Lax Law Enforcement Cited for Alarming Road Fatalities in Thailand

[impulse]

What I'd like to see is honest statistics of road accidents and fatalities by km driven, broken down by heavy trucks, passenger vehicles and scooters.

 

I suspect driving a car in Thailand isn't nearly as dangerous as most expats think it is, and riding a scooter is a crapshoot in any country. 

 

Once I got used to Thai road etiquette, I had no problems in my pickup.  

 

Edit:  And I'm a much safer driver back home, where the defensive driving skills I learned in Thailand stay with me.

 

Edited November 18 by impulse

[lordgrinz]

 

Quote

 Lax Law Enforcement Cited for Alarming Road Fatalities in Thailand

 

The understatement of the year, maybe Thai's can see the obvious after all, it had to be hammered into their heads with a sledgehammer.....but hey, better late than never. Now will they do anything to fix the issue? Not a chance in Hell, now move along, nothing to see here.

[Gandtee]

17 minutes ago, impulse said:

What I'd like to see is honest statistics of road accidents and fatalities by km driven, broken down by heavy trucks, passenger vehicles and scooters.

 

I suspect driving a car in Thailand isn't nearly as dangerous as most expats think it is, and riding a scooter is a crapshoot in any country. 

 

Once I got used to Thai road etiquette, I had no problems in my pickup.  

 

Edit:  And I'm a much safer driver back home, where the defensive driving skills I learned in Thailand stay with me.

 

Thai road etiquette? Where did you see that?

[Pinot]

The BIB doesn't have the training, the equipment or the inclination to do anything about traffic law enforcement. 

 

Nothing will change; it will just get worse. There is no money to be made enforcing traffic laws, or they'd be doing it. They go strictly for low-hanging fruit with traffic stops. 

 

The way they count traffic accident victims, not including those numbers that get to the hospital and die there, would make Thailand THE worst place to drive in the world. No traffic law or speed enforcement. 

[Peterphuket]

6 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Frustrating and very stupid.  What about the drivers?  It is all about educating people when they are in the 6th grade.  Then, continuing until they reach driving age.  Add, the engineering of the roadways.

The Cops could do more, but can only do so much the Thai drivers are totally uneducated about safe driving.  I bet many of thee accidents are follwing too closely and running red lights.  Following someone at 1 metere while driving 120 is a death trap they are so clueless.  Sadly, I doubt it will ever change I just stay to the left and driver very cautiously.

It is more what was there before, the chicken or the egg, as long as the police are corruptible nothing will change.
We all know that even when an offence takes place and a police officer passes at that moment, nothing happens.
upfront, I 100% agree with you that driving/traffic training sucks and therefore believe that something needs to be done on both sides but in the 25-plus years I've been here, I haven't seen much change happen.

 

[lordgrinz]

The people of Thailand will first need three things to happen before anything will change, none of which are present in Thai culture. In fact, number 3 below is so far down the list of importance to Thai people that it doesn't even register in their brains.

 

1) Common sense 

2) Care for ones safety

3) Care for the safety of others

[ChipButty]

Im no expert, but having lived in Phuket for at least 20 years and how the place has expanded and grown I wouldn't mind guessing there is nowhere near enough police to control traffic, we live in the south of the island in Rawai the police station that covers this area is Chalong so from Chalong how big is that area to police? at the moment we are only talking about traffic control, As far as I know it covers Kata and Karon.

Also have you guys seen them ad's on Facebook groups? Getting a Thai license, you don't need to go to the test center, they do it all for you, and are saying it's 100% legal, how can it be legal if you didn't sit the exam yourself? So licenses are being issued here in Phuket to people not qualified, 

 

I just found one of these ad's on FB, i cut the contact details out, 

Make a legal driving license 100% No need to come to the transport office to take the test yourself. We will take the test for you

- Motorcycle 1,500 baht

- Car 2,500 baht

- T.2. 3,500 baht

- T.3. 4,500 baht

- T.4. 5,500 baht No need to come to the transport office to take the test yourself. We will take the test for you. Interested in getting a driving license

Edited November 18 by ChipButty

[ChipButty]

8 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

The people of Thailand will first need three things to happen before anything will change, none of which are present in Thai culture. In fact, number 3 below is so far down the list of importance to Thai people that it doesn't even register in their brains.

 

1) Common sense 

2) Care for ones safety

3) Care for the safety of others

You obviously have met the wrong people, stay out of bars, 

[lordgrinz]

1 minute ago, ChipButty said:

Im no expert, but having lived in Phuket for at least 20 years and how the place has expanded and grown I wouldn't mind guessing there is nowhere near enough police to control traffic, we live in the south of the island in Rawai the police station that covers this area is Chalong so from Chalong how big is that area to police? at the moment we are only talking about traffic control, As far as I know it covers Kata and Karon.

Also have you guys seen them ad's on Facebook groups? Getting a Thai license, you don't need to go to the test center, they do it all for you, and are saying it's 100% legal, how can it be legal if you didn't sit the exam yourself? So licenses are being issued here in Phuket to people not qualified, 

 

Not sure about RTP per area, but I once did a lookup of the RTP to population ratios of Thailand vs the USA (per 100,000 population), they were almost identical. Which begs the question, where are all these RTP officers, and what are they doing all day?

