The carnage continues on the Thai roads: 75 deaths on Monday including Swiss tourist in Phuket

[chiman]

Been driving here in Sukhumvit for well over a decade now

1. Me first mentality on the roads
2. Ill do whatever is convenient for me, no matter how it effects everyone around me 
3. Cannot allow merging of cars, see rule 1
4. Drivers in their black vans, laws do not apply, also see rule 1
5. Bus drivers and taxi drivers, not sure what they are on still.. but its not good 
6. Lastly, sense of entitlement stylized driving 

Stats for Thai Road Deaths are nearly on par with homicide rates in the US.  

Wasting your time and energy thinking it will improve... it is what it is, be defensive and drive a safe car.  We do not do Tuk Tuks, Motorbikes, and avoid walking on the streets... 

[Grusa]

2 hours ago, off road pat said:

My wife had a very good instructor in Chiang Mai. He told her the most important rules, and to watch around every time she maneuvered....He was really good. She had her driving license easy ! (That's no Guarantee I Know)

A couple of years later she did her driving lessons again in Europe and that was a lot of studying,...She studied a couple of months, did her exam and got it the first time. And I swear the exams were very hard and strict. They tried to trick her into making mistakes, but she did it excellently. She is now a excellent and safe driver. I let her drive as much as possible to get as much experience as possible, she drove in Germany, Switzerland, France The Nederlands and Belgium,...without a problem.

....... and all on the "wrong" side of the road!

[Road Warrior]

think thai want to be top the world list for worst driving standards . well done keep  it up, why change they never ever will 

[EcureuilTenace]

46 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Once upon a time I had the bright idea to try and open up a driving school based upon US standards here.  I started the process only to be told I could own the school but could not teach as I was not Thai.  No matter how many times and people I contacted was told Can Not only Thai can teach.

I cannot teach either. I have teaching qualifications and I am bilingual french/ english. My wife and children benefit from it but somebody decided that nobody else could benefit. People in power have decided that "no have" is a proper answer when you haven't got something, never mind how much else you have to offer that you cannot express. It is sad for Thai people who have so much to give. I must say that my Thai is so poor that I have no right to comment on that issue. But people in power should know that English is a global language now. Denying them to know is criminal. I haven't decided that English was the way forward. I personnally would have preferred French but I accept that is the way forward now.

I also know why, english: few rules and little exceptions, french? a lot of both.

So it is difficult for me to understand where they want Thailand to go.

 

To finish, I must say, with all humility and love for all of them, that I cannot understand the English of my Thai friends who teach English to others, several professors indeed.

[EcureuilTenace]

1 hour ago, dutchweller said:

You no understand Thailand.

Police are not paid to work.

You must pay Police not to do bad things ok?

Stupid Farang...

 

We might be stupid but have you thought about grammar before trying our language?

[Almer]

3 hours ago, hotchilli said:

How about initiating some real driving schools where people drive with instructors who actually teach driving skills,  and then assess the abilities of drivers before allowing them to progress to a driving examination.

Rather than just buy a licence.

My neighbor of 3 years ago went on a one to one driver training for 4 days, on the 5 day she went for her license,  at the end of the 5th day she asked me if I would back the car into her drive and on the 6th day she mounted a high pavement following a left turn and did quite some damage including under body

[thailand49]

The numbers are actually down it is December!  the reason curfew the restrictions the toll should be much higher.

Tough to fix a problem if everyone doesn't have a clue reason every idea is just spinning their wheels going in circle the carnage will continue and continue it has become a way of life death is excepted T.I.T.  until they give the problem to anyone other than a Thai it will continue and continue.????????

[DavisH]

5 hours ago, uktony said:

UK, similar population size to Thailand, averages 4 deaths per day. 1460 in 340 days this year. 

How many millions of motorcycles are on the road in the UK? You need to take this into account, as 80% of the deaths here are those on motorcycles.  

[DavisH]

52 minutes ago, EcureuilTenace said:

I cannot teach either. I have teaching qualifications and I am bilingual french/ english. My wife and children benefit from it but somebody decided that nobody else could benefit. People in power have decided that "no have" is a proper answer when you haven't got something, never mind how much else you have to offer that you cannot express. It is sad for Thai people who have so much to give. I must say that my Thai is so poor that I have no right to comment on that issue. But people in power should know that English is a global language now. Denying them to know is criminal. I haven't decided that English was the way forward. I personnally would have preferred French but I accept that is the way forward now.

I also know why, english: few rules and little exceptions, french? a lot of both.

So it is difficult for me to understand where they want Thailand to go.

 

To finish, I must say, with all humility and love for all of them, that I cannot understand the English of my Thai friends who teach English to others, several professors indeed.

