Thai's Attitude To Their Children's Safety.

[yabaaaa]

Thais do love there children in general. but even my wife will go for a drive while her sister holds our 7 month old in her arms while sitting up front, even though we have a proper baby seat. It really worried me and telling her made no changes. really strange.. anyway, I went onto you tube and found a clip of what happens to the baby when you do do that. that worked, she now realizes that it is not a good idea.

Way back in 1963 My Mother thought too it wa s good idea to sit me then 2 years old on her lap in the front of the car (no seat belts then and probably no other choices available), the suspension on our then brand new car broke, I ended up going thru the windscreen and nearly losing an eye still got a lovely scar just under it, parents still have problems now from injuries from this.

[Bananaman]

I'm with the OP on this one 100%. Not to tar an entire nation with the same brush but there are plenty of folk in this country that don't put their brain in gear at all where the safety of their kids is concerned.

The gym I go to has a sign on the door that says quite clearly in English and Thai "No one under the age of 16 allowed in" and yet there are fools who insist on bringing their kids with them and just letting them run amok while they get on with their workout; irrespective of the plethora of potential hazards that are afoot. There's one guy who comes in regularly and always brings his son, who is perhaps only about five or six years old. Anyway not so long ago his son was sat on a flat bench, the kind with a barbell rack attached and I, admittedly through sheer clumsiness, caught the tip of one side of the bar as I walked past and it fell from the rack and landed on the seat (there weren't any weight plates on it luckily). It missed the kid by inches, narrowly avoiding a serious accident. Now I grant you that it was entirely my fault but had the bar landed on an adult the damage would've been considerably less than if it had landed on the kid. The father, who was sitting close by just didn't seem that concerned by the event and has continued to bring the boy with him as usual ever since. I guess the guy will wait until the kid breaks a limb or loses an eye or something equally nasty before he questions the sanity of bringing him to the gym.

[Moonrakers]

A few years ago I was up-country with an ex-gf of mine.

One day there where a load of kids running around and one of them had a knife in their hand.

I commented to my then gf how dangerous this was, and asked what would happen should the kid trip whilst running with knife in hand.

Her response was to tell the kid not to run whilst carrying a knife.

Of course it should not even have to be mention in the first place that a knife is dangerous, but to get such a response after pointing out the clear danger left me bemused.

[t.s]

i think the responses here clearly demonstrate what a smug and superior group of people the TV memebership can be.

get over yourselves.

you have grown up 1 or 2 brainwashed generations earlier than most of thailand. you have spent your lives in societies that have felt the need to write warnings explaining the dangers of the burning end of the mosquito coil and the risk in a hot cup of coffee. you have had the education drilled into you for years and now you believe it is common sense.

your mothers drank whiskey and smoked cigarretes while pregnant, were they stupid and uncaring too?

[PeaceBlondie]

I guess it is the fault of those westerners who invented the motor vehicles, over a hundred years ago. And it's the fault of Sochiro Honda for importing all those Honda Cub 50 bikes. Not the fault of 50 years of Thai adults driving them. Just give Thailand another 100 years to catch up.

[nikster]

And I've never seen a Thai walking TOWARDS the oncoming traffic, that would be too sensible to be able to see the traffic. Are you sure he wasn't walking backwards?

I have noticed that too. But I remember that teaching the walk so you can see oncoming traffic-rule was really indoctrinated into us as kids back home - lots of educational effort was put into teaching that rule and making sure every kid knows it. I guess the reason is that it's counter-intuitive. You drive on the left, you are used to driving on the left with your parents, you will want to walk on the left too. You can see that in any shopping mall. People will try to pass you walking in their "left lane" here and their "right lane" back in the U.S.

That's not an excuse to not teach it in Thailand of course, just a way of explanation. Just look at the broader educational situation and you can guess that they are not going to have this kind of thing here.