[lordgrinz]

2 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

You obviously have met the wrong people, stay out of bars, 

 

Haven't been in a bar in almost 35 years, and I stand by my post, some people just have blinders on.

[ChipButty]

1 minute ago, lordgrinz said:

 

Haven't been in a bar in almost 35 years, and I stand by my post, some people just have blinders on.

Blinkers, old chap

[Xonax]

First of all, enforcing the traffic laws would require an active and proactive police force!

[alanrchase]

4 hours ago, NedR69 said:

I agree.  Enforcement - what will that consist of?  Road blocks to check for compliance won't do much.  Thai police don't have vehicles to actively patrol the highways and roads...a little 160 cc motorbike won't be pursuing any speeding or reckless violators. Thai culture has very limited understanding of safety risks - even motorbike cops ride with a helmet that isn't buckled, or just loosely attached. Sensitive to "someone looked at me", most cars have blacked out windows and insanely have tint on the front that limits nite time visibility.  It ain't gonna change, not for traffic violations, crashes or fatalities.  

Local police have 160 and 300cc bikes, highway police have 1,000cc bikes.

[lordgrinz]

1 minute ago, Xonax said:

First of all, enforcing the traffic laws would require an active and proactive police force!

 

Which means its doomed to failure here in Thailand, but I think culture needs to change as well, but that's obviously another doomed endeavor.

[Ralf001]

4 hours ago, NedR69 said:

  Thai police don't have vehicles to actively patrol the highways and roads.

 

Utter nonsense.

[watchcat]

3 hours ago, loong said:

I don't know how it can be changed, but this attitude of total lack of any kind of consideration for others when driving as well as in all other aspects of life needs to be changed

 

As this will take more than a hundred years, I can't be interested. If they want to kill themselves on the roads, let them.

Edited November 18 by watchcat

[Andyfez]

Identifying the culprit is also an issue.

So many drivers deliberately remove their registration plate, or simply spray it white so it's hard to read.

Big fines for this!

Also.... Ghost riders - heavy fines for not having working rear lights on motorbikes.

[lordgrinz]

4 minutes ago, watchcat said:

 

As this will take more than a hundred years, I can't be interested. If they want to kill themselves on the roads, let them.

 

Pretty much the same attitude I have, done with this country, let them do whatever they want. We live among barbarians, they have no intentions of becoming a civilized society. We have the same issues playing out in some demographics in the West as well, the barbarians are trying to make a comeback.

[ChaiyaTH]

25 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

 

Pretty much the same attitude I have, done with this country, let them do whatever they want. We live among barbarians, they have no intentions of becoming a civilized society. We have the same issues playing out in some demographics in the West as well, the barbarians are trying to make a comeback.

Ever since smart phones became too much, it is humans going backwards. Funnily it is all around the same year 2014. The irony is that not only the real world 'died' since that time, but the real internet too from 2017.

 

Over half of all Internet and social media traffic is bots already. The giants not speak up as of ad revenue. Yes you read that right, over half of all likes views and comments are not real humans, if on YouTube / social media.

 

And now you can't see dislikes too, so let's say 60% disagrees, you would still see results as if they were a minority.

Edited November 18 by ChaiyaTH

[Humpy]

Lax Law !! What Law ?  Children on m/c's, 10 year olds riding electric scooters around town,   traffic controlled by teenage students wearing green overalls and black berets as other students leave the school gates to cross the road.... not a policeman in sight. Four or five on a m/c ,no problem ! Roundabout sign 1 meter from the roundabout near our local town. Police busy sitting in gold shops playing with their phones. Pickup trucks, clearly unsafe for use, are waved through police check points leaving the police in a cloud of black smoke. Dumper trucks with dustbin sized exhausts, no numberplates visible and spilling their overloaded contents, are clear to go through the check points. Very few drivers know how to use a roundabout. Time for the local police chiefs to get a grip of thier men.

 

[Sydebolle]

"Lax Law Enforcement Cited for Alarming Road Fatalities in Thailand"

Wrong headline -  should read "Absent Law Enforcement" - and in other places, where "Lax Law Enforcement" is applied, it usually gets bent more often than not with some contributions to the "look the other side fund". 

You're welcome! 

[watchcat]

37 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

Utter nonsense.

 Agree, when someone from the govrnment are  going somwewhere, they certainly have the the cars ready and officers in every soi to block thraffic. Silly, but thailand is and will be a banana rebublic for a century at least

[lordgrinz]

4 minutes ago, Sydebolle said:

"Lax Law Enforcement Cited for Alarming Road Fatalities in Thailand"

Wrong headline -  should read "Absent Law Enforcement" - and in other places, where "Lax Law Enforcement" is applied, it usually gets bent more often than not with some contributions to the "look the other side fund". 

You're welcome! 

