59 Dead, 458 Injured in First Two Days of Songkran Holiday Travel, Bangkok Tops Fatalities

[mikebell]

10 hours ago, kwilco said:

Now is the opportunity for the expats on this forum to reinforce their bias with a load of bigoted comments about Thai people and display their total ignorance of road safety. Just because Thailand hasn't got it right doesn't make your opinions any more valid.

What a senseless post!  The majority of bigoted farangs bemoan the loss of (Thai) lives.  Because the majority of 'ignorant' farangs come from countries where driving licences are hard earned (not bought); where police enforce traffic rules every day of the year (not just when they are being paid overtime); this makes our opinions fundamentally more valid, especially as Thailand has blatantly not got it right.

[Tarteso]

Stay in home and far from these silly Hollidays a few days.. safety first.

[impulse]

12 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

 

Thailand comes in at 47.

 

https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/road-traffic-accidents/by-country/

 

And I still contend that Thailand ranks that high because it's at a precarious economic point where so many people can afford scooters but can't afford cars.  Any poorer, and they'd be walking or bicycling.  Any richer and they'd be in cars with seatbelts and 2 tons of steel.  In either case, traffic fatalities would go down.

 

I didn't enjoy driving as much in Thailand because the habits and etiquette are so different than back home in nanny land, but I rarely felt at higher risk on a per km basis in my pickup with 2 tons of steel and seat belts.

 

[actonion]

What happened to the road safety campaign?, as i mentioned before,they, being Thai use the road just like the rest of the nutters    so road safety campaigns are a waste of money and time

[Ralf001]

23 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

 

 

I didn't enjoy driving as much in Thailand because the habits and etiquette are so different than back home in nanny land, but I rarely felt at higher risk on a per km basis in my pickup with 2 tons of steel and seat belts.

 

 

I absolutely love it.

 

The lack of "big brother watching" alllows me to drive my vehicles to their limits every time I get behind the steering wheel

[Ralf001]

18 minutes ago, actonion said:

What happened to the road safety campaign?, as i mentioned before,they, being Thai use the road just like the rest of the nutters    so road safety campaigns are a waste of money and time

 

It is in action and working, that is why there is fewer deaths than normal non holiday times on the raods.

[impulse]

15 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

I absolutely love it.

 

The lack of "big brother watching" alllows me to drive my vehicles to their limits every time I get behind the steering wheel

 

I'm one of those guys that everyone hates that sets the cruise control at 5 mph over the speed limit so I don't worry about Big Brother.  I can drive for hours on a US freeway without ever reacting to another driver.  (I also ignore the ones giving me the finger as they blow by at a high rate of speed.)  Not so in Thailand where defensive driving is such a necessary skill.

 

And yes.  I do drive in the slow lane unless I'm passing an even slower driver.

 

[JensenZ]

18 hours ago, impulse said:

That's an annualized rate of 10,775.  Seems like there's fewer deaths on holidays. 

 

Or is there a flaw in their count?

 

We get the same nonsense every year. 

 

I can't get any stats later than 2021 on road deaths in Thailand.

 

Here's what I found from WHO:

 

• 2021 Death Rate: 25.4 deaths per 100,000 population.
• Estimated Deaths: 18,218.
• Average Daily Deaths: 50.
• Most Affected: Motorcyclists (83.8% of deaths) and those aged 15-29.

This would mean the first 2 days of Songkran resulted in under the average daily death rate in Thailand.

[Andytheburiramman]

I think the amount of accidents is higher than reported.  The reason I say this is, I live near a hospital in Buriram and over the last two days their ambulances have been going past my house every 30-60 minutes with all the lights and sirens on.  

[Ralf001]

35 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

I'm one of those guys that everyone hates that sets the cruise control at 5 mph over the speed limit so I don't worry about Big Brother.

 

 

Iam ok with poeple doing 128km/h in 120km/h zones.

Its the ones that travel under the speed limit that wil get a reaction from me.

[Ralf001]

5 minutes ago, Andytheburiramman said:

I think the amount of accidents is higher than reported.  The reason I say this is, I live near a hospital in Buriram and over the last two days their ambulances have been going past my house every 30-60 minutes with all the lights and sirens on.  