[Mosha]

When we got our pickup, I climbed in the drivers seat and started to buckle up. My wife said "Mai pen rai, police no lock". I explained to her about my friend Brian. He was driving a small van at work. The on site speed limit was 20 mph, so no one bothered to buckle up. He had a massive heart attack behind the wheel. He lost control of the van and ran into a post, and hit his head against the windscreen. The doctors were not sure which killed him, his heart or the impact. They did say though if he had survived he would have suffered from severe brain damage. He was only about 40 when he died. My wife always buckles up now.

[nikster]

Replies like this never cease to amaze me!! I too am from Birmingham and the pitiful way they have now controlled traffic defies belief. WHY DONT PEDESTRIANS JUST LEARN TO LOOK AND THINK. Car drivers have to do it all the time admittedly some dont,

Hmm... you haven't figured out why drivers have to watch out? It's pretty simple: When you move 2 tons of steel at high speeds, you have to watch out. You have to drive safely. It's your responsibility to watch out for kids playing on the road or even on the side of the road. It is your responsibility to slow down when you see kids on the side of the road. You must be prepared for them jumping in front of you. Foot over brake pedal, etc. Likewise, it is your responsibility to drive by sight (slow enough to brake if non-moving object on road) or by half-sight in one-lane road situations (slow enough to come to a full stop assuming somebody is going the other direction at max allowed speed).

If you follow those rules, you will never hit anyone. Co-incidentally, these rules were indoctrinated into us in mandatory traffic school. If you disagree with the rules above, you are not eligible for a driver's license. You agree, or you don't drive in my country.

Pedestrians should look out for their own safety. But they don't move 2 tons of steel, and they don't move at high speed, they won't hurt anyone by their own doing.

It's not that hard, is it?

PS: The drive by sight rule saved the schoolboy in the above post. The driver has to be slow enough to be able to brake in this situation. It's the law. It's also common sense. Just drive by sight, people.

Case in point is how I crashed my motorbike in the village last week. I was accelerating when out of nowhere a motorbike with attached shop on the side blocked the entire road. Both lanes. That's what it seemed like. In reality of course the motorbike/shop was moving at glacial speed, and didn't come out of nowhere - it was behind a slight turn in the road. It was my responsibility to be slow enough to brake for the guy. I did come to a stop in front of him, but only just barely, locked my front wheel in the process and fell on the pavement, got some pretty good scratching on hands and knees and a huge bruise on my heel. It was all my own fault though, and a good reminder to drive by sight. I am very happy I didn't hit him.

Edited November 19, 2008 by nikster

[Bananaman]

i think the responses here clearly demonstrate what a smug and superior group of people the TV memebership can be.

get over yourselves.

you have grown up 1 or 2 brainwashed generations earlier than most of thailand. you have spent your lives in societies that have felt the need to write warnings explaining the dangers of the burning end of the mosquito coil and the risk in a hot cup of coffee. you have had the education drilled into you for years and now you believe it is common sense.

your mothers drank whiskey and smoked cigarretes while pregnant, were they stupid and uncaring too?

So, you're telling me that it's not common sense for an adult to know that several tons of steel hurtling towards a child is a potential hazard or that anything excessively hot, burning or smouldering should be kept well out of reach of young hands? Common sense is exactly what it is and therein lies the problem, as this would seem to a quality decidedly absent from the heads of some members of the population.

[Eman]

maby he was walking in the middle of the road for a reason..

To get to the other side

[t.s]

i think the responses here clearly demonstrate what a smug and superior group of people the TV memebership can be.

get over yourselves.

you have grown up 1 or 2 brainwashed generations earlier than most of thailand. you have spent your lives in societies that have felt the need to write warnings explaining the dangers of the burning end of the mosquito coil and the risk in a hot cup of coffee. you have had the education drilled into you for years and now you believe it is common sense.

your mothers drank whiskey and smoked cigarettes while pregnant, were they stupid and uncaring too?

