Thai roads are deathtraps to motorcyclists, says campaigner: Spend 15 billion a year to save 7,500 lives

[mberbae]

The huge fatality stats should Also be placed on motorcycle drivers.

30% have NO working tail lights. China is allowed to sell bikes with NO

mirrors,. And then there is the macho factor.

[IvorBiggun2]

14 hours ago, johng said:

and that on a road with 2 or more lanes "undertaking" on the left is allowed.

Only if the person in the righthand lane is U turning and indicating to do so.

[IvorBiggun2]

16 hours ago, chrissables said:

That's the law, bikes must keep left.

The law is that all vehicles must keep left. When overtaking, a motorcyclist must do so on the righthand side. Same laws as per any country that drives on the left.

[BadSpottedDog]

16 hours ago, bbbbooboo said:

How amazingly perceptive this man must be. These facts would have been self-evident to an idiot 10 yrs ago…. Only in Thailand I suggest?

Perhaps a "false flag" to divert attention away from the covid debacle?

[BritManToo]

23 hours ago, webfact said:

............... spend 15 billion baht a year on upgrades.

Then 7,500 lives could be saved a year by 2030.

2MBht per life .......... don't think the Thai government will consider that value for money.

[BadSpottedDog]

1 hour ago, mberbae said:

The huge fatality stats should Also be placed on motorcycle drivers.

30% have NO working tail lights. China is allowed to sell bikes with NO

mirrors,. And then there is the macho factor.

We actually saw 3 women on a motorbike at night. The bike had no headlights, but one of them was holding a flashlight to compensate. SO dangerous.

[bendejo]

...and then there is M-150

 

 

[keithkarmann]

Yes improve the roads but what is more important is to increase the education standard with regards to driver safety and convince people that when your end comes that there is nothing the other side.

[IvorBiggun2]

I had an accident some years ago with a motorcyclist. He entered from a side road without looking from the right. I hit him from behind making it look like I rear ended him. Luckily I have a dashcam and all became clear at the cop shop later. The guy I hit had a prosthetic leg to add to the story. After the dashcam viewing at the cop shop they decided that he was at fault and decided on a 1400 Baht fine. But due to him being poor they didn't enforce it. They just gave his family, who turned up at the station, a warning not to allow him to ride motorcycles again. What's the chance he/they complied?

[Mr Meeseeks]

On 10/23/2021 at 9:38 AM, mikebell said:

a police force.  Speed is the killer & easily deterred with CCTV & dedicated cops.

Not gonna work here without basic driver competence which is the first step they have to implement.

 

Thais simply do not know how to drive as they have never been properly educated.

 

They do not understand basic concepts such as right of way, braking distances, checking mirrors, signaling before maneuvering, lane discipline etc.

[JensenZ]

On 10/23/2021 at 9:34 AM, Dmaxdan said:

Yes, the roads are poorly designed and maintained but in many cases, the riders are not willing or capable of adapting to the conditions.

Speed, speed and more speed is the only way they know.

I think good roads are more dangerous for Thai motorcyclists. They aren't all completely nuts, and ride slowly on pot-holed roads, because most of all they don't want to damage their motorcycles/scooters. A tumble at low speed will be less likely to kill than a high speed accident on a better road.   

[Road Warrior]

i agree road are like tank training tracks . plus thai drivers standards  

[VocalNeal]

9 hours ago, Fairynuff said:

 

As far as I can see they travel on the left, on the right, in the middle, on the sidewalk, on the wrong side, through the red lights.......

 

Brilliant here, isn't it.

[toofarnorth]

3 hours ago, jacko45k said:

And people driving the wrong way.....food carts, people working on vehicles (overspill from the mechanics shop) and parking for noodle shops. 

Up here in Maechan the town centre is too narrow for much parking so rather than parking somewhere else and walking back it is blinkers on ( The car ) leave the car in the middle of the road and shop in 7-eleven. Traffic comes to a standstill . If my wife is in the car and she needs 7-eleven , I say quick get out , I will come back and find you so you know where I have parked.  Too easy for some.

