Alarming Statistics of Child Road Deaths in Thailand

 

Save the Children Thailand has issued an urgent plea for action after revealing that one in three child deaths in Thailand are caused by road accidents. Over the past decade, more than 26,930 children have tragically died in road crashes, highlighting the severity of the problem.

 

Road traffic accidents are now recognized as a leading cause of death for individuals aged 5 to 29 globally, with Thailand being a particularly affected nation. This data is supported by the Global Alliance – Cities 4 Children 2023 report, which emphasizes the need for immediate intervention to address this growing crisis

Call for Stronger Safety Measures

In response to these alarming statistics, Save the Children Thailand has called for a stronger and more coordinated effort to tackle child road deaths.

 

Executive Director Guillaume Rachou stressed the importance of risk assessments for children's activities, especially those that involve travel, such as school commutes and field trips.

 

He emphasized that accidents are not just unfortunate coincidences but are often preventable through proper planning and precautionary measures.

 

“Each activity involving children must include thorough risk checks," Mr. Rachou stated, advocating for a proactive approach to safety.

Physical Measures and Emergency Preparedness

Mr. Rachou also highlighted the need for concrete physical measures beyond mere safety guidelines. These include ensuring that drivers are properly qualified, vehicles are equipped with essential safety features, and that emergency response drills are conducted regularly. Such precautions, he argued, would significantly reduce the risks faced by children on the road

 

FILE photo courtesy: Thai Rath

 

In addition, he called for a culture of safety awareness to be instilled in schools. By teaching children their rights and protective practices, schools can foster an environment where both physical and mental safety are prioritized. This education would not only prevent road accidents but also equip children with the knowledge to avoid various other hazards.

The Safe Systems Approach

Central to Save the Children’s strategy is the adoption of the "Safe Systems Approach." This framework focuses on implementing high standards for vehicle safety, improving driver skills, and continuously monitoring road conditions.

 

The Safe Systems Approach has been proven effective in reducing child road injuries, with certain developing countries seeing a 47% decrease in child-related traffic incidents after its implementation. The charity is urging Thailand to adopt this approach on a national scale to safeguard children from preventable road accidents.

A Call for Collective Action

Mr. Rachou emphasized that solving this issue requires collaboration from all sectors of society. “The government, parents, schools, and agencies must unite,” he said. “Only through collective effort can we ensure that child casualties on the road become a thing of the past.”

 

Save the Children is advocating for immediate and sustained action, urging both public and private sectors to take responsibility for creating a safer environment for Thailand's youth.

 

The organization aims to see improvements in road safety policies, better enforcement of regulations, and increased awareness campaigns that will save lives and prevent further tragedy.

 

Conclusion

 

The rising number of child road deaths in Thailand is a pressing issue that demands urgent attention. Save the Children's call to action serves as a crucial reminder that the safety of children on the road is a collective responsibility. By implementing comprehensive safety measures and fostering a culture of awareness, Thailand can drastically reduce child casualties and create a safer future for its young population, reported TNA-MCOT.

 

Picture courtesy: TNA-MCOT

 

-- 2024-10-03

 

What can you expect over overloaded schoolbusses even older than the one of the fire, or just open vans crowded with kids, standing in the back of the van,, no seatbelts, no protection and even a bench in the middle of the van for more kids that is not even fastened or screwed for safety.. they will swirl through the van ... But nobody cares... as I wrote yesterday  the mai pen rai attitude is a distaster for Thailand and nobody really nobody will take any responsibility for what so ever... Always others to blame, the weather, the road, the brakes, the cellphone, the wind, an other driver .....  

Every now an then (evidently 26,930 times in the past 10 years), regular Thai families get a swift yet life altering punch to the gut to remind them that their regulators aren't regulating. I wonder if someday they will have had enough.

I always cringe so hard when I see some parents speeding on their motorbike with one or more little kids (probably no helmet too). I understand if you can't afford a car but you don't need to drive like a fool either. That's just being low IQ frankly.

 

Road safety is beyond much of the Thai population. Most adults here drive like we did when we were 16, young dumb and full of cum. If you can't figure out what a safe speed when driving is and respect basic rules by the time you're old enough to have kids you're beyond help.

