Thailand’s dangerous road status confirmed – again!

[Thunglom]

4 hours ago, worldexpress said:

Not a very credible report. There is no effin' way the US is third worst in this and I will bet my last dollar on it. You just need to visit a few countries to feel this in your guts.

Thai 4-wheeled vehicles have a lower death rate than the USA.

[bunnydrops]

Statistics are funny thing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate

[kennw]

13 hours ago, Orinoco said:

Thai people need to grow up.

Stop being selfish, angry entitled people on the roads.

They kill there children, family friends and pedestrians.

and care not what they have just done.

Disgraceful how most Thais behave on the roads.

Drive down Soi 3 Sukhumvit Bangkok in the evening, what a shambles, "no parking" signs totally ignored, taxis double parking, and the latest; a truck stopped near mid road selling ice cream from a rear counter. Total absence of law enforcement. Is it any wonder that Thai roads are so dangerous.  

[2009]

15 hours ago, Orinoco said:

Thai people need to grow up.

Stop being selfish, angry entitled people on the roads.

They kill there children, family friends and pedestrians.

and care not what they have just done.

Disgraceful how most Thais behave on the roads.

Ah, yes, the good old, "Mai pen rai" conscience cleanse

[The Hammer2021]

Thailand is  very safe  compared  to many countries  I've been in. Something is skewing the stats. Saudi  is far worse than here..

[The Hammer2021]

1 hour ago, Thunglom said:

Thai 4-wheeled vehicles have a lower death rate than the USA.

Now that  makes sense. 

[Thunglom]

1 hour ago, The Hammer2021 said:

Now that  makes sense. 

Thailand deaths per 100k in 4- wheeled (private, buses and commercial vehicles etc) =  8.829

USA – deaths per 100k in 4 wheeled (private only) = 10.6 

-       [Insurance Institute for Highway Safety]

[Thunglom]

17 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

It is mind boggling that straight roads without a slope prove to so challenging!

It would seem you haven't really thought about how road design affects road safety.

In fact long wide straight roads invite various dangerous driving situations.

[Thunglom]

3 hours ago, bunnydrops said:

Statistics are funny thing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate

Stats are not facts, what is important is how you interpret them. If you look at the wiki stats, there are some important points often overlooked by those making conclusions in error about road safety in Thailand.

firstly check out the sources then look at the various stats offered for Thailand , then check the Thai position on the various tats and Baer in mind the this is jut one secondary source out of many.

 

Firstly these relate to road DEATHS – they do not include injuries either serious or minor spo  large part of the picture is missing.

What they include 

Deaths per..

• 100k inhabitants – Thailand 4th from top
• 100k motor vehicles – 102nd from the top  -  (the favourite figure used in USA stat gathering)
• 1 billion vehicle km – Not available in Thailand!

 

And Total deaths (estimated) for each country. They count 22,000 in 2016 which is 10,000 less than the current estimate over 2 years used by Zuboti

Edited August 3, 2022 by Thunglom

[Canuckluck]

7 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

America is not #3 in most dangers road status....  The article has completely mislead its readers.

 

In the article itself, of the 56 countries listed there are 21 other countries with higher deaths per 100,000 of population. 

I did raise a Spockian eyebrow when i read it.

Though every year we hear about multiple car pile-ups on American Interstates when they get hit by a snowstorm,granted you guys are not used to them as we are in Canada.lol

 

[cdnvic]

Traffic, and people who can't/wont learn how to drive can be frustrating, but please don't slander whole groups of people because some are a menace. We will continue to remove posts that do so.

[Balance]

14 hours ago, greenmonkey said:

yeah that surprised me too. People say that Thailand's roads are so dangerous because the police not policing and yet in the USA the police are 'policing' (or so I am guessing) and still many accidents. Any Americans here that can shed some light on why/how the USA got third? Be interested to know...

Posted from California.  The U.S. spends lots of money posting speed limits, and you have to take tests, etc.  There exist lots highway patrol cars but I do not see many on the highways.  In most places highway speed limits are posted as 70 MPH (115kph).  On a typical 4 lane highway, speeds in the left lane are generally 85-90 MPH; the next lane,  75, the third lane 55-65.  Tractor/trailer rigs speed limit is 55 MPH and is generally obeyed because of GPS monitoring by the companies and the risk of loosing a $100k/year job if you get caught. 

 

I drove for Lyft in San Francisco for 18 moths before COVID and it appeared to be a much more dangerous place drive that highways.

 

I rode a Honda 150 PCX in Chiang Mai for 3 years and the most dangerous thing I encountered was sand on commercial driveways. 

[hotchilli]

22 hours ago, webfact said:

What can be done to avoid road accidents and unnecessary road fatalities?

A change in government mentality, develop a real road/transport ministry with driving schools to be centered around the country with real lessons and driving tests by qualified instructors.

Then real road policing stopping any offending drivers backed up by courts who take the matter seriously.

Do I expect the above to happen.. NO.

[hotchilli]

21 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Disappointing as Thailand always want to be the first in the world.. A second place is not good.. 

