Teenage Brit Involved in Fatal Road Collision in Pattaya

[Mr Meeseeks]

On 1/29/2025 at 3:35 PM, NorthernRyland said:

 

Clearly something is wrong with this otherwise I'd recommend US abandon all traffic enforcement and speed limits then make drunk driving legal outside of specified checkpoints. That would reduce traffic deaths by 46% then?

 

The answer is probably due to the amount of distance driven or maybe the overall lower speed and defensive driving in Thailand. In US you can simply drive and expect people to follow the law but try that in Thailand and you will have an accident within minutes.

 

The Thai figures are a nonsense anyway as there is no proper data collection and deaths not at the scene are not counted.

[BangkokReady]

11 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

You're comparing apples with oranges.

People from the West should know better.

Thailand has very little education on road safety.

 

So, when Thais do it it's different?

[SAFETY FIRST]

1 hour ago, BangkokReady said:

 

So, when Thais do it it's different?

It's to be expected without being taught right from wrong. 

 

It's the stupid foreigners with the monkey see monkey do attitude 

[BangkokReady]

9 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

It's to be expected without being taught right from wrong. 

 

It's the stupid foreigners with the monkey see monkey do attitude 

 

So, it's a stupid thing to do, and the people doing it are stupid, regardless of who's doing it, but Thais can't help it?

[kwilco]

2 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

 

The Thai figures are a nonsense anyway as there is no proper data collection and deaths not at the scene are not counted.

only partly right - stat collection in Thailand is very poor but the idea that only deaths at the scene are counted is a myth....as you would see if you knew where and how the stats were gathered

[Mr Meeseeks]

5 minutes ago, kwilco said:

only partly right - stat collection in Thailand is very poor but the idea that only deaths at the scene are counted is a myth....as you would see if you knew where and how the stats were gathered

 

It is not a myth.

 

This article is from 2018, but there are many more, including from the BP. A quick search turns them up. 

 

At least 10,794 lives have already been claimed this year, highlighted Dr Taejing Siripanich, secretary-general of the Don’t Drive Drunk Foundation.
That figure is not a full count of the dead, Taejing said yesterday. It is based on statistics compiled between January 1 and October 21, and takes into account only deaths recorded at the actual accident scene.
“This means road fatalities are actually higher because some victims succumb to injuries later in hospital.” 

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/30356972

[kwilco]

1 hour ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

 

It is not a myth.

 

This article is from 2018, but there are many more, including from the BP. A quick search turns them up. 

 

At least 10,794 lives have already been claimed this year, highlighted Dr Taejing Siripanich, secretary-general of the Don’t Drive Drunk Foundation.
That figure is not a full count of the dead, Taejing said yesterday. It is based on statistics compiled between January 1 and October 21, and takes into account only deaths recorded at the actual accident scene.
“This means road fatalities are actually higher because some victims succumb to injuries later in hospital.” 

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/30356972

 

So ‘deaths not at the scene are not counted.” Is a myth - the figures during holidays are released by the police - but they make no claim to them being final figure only angry expat amateurs do that.

 

“Lies, Damned lies and Statistics”- Stats are not facts – tey are aids to understanding and it is how they are interpreted that is important.

There are quite a mix of stats available about road safety in Thailand but the ones you usually see in the media are firstly from the Thai police and later from the WHO. The Thai police could almost be dismissed out of hand and the WHO is usually misrepresented by the media as they only quote only the set of stats relating to DEATHS out of 100,000 population.

If you want to get an idea of how pathetically incomplete Thai road safety stats are just compare them with a brief look around the UK government web sites - https://roadtraffic.dft.gov.uk/downloads

 

The way statistics are usually gathered is usually governed by internationally recognised methods, but Thailand has had dreadful statistics gathering and collation. Their statistics are incomplete inconsistent and inaccurate – Organisations like the WHO have to try and make sense of them, but in some categories, the statistics simply aren’t available.

How they are gathered and applied in Thailand can be very haphazard.

Having said that, it is fair to conclude that the stats for Thailand however vague, are genuinely frightening and there is a serious road safety problem in the kingdom.

