburi. 

 

Guys with no lights on their motorcycles are idiots, i drive a car and bike and those without light (often trucks too with minimal lighting) are a danger.

Agreed ! And most if not all those things I listed could equally apply to many of the native vehicle drivers here.

[Tarteso]

38 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

and probably many more !

+ No legal age for driving

[robblok]

29 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Agreed ! And most if not all those things I listed could equally apply to many of the native vehicle drivers here.

Yea i drive a motorbike and a car and see idiots all the time. But truth be told I am sure I made some traffic mistakes too. I don't mean going against traffic. But changing lanes at times could have bothered cars. If on the bike i try to make sure im always in a safe position. But if someone really does something stupid then I doubt there is much escape.

[Asquith Production]

1 hour ago, CharlieH said:

"Thaivisa also notes that accidents involving motorcycles make up for up to 80% of the carnage on Thai roads."

 

Hardly surprising when the apparent only requirement to ride one is a pulse !

No training, No proficiency test of any real meaning, total lack of law enforcement and stupid piddly fines that are of no consequence.

 

Generally anyone of any age will jump on a bike and do what the hell they like.

Including and not limited to....

No helmet

No licence

No plates

No lights

4 up

Riding against the flow

No use of signals

no lane discipline

No highway code

Ignoring red lights

 

and probably many more !

 

Yeah but they will wear a mask

[Mops59]

Clean engines should be mandatory.  Technology already up and running in Europe and U.S.

Emmission check for vehicles once a year.

Teach children to ride bicycle to school.

A adequate public transport system in cities. 

Paid parking in city centres.

Raise tax on cars, gasoline and maintenance.

Promote electric motorbikes. In Tibet mandatory. 

Promote electric cars.

At the same time check factories, burning crops, etc etc.

Enforce the law big time.

 

[robblok]

10 minutes ago, Mops59 said:

Clean engines should be mandatory.  Technology already up and running in Europe and U.S.

Emmission check for vehicles once a year.

Teach children to ride bicycle to school.

A adequate public transport system in cities. 

Paid parking in city centres.

Raise tax on cars, gasoline and maintenance.

Promote electric motorbikes. In Tibet mandatory. 

Promote electric cars.

At the same time check factories, burning crops, etc etc.

Enforce the law big time.

 

Actually people driving on a motorbike are far less polluting then cars. Just look at the amount of fuel used (bikes are often 3 times or more fuel efficient). So get people out of cars onto motorbikes if you care for nature. It would also help against traffic jams. 

 

Time to ban cars on certain roads only allow motor bikes ????

[Artisi]

18 minutes ago, robblok said:

Actually people driving on a motorbike are far less polluting then cars. Just look at the amount of fuel used (bikes are often 3 times or more fuel efficient). So get people out of cars onto motorbikes if you care for nature. It would also help against traffic jams. 

 

Time to ban cars on certain roads only allow motor bikes ????

Good answer to what was really way off the topic????

[gunderhill]

Doesn't matter I treat them all as  idiots.

[gunderhill]

1 hour ago, Mops59 said:

Clean engines should be mandatory.  Technology already up and running in Europe and U.S.

Emmission check for vehicles once a year.

Teach children to ride bicycle to school.

A adequate public transport system in cities. 

Paid parking in city centres.

Raise tax on cars, gasoline and maintenance.

Promote electric motorbikes. In Tibet mandatory. 

Promote electric cars.

At the same time check factories, burning crops, etc etc.

Enforce the law big time.

 

no such thing as a  clean engine and even electrics  will have the same deficiency in brakes roads  etc https://garagewire.co.uk/news/no-such-thing-as-a-zero-emission-vehicle-warn-scientists-following-brake-pollution-study/

[gunderhill]

2 hours ago, robblok said:

While there are people who go against the flow i seldom see it in BKK.

I  think  youll  find  Thailands a bit  bigger  than BKK and certainly by me going against the flow for cars and bikes is the norm.

[robblok]

19 minutes ago, gunderhill said:

I  think  youll  find  Thailands a bit  bigger  than BKK and certainly by me going against the flow for cars and bikes is the norm.

I know its bigger, lived a bit outside of BKK in Nothaburi and i saw it more often. Thais in BKK seem to do it less. Saw it quite often near Bangyai. Not so much in BKK. 

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Data from February 28th 2021 indicated that there were 41,633,891 vehicles registered in Thailand. 

Looking at the number of motorcycles "registered": 21,452,050 I'd surmise at least 50% plus are not registered.

I hardly know a Thai family that doesn't own at least one.
 

[Humpy]

 Looks like most towns in Vietnam , except 99% of the Vietnamese wear helmets !!!