Consider it work in progress.. 

[findlay13]

14 hours ago, Kaopad999 said:

 

 

Edited August 3, 2022 by findlay13
deleted

[AgentSmith]

15 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

There is something odd about the way they work out the score. 

 

On that list alone there are 17 countries with a higher road fatality numbers (per 100,000 people) than the USA.

 

On that list there are also only 3 other countries with fewer road fatality numbers (per 100,000 people) than the UK which according to the list comes in at 24th safest country. 

 

The weighting given to other facets of road safety clearly alters generates a misleading result as far as the USA, UK and other countries are concerned.

 

That said, on the list provided, Thailand does have the highest number of road fatalities (per 100,000 people) which remains a damning stat for anyone in a position of decision making and policy impacting power who actually cares. 

 

This map shows the road fatalities per 100,000 people:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate

 

 

 

 

 

Road safety is about more than just deaths per 100.000 people. In a city where many people take other modes of transport than a car a certain amount of deaths on the road means the roads are more dangerous than in another city where almost everyone drives and the same amount of people die on the roads as in the former city.

 

In other words. If a higher percentage of the population drives a car or motorbike the roads are safer relatively speaking if the absolute amount of road deaths stays the same. This means you also need to take the amount of regular drivers into account in a given country or region.

 

That said though, America being an extremely car dependent nation has a very high number of drivers which should mean their road safety is OK even if their death toll per 100.000 inhabitants is considerably higher than say Switzerland's where public transportation use is enormous.

 

----

 

A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It's where the rich use public transportation. ― Gustavo Petro

[phitsanulokjohn]

The Thais are soooo concerned about COVID they all wear masks,but are so blasé regarding road safety,don't concern themselves with the wearing of a crash helmet.

[Excel]

10 hours ago, Alidiver said:

Stop and help? How long have you lived in Thailand?

You should know that foreigners must not get involved. Call and ambulance and you get liable for the ambulance and hospital bills.

More than 38 years and if money is your prime objective in life I feel very sorry for you. I have stopped twice at accidents to provide assistance where I could but then perhaps I appreciate human life more than you do your wallet. On neither occasion have I encountered any issues with costs but on both occasions thanked by the rescue service who arrived later and unfortunately in one of those accidents by the family of one who had passed away. You must really be some sad sort of selfish person with your attitude.

[jacko45k]

8 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

Thailand is  very safe  compared  to many countries  I've been in. Something is skewing the stats. Saudi  is far worse than here..

I drove a lot in KSA.... it was dangerous but in a different way, high level of aggressiveness and impatience I found, and Riyahd really was hard work. But there used to be no women on the roads when I was there! On the whole, I would say Thailand is worse. Lack of policing and stupidity are factors here. 

[Road Warrior]

very sad . but it is impossible to educate Thais     it will never happen -- ever  cant teach m******* to drive  

[jacko45k]

4 minutes ago, Road Warrior said:

very sad . but it is impossible to educate Thais     it will never happen -- ever  cant teach m******* to drive  

I think you are wrong..... 

A strong policing input would be a start.....

They turned the UAE around that way when at one time road accidents were killing more locals than those being born.

Make the bad drivers learn properly, by taking away licences, ensure people without licences are taken off the roads etc etc..... but there seems to be little will to do this, while stiffing tourists is much easier and less odiousl

[blackshadow]

14 hours ago, Excel said:

The earlier comments were made accusing female motorcyclist of causing accidents, not simply having accidents that you described. So like the other poster ( whom has not yet offered any comment to justify his accusation ) I will ask you how many times have you witnessed a female motorcyclist causing an accident ?

good question......!!

[Nemises]

On 8/3/2022 at 1:20 PM, richard_smith237 said:

75% of road fatalities in Thailand are motorcyclists

And yet members on this forum ride motorcycles here. Amazing. 

[Lucky Bones]

Most car/pick-up speedos go up to 220k's/hr.

So, that is the yardstick.

Controlling the vehicle? Huh?????????

 

[jacko45k]

13 hours ago, Nemises said:

And yet members on this forum ride motorcycles here. Amazing. 

And what percentage of those are Thais? Likely over 90%.

Many ride motorcycles and survive......

[Nemises]

1 minute ago, jacko45k said:

 

Many ride motorcycles and survive......

Riding a motorcycle on the world's 2nd most deadliest roads? What could possibly go wrong...

 

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, Nemises said:

Riding a motorcycle on the world's 2nd most deadliest roads? What could possibly go wrong...

 

What you going to do, one has to get around.

[Nemises]

23 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

What you going to do, one has to get around.

A pick-up truck, a big one ????

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, Nemises said:

A pick-up truck, a big one ????

Oh I got one of those.... but impractical for some journeys.

[Ralf001]

On 8/3/2022 at 8:21 PM, Thunglom said:

Thai 4-wheeled vehicles have a lower death rate than the USA.

Thats because no matter how badly that 4-wheeled vehicle gets damaged the Thai's will repair and put it back on the road..... in the USA the 4-wheeled vehicle death rate is higher because they will scrap the vehicle rather than repair.