[Kongshoej]

Having motorbikes wear helmets, follow traffic rules and lean that cars and trucks will win In collision might save more lives. 

[pepi2005]

Roads in Pattaya are indeed filled with death traps, or at least motorbike killers. There is hardly a day when no new potholes of various depth are popping up.

 

How the company responsible for road construction can manage to continue getting contracts with their amateurish works (2nd and 3rd Road have now been opened and closed for how many times in just 3 years?!) is a miracle to me. It could be other reasons than professionalism, I suppose, but who knows.

 

Great roads in Hua Hin, Ayutthaya, Sukothai, Phuket, Krabi and many other provinces, so it is certainly not a general problem in Thailand.

[MrJ2U]

When the roads are repaved up here in Issan they don't last more than a year or two.

 

They charge for more asphalt than they actually use and pocket the rest.

 

Its a racket.

[rosetintedspecs]

Road quality and layout are really only a very small part of the horrific problem. Let's try the simple obvious ones first before we spend 15billion  year:

 

1. Drink driving, apparently over 50% of drivers involved in accidents have alcohol in their system

2. Police corruption, if you are drunk and involved in an accident, you pay the policeman to make the problem go away.

3) Police corruption, as in Mr. "Boss: Yoovidhaya killing a police officer when howling drunk/high. pay, and the problem goes away.

4) Driving licenses were generally bought rather than earned through a driving test

5) Illegal driving. Go anywhere and you will see kids up country aged around 12 driving motor bikes and nobody gives a damn

6) He says trucks and vans are always in the left lane. Not in Thailand they are not. Everyone tries to drive in the so called "fast lane" on the right. Including the ten tonne trucks. I usually end up overtaking on the left hand lane, because it is nearly always empty. A major campaign needs to be undertaken to eradicate this behaviour.

7) FAith in amulets. Big issue here. Most Thai males (and plenty of females too) believe that they will be protected from all evil by whacking a buddha image or 3 on the dashboard. Given that the whole country is totally absorbed by ghost culture, this is not surprising. But it does need to be de-bunked. 

 

Well the above are just starters. Spend the 15billion on advertising on TV. Frighten the living daylights out of the public as they did with smoking and photos on cigarette packets.

[NoshowJones]

On 10/23/2021 at 9:34 AM, keith101 said:

Thai dont know how to make a good road and doubt they ever will .

The Thai IQ rate being very low is like that for good reason.

[Kongshoej]

On 10/23/2021 at 9:38 AM, mikebell said:

a police force.  Speed is the killer & easily deterred with CCTV & dedicated cops.

If speed was the killer Germany would have the highest number of fataleties in the world. Its down to driver skills and training. Most motorbikes dont care about any laws and drive like idiots . 

[Kongshoej]

2 hours ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

The law is that all vehicles must keep left. When overtaking, a motorcyclist must do so on the righthand side. Same laws as per any country that drives on the left.

Have you seen anyone following the ØlawØ when driving in Thailand? Even the incompetent police force dont follow the traffic rules

[NoshowJones]

On 10/23/2021 at 9:51 AM, lujanit said:

So all the deaths are the roads fault.  Nothing to do with riding the wrong way, cutting in front of other vehicles, speed, untrained riders and no license or insurance.

That's true, but every time you see resurfacing being done, they always leave the lanes badly rutted for the following 1 or 2Ks leaving motorcyclists having to ride on rutted lanes, which is very dangerous in itself, and even worse in wet weather, which is fine if you are driving on four wheels, instead of doing one lane at a time and leaving the other one safe for motorcycles.