[superal]

Motor cycles in Thailand are a xxxxxxx nuisance and statistically dangerous , ridden by unskilled riders , inconsiderate , often underaged people .  When at traffic lights at the front they often surround your vehicle thus limiting your forward movement , they do not indicate and when they do it is often wrong or the other extreme they do not cancel the indicator to leave you guessing on their next move . The really annoying daily event is where workers e.g. 7-11 workers park outside of the shop soas customers cannot park , even applies to mama papa shops ( are they trying to discourage shoppers ) 

[Artisi]

5 hours ago, robblok said:

Yes like the fact that its mostly car drivers who kill motorcycle drivers. Just look at the news today car plows into motorcycles that are waiting in front of a shop. You also often see cars plowing into motorcycles who wait for a traffic light. While there are people who go against the flow i seldom see it in BKK. I did see it more in Nothaburi. 

 

Guys with no lights on their motorcycles are idiots, i drive a car and bike and those without light (often trucks too with minimal lighting) are a danger.

Where are the stats and research that shows that it's mostly car drivers who kill motorcycle riders, and what percentage of motorcycle riders deaths can be contributed directly to their actions?

[Curt1591]

17 hours ago, webfact said:

Thaivisa also notes that accidents involving motorcycles make up for up to 80% of the carnage on Thai roads.

 

[Andycoops]

Not surprising news as a family of four we have 1 pickup and 4 motorcycles.

[mikebell]

19 hours ago, webfact said:

the large number of vehicles on Thai roads were a contributing factor to the poor air quality and high PM2.5 levels seen throughout Thailand. 

Yet it's OK for local bigwigs to hire loudspeaker convoys of slow-moving vehicles so as to hold up every one else?  

[robblok]

13 hours ago, Artisi said:

Where are the stats and research that shows that it's mostly car drivers who kill motorcycle riders, and what percentage of motorcycle riders deaths can be contributed directly to their actions?

There are stats, that cars kill most motorcycles they don't say who is guilty. I am pretty sure its a mix of both. But when a car driver makes a mistake it kills motorcycle drivers. Bit hard the other way around. 

[Scott Tracy]

As a contrarian idea...motorcycle engines are not as efficient as car and some pickup engines, they are just a lot smaller and therefore pump out less pollutants. Pollutants per cubic centimetre would be a better comparison.

Motorcycles and bicycles should be separated from cars and lorries. This would make it a lot safer. Motorbike riders frustrate car drivers, slow pickup drivers frustrate everyone. Make all major roads dual carriageways, remove all possibilities of U turns, including where the central divider has a huge ditch which bike riders seem to like to cross. Forget traffic light timers, fit traffic detectors instead. Sitting at red lights for 2 minutes when there is no traffic in any other direction is frustrating. 

The above is not going to happen, so, education is the key. 9-10-11 year old children ride their parent's motorbikes with no education from the parents. They just follow what the parents do. How about schools educate the kids about road ssfety? We did cycling proficiency at school. Can we not do motorcycle safety here in Thailand? Catch them young, parents know no better.

[jackdd]

44 minutes ago, Scott Tracy said:

As a contrarian idea...motorcycle engines are not as efficient as car and some pickup engines, they are just a lot smaller and therefore pump out less pollutants. Pollutants per cubic centimetre would be a better comparison.

This would only make sense if car use were only allowed with at least three passengers, because a car pollutes about 3 times as much as a small bike.

[KannikaP]

20 hours ago, robblok said:

Yes like the fact that its mostly car drivers who kill motorcycle drivers.

Did I not read that the majority of road deaths are male motorcyclists between 30 & 50, between 4 & 8pm, on straight roads with no other vehicles involved? Or is that only in the seven deadly days periods?

[Nsp64]

8 hours ago, Curt1591 said:

 

Highlight of my daily commute......thai girls in shorts on motorbikes.!

[Rimmer]

Troll /off topic post removed

[Mr Meeseeks]

23 hours ago, Mops59 said:

Clean engines should be mandatory.  Technology already up and running in Europe and U.S.

Emmission check for vehicles once a year.

Teach children to ride bicycle to school.

A adequate public transport system in cities. 

Paid parking in city centres.

Raise tax on cars, gasoline and maintenance.

Promote electric motorbikes. In Tibet mandatory. 

Promote electric cars.

At the same time check factories, burning crops, etc etc.

Enforce the law big time.

 

This country is light years behind, and it is starting to wobble because the advancement in technology and availability of powerful vehicles has not been matched with the development and implementation of checks and balances such as effective training, competency and licensing, effective Policing, etc.

 

Slow and steady development hasn't happened here, they went from riding about on a buffalo to a 240bhp pick-up truck or a Kawasaki Ninja 650 in a generation.

 

You are now seeing the ongoing carnage as a direct result. Cause and effect.