So, you're telling me that it's not common sense for an adult to know that several tons of steel hurtling towards a child is a potential hazard or that anything excessively hot, burning or smouldering should be kept well out of reach of young hands? Common sense is exactly what it is and therein lies the problem, as this would seem to a quality decidedly absent from the heads of some members of the population.

no, i am telling you i dont believe common sense is 100% instinctive. I beleive some is taught. Seatbelts, road safety practices etc are all a result of experience and education - education that is sorely lacking among a large percentage of the population.

bicycle helmets were not considered when i grew up, seatbelts were optional when my parents took me out in the car as were baby seats. The generations before me saw no harm in smoking or drinking during pregnancy.

there are no workers health boards to tell welders and employers that eye protection is required, just as there was no one concerned about black lung disease that killed my grandfather in the mines.

what is common sense to you may not be common sense to others - yet.

[Moonrakers]

Replies like this never cease to amaze me!! I too am from Birmingham and the pitiful way they have now controlled traffic defies belief. WHY DONT PEDESTRIANS JUST LEARN TO LOOK AND THINK. Car drivers have to do it all the time admittedly some dont,

Hmm... you haven't figured out why drivers have to watch out? It's pretty simple: When you move 2 tons of steel at high speeds, you have to watch out. You have to drive safely. It's your responsibility to watch out for kids playing on the road or even on the side of the road. It is your responsibility to slow down when you see kids on the side of the road. You must be prepared for them jumping in front of you. Foot over brake pedal, etc. Likewise, it is your responsibility to drive by sight (slow enough to brake if non-moving object on road) or by half-sight in one-lane road situations (slow enough to come to a full stop assuming somebody is going the other direction at max allowed speed).

If you follow those rules, you will never hit anyone. Co-incidentally, these rules were indoctrinated into us in mandatory traffic school. If you disagree with the rules above, you are not eligible for a driver's license. You agree, or you don't drive in my country.

Pedestrians should look out for their own safety. But they don't move 2 tons of steel, and they don't move at high speed, they won't hurt anyone by their own doing.

It's not that hard, is it?

PS: The drive by sight rule saved the schoolboy in the above post. The driver has to be slow enough to be able to brake in this situation. It's the law. It's also common sense. Just drive by sight, people.

Case in point is how I crashed my motorbike in the village last week. I was accelerating when out of nowhere a motorbike with attached shop on the side blocked the entire road. Both lanes. That's what it seemed like. In reality of course the motorbike/shop was moving at glacial speed, and didn't come out of nowhere - it was behind a slight turn in the road. It was my responsibility to be slow enough to brake for the guy. I did come to a stop in front of him, but only just barely, locked my front wheel in the process and fell on the pavement, got some pretty good scratching on hands and knees and a huge bruise on my heel. It was all my own fault though, and a good reminder to drive by sight. I am very happy I didn't hit him.

Drive by sight??

Of course, if all drivers on the road drove by site rather than by touch then there would be no accidents. I will remember to open my eyes on the way home tonight instead of closing them whilst listening to music.

At times it simply is not possible to react in time, for example when a kid runs out from behind a parked car.

I find it incredible that people are suggesting that it is ALWAYS the fault of the driver, of course in many incidences it could well be down to carelessness but not every time. I have had to react on several occasions to erratic acts from pedestrians that could not possibly be predicted and my driving carefully has avoided a collision but only just at times.

It is common sense:

1) Heavy, fast moving objects are dangerous.

2) Roads are full of heavy, fast moving objects.

3) Therefore roads are dangerous and due care should be taken.

How simple is that?

[Thai at Heart]

And I've never seen a Thai walking TOWARDS the oncoming traffic, that would be too sensible to be able to see the traffic. Are you sure he wasn't walking backwards?

I have noticed that too. But I remember that teaching the walk so you can see oncoming traffic-rule was really indoctrinated into us as kids back home - lots of educational effort was put into teaching that rule and making sure every kid knows it. I guess the reason is that it's counter-intuitive. You drive on the left, you are used to driving on the left with your parents, you will want to walk on the left too. You can see that in any shopping mall. People will try to pass you walking in their "left lane" here and their "right lane" back in the U.S.

That's not an excuse to not teach it in Thailand of course, just a way of explanation. Just look at the broader educational situation and you can guess that they are not going to have this kind of thing here.