 

We can only process the data provided.

[Yellowtail]

I've been driving here daily since 2000. Up until about five years ago, about 60kkm a year. I think the driving and drivers, and traffic has improved significantly. 

 

I cannot speak for other countries, but I know that in the US, we grew up driving. You're on your dad's lap when you're 10 or 12, and by 14 doing a bit of driving in secluded areas. At 15 1/2 years, we got a permit, and at 16 a license. Middle/working class kids got jobs and bought cars or motorcycles, or their parents bought them cars while still in high school. 

 

We also packed ten kids in the back of pickups for a ride to the beach or the drive in, and plenty of kids had minibikes, go-carts and/or motorcycles long before we had licenses, so all the outrage from the condescending a-holes gets a little tiresome. I know a lot more kids that died or had their lives ruined due to drugs and or alcohol than I do from road accidents, but I do not hear anyone up in arms about the bars or the proliferation of weed shops. 

 

People here do not seem to start driving here until they are 25, if ever. 

 

 

[kwilco]

7 hours ago, mikebell said:

What a senseless post!  The majority of bigoted farangs bemoan the loss of (Thai) lives.  Because the majority of 'ignorant' farangs come from countries where driving licences are hard earned (not bought); where police enforce traffic rules every day of the year (not just when they are being paid overtime); this makes our opinions fundamentally more valid, especially as Thailand has blatantly not got it right.

And there is another comment that is completely uninformed and misled on road safety. Just a srmtring of cliches and cynicism covering the ignorance 

[mikebell]

16 hours ago, kwilco said:

And there is another comment that is completely uninformed and misled on road safety. Just a srmtring of cliches and cynicism covering the ignorance 

Where is Thailand in the league of nations with the most deaths from road accidents? 9th.

 

At least 20,000 people die on Thailand's roads every year, making them the ninth most dangerous in the world, according to research by the World Health Organisation (WHO). In the UK - a country with a similar sized population - the figure is about 1,800, according to the WHO report.

Is this informed and misled enough for you?

A cliche can also be a FACT.  You rail about my srmtring(?) but provide nothing to support your view.  My cynicism derives from 20 years of living full time in Thailand and reading bi-annually about the RTP's latest futile push to bring down accidents.

[Yellowtail]

1 hour ago, mikebell said:

Where is Thailand in the league of nations with the most deaths from road accidents? 9th.

 

At least 20,000 people die on Thailand's roads every year, making them the ninth most dangerous in the world, according to research by the World Health Organisation (WHO). In the UK - a country with a similar sized population - the figure is about 1,800, according to the WHO report.

Is this informed and misled enough for you?

A cliche can also be a FACT.  You rail about my srmtring(?) but provide nothing to support your view.  My cynicism derives from 20 years of living full time in Thailand and reading bi-annually about the RTP's latest futile push to bring down accidents.

For a statistic such as that to have any meaning, one would need a lot of additional information. 

 

I imagine the safest countries in terms of deal road accidents would like North Korea or other countries with citizens that generally do not own motor vehicles. 

 

[actonion]

23 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

 

It is in action and working, that is why there is fewer deaths than normal non holiday times on the raods.

 If you can believe their figures,     I'd like to know how  its working..... what have they done to reduce road deaths

[kwilco]

7 hours ago, mikebell said:

Where is Thailand in the league of nations with the most deaths from road accidents? 9th.

 

At least 20,000 people die on Thailand's roads every year, making them the ninth most dangerous in the world, according to research by the World Health Organisation (WHO). In the UK - a country with a similar sized population - the figure is about 1,800, according to the WHO report.

Is this informed and misled enough for you?

A cliche can also be a FACT.  You rail about my srmtring(?) but provide nothing to support your view.  My cynicism derives from 20 years of living full time in Thailand and reading bi-annually about the RTP's latest futile push to bring down accidents.

 

You cite raw fatality numbers as if they stand alone, but completely ignore context or standard metrics used in road safety analysis – like deaths per million inhabitants, per 100,000 registered vehicles, or per 10 billion vehicle-km. These figures tell a very different story when properly compared across nations.