[IvorBiggun2]

What I've noticed in the years I've been here is that the tesseban do not have 'clerk of works' that oversee any construction work that it contracts out. Tarmac temperature is not checked on the lorries before being laid. In the UK if it fails the heat test then it's scrapped costing the contactor money to replace it. Also concrete, when delivered, does not undergo a 'slump test'. Failing that test, as like the tarmac, it is rejected and goes against the contractors costs. Hit the contractor in the pocket to force them to work to the standards.  

 

     slump test

 

 

[NoshowJones]

21 hours ago, 0815 said:

What about riding with open eyes, adapt to road conditions and use brain ?

You mean you think Thais and brains are compatible??

[IvorBiggun2]

52 minutes ago, Kongshoej said:

Have you seen anyone following the ØlawØ when driving in Thailand?

That's a silly question. Not every drives <deleted>. You're gonna find some Thais that drive exceedingly well as well as find others that drive exceedingly badly. But I agree that Thailand has more bad drivers than good. All boils down to intellectual levels and location really.

[tomacht8]

I am sure that for 1000000 baht a year, Thailand could have 1,000 fewer motorcyclists dead a year. How?

Free front and rear light bulbs at all police stations. In no other country in the world are there as many motorcycles with broken lights as in Thailand. New motorcycle lightbulbs cost 10-30 Baht each. Almost all cars in Thailand have tinted windows. At night, unlit motorcycles are almost invisible.

 

The awareness and the laziness here, to take care of there own safety and to replace a broken lightbulb, is mindblowing.

[TigerandDog]

20 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

I chose not to ride at night and plan accordingly.  Except maybe the odd trip to 7-Eleven, a road with which I am familiar. You will note that even locals chose not to ride at night. 

 

"You will note that even locals chose not to ride at night. "  what an absolute load of rubbish. I'm forever dodging locals on motor bikes at night riding on the wrong side of the road that have NO lights on them that work.

[Midwit]

Just ban car, trucks and motorcycles to save lives. Wrap everything in bubble wrap and bunker down at home. I ride a motorcycle here and I love the free for all. No one is holding a gun to anyones head to either live here or ride/drive here.  Remember any law that is passed has to be enforced. More power in the hands of the brown shirts doesn’t seem like a good thing to me. 

[Midwit]

3 hours ago, rosetintedspecs said:

Road quality and layout are really only a very small part of the horrific problem. Let's try the simple obvious ones first before we spend 15billion  year:

 

1. Drink driving, apparently over 50% of drivers involved in accidents have alcohol in their system

2. Police corruption, if you are drunk and involved in an accident, you pay the policeman to make the problem go away.

3) Police corruption, as in Mr. "Boss: Yoovidhaya killing a police officer when howling drunk/high. pay, and the problem goes away.

4) Driving licenses were generally bought rather than earned through a driving test

5) Illegal driving. Go anywhere and you will see kids up country aged around 12 driving motor bikes and nobody gives a damn

6) He says trucks and vans are always in the left lane. Not in Thailand they are not. Everyone tries to drive in the so called "fast lane" on the right. Including the ten tonne trucks. I usually end up overtaking on the left hand lane, because it is nearly always empty. A major campaign needs to be undertaken to eradicate this behaviour.

7) FAith in amulets. Big issue here. Most Thai males (and plenty of females too) believe that they will be protected from all evil by whacking a buddha image or 3 on the dashboard. Given that the whole country is totally absorbed by ghost culture, this is not surprising. But it does need to be de-bunked. 

 

Well the above are just starters. Spend the 15billion on advertising on TV. Frighten the living daylights out of the public as they did with smoking and photos on cigarette packets.

Seems like scary pictures on cigarette packages has stopped smoking. Just ban cars, religion and personal responsibility. That will solve all of the problems. 

[VocalNeal]

1 hour ago, TigerandDog said:

"You will note that even locals chose not to ride at night. "  what an absolute load of rubbish. I'm forever dodging locals on motor bikes at night riding on the wrong side of the road that have NO lights on them that work.

You must live in a vastly different place to me.