2 minutes ago, SbuxPlease said:

Every now an then (evidently 26,930 times in the past 10 years), regular Thai families get a swift yet life altering punch to the gut to remind them that their regulators aren't regulating. I wonder if someday they will have had enough.

They're part of the problem. They would throw such a fit if they couldn't speed and drive dangerously. Seriously you can't help you these people unless they want to be helped.

2 hours ago, webfact said:

He emphasized that accidents are not just unfortunate coincidences but are often preventable through proper planning and precautionary measures.

 

No, what is needed is to shame the RTP into doing their jobs and enforce road rules and laws. They should be shamed, and made to lose "face" in the public eye, for dereliction of duty. Their King gave them the "traffic act", it was signed by him and made law of the land, they shame him by not enforcing these laws and protecting his people. In fact, the whole country should be shamed for not following the laws of the Kingdom.

2 hours ago, webfact said:

 

In addition, he called for a culture of safety awareness to be instilled in schools.

Haha, watch the little darlings ride out, 3 on a bike. No helmet, no license and the police hold up the traffic for them. No one cares folks, it's just a fate! 

 

Oh, and the police can't be shamed here, they are beyond all that, a law unto themselves. 

Nowhere else in the world have I seen people consistency take the kinds of chances and risks in the road, that they take here, with their families in the car. Nowhere. When they could have waited four seconds to make the uturn or turn onto the highway, and have a completely clear path, they instead choose to take a tremendous risk. It is beyond comprehension. I see it all the time. My eyes do not lie to me. This rarely ever happens to me in the US.

 

If I decide to cut you off on a highway, when you are going 120kph, and I am making a u-turn, and there was plenty of room behind you for me to make a safe turn, is that an error, if it results in a horrific, fatal accident, and I take the lives of you and your family? 

 

Sometimes an error is wearing white after Labor day in New York City. And sometimes an error is invading Russia before the oncoming winter. 

 

It most certainly has something to do with the inability to visualize. Neither the future, nor the hypothetical. What will happen in this scenario? What about this? What about that? What are the inherent risks involved in piloting my bike, car or truck onto the safety lane of a major highway, in the wrong direction, with big trucks coming at me at 100kph? Or onto a lane of a major highway, with oncoming traffic going 120kph? Is it worth sacrificing my life, or my ability to walk for the rest of my life? How will my death affect my kids? Hold on, what about the lives of my wife, kids and sister who are in the vehicle with me, and I am responsible for their safety. Wow. That would be a big loss. An entire family. Maybe I should act like an adult, and be prudent and careful.

 

2 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

What can you expect over overloaded schoolbusses even older than the one of the fire, or just open vans crowded with kids, standing in the back of the van,, no seatbelts, no protection and even a bench in the middle of the van for more kids that is not even fastened or screwed for safety.. they will swirl through the van ... But nobody cares... as I wrote yesterday  the mai pen rai attitude is a distaster for Thailand and nobody really nobody will take any responsibility for what so ever... Always others to blame, the weather, the road, the brakes, the cellphone, the wind, an other driver .....  

 

I would be interested to know what vehicles they were riding.  

 

i.e. how many are due to riding a motorcycle without proper head attire or being secured to the bike?

 

I have a feeling that school buses are safer than riding motorbikes. 

 

Also how many are from ikd riding bikes that they shouldnot be with too many passengers.

 

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Nowhere else in the world have I seen people consistency take the kinds of chances and risks in the road, that they take here,

Come to the Philippines Mike, just the same. Pulling out onto a highway, on a motirbike to save 10 seconds. Sometimes I want to be driving one of those 2 ton Jeepney! 

It’s down to lack of education, lack of regulation/enforcement, and lack of will to campaign for change.

 

Many parents let their kids ride motorcycles to school under age and without helmets, multiple passengers. Even those with cars rarely have child seats or make their kids wear seat belts. 
 

in the U.K. they regularly had informative and graphic campaigns pointing out the dangers. I’ve never seen any of those here.

 

I blame the Government’s concentration on looking after the rich people, since it’s mainly the poor whose children are the victims. You can also see it in footpath (used by poor)  condition compared to roads (used by rich). 
 

Also why allow explosive CNG installations on coaches carrying the public. This has been done to increase profits at the expense of safety.

 

Until the majority of Thai society wake up and insist on these changes, nothing will happen. They thwart attempts by progressive parties to govern to protect their profits.