What you're doing isn't presenting facts – it’s cherry-picking stats to reinforce your personal bias about Thailand.

Let’s get something straight: quoting raw fatality numbers without context isn’t “fact-sharing” — it’s alarmist noise that ignores how road safety is actually measured.

Yes indeed, Thailand reports around 20,000 road deaths annually, and yes! the WHO has ranked it high globally in terms of absolute numbers. But unless you understand how these figures fit into a wider analytical framework — one used by actual road safety experts — you’re not making a meaningful point. I doubt you’ve read any of those reports or know how and by who those stats are gathered…..

For real road safety assessments, internationally standardized comparative indicators are used, including:

Deaths per 1 million inhabitants

Serious injuries per capita

Deaths per 10 billion vehicle-km travelled

Deaths per 100,000 registered vehicles

Vehicle ownership rates per 1,000 people

Furthermore injuries are divided into 3 injury categories – minor, serious and fatal yet you choose to ignore that completely only talking about deaths  and not even understanding the significance of “per 100 thousand population”

Without all this, raw figures are just clickbait. Comparing Thailand’s raw death count to the UK, for instance, ignores key structural differences: Thailand has far more motorcycles per capita, more rural roads with mixed traffic, limited public transport options, and a very different enforcement culture. All of this affects outcomes. (do you realise that commercial vehicles are banned at times over SongKhran?)

But here’s the deeper issue: this isn’t about stats. It’s about your confirmation bias. You’re using cherry-picked data to reinforce a narrative you already believe — that "Thais are bad drivers." That’s not only intellectually lazy, it borders on racial stereotyping.

Road safety is a public health issue systemic problem and not a moral failing of a nationality. It involves infrastructure design, vehicle safety standards, driver education, law enforcement, urban planning, and data-driven policymaking. Reducing it to “people drive badly here” completely misses the point — and reveals a lack of understanding about what causes road trauma in the first place. Have you ever heard of the “5Es”??

And your claim of  supposed “wisdom” from long-term residency. I’ve driven over 400,000 miles in Thailand in the last 20 years too — but I don’t take that as license to make sweeping generalizations about 70 million people. In fact, long exposure often just reinforces anecdotal bias, especially if you’ve decided from the outset that "the locals" are the problem.

Songkran is tragic every year — but the response shouldn’t be to repeat tired clichés and share Facebook-statistics. It should be about improving data quality, pushing for policy reform, and increasing public pressure for meaningful change.

Anything less is just noise — and we've all heard enough of that.

 

[mikebell]

18 hours ago, kwilco said:

cherry-picked data to reinforce a narrative you already believe — that "Thais are bad drivers." That’s not only intellectually lazy, it borders on racial stereotyping.

Based on 20 years of interaction with Thai drivers; you can pick many comments written by farang writers about their experiences in Thailand and accuse them of racism.

Having said that I admire your very  full answer.  This from another reader ignorant of the wider issues you quote.

'Here's what I found from WHO:

 

2021 Death Rate: 25.4 deaths per 100,000 population.

Estimated Deaths: 18,218.

Average Daily Deaths: 50.

Most Affected: Motorcyclists (83.8% of deaths) and those aged 15-29.'

 

' a very different enforcement culture.' 

As regular readers know, I am fixated on two major issues that affect the quality of life in Thailand (whatever their nationality.)  Dogs and RTP.  This latter prompted me to write 'where police enforce traffic rules every day of the year (not just when they are being paid overtime);'.  Using UK again with which I was familiar, (20 years ago)  when seatbelts were 1st introduced there was initial inertia.  A police campaign saw casualty figures plummet.  Likewise dogs roaming streets causing accidents and spreading disease has been all but eradicated.   The bad habits of thousands of Thai drivers (and farangs who have been driving too long) are reinforced by daily use, without ANY police interference.

 

[Yellowtail]

6 minutes ago, mikebell said:

Based on 20 years of interaction with Thai drivers; you can pick many comments written by farang writers about their experiences in Thailand and accuse them of racism.

Having said that I admire your very  full answer.  This from another reader ignorant of the wider issues you quote.

