Thailand does the math: Two are dying per hour on the Thai roads

[webfact]

 

 

Thai PBS had a report about the appalling state of the Thai Roads.

 

And they did the math with the help of a safety expert about the sheer numbers of people dying from all age groups in Thai society.

 

Withaya Chartbanchachai said that 17,831 people died in 2020.

 

49 a day.

 

Two an hour. 

 

24/7, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year etc....

 

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The feature story also contained details of how the victims of the carnage on the Thai roads are getting older.

 

In the past it has always been that the younger people were more susceptible to death on the roads but now there has been a massive increase in older working people and retirees dying.

 

So much so that numbers in the different age groups are now similar. 

 

From 2020 to 2021 there were 34,788 road fatalities. These figures do not contain the first three months of this year.

 

It was observed in the report that encouraging Thais to wear face masks has been easy - getting them to wear helmets is quite another matter. 

 

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[DezLez]

I believe that the figures for deaths resulting from road accidents in Thailand are only of those pronounced dead at the scene and do not include those who die later as a result of their injuries which means the actual fatality figures are even higher/worse!

[Enzian]

Walking around Sukhumvit I used to see a break in the traffic and think I can make it! I can make it! now I think do I want to risk my life to save 30 seconds? Which makes me wonder if pedestrian deaths have gone down at all.

[Excel]

1 minute ago, DezLez said:

I believe that the figures for deaths resulting from road accidents in Thailand are only of those pronounced dead at the scene and do not include those who die later as a result of their injuries which means the actual fatality figures are even higher/worse!

You are correct.  Perhaps deaths that can be attributed as a result of a road traffic accidents are more like twice the published number perhaps. Who knows ?  No one it seems and certainly this government does not care.

[KhunBENQ]

And those numbers are from 2020. The lockdown/shutdown year. 49/day is much below previous avarage of 60 to 70/day.

[Dmaxdan]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

It was observed in the report that encouraging Thais to wear face masks has been easy - getting them to wear helmets is quite another matter

They should bring in a new law making motorcyclists wear a face mask on the outside of a crash helmet. Then they will have no choice but to wear a one.

[bbko]

"More than 20,000 people died on xxxxxxxxx roads in the first six months of 2021,

 

Thailand or the USA?

[2long]

After more than 22 years here, I have 'got used to' quite a lot, including the weather, language, food, culture etc, but one thing I will never ever adapt to or accept is the dangerous driving, or even the selfish parking.

For a nation of polite, friendly people who have the phrase 'greng jai' which doesn't even directly translate in English, it never ceases to amaze me how bad most of them are.

[biggles45]

This is not news, just a rehash of an ongoing problem. As long as you have a police force that is very lazy and corrupt with no desire to actually improve the road toll situation, nothing is ever going to change

You can pass as many laws as you like, but without enforcement and penalties it's a waste of time. 

Edited March 26, 2022 by biggles45
Typo

[vandeventer]

3 hours ago, DezLez said:

I believe that the figures for deaths resulting from road accidents in Thailand are only of those pronounced dead at the scene and do not include those who die later as a result of their injuries which means the actual fatality figures are even higher/worse!

The ones that die latter of course die from covid. We must keep the accident rate down.

[cardinalblue]

Thailand is a very easy place to live....The culture is very type B personality,,,,No pressure to excel or dot your eyes or  cross your Tees...It's a loosey goosey one where perfection is not demanded

 

Enter driving a motor vehicle where precision is demanded, systems are followed, gov maintain proper road infrastructure, people are well trained, and drivers are held accountable for their actions..

 

Road safety demands all of the above to minimize accidents and make it enjoyable to drive as one can anticipate others behaviors...none of this exists in Thailand and stats reflect that 

 

[Will B Good]

Doubt the data exists.....but it would be interesting to see how the numbers breakdown in terms of so many things:

 

Income

Vehicle

Alcohol

Speed

Location

Gender

Age

 

...but then again does it matter, when the root cause is poor driving skills and a total disregard for other peoples lives.

[khunpa]

It’s all about “Common sense”…

 

“Common sense” would mean police doing their job to reduce the accidents.

 

“Common sense” would require proper training before receiving a drivers license.

 

“Common sense” would remind drivers to not drive too fast and too close to other.

 

”Common sense” would mean no need for lucky amulets and car-blessings.

 

With “Common sense” drivers would blame themselves and not the brakes, when accidents happen.