As the UK had the Green Cross Code. Education, education, education, education is all that can be hoped for.

It is all very well to wonder at how happy go lucky certain cultures appear to be. Friends of mine in the UK bemoan how intrusive the govt is in their daily lives. In the UK school trips are prevented because of liability issues and many other petty issues that are contributing to making the UK a pretty staid place for kids to grow up. Somewhere in the middle is the right way, but undoubtedly many daily petty accidents and tragedies could be avoided in Thailand with just an ounce of education from the right people.

Efforts concerning seatbelts and helmets have been pretty successful if one considers the situation only a few years ago. I am always surprised that don't use television more to influence the population about drink driving, seat belts, how to turn junctions properly, and how to cross the road. Basic things, but since many parents never learnt these things they can't understand how to pass it on to their kids.

[sunreader]

All kids should be locked in filing cabinets for their own safety and only brought out on special occasions.

"My children are safe, are yourrrrrs?"

[yabaaaa]

i think the responses here clearly demonstrate what a smug and superior group of people the TV memebership can be.

get over yourselves.

you have grown up 1 or 2 brainwashed generations earlier than most of thailand. you have spent your lives in societies that have felt the need to write warnings explaining the dangers of the burning end of the mosquito coil and the risk in a hot cup of coffee. you have had the education drilled into you for years and now you believe it is common sense.

your mothers drank whiskey and smoked cigarretes while pregnant, were they stupid and uncaring too?

Yes and like sheep!!

[Richb2004v2]

I'm with the OP on this one 100%. Not to tar an entire nation with the same brush but there are plenty of folk in this country that don't put their brain in gear at all where the safety of their kids is concerned.

The gym I go to has a sign on the door that says quite clearly in English and Thai "No one under the age of 16 allowed in" and yet there are fools who insist on bringing their kids with them and just letting them run amok while they get on with their workout; irrespective of the plethora of potential hazards that are afoot. There's one guy who comes in regularly and always brings his son, who is perhaps only about five or six years old. Anyway not so long ago his son was sat on a flat bench, the kind with a barbell rack attached and I, admittedly through sheer clumsiness, caught the tip of one side of the bar as I walked past and it fell from the rack and landed on the seat (there weren't any weight plates on it luckily). It missed the kid by inches, narrowly avoiding a serious accident. Now I grant you that it was entirely my fault but had the bar landed on an adult the damage would've been considerably less than if it had landed on the kid. The father, who was sitting close by just didn't seem that concerned by the event and has continued to bring the boy with him as usual ever since. I guess the guy will wait until the kid breaks a limb or loses an eye or something equally nasty before he questions the sanity of bringing him to the gym.

This happened to me recently too. I just managed to avert a child being knocked unconscious (at the very least) in the gym. His parent/guardian was close by, as well as several other Thais, but I was the only one keeping an eye on his dangerous play with weights. The only response from the Thais was the usual ambiguous smiles. Next time I will just let it happen. I’m sure someone will comment that the Thais haven’t been educated about the danger of steel weights dropped on children’s heads.

[merck]

...

Edited November 19, 2008 by merck

[torrenova]

Thais do love their kids but they are just incredibly stupid in areas such as road safety (or safety in general) and that comes over to us as not caring. Even my missus had to be shocked and almost battered with a stick to use the baby seat on EVERY journey. Seat belts she wears now but not before.

I told her that if I ever saw her taking our baby without using the baby seat then she would never drive again and if she ever took the baby on a motorbike I'd chuck her out.

[Gaccha]

Fear. Risk. Danger. Fear. Danger. Help.

If you want to be wrapped in cotton wool then you are in the wrong country. It seems to me the danger is greatly exaggerated. In Thailand around 15,000 a year die in road deaths. In the UK, around 5,000. About the same populations. So, you scream, that is 10,000 unnecessary deaths.

But how are you comparing? By number of deaths per numbers of journeys made? By number of deaths per numbers of commuters? By number of deaths per total commuter distance? By number of deaths per numbers of cars on the road? By number of deaths per length of road? By numbers of deaths per distance travelled by cars? It may be the number of deaths in bangkok ain't that bad. Why? Because precisely because they are not lured into a false sense of security they have a bit of sense about them. They look around and assess the dangers.