1 minute ago, biggles45 said:

Come to the Philippines Mike, just the same. Pulling out onto a highway, on a motirbike to save 10 seconds. Sometimes I want to be driving one of those 2 ton Jeepney! 

 

The difference is I believe they actually do enforce laws there, even if the people continue to ignore them.

What do you expect when you have kids 6 year old and up going around with friends on the back of scooters . None of who are wearing a helmet or have a licence.

Yet the police will ignore them as if invisible , but no problem pulling a non Thai over for no helmet to extract a monetary on the spot fine which ends up God knows where !!!

 

 

You are looking at another 25 to 30 years before any serious progress is made in protecting, not just children, but road users generally.

 

A sea change is required in attitude, behaviour, beliefs, laws and law enforcement.

16 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

They're part of the problem. They would throw such a fit if they couldn't speed and drive dangerously. Seriously you can't help you these people unless they want to be helped.

Not true.  Top down actual enforcement.  All monitored with real penalties.  Police officer without working camera or camera not on. Dock them 1-month pay.  Confiscate all unlicensed vehicles, and vehicles where the driver has no license issued.  All roadside stops must be videotaped and uploaded same day.  All of this for a very little change in current budgets and this could all be reviewed by AI and perpetrators caught, but they must then be punished.  That is the only problem in this country.  You cannot punish anyone.  You cannot say they did something wrong.  Defamation.   Government needs to bring Thailand forward 100 years, so they are equal to North American thinking from the 1950’s.  Right now Thailand acts as if we are living in 1850’s.

23 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

 

No, what is needed is to shame the RTP into doing their jobs and enforce road rules and laws. They should be shamed, and made to lose "face" in the public eye, for dereliction of duty. Their King gave them the "traffic act", it was signed by him and made law of the land, they shame him by not enforcing these laws and protecting his people. In fact, the whole country should be shamed for not following the laws of the Kingdom.

Very hard to shame a department that has been a waist of space for generations, Officers only good for cash collections.

21 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

No, what is needed is to shame the RTP into doing their jobs and enforce road rules and laws. They should be shamed, and made to lose "face" in the public eye, for dereliction of duty. Their King gave them the "traffic act", it was signed by him and made law of the land, they shame him by not enforcing these laws and protecting his people. In fact, the whole country should be shamed for not following the laws of the Kingdom.

Putting feet on table = loss of face.

Not enforcing safety regulations and kids burn alive in a bus = mai pen rai

11 minutes ago, kuzmabruk said:

Not true.  Top down actual enforcement.  All monitored with real penalties.  Police officer without working camera or camera not on. Dock them 1-month pay.  Confiscate all unlicensed vehicles, and vehicles where the driver has no license issued.  All roadside stops must be videotaped and uploaded same day.  All of this for a very little change in current budgets and this could all be reviewed by AI and perpetrators caught, but they must then be punished.  That is the only problem in this country.  You cannot punish anyone.  You cannot say they did something wrong.  Defamation.   Government needs to bring Thailand forward 100 years, so they are equal to North American thinking from the 1950’s.  Right now Thailand acts as if we are living in 1850’s.

 

 

Would not argue with a single word.....well said.....but none of this happen within a 25 to 30 year time frame.

It's all been said before, and will be said a million times again.

Tragedy strikes, the family tears fall and tomorrow life goes on.

As for the government they don't even weep.

 

The leading cause of death for 0-15 year olds in Thailand is drowning.

 

Concentrate on the real stuff, all these virtue signalling announcements are starting to get sickening. 
 

& cover all facets of child safety.

 

Meanwhile - officials, & the DLT should be held to account for allowing dangerous vehicles to continue using Thailands roads. 
 

It was Thaksin who instigated LGV in public transport - with an eggy face the family now has to back pedal.

Baby Thaksin has a tough decision to make - admit the ‘mistake of her father’ or abolish LGV / NGV in all public transport & enforce & increase certification of conversions in haulage vehicles & private transport.

The RTP are the absolute cause of all these road deaths & accidents because they don't do their job enforcing the traffic laws/rules.  Welcome to the Third World.

It’s a Faustian pact between the population who don’t have the intelligence nor inclination to include safety in their lifestyles and the authorities who will simply make the right noises and let them kill themselves - it’s no skin off their noses. Only a cultural shift will change this - it really isn’t worth reporting on anymore.

