Trees Of Death

[Maejo Man]

The article below is from today's Bangkok Post, and what a waste of time money and effort!! The felling of big trees along highways will reduce the severity of motor accidents. No mention of all the concrete telegraph and power poles, or the massive steel posts used to support all the ugly bill boards, or concrete bridge supports that claim just as many lives.l

Then they come up with this little gem......

As an example he suggested the recent death of popular folk singer Kitthikhun "Kung" Chiensong, whose car slid off a road and hit a tree 22 centimetres in diameter. Had the tree been smaller, or not there at all, the accident might not have resulted in the singer's death.

Perhaps if Mr Kung had not been driving so fast or had more sleep the night before, he's still be warbling to his devoted fans.

Just imagine the Chiangmai/Lamphun road without any trees. Yes they do claim a lot of lives, but the road has been there for centuries, and was never designed for modern vehicles. Impatience, arrogant driving attitude, lack of sleep, excessive alcohol consumption are all contributors to Thai road accidents, and untill there is driver education, and police enforcement of road rules, fatal accidents will continue.

The final insult from this seminar was ...and that the proceeds earned from selling the felled trees be used on forestation projects. ...and we can all imagine that happening, can't we? .....MM

Trees fingered as major highway killers

An official from Thailand's Department of Highways has suggested that cutting down big trees along highways and roads would reduce the severity of motor vehicle accidents.

During a seminar on "Trees: Death on Highways" held by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, civil engineer Danai Ruengson of the highways department advised that big trees along some roads should be cut down to lessen the severity of road accidents and that the proceeds earned from selling the felled trees be used on forestation projects.

Sartrawut Ponlaboon, a researcher from the Thailand Accident Research Center (TARC) at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) said that such roadside growth unnecessarily increases the severity of road accidents.

As an example he suggested the recent death of popular folk singer Kitthikhun "Kung" Chiensong, whose car slid off a road and hit a tree 22 centimetres in diameter. Had the tree been smaller, or not there at all, the accident might not have resulted in the singer's death.

The researcher said according to a report, in France, Sweden, and Finland, trees of 10 centimetres or more in diameter are considered dangerous along roadsides.

According to statistics of factors increasing the severity of road accidents in Thailand, roadside objects accounted for 43 per cent of road accidents and 31 per cent involved fatalities, he said. (TNA)

[Yorkshire Lass]

This makes my blood boil.... such a lack of common sense by the Thai authorities YET AGAIN. We all know what the real issues are regarding road safety - why can't they?

[PeaceBlondie]

I worked with one lady whose husband (Ph.D. in highway design) was a co-inventor of the Texas Twist, that road barrier that twists down into the ground instead of impaling people. My landlord in Austin was a Ph.D. in highway design whose main job for the city was to route the roads around the biggest trees. Even a centuries-old road can be redesigned regardless of speedy or sleepy celebrities. Twenty-two centimeters in diameter? That tree was only nine inches across!

[tracker]

It is very ignorant to blame trees. Millions of years in existence, and the crappy biped human comes to the conclusion they stand in the wrong place. Many things to learn yet. But then: look who is reporting. The mass media... there for the profit of the ever-rich. There, for making sure the ever dumbing down people keep on reading garbage like this.

My advice: do not loose your energy or your emotions to this crap. Go and plant a couple of them. stop reading/buying newspapers... They are made of trees.

[slapout]

He went to the same school that fellow who said Thailand was too far from icecap for its melting to affect us. At least we can feel relieved that 43% of the time the driver hit something along side of the road and not a oncoming vehicle. I wonder if they count people hit by vehicles, as roadside objects? I hope the researcher made a note as to the recommended height of the stump after the tree was cut.

[thomo]

Impatience, arrogant driving attitude, lack of sleep, excessive alcohol consumption are all contributors to Thai road accidents, and untill there is driver education, and police enforcement of road rules, fatal accidents will continue.

Thailand. Driver education.

Thailand. Education.

Thailand. Common sense.