You can teach (in a school / university), unless you are on a  retirement visa. Most of the English teachers in Thailand now are non-native speakers - mainyl thanks to increasing teaching requirments and salaries that have stagnated for 15-20 years. 

[Sir Dude]

Time of day has some influence over the madness too, as well as speed/stupidity. Beware the early-morning market/school rush and when work releases all the slaves to charge home, pick up Little Billy/Jane for whatever reason, go get dinner off the street-food stall/at the market, drop in CP (or is it Brawndo/OCP) owned 7-11, and generally mill around in the ensuing chaos. Plus, on top of that, all the oxygen thieves arise in the afternoon to set out on another evening of wanton waste-of-space activities... including getting smashed.

[DavisH]

56 minutes ago, Road Warrior said:

think thai want to be top the world list for worst driving standards . well done keep  it up, why change they never ever will 

What will never change is many moaning farangs that cannot adapt to Thailand and it's driving conditions. I personally hav no problems driving here and have never had a problem in 20 years and 500K+ kms. Never had an accident, and have never been hit by someone. 

[HAPPYNUFF]

Im  told that  those of officer rank in the Thai Police  receive some training at an academy  of some sort,  but does anyone know what, if any training the lower ranks receive.,   . I have one  cop live near me,  his sole duty seems to be driving   his superior around the   area, and hes certainly not the brightest light in the house to talk to.    Maybe    their   failure to do anything is simply because they dont know anything about  road  or traffic laws.

[big dendrobenaes]

5 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

I would add zero patience to your list. Running red lights, moving forward before the lights turn green and overtaking on a bend or the brow of a hill are all really common examples of this.

 

AND UNDERTAKING, which actually is ILLEGAL!!!

[ebean001]

motorist? I think not. Try motorbikes which is probably at least 70%. 

[Confuscious]

Thai road casualties = Thai birth control

[smudger1951]

7 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Life on the roads is a crapshoot.  Yesterday returning from Suvarnabhumi Airport, I watched as cars drove on the shoulders where they are not supposed to, and right by the RTP cops sitting at the gore points.  Then after stopping for the Red light as I prepared to exit at Rama 4 Rd, I watched as over 100 motorbikes queued in the roadway in front of the red light they were supposed to be behind, again right in front of the RTP traffic box.  As my light turned green to go right and as we all, the many cars behind me, proceeded to turn right, the motorbikes all took off going straight from our left and into an around all of the turning vehicles, who had the right of way.  Just to my left I watched as one of the motorbikes hit the side of a Mercedes and as he went down was hit by more bikes and the pile up began.  What a cluster.  If the flicking police would do their jobs we would not have such kaos, and if the drivers and riders would obey the traffic laws we would not have the needles accidents and deaths.

The thai mentality never ceases to amaze me as I leave the peace and tranquility of a Temple complex here in Pattaya to try to cross the road on a zebra crossing where the red light means nothing to drivers or motorbike riders all wearing masks but no crash helmets. 

[bstafford214]

6 hours ago, bluemoon58 said:

What a load of cr*p! Proper driver training and making the police actually do their jobs of enforcing the law, instead of dreaming about where the next backhander is coming from, that would help save lives. 

Totally agree, if the government officials can't do their job, we can understand why the citizens don't care to follow the traffic laws. It is a free for all and everybody only cares about themselves. So selfish and greedy here.

[oslooskar]

I had to go up to Bangkok about three months ago with one of my Thai in-laws at the wheel. We averaged about 65 to 70 miles an hour in the pouring rain while he spent about 80% of our time on the road tailgating the car in front of us. I was terrified that at any given moment one of the drivers in front of us was going to hit his brakes and cause us to go skidding into his rear-end. Anyway, never again!

[AustinRacing]

5 hours ago, seedy said:

Hogwash - the roads here are fine

I disagree. Infrastructure is not just about the asphalt on the road. To me it’s poor designs such as U turns on main roads (little allowance to shield motorists during the turn); getting on U turn bridges that force the driver to merge quickly; lack of roundabouts and traffic lights where required and many more. These design faults combined with what has been described already including driver attitude (me first, poor risk management skills) create ideal recipes for disaster. How many times have you seen band-aid solutions after an infrastructure has been built such as placing plastic witches hats on roads to direct or force motorists to follow a path only to see them broken off or bikes riding between them to cross over……..and bang!!!

[DaveC]

Absolute insanity. The guy was having a quite early morning coffee at Nai Harn. I know the coffee spot.

 

Wiped out by taxi mafia who could give a RA about anything because he is invincible. We knew the guy. He was harmless. About time driver education cut in but Thai is too dumb to recognize this.