 

Other collations of statistics may include

• Deaths per 1 million inhabitants
  • Serious Injuries per 1 million inhabitants
  • Minor injuries per 1 million inhabitants
• Deaths per 10 billion vehicle-KM
• Deaths per 100,000 registered vehicles

Registered vehicles per 1000 inhabitants

 

Here are some of  the main data sources for road safety statistics in Thailand

1. Police Information System (POLIS) - Royal Thai Police
2. Department of Highways (DOH) – Monitors road conditions and accident statistics on national highways.
3. Department of Land Transport (DLT) – Manages vehicle registrations, driver licenses, and safety compliance data.
4. Thai Road Accident Data Center for Road Safety Culture (ThaiRSC) – A key database managed by the DLT, compiling accident reports from multiple agencies.
5. Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand (EMIT) & National Institute for Emergency Medicine (NIEM) – Provides data on injuries and fatalities from road crashes.
6. TRAMS - "Thailand Road Accident Management System,"

7.     E-Claim - Road Victim Protection Company

8.     Injury Surveillance (IS) - Ministry of Public Health

9.     Trauma Registry - Ministry of Public Health

10.  19 External Causes of Injury - Ministry of Public Health

11.  Information Technology for Emergency Medical System (ITEMS) - Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand

12.  Emergency Claim Online (EMCO) - National Health Security Office

13.  OP/PP Individual Record - National Health Security Office

14.  Death Certificates - Ministry of Interior

15.  Public Health Ministry (MOPH) & Bureau of Epidemiology – Tracks road traffic injuries and fatalities through hospital records and death certificates.

16.  Road Safety Directing Centre (RSDC) & Thailand Road Safety Committee (TRSC) – Collects and analyses data to improve road safety policies.

 

 

17.  Academic and Research Institutions – Universities and think tanks conduct studies on traffic accidents and road safety trends.

18.  World Health Organization (WHO) & Global Status Reports on Road Safety – Provides international comparisons and estimates for Thailand’s road safety situation.

 

These sources put together, provide a comprehensive view of road safety

 

They are seldom used or even acknowledged by the mainstream media.

 

  

[SAFETY FIRST]

14 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

 

So, it's a stupid thing to do, and the people doing it are stupid, regardless of who's doing it, but Thais can't help it?

Here we go again, you making up your own story. 

 

What ever you say, you are only here for an argument. 

 

Why don't you get off the keyboard and get a hobby, stop annoying others. 

Or better still get outside the weather is great this time of year, sitting behind your keyboard all day is bad for your health. 

 

[mattyc1957]

On 1/29/2025 at 7:18 AM, rocketboy2 said:

R.I.P lady.

Sounds like dangerous driving.

if that's so, hope he get jail time for this.

P.O.S.

 

You mean like the Red Bull lad? But I do agree with you.

[Reddavy]

On 1/29/2025 at 1:48 PM, Ralf001 said:

MAGA !

Yes.  Many Americans Great A**holes 🤷🏼

[Ralf001]

41 minutes ago, Reddavy said:

Yes.  Many Americans Great A**holes 🤷🏼

Butthurt much !

[richard_smith237]

19 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

You're comparing apples with oranges.

People from the West should know better.

Thailand has very little education on road safety.

 

But... Thai's are not stupid....      They are certainly not stupid enough not to know the laws that they 'should slow and stop at pedestrian crossings' and ride slowly / more carefully in area's with greater numbers of pedestrians on the roads.... 

 

Having worked here a lot with Thai's I can see how industrious they are, formal education may be limited across may facets of society, but that does not mean Thai's are stupid, far from it - they adapt very well and every Thai 'knows' to stop at a red traffic light.... or at a pedestrian crossing....  just as any foreigner (Westerner) does...

 

.... The difference for both - on occasions such as this, both Thai's and foreigners who speed, drive / ride recklessly, don't stop at crossings and jump lights etc, don't behave this way due to any lack of education - they ride this way because they get away with it and are selfish - the foreigners who ride / drive like this are selfish, and so are the Thai's to ride / drive the in the same manner.

 

There is no excusing Thai's for having a weaker formal education - they still know right from wrong, just as the foreginers do.

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

On 1/30/2025 at 2:49 AM, Patong2021 said:

How do you propose collecting money from  people who have no money? Most of the bad drivers don't have 1,000 baht extra.

 

That seems to be the ongoing 'excuse'.... 

 

..."Oh I fee songsān (pity)".....   for them, they can't pay their fine so we just let them go !!!...

 

Which of course means those who are poor literally have nothing to lose and 'ride' accordingly....  it is this weak facet of Thai Policing that enables further abuse of road laws...    after all, why bother following a law if they dont apply to you ?? !!!!...

 

Confiscating the bike for a few days would work in lieu of fining drivers who can't afford it - that could impact their bottom line and ability to 'earn' money.... BUT... there has to be some impact of enforcement for enforcement to actually be effective. 