 

There is no “common sense” here and there will never be.

 

 

[malibukid]

forget the cars, you are not even safe on the sidewalks here.

[apetryxx]

I have never seen anything more inane than folks roaring around on a scooter with a face mask and no helmet.

[TheScience]

This is fixable only by jailing offenders for even small offences.

 

Maybe sit in jail as little as an afternoon or a lifetime but jail is the only thing that will wake this population up. No fines. Jail.

 

Possibly impounding vehicles might help as well. Same idea. One day, month, year... lose the vehicle.

[TheScience]

3 minutes ago, malibukid said:

forget the cars, you are not even safe on the sidewalks here.

I'm almost smacked 2-3 times a week on the footpath.

[JimmyJ]

Does public school in Thailand have Driver Education classes?

 

If so, are they mandatory?

[JimmyJ]

Vietnam impressed me with the high % of people wearing helmets.

Not counting young passengers below driving age, I would estimate 98% - 99%.

 

I mentioned this to a local, who told me that when it became law there was not a lot of compliance, but then they began fining offenders...

Edited March 26, 2022 by JimmyJ

[TheFishman1]

Remember when they passed the law no riding in the back of pick ups that didn’t go so well nobody will ever say what the real numbers are people who die on the roads TIT

[JimmyJ]

9 minutes ago, apetryxx said:

I have never seen anything more inane than folks roaring around on a scooter with a face mask and no helmet.

Roaring around without a helmet is inane, face mask or not.

[RichardColeman]

Probably why a Thai driving licence is worth Jack S outside Thailand

[JimmyJ]

I see farangs without helmets in Chiang Mai frequently.

 

My unscientific estimate is at least 50%, probably more, young and old.

[billd766]

2 hours ago, bbko said:

"More than 20,000 people died on xxxxxxxxx roads in the first six months of 2021,

 

Thailand or the USA?

Just in case you missed the text of the thread, it was this.

 

Thailand does the math: Two are dying per hour on the Thai roads

 

Please explain what you mean about the USA in a thread about Thailand?

[davidmann]

1 hour ago, biggles45 said:

This is not news, just a rehash of an ongoing problem. As long as you have a police force that is very lazy and corrupt with no desire to actually improve the road toll situation, nothing is ever going to change

You can pass as many laws as you like, but without enforcement and penalties it's a waste of time. 

first. train the police to do there job. ,  then take all the kids of the roads. ,then do what some country do make the roads smaller not bigger.  ,rural. thailand. ,turn village roads into 4 lanes. ,very wide. ,  can you cross the road on foot. no ,cut all the trees down been there 100 years. ,so Mr Tarmac can make more money and kill more people. ,once. stopped by the police for speeding. ,for once going slow. ,i refused to pay. , said i would call the police.  , told to go. ,he was quite open about whisky. Money. my Mrs was very   worried 

 

[TheScience]

11 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

Vietnam impressed me with the high % of people wearing helmets.

Not counting young passengers below driving age, I would estimate 98% - 99%.

 

I mentioned this to a local, who told me that when it became law there was not a lot of compliance, but then they began fining offenders...

Vietnam lol.

 

Back in the early 1990s we used to sit on busy corners drinking beer and taking bets when the next accident would occur. There was an accident perhaps every 10 minutes.

 

I've got visited South Vietnam for well over 20 years and I'm sure that things have got a lot better but those were the days when everyone had a shiny new motorcycle and no one had a license.

[expat_4_life]

I thought Thais were incapable of math?

 

All the TAT and various other threads told me so !

[FinChin67]

I guess it's a national sport. Nothing is done about it. You can see how everyone driving a motorcycle is wearing a mask and not a helmet. It could be done... (same as for cars) but no, this is Thailand.

[prakhonchai nick]

23 minutes ago, TheScience said:

This is fixable only by jailing offenders for even small offences.

 

Maybe sit in jail as little as an afternoon or a lifetime but jail is the only thing that will wake this population up. No fines. Jail.

 

Possibly impounding vehicles might help as well. Same idea. One day, month, year... lose the vehicle.

EXACTLY. Take away their freedom and "toys"  That I feel sure is the only way they will learn to do things properly

[ezzra]

You often read about the police mounting blitzes on this and that here and there, but with circa 70 millions Thai people all their efforts, and this is when the really try, makes a small dent in the abysmal mortality figures, what can be done? no much really, keep educating the masses hoping the will get it or recruit 10,000 more police, good police that is...