'Here's what I found from WHO:

 

2021 Death Rate: 25.4 deaths per 100,000 population.

Estimated Deaths: 18,218.

Average Daily Deaths: 50.

Most Affected: Motorcyclists (83.8% of deaths) and those aged 15-29.'

 

' a very different enforcement culture.' 

As regular readers know, I am fixated on two major issues that affect the quality of life in Thailand (whatever their nationality.)  Dogs and RTP.  This latter prompted me to write 'where police enforce traffic rules every day of the year (not just when they are being paid overtime);'.  Using UK again with which I was familiar, (20 years ago)  when seatbelts were 1st introduced there was initial inertia.  A police campaign saw casualty figures plummet.  Likewise dogs roaming streets causing accidents and spreading disease has been all but eradicated.   The bad habits of thousands of Thai drivers (and farangs who have been driving too long) are reinforced by daily use, without ANY police interference.

 

 

It is interesting that that the WHO would use deaths per 100,000 population rather than deaths per registered vehicle or per passenger km. 

 

Do you think it safe to assume that countries with a greater percentage of drivers on motorcycles rather than cars would have a higher death rate in road accidents?

 

 

[kwilco]

7 hours ago, mikebell said:

Based on 20 years of interaction with Thai drivers; you can pick many comments written by farang writers about their experiences in Thailand and accuse them of racism.

Having said that I admire your very  full answer.  This from another reader ignorant of the wider issues you quote.

'Here's what I found from WHO:

 

2021 Death Rate: 25.4 deaths per 100,000 population.

Estimated Deaths: 18,218.

Average Daily Deaths: 50.

Most Affected: Motorcyclists (83.8% of deaths) and those aged 15-29.'

 

' a very different enforcement culture.' 

As regular readers know, I am fixated on two major issues that affect the quality of life in Thailand (whatever their nationality.)  Dogs and RTP.  This latter prompted me to write 'where police enforce traffic rules every day of the year (not just when they are being paid overtime);'.  Using UK again with which I was familiar, (20 years ago)  when seatbelts were 1st introduced there was initial inertia.  A police campaign saw casualty figures plummet.  Likewise dogs roaming streets causing accidents and spreading disease has been all but eradicated.   The bad habits of thousands of Thai drivers (and farangs who have been driving too long) are reinforced by daily use, without ANY police interference.

 

 

Appreciate the reply, but you’re still kind of missing the bigger picture.
Yes, Thailand’s road fatality rate is high — no argument there. But quoting raw numbers without context (or understanding how they’re actually used in road safety analysis) doesn’t help. It just feeds a tired narrative: “Thais are bad drivers.” That’s not analysis — it’s lazy stereotyping.
And let’s acknowledge that most foreigner’s takes on Thai driving are built on anecdote and bias, not data, and the plural of anecdote is not data. I've seen it over 20 years too. Most people think they understand the problem, but they’re looking at it through the wrong lens.
You mention deaths per 100k — but ignore that 75–80% are motorcyclists. If you're in a car in Thailand, you're statistically safer than in the U.S. That’s a “fact”. The issue isn’t “bad habits” — it’s a broken system: weak enforcement, bad infrastructure, and lack of a coordinated national strategy.
The RTP? Yeah, they need a massive overhaul — but that’s not just a traffic issue, it’s a deep structural and constitutional one.
And seatbelts in the UK? Sure — but that was part of a long-term, all-out campaign. Thailand needs the same: real reform, not just blaming drivers.
Bottom line: road safety is a public health issue, not a moral failing. You want to fix it? Start with data, not Thai forum stats and old expat war stories.
 

[kwilco]

7 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

 

It is interesting that that the WHO would use deaths per 100,000 population rather than deaths per registered vehicle or per passenger km. 

 

Do you think it safe to assume that countries with a greater percentage of drivers on motorcycles rather than cars would have a higher death rate in road accidents?

 

 

 

No-one bothers to read the annual WHO road safety reports. In fact they DO use orh=ther statistics - one problem with Thailand is over the years they haven't gathered statistics that conform to international standards. They are changing a bit since Covid.