Lets look at staid UK: around 1 person dies a year now in train crashes (ignore level crossing deaths, these come to around 60). Yet they still want to waste money to make trains safer. Why? Because a crash will make the news (it is a big, one-off event), generating fear and so demands for greater safety. Also, crucially it is out of the passengers hands, so it is a less morally acceptable way to die (with a car they are driving it so that is more acceptable). Obviously, the money on rail improvements should go on more efficient ways to save lives.

So how would I do it. If all things were equal, it's simple. You maximise the amount of lives saved with the amount of money available. If it costs 60,000 pounds per life to cut a road death and 350,000 pounds a life to cut a rail death then you choose, everytime, to save the road death.

So bring this back to Bangkok. The government has a finite amount of resources. Do you spend it on indoctrinating children to be more careful on the road or do you spend it on vital medicine in hospital? Well, what would you do?

In Africa, the most effective way to cut deaths is to persuade people to wash their hands, but this is not glamorous/ sexy enough, so NGOs and charities concentrate on stopping the spread of AIDS etc. Go figure.

[torrenova]

Gaccha,

It is not only deaths like you describe but accidents in general. Show me a regular Thai family without someone who died prematurely, has some deformity, has had a serious accident, has been bitten by Soi dogs, has cuts and scars from something, has motorbike burns etc. The list is never ending yet in the UK 25 years ago I knew no family which had any of those things.

My experience over many years in Thailand is that they have scant regard for safety. Just look at the clowns who ride bikes carrying their helmets ! This goes down to their care of babies as well. It is all mae pen rai and not too far off "just breed another one" if something goes wrong.

[Maigo6]

Back home we get the road safety brainwashing into us from an early age and it doesnt stop until we die.

wear Seatbelt,

Helmets, no drink driving

jaywalking

speeding

bla bla bla

Some of the brainwashing also involved being told people are stupid, idiots etc if we dont wear seatbelts, speeding drink driving etc. and we carry that over to the Thais.

I suppose it is a good type of brainwashing though.

I'd be curious to know if the graphic images on the ciggaretes campain is having any effect on the Thais.

But many people in western countries drive whilst drunk, don't wear seatbelts or speed or all 3 at once.

Guess how many people are done for speeding in UK each year, they know that speed cameras are everywhere, but they still speed, and get fined, increased insurance premiums etc etc

Now that's what I call stupid, maybe they just don't care, maybe it's lack of education, or maybe their parents didn't care about them.

[dumball]

Pray tell me 'Enlightened one' , what has your comment to do with Thailand where you just happen to reside ?

[Maigo6]

Pray tell me 'Enlightened one' , what has your comment to do with Thailand where you just happen to reside ?

Pray tell me ' Enlightened one ' what your comment has to do with this thread ?

My comment puts the original post into some kind or order, kids are kids the world over, how many kids are killed in accidents all over the world, how many adults are killed in accidents all over the world, accidents are accidents, and if we analyze them we can pretty much sum up that 99% were avoidable in some way.

I'm quite sure that as you have now moved to a progressive country like Cambodia, you won't have to witness such horrendous sights as 4 people on a motorcycle anymore.

Edited November 20, 2008 by Maigo6

[Maigo6]

Gaccha,

It is not only deaths like you describe but accidents in general. Show me a regular Thai family without someone who died prematurely, has some deformity, has had a serious accident, has been bitten by Soi dogs, has cuts and scars from something, has motorbike burns etc. The list is never ending yet in the UK 25 years ago I knew no family which had any of those things.

Once, I was stung by wasps after I put bangers in their nest, does that count ?

Oh yeah, and I've got scars on my knees from when I fell off my bike when I was 7 years old, I now blame my parents for that, they should have known better.