 

The issue of course, confiscating bikes takes 'effort' and thus we have the Police who are both lazy, but also have this 'songsān' approach which removes any effectiveness they could have. 

 

 

 

[UbonEagle]

On 1/29/2025 at 8:47 AM, Ralf001 said:

 

7 motorway between Pattaya and Phan Thong...... I commute daily, morning and evening I see cars/pickups/trucks/buses etc etc pulled over by the highway police.

Pulled over to shake down money for rego/licence/no helmet, not actually stopping people for dangerous driving...

[Ralf001]

6 minutes ago, UbonEagle said:

Pulled over to shake down money for rego/licence/no helmet, not actually stopping people for dangerous driving...

 

Damned if they do damned if they don't.

no wonder the police do feck all here.

[SAFETY FIRST]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

But... Thai's are not stupid....      They are certainly not stupid enough not to know the laws that they 'should slow and stop at pedestrian crossings' and ride slowly / more carefully in area's with greater numbers of pedestrians on the roads.... 

 

Having worked here a lot with Thai's I can see how industrious they are, formal education may be limited across may facets of society, but that does not mean Thai's are stupid, far from it - they adapt very well and every Thai 'knows' to stop at a red traffic light.... or at a pedestrian crossing....  just as any foreigner (Westerner) does...

 

.... The difference for both - on occasions such as this, both Thai's and foreigners who speed, drive / ride recklessly, don't stop at crossings and jump lights etc, don't behave this way due to any lack of education - they ride this way because they get away with it and are selfish - the foreigners who ride / drive like this are selfish, and so are the Thai's to ride / drive the in the same manner.

 

There is no excusing Thai's for having a weaker formal education - they still know right from wrong, just as the foreginers do.

 

My initial comments are on topic, they were related to the article. 

I should not have replied to  BangkokReady, he's off topic. 

 

I'd prefer not to get into a debate regarding Thai drivers. 

I'm not here for an argument. 

 

The article headline and story is regarding a Brit, a British guy, a half Brit...whatever, let's leave the off topic subject regarding Thai driving for another article.

 

[SAFETY FIRST]

22 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

True that...  I know area's such as Pattaya and Patong etc attract more loons...   But, do you and your mates drive like that ?

 

If such behavior was typical of all foreigners..... then you'd be an outlier not driving like a nutcase... in reality most drive reasonably, its just a few nutters who make the news that you seem to be calling 'typical'... 

My mates and I do not drive like that but I'm (we're) seeing more and more of this poor behavior. 

I'm not saying every foreigner, I never said ALL foreigners. 

 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

29 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

36 minutes ago, UbonEagle said:

Pulled over to shake down money for rego/licence/no helmet, not actually stopping people for dangerous driving...

 

Damned if they do damned if they don't.

no wonder the police do feck all here.

 

I think its 'damned for the lack of consistency'....    when 'sometimes they do' and 'sometimes they don't'... or in fact more often they don't.....  then it opens the door for societal abuse....

[richard_smith237]

9 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

My mates and I do not drive like that but I'm (we're) seeing more and more of this poor behavior. 

I'm not saying every foreigner, I never said ALL foreigners. 

 

 

 

But you have said its 'typical' of foreigners driving / riding here - which implies most... 

 

I know how easily we can be jaded, especially in areas of higher tourist footfall as we see more 'poorly behaved' foreigners which simply adds to the conformation bias whereas the well behaved tourists continue on unnoticed...

 

There is also the 'media pile on effect'.... whereby a few events gain media popularity and of course, the media striking 'click-gold' now have their latest flavour of the month to draw in the readers - its a natural cycle.... particularly for 'westernise media in Thailand'.... 

... Its just not as interesting or doesn't draw anywhere near the attention or comments to highlight how a 19 year old Thai killed a pedestrian in Tak....      this, the information placed under our noses is very 'western centric' (naturally so of course).

 

I still think if we take 1000 western drivers / riders here, and 1000 Thai drivers / riders - a comparison would show the Westerners to be more careful...  but of course that might be my bias too....

 

Equally, so, if we were to compare the same for Pattaya and Patong, vs Tak, Uttaradit, Songkhlia etc - then we will generally see a poorer level of driving all round because in Pattaya and Patong... 'thats the mentality' the area attracts whereas other area's are generally more chilled....   but of course, even in those area's we still sometimes see the news of a 'pickup truck driven by a meth head stuck high up on a tree of having blasted through someones house'.... 

 

 

This: 19 year old Boy - just another example of a dumb kid driving too fast, possible drink or on something else too - So, on topic... specifically on topic - I don't think his nationality has anything to do with this...