It's their country, who are we to come here and say what's best for them. Go along with it. Sure it's a shame if the trees on the Lampang rd are cut down but it's not our rd. It's their's to do with as they please, nothing to do with us.

[slapout]

Now Thomo, the new mayor of Chiang Mai has aked for our input as to road safety, traffic problems etc so all we are trying to do is express some thoughts which may be passed on or even noted by the powers that be.

[thomo]

Now Thomo, the new mayor of Chiang Mai has aked for our input as to road safety

Fair nuff.

No one under the age of 16 allowed to drive.

No more than 2 people on a bike. Including babies.

Vehicals are fitted with lights that work automatically

The introduction of a MANDATORY road safety/how to drive course before anyone can drive. You have to pass.

MANDATORY use of helmets (not the plastic crap things they wear), subsidised by the government as they can cost a bit.

Zero tolerance on drink driving, no alcohol allowed.

etc etc.

Instead of continuous 200b fines a system is put in place where each infringment is noted, you get a small fine for each and after 3 infringements your vehical is impounded for a week, another 2 in the same year and it's another 2 weeks.

So when will this be put into place?

[Yorkshire Lass]

Now Thomo, the new mayor of Chiang Mai has aked for our input as to road safety

Fair nuff.

No one under the age of 16 allowed to drive.

No more than 2 people on a bike. Including babies.

Vehicals are fitted with lights that work automatically

The introduction of a MANDATORY road safety/how to drive course before anyone can drive. You have to pass.

MANDATORY use of helmets (not the plastic crap things they wear), subsidised by the government as they can cost a bit.

Zero tolerance on drink driving, no alcohol allowed.

etc etc.

Instead of continuous 200b fines a system is put in place where each infringment is noted, you get a small fine for each and after 3 infringements your vehical is impounded for a week, another 2 in the same year and it's another 2 weeks.

So when will this be put into place?

When the sanctity of human life is valued.....ie never.

[BossHogg]

how about breath testing at all accidents? And random breath tests? greater police presence at night would be good, at intersections say.

[thomo]

So when will this be put into place?

When the sanctity of human life is valued.....ie never.

Well said.

Edited October 9, 2007 by thomo

[chownah]

The concrete posts they put alongside the road are hazardous and a motorcyle rider hitting one of these at speed would be killed or badly injured....so are the kilometre markers.

[thomo]

Yup, Thailand's a death trap. Let's all leave.

[Pantip]

Yup, Thailand's a death trap. Let's all leave.

How about planting more trees, concrete posts etc. at the side of all roads so that more bad drivers are able to kill themselves. This way we can kill them all without going to jail

[thomo]

Lets just make sure some of the girls are left eh.

[Pantip]

Lets just make sure some of the girls are left eh.

That's OK - not many of our ladies drink anyway. But getting back on topic, I agree with you - all the whinging in the world by non Thai’s is not going to affect things, in fact it often has negative results. It’s like Russians living in UK telling the Brits how to run their country, “Get Stuffed”!!

[p1p]

Going back some fifteen to twenty or so years, the UK authorities recognised roadside furniture as a major cause of death of road users involved in accidents. They made a concerted effort to rid the immediate road sides of such furniture, or at least minimise or protect the impact of such furniture as was deemed necessary.

The Thai authorities, on the other hand, recognise it as cheap population control following Darwinian principles.

[chownah]

Actually, maintaing a "clear zone" (as us professional transportation engineers call it) adjacent to the traveled way can be an expensive undertaking......the trees are just one small consideration...by US standards, Thai roads are a nightmare safetywise for many many reasons....I mention some of them to my wife as we travel along but she is never too impressed with my explanations...I....don't....know.....why.....

Personally I love whizzing along with the trees up real close and even arching overhead and wouldn't change it for anything....be a heads up careful driver and with a bit of luck you'll die from overeating.

Drunken driving is another story and those guys should be grounded stiffly the first time and permanently grounded the second time....in my opinion. (with the groundings being acutally enforced...of course....hahahhahahah)

Chownah

[richard10365]

Maybe they can tear down all the buildings that are infringing on needed driving road space.