Obviously, a touchy subject in this country and has like most most have pointed out.

his heartbreaking and it’s a child that has to die due to the lack of instruction and safety aspects. I’ve been out on the road from riding a scooter to school with no helmet and no tuition in how to handle a road situation. Many times have I seen children riding scooters with a lack of awareness around them. I want some poor soul that kills a child is on their conscience for the rest of their life, even though it wasn’t their fault.
It’s just a shame that they don’t teach the kids from an early age in the schools proper road safety and learning to ride scooters safely

An approval that the children are gonna be riding scooters at an early age, so they catch them at an early age and teach themso they have a longer life. 

Is anyone surprised? First it's to easy to get a drivers license in Thailand, second there are more deaths in traffic accidents per day in Thailand than during a year in Sweden, and third, traffic accidents are of a higher risk than covid-19 were or has ever been in Thailand. 

21 minutes ago, fdimike said:

The RTP are the absolute cause of all these road deaths & accidents because they don't do their job enforcing the traffic laws/rules.  Welcome to the Third World.

I would say its the government who are at fault. The directives would come from them to the commissioner general on how they would Police

Well it's not surprising at all 

As soon as you step from the pavement onto the road 

You are fair game ! 

Thai drivers / riders don't like to stop or wait !

Head protection on motor bikes normally consists of 

Supermarket plastic shopping bags or straw hats

Children are balanced precaresly on the handle bars 

Whilst a case of beer or live animals are securely fastened to rider 

And rear lights are obviously an expensive option so not included in the bike purchase 

 

 

2 minutes ago, DjSilver08 said:

Is anyone surprised? First it's to easy to get a drivers license in Thailand, second there are more deaths in traffic accidents per day in Thailand than during a year in Sweden, and third, traffic accidents are of a higher risk than covid-19 were or has ever been in Thailand. 

 

That not quite the true measure... as motorcyclists contribute mostly to the road deaths here.

 

For example - per 4 wheeled vehicle the stats show that there area more road deaths (in 4 wheeled vehicles) in the USA than Thailand per 100,000 of population. 

 

While licensing is a facet - the primary issue here is the cultural approach to safety, corners cut, a lack of awareness and / or respect for safety.

 

Public vehicles (Busses) allowed to operate with LPG - this was a vehicle that has repeatedly been rebuilt on a 50 year old chassis. 

 

The issue in this case is not 'just' the driving standards - its systemic flaws across the board from training, to licensing, certification, standards and on and on...   

 

Its tragic - but look at how many kids die in ponds in rural areas while the grandparents are not watching - the issue of safety here involves the nation and improvement requires a cultural shift - this must obviously be lead by authorities and enforced by effective policing... but that takes a lot of effort and Thailand doesn't really like 'effort' when the results are no immediate, across the board society in general here is reactive not proactive.

 

 

 

No mention of the 1 drowned every day 

When we visit my partners family we get some strange looks when we fasten our seatbelts when we leave and why we have a booster seat for our son.

 

15 minutes ago, stix40 said:

Well it's not surprising at all 

As soon as you step from the pavement onto the road 

You are fair game ! 

Thai drivers / riders don't like to stop or wait !

Head protection on motor bikes normally consists of 

Supermarket plastic shopping bags or straw hats

Children are balanced precaresly on the handle bars 

Whilst a case of beer or live animals are securely fastened to rider 

And rear lights are obviously an expensive option so not included in the bike purchase 

 

As general observations - 100% agree with all of them !!...  

 

Many fantastic things here...  but safety is most definitely one of them.

 

 

As you pointed out - Crossing the road. 

Remember the Dr who was killed crossing the road in Jan 2022..  There was lots of talk, lots of announcements, lots of talk of enforcing the rules... they even painted a couple of padestrian crossings with a fresh lick of paint...

... Cross a road today and as you highlighted - as soon as we step onto a road we are 'fair game' *i.e. almost a target !!...

In truth nothing was done to improve pedestrian safety and the reality of that truth is that nothing was don't because not enough important people (people of decision making power) cared enough to make the efforts to effect change. 

 

... Thailand - Apathy here is great...  it means life is chilled but that double edged sword means the same levels of apathy result in carelessness and ultimately needless deaths.