 

The RTP is nothing more than a mafia, at least that is how it is currently run, and with basically no oversight. They should be disbanded and a new police force should be put in it's place, one with government and community oversight. Let them earn their positions by merit, not by purchasing it with ill-gotten gains.

[Cereal]

A few years ago I read an article that mentioned a large survey campaign about Thai drivers and their superstitions. A full third surveyed believed there was nothing - nothing - they could do to prevent and accident. It is the most extreme external locus of control. 

 

Drunk? Nighttime? Raining? Speeding? Texting on your phone? Running a red light without so much as a casual glance around? All of these?  

 

Nothing will prevent an accident. That's what the reasons are behind a windshield so full of amulets the driver can barely see out. 

 

You cannot legislate against this. 

[lordgrinz]

Just now, watchcat said:

 Agree, when someone from the govrnment are  going somwewhere, they certainly have the the cars ready and officers in every soi to block thraffic. Silly, but thailand is and will be a banana rebublic for a century at least

 

That's what I told my wife, we will never see positive changes in our lifetime, especially after what happen in the last election. We are decades away from even the most modest of changes, anything else is a century or more away. It's sad because other countries in Asia are quickly surpassing Thailand, either they smarten up, or they will sink under their own ignorance.

[kimamey]

2 hours ago, khunpin said:

"Thailand's ranking as having the ninth-highest rate of road traffic accidents globally." 

 

Oh, too bad. Thailand lost its face. 

But I'm I'm sure that's not the end. 

Go, Thailand, go! You can do much better. 

Ranking in the top-five is a goal that can easily be achieved. 👍 🤦🏼‍♂️

Only 9th. They used to be between 5th and 2nd.

[Bruce Aussie Chiang Mai]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

File photo

 

Advocates are raising concerns about insufficient enforcement of road safety laws, which they believe is significantly contributing to Thailand's staggering road fatality rate. On average, the country registers around 48 road deaths daily.

 

Speaking at a recent event marking the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, advocates pressed for immediate improvements in law enforcement.

 

The event, supported by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation at the Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre, threw light on Thailand's grim statistics. Last year alone, 17,498 people lost their lives in traffic accidents, illustrating a dire need for changes to road safety regulations.

 

Surachai Liengboonlertchai, who chairs a parliamentary road safety subcommittee, stressed the importance of remembering victims and pushing for systemic changes to prevent future tragedies.

 

The call for action is echoed by Ratchanee Supawatjariyakul, president of the Road Traffic Accident Victims Empowerment Network, who has personally been affected by these statistics. She lost her daughter to a road accident involving an off-duty police officer in early 2022.

 

Advocates argue for tougher amendments to the Land Traffic Act and the Vehicles Act to deter violators through harsher penalties and faster legal processes. Revising how driver's licences are issued, with more stringent tests, is also recommended.

 

Key proposals include capping speed limits in urban areas at 50 km/h, increasing fines for motorists who neglect pedestrian crossings, and penalising motorcyclists who invade pavements. Additionally, tighter penalties for drink-driving offenders are urged to include both imprisonment and fines.

 

Joining the discourse, Dr Withid Sariddeechaikool of the Food and Drug Administration cautioned drivers against medications that impair alertness, contributing to Thailand's ranking as having the ninth-highest rate of road traffic accidents globally.

 

Such holistic attempts aim to curb the nation’s distressing road fatality statistics effectively, reported Bangkok Post.

 

-- 2024-11-18

 

 

Leave things as they are, don't want to see cops on the road. Had a lifetime of that in Australia. More cops on road here will not stop road deaths only increase tea money collections.

Just drive like a Thai and will be few no problems. Either fast or get out the way.

If old saying is correct, "the good die young" we all be safe.

[Cabradelmar]

Yep. It's not even lax, it's nonexistent. That and the fact Thai drivers are poorly trained and tested before being licensed. Abysmal.

[digger70]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

Advocates are raising concerns about insufficient enforcement of road safety laws, which they believe is significantly contributing to Thailand's staggering road fatality rate. On average, the country registers around 48 road deaths daily.

DUH,,,, We know that already for at least 50 + Years.

Time that the government does something about this maybe in the Next 50 Years

[spidermike007]

Absolutely correct. In all the years I have been here, I have never seen anyone pulled over for speeding or recklessness. Get the useless highway patrol to actually patrol the highway. 

 

How about 30 days in jail, for any highway patrolman found in an office, instead of out there on the highway? Roadblocks accomplish very little, except clog the highways. It is a lazy approach.

 

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 at a formal event in New York City. And sometimes an error is invading Russia before the oncoming winter.

 

What if I waited four seconds for the highway lane to be completely clear, rather than just barge into it now, and risk everything? 

 

I don't make the kind of errors that result in bad accidents, much less fatalities. Why? Because I am very, very careful on the road, and very, very respectful of other drivers, their lives, and those of their families. That is a choice that results in NOT making very many terrible mistakes.

 

 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.

 

I don't think many Thais ever ponder thoughts like this. Why, I can't imagine. It is likely something we will never understand about their nature. I often like to say the best way to understand these differences in attitude and intellect, is to realize Thailand is NOT a foreign country. It is a distant planet.