For motorcycle deaths which account for 75 to80% of Thai road deaths - As I've said before if you just take DEATHS per 100k pop for 4-wheeled vehicles the death rate is LOWER than in the USA.  This is an example of how perception is skewed by simply looking at death rates per 100k pop.

[kwilco]

On 4/14/2025 at 3:44 AM, JensenZ said:

We get the same nonsense every year. 

 

I can't get any stats later than 2021 on road deaths in Thailand.

 

Here's what I found from WHO:

 

• 2021 Death Rate: 25.4 deaths per 100,000 population.
• Estimated Deaths: 18,218.
• Average Daily Deaths: 50.
• Most Affected: Motorcyclists (83.8% of deaths) and those aged 15-29.

This would mean the first 2 days of Songkran resulted in under the average daily death rate in Thailand.

Statistics gathered during Covid can be quite different from before 2020 and after 2022.

 

there are several organisations and Quangos that are now gathering stats for road safety in Thailand. 

[rough diamond]

33 minutes ago, kwilco said:

Statistics gathered during Covid can be quite different from before 2020 and after 2022

 deleted

[kwilco]

Here’s a list of sources for road safety statistics in Thailand apart from the WHO
The list may not be complete but it is made up of credible sources you can use to find road safety statistics for Thailand beyond the WHO. They range from government data to academic research and NGO reports:
 
ThaiRSC - Thailand Road Safety Collaboration Centre - http://www.thairsc.com
This is Thailand’s official road safety data clearinghouse. It’s part of the Ministry of Public Health and compiles accident statistics, fatalities, injuries, and research by region, vehicle type, and more. Primarily in Thai there are some EL reports.

 

Department of Disease Control (DDC), Ministry of Public Health - https://ddc.moph.go.th
They re meant to collaborate with ThaiRSC. They collect health-related accident and injury data — including road fatalities, hospitalizations, and injury types by province.
Reports cover more than just death counts — they break down demographics and contributing factors.

 

Thai Traffic Accident Statistics from the Department of Land Transport (DLT) - https://www.dlt.go.th - Sttats on vehicle registrations, driving licenses issued, and technical enforcement info like checkpoints, speeding fines, and helmet/seatbelt usage.
 
Asian Development Bank (ADB) - https://www.adb.org
ADB has done road safety assessments in Southeast Asia region including Thailand. They publish broader regional road safety outlooks and policy analysis. 

 

Royal Thai Police (RTP) - https://www.royalthaipolice.go.th
Hmmmm – this lot collect crash reports and compile annual traffic accident stats but the data is soften inconsistent or underreported (especially with injury categories), but it’s still a key source for the media. Havr you ever seen and RTP rash report??
Their data is responsible for the myth  of data only reported at the scene. Others go much further than this

 

iRAP (International Road Assessment Programme) - https://www.irap.org – Very useful site; they’ve assessed road infrastructure safety in Thailand and rated high-risk roads. Good for understanding how road design contributes to accident risks.
 

Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) - https://www.bloomberg.org/program/public-health/road-safety/,
They’ve been partnering  Thai cities (like Bangkok) and NGOs to improve road safety for many years…. Reports offer data and also track policy and enforcement impact.

 

ThaiHealth (Thai Health Promotion Foundation) - https://www.thaihealth.or.th
A quango-like independent state agency that works on public health campaigns, like road safety. They produce public reports on helmet use, drink-driving, etc.

Then there is academic research - databases like Google Scholar, PubMed and ResearchGate

 

There is also a recently formed a Parliamentary Advisory Group on Road Safety. This was formed to address the country's high rate of road traffic fatalities and injuries - supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners, it aims to strengthen laws, policies, and actions related to road safety. The group is responsible for shaping and assessing legislation, conducting studies, making policy recommendations, and engaging with various stakeholders to enhance accountability and public interest in road safety measures. - https://www.who.int/news/item/17-04-2024-thailand-s-new-road-safety-parliamentary-advisory-group-takes-aim-at-road-crashes?utm_source=chatgpt.com
The aim behind this group is to the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030, which seeks to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030. Those more cynical note this is the “second decade” – actually there have been several periods assigned to improving road safety – thy have a habit of fizzling out! However this time the org is modelled on a UK model the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS).