[garyk]

best to hibernate during holidays . Preferably away from busy roads.

[thaibeachlovers]

10 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

If the flicking police would do their jobs we would not have such kaos, and if the drivers and riders would obey the traffic laws we would not have the needles accidents and deaths.

Indeed, but then it wouldn't be the Thailand that we loved enough to leave the country with cops that did the job and drivers that ( mostly ) did obey the traffic laws, and live in another country with very different attitudes to such.

IMO we can have sanuk or the enforcement of traffic law, but not both in the same country.

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, oslooskar said:

I had to go up to Bangkok about three months ago with one of my Thai in-laws at the wheel. We averaged about 65 to 70 miles an hour in the pouring rain while he spent about 80% of our time on the road tailgating the car in front of us. I was terrified that at any given moment one of the drivers in front of us was going to hit his brakes and cause us to go skidding into his rear-end. Anyway, never again!

My wife was so bad that I refused to let her drive when I was in the car. I was terrified that she'd deliberately ram other cars, she got so angry driving.

[thaibeachlovers]

3 hours ago, DavisH said:

What will never change is many moaning farangs that cannot adapt to Thailand and it's driving conditions. I personally hav no problems driving here and have never had a problem in 20 years and 500K+ kms. Never had an accident, and have never been hit by someone. 

Likewise, but I put my survival down to dumb luck. Can't count all the near misses I had due to insane drivers.

 

Agree 100% about the moaning farangs that think traffic should be like back home, while choosing to live in a country that is very different to the one they chose to leave.

[TropicalGuy]

Complex Causes for Thai Road Deaths = CULTURE

[SiSePuede419]

11 hours ago, webfact said:

Their highlighted accident was a collision between an SUV driven by Somchai, 44, that appeared to be a taxi and a Yamaha N-Max motorcycle driven by a 57 year old Swiss tourist. 

Gee, if you believe what you read here an expensive motorcycle protects the rider from all accidents, because it's so fast. 

 

Wrong. ????

[soi3eddie]

3 hours ago, DavisH said:

What will never change is many moaning farangs that cannot adapt to Thailand and it's driving conditions. I personally hav no problems driving here and have never had a problem in 20 years and 500K+ kms. Never had an accident, and have never been hit by someone. 

I would tend to agree as similar experience. Maybe the motorbiker killed in this case (RIP) never had a problem before either. All it takes is one lunatic driver and our lives could be over. I always bear this in mind.

 

[soi3eddie]

Very soon there will be "road safety campaigns" on TV and in print media about heightened police enforcement of traffic laws over the "seven deadly days" of the upcoming New Year holidays. The reality is that the figures on these days are not much different from EVERY day on Thailand's roads. There really ought to be accurate figures about total deaths and injuries and not just those at the roadsides!

 

[superal]

3 hours ago, bstafford214 said:

Totally agree, if the government officials can't do their job, we can understand why the citizens don't care to follow the traffic laws. It is a free for all and everybody only cares about themselves. So selfish and greedy here.

           So true . Seldom are you allowed/ invited to join the main traffic from a side road . There is no signal /gesture for you to proceed first .  Traffic light junction with say 3 or 4 lanes .  The 2 outside lanes are to turn right , good idea ? yes , accept when a truck in the outside lane is not turning right but going straight on  . Then the crazy U turn junction that allows a U turn from both directions which means that your vision is blocked by the vehicle from the other direction  . Oh and then as you are preparing to do a U turn , a truck undertakes you on the left to do a U turn , takes all the road space and blocks your vision completely .   Park your car and when you return you are surrounded by motor bikes all but touching your car and you cannot drive away . The list is endless .  Thai folk are a bit like Jekyll & Hyde , nice people until they use a motor vehicle . Many carry a weapon , I have been told . 

[joecoolfrog]

11 hours ago, wensiensheng said:

The Swiss “tourist” actually lives in Thailand and is well known locally as a keen cyclist. The taxi (according to the yellow taxi identification sticker on the side) apparently went too fast over the crest of a hill, lost control as a result of water on the road coming from a washing machine station by the roadside, crossed onto the wrong side of the road and simply smashed into the oncoming motorbike.
 

He never stood a chance and the motorbike was barely recognizable as such. Not helping the motor cyclists cause were the 3ft concrete posts newly installed by the government along the roadside only days before, but the car impact just crushed the motorbike anyway. The car ended up on its side on the grass verge on the opposite side of the road.

 

unfortunately I was at the spot a few minutes after the impact.

And will the car driver be prosecuted for causing death by dangerous driving , will a lengthy custodial sentence be handed down.....I think not !