220 Dead, 2,658 Injured In First Four Dangerous Days

[george]

220 deaths and 2,658 injured in first four dangerous days

BANGKOK: -- Road casualties climbed to 220 deaths and 2,658 people injured as 2,658 accidents were recorded nationwide in the first four of the "seven most dangerous days" of the Songkran festival.

Chiang Rai had the most accidents at 102 followed by Nakhon Si Thammarat at 94, Paichit Varachit, deputy permanent secretary of the Public Health Ministry, said yesterday.

Monday alone saw 863 traffic accidents with 81 deaths and 940 injuries.

Driving under the influence of alcohol was the major cause of accidents followed by speeding.

Most mishaps involved motorcycles driven from 4pm8pm.

Nakhon Si Thammarat had the most accidents on Monday at 36 and the most injuries at 47 cases, while Nakhon Sawan had the most deaths at seven.

In the four days to Monday, emergency medical units went out on 12,621 missions, with 5,149 to minister to people including those suffering from road accidents, 5,513 to treat illnesses, 932 to dress wounds from fighting and 38 to attend to victims of water accidents.

Anucha Mokhaves, directorgeneral of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, said provincial authorities and police were instructed to warn motorcyclists and passengers to strictly follow traffic rules and regulations, as Songkran travellers were expected to start returning to Bangkok today.

Officials manning checkpoints would also take extra measures in areas prone to accidents, he added.

-- The Nation 2009-04-15

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[McHow2]

220 deaths and 2,658 injured in first four dangerous days

In other words it was 100+ times safer to be in the middle of the riot in Bangkok than on the streets of Thailand! Strange...

[harrry]

Just to put this into perspective.

quote

Easter road toll passes 2007 mark

Posted Sun Mar 23, 2008 9:05am AEDT

Updated Sun Mar 23, 2008 9:08am AEDT

Related Story: Easter road toll hits 12 The national road toll for the Easter weekend has risen to 14.

Queensland has the highest tally of all states and territories, with five after the death of another motorcyclist.

In the latest accidents, two children have been killed in a single vehicle accident near Toowoomba in south-east Queensland, shortly after a pedestrian was killed north of Brisbane.

Meanwhile, a woman died in a car roll-over in Tom Price 1,500 kilometres north of Perth in Western Australia.

Three fatalities have now been recorded in Tasmania, three in Western Australia, and one each in Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Only New South Wales and the ACT remain fatality free.

Last year, 13 people were killed in road accidents over the entire Easter holiday period.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/23/2196895.htm

[FarangUK]

Anucha Mokhaves, directorgeneral of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, said provincial authorities and police were instructed to warn motorcyclists and passengers to strictly follow traffic rules and regulations, as Songkran travellers were expected to start returning to Bangkok today.

[Restlessrose]

220 deaths and 2,658 injured in first four dangerous days

In other words it was 100+ times safer to be in the middle of the riot in Bangkok than on the streets of Thailand! Strange...

My thoughts too ! When I read the headlines, I thought it was from the 'revolution'. Is it not simply incredible that the numbers should be from road accidents !

[yabaaaa]

Anucha Mokhaves, directorgeneral of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, said provincial authorities and police were instructed to warn motorcyclists and passengers to strictly follow traffic rules and regulations, as Songkran travellers were expected to start returning to Bangkok today.

A Target?

And wouldnt it be nice if the BBC and other networks actually told THIS story to give the rioting some perspective.

[Greenside]

They have units by the side of the road here, supposedly to test for or discourage drunken driving. Waiting to turn out onto a busy main road opposite one of these last night I counted three bikes without lights one of which was driven by a kid who couldn't have been much older than 12 or 13. One passenger, no helmets and probably not much chance of making it to twenty.

They have frequent helmet checks here which, despite much cynicism from may of us expats as to the motive, have actually increased the wearing of helmets but it seems unless a policeman is actually in this or that particular mode they never stop motorists for anything else, no matter how obvious.

It reminds me of the nature documentaries that show preditors and prey all milling around near each other and paying not much attention until a predator gets hungry.

Edited April 15, 2009 by Greenside

[DMasut