 

There are also Australian and Swedish organisations tying to help and influence the authorities who have previously remained obstinately cloth-eared - https://www.thaienquirer.com/52314/opinion-inaction-on-road-safety/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

 

If you genuinely want to learn about road safety in Thailand you need to do more than just “Google” Remember to that on Google you need to have “research” skills rather than just a plain “search” to get fruitful results – such is the level of misinformation in the general media.
 

[mikebell]

22 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

 

It is interesting that that the WHO would use deaths per 100,000 population rather than deaths per registered vehicle or per passenger km. 

 

Do you think it safe to assume that countries with a greater percentage of drivers on motorcycles rather than cars would have a higher death rate in road accidents?

 

 

The main thrust of my contributions to the daily death rate is weak enforcement.  I have travelled to Vietnam many times where the numbers of motorcycles seems to dwarf the quantity in Thailand yet I have never seen a helmetless Vietnamese rider.

here I wonder what the numbers would be if Thailand had a police force?

[Yellowtail]

48 minutes ago, mikebell said:

The main thrust of my contributions to the daily death rate is weak enforcement.  I have travelled to Vietnam many times where the numbers of motorcycles seems to dwarf the quantity in Thailand yet I have never seen a helmetless Vietnamese rider.

here I wonder what the numbers would be if Thailand had a police force?

I'm not sure why people get worked wanting other people to wear helmets. I'm more concerned about all the week shop that I imagine you think are great. 

 

I do not think adults should have to wear helmets if they don't want to. There are states in the US that do not even require helmets. 

 

 

[JensenZ]

18 hours ago, kwilco said:

Statistics gathered during Covid can be quite different from before 2020 and after 2022.

 

there are several organisations and Quangos that are now gathering stats for road safety in Thailand. 

Yes, COVID (during lockdown) stats will be quite different, but if anything, they will be lower than pre- or post-COVID stats. I will look through your links and see what they tell us. I see you provided them in a subsequent post. Thank you!

 

Going way back before COVID, an analysis of average road deaths vs. the number of deaths during Songkran showed that the average daily road deaths in Thailand were higher than their posted deaths during the Songkran period.  

[kwilco]

2 hours ago, JensenZ said:

Yes, COVID (during lockdown) stats will be quite different, but if anything, they will be lower than pre- or post-COVID stats. I will look through your links and see what they tell us. I see you provided them in a subsequent post. Thank you!

 

Going way back before COVID, an analysis of average road deaths vs. the number of deaths during Songkran showed that the average daily road deaths in Thailand were higher than their posted deaths during the Songkran period.  

 

Again just concentrating on one particular statistic - i.e. DEATHS per 100k.  Traffic during covid was much lighter - so the overall number of deaths would be expected to be lower - the death RATE - well not sure and the gathering of statistics in Thailand has been very poor. One needs to know the 3 categories of injuries that are internationally recognised - minor/serious/fatal - Thailand failed to produce these on an annual basis for decades.

Realistic comparisons are made when you look at vehicles ownership, vehicles on the road, and mileage covered by each person. THen you need to look at the roads themselves and the type of vehicle - here the elephant in the room is the combination of big vehicles and small 20 wheels and other vulnerable road users on roads not designed for this- about half of all vehicles on Thailand's roads are still 2-wheelers. Also if you look at incomes, it is the lower incomes that are t highest risk on Thai roads.

there is one more factor tht ppeople tend to overlook and that is the state of the emergency services - form first responders partially qualified paramedics, non centralised ambulance services and hit and miss A&E departments the situation means that many crash vistims miss out on the "golden hour" and subsequently lose their lives.

 

Over the last 3 decades the death rates over the 2 major national holidays - January New Year and Songkhran, the death rate is usually lower  but not significantly - again one has to consider the nature of traffic - at the beginning and end of the holidays, people go to and from family and long distance traffic is common then in between many short journeys are done including driving through jammed street for water fights. Heavy commercial vehicles are banned or restricted on most roads to help ease congestion.

Police are USELESS at producing statistics and crash reports so the picture is seldom clear.