[mc2]

Back home we get the road safety brainwashing into us from an early age and it doesnt stop until we die.

wear Seatbelt,

Helmets, no drink driving

jaywalking

speeding

bla bla bla

Some of the brainwashing also involved being told people are stupid, idiots etc if we dont wear seatbelts, speeding drink driving etc. and we carry that over to the Thais.

I suppose it is a good type of brainwashing though.

I'd be curious to know if the graphic images on the ciggaretes campain is having any effect on the Thais.

But many people in western countries drive whilst drunk, don't wear seatbelts or speed or all 3 at once.

Guess how many people are done for speeding in UK each year, they know that speed cameras are everywhere, but they still speed, and get fined, increased insurance premiums etc etc

Now that's what I call stupid, maybe they just don't care, maybe it's lack of education, or maybe their parents didn't care about them.

The OP made the conclusion that parents are responsible for childrens road safety. But there is more to it than that, eg, government education and negative reinforcement through policing.

Anyhow, parents would be the targets of the reeducation , which would be passed down to the children "put a helmet on somchai or mommy will get a fine"

And there are always a percentage of the population that have trouble learning. Perhaps it is the teachers fault.

Edited November 20, 2008 by mc2

[mc2]

Gaccha,

It is not only deaths like you describe but accidents in general. Show me a regular Thai family without someone who died prematurely, has some deformity, has had a serious accident, has been bitten by Soi dogs, has cuts and scars from something, has motorbike burns etc. The list is never ending yet in the UK 25 years ago I knew no family which had any of those things.

Once, I was stung by wasps after I put bangers in their nest, does that count ?

Oh yeah, and I've got scars on my knees from when I fell off my bike when I was 7 years old, I now blame my parents for that, they should have known better.

They probably should have kept the trainer wheels on for a few years longer.

[yabaaaa]

Replies like this never cease to amaze me!! I too am from Birmingham and the pitiful way they have now controlled traffic defies belief. WHY DONT PEDESTRIANS JUST LEARN TO LOOK AND THINK. Car drivers have to do it all the time admittedly some dont,

Hmm... you haven't figured out why drivers have to watch out? (YES I HAVE I KNOW EXACTLY WHY) It's pretty simple: When you move 2 tons of steel at high speeds, you have to watch out. You have to drive safely. It's your responsibility to watch out for kids playing on the road or even on the side of the road. It is your responsibility to slow down when you see kids on the side of the road. You must be prepared for them jumping in front of you. Foot over brake pedal(IF YOU DRIVE WITH FOOT OVER BRAKE PEDAL YOU WILL GO NOWEHERE AS IT WILL BE OFF THE ACCELERATOR), etc. Likewise, it is your responsibility to drive by sight (slow enough to brake if non-moving object on road) or by half-sight in one-lane road situations (slow enough to come to a full stop assuming somebody is going the other direction at max allowed speed).

If you follow those rules, you will never hit anyone. Co-incidentally, these rules were indoctrinated into us in mandatory traffic school. If you disagree with the rules above, you are not eligible for a driver's license. You agree, or you don't drive in my country.

Pedestrians should look out for their own safety. But they don't move 2 tons of steel(DOES THIS MEAN THEN THEY HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO RESPONSIBILTIY WHATSOEVER?), and they don't move at high speed, they won't hurt anyone by their own doing.HAVE YOU EVER HAD A THAI WALK INTO YOU FOR THE SAME REASONS AS THIS ? IT DOES HURT, AGAIN THEY DONT LOOK OR GIVE ANY THOUGHT, WALK DOWN ANY BANGKOK STREET AND GET WHACKED BY ONE DAYDREAMING.

It's not that hard, is it? NO ITS NOT HARD AT ALL BUT IT SEEMS YOU WANT ALL THE ONUS ON THE DRIVER ALONE WITH THE PEDESTRIAN BLAMELESS ALTHOUGH BLAME IS NOT THE REASON TO BE CAREFUL.

PS: The drive by sight rule saved the schoolboy in the above post.MAYBE SOME OBSERVATION FORM HIM WOULD HAVE HELPED TOO YES I KNOW KIDS DONT HAVE A LOT The driver has to be slow enough to be able to brake in this situation. It's the law. It's also common sense. Just drive by sight, people.

Case in point is how I crashed my motorbike in the village last week PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH?. I was accelerating when out of nowhere a motorbike with attached shop on the side blocked the entire road WHY?. Both lanes IMPORTANT PHONE CALL WAS IT?. That's what it seemed like. In reality of course the motorbike/shop was moving at glacial speed, and didn't come out of nowhere - it was behind a slight turn in the road. It was my responsibility to be slow enough to brake for the guy AND HE HAD NO RESPONSIBILITY?. I did come to a stop in front of him, but only just barely, locked my front wheel in the process and fell on the pavement, got some pretty good scratching on hands and knees and a huge bruise on my heel. It was all my own fault though ONE BORN EVERY MINUTE, and a good reminder to drive by sight. I am very happy I didn't hit him. SUGGEST SELL BIKE AND START WALKING

[yabaaaa]

Back home we get the road safety brainwashing into us from an early age and it doesnt stop until we die.

wear Seatbelt,

Helmets, no drink driving

jaywalking

speeding

bla bla bla

Some of the brainwashing also involved being told people are stupid, idiots etc if we dont wear seatbelts, speeding drink driving etc. and we carry that over to the Thais.

I suppose it is a good type of brainwashing though.

I'd be curious to know if the graphic images on the ciggaretes campain is having any effect on the Thais.

But many people in western countries drive whilst drunk, don't wear seatbelts or speed or all 3 at once.

Guess how many people are done for speeding in UK each year, they know that speed cameras are everywhere, but they still speed, and get fined, increased insurance premiums etc etc

Now that's what I call stupid, maybe they just don't care, maybe it's lack of education, or maybe their parents didn't care about them.

Or maybe they decided at 3 am on an empty road using some common sense it was ok to speed? Do you still kill someone at 71 compared to 70?

Drunk driving no excuses impared reaction times how many here yabaaaaaed out of their heads how many times do you see another bus in a ditch 50 dead type story? Im sure soon UK cars will be linked with satellites to stop all speeding but do you really think this will stop accidents? it wont unlesss they employ some distance sensors between cars.We are still no closer to knowing why Thais seem to have LESS sense on the road than some other countries???? Kids always have no sense and I do slow down but there are so many ADULTS like this as well, I may as well walk and parents ARE more oblivious here. Even driving at walking speeds they can still end up on your bonnet and when they turn round in surprise you see the phone welded to their ear.

[yabaaaa]

Gaccha,

It is not only deaths like you describe but accidents in general. Show me a regular Thai family without someone who died prematurely, has some deformity, has had a serious accident, has been bitten by Soi dogs, has cuts and scars from something, has motorbike burns etc. The list is never ending yet in the UK 25 years ago I knew no family which had any of those things.

Once, I was stung by wasps after I put bangers in their nest, does that count ?

Oh yeah, and I've got scars on my knees from when I fell off my bike when I was 7 years old, I now blame my parents for that, they should have known better.

They probably should have kept the trainer wheels on for a few years longer.

If I had played with fireworks as a kid I would have had a belting, and yes it is ok to hit kids!!

[Richb2004v2]

Although I am constantly exasperated by the Thai approach to safety I do wonder at the fact that I have never actually seen an accident take place. I have seen accidents very shortly after they happened but never actually seen one. I see so many very near misses but they always miss. This makes me think that maybe after so long doing everything dangerously they actually have it down to a fine art. I see them overtake on corners and just avoid head on crashes and I see four kids on a bike going in the wrong direction and I see kids walking on dark highways at night, but none of them seem to get injured. I suppose this all enforces their possible belief in preordained destiny. They can do what they want as nothing will change their destiny. I don't know if this is their view but if it is then its possible they use the same philosophy towards their children. Maybe they think that it does not matter what their children do as it is all preordained. It may not be that they don't care but more that they don't believe there actions can change what is going to happen anyway. This would explain their absolute and complete disregard for the safety of their children and themselves. Either way they seem to do quite well at avoiding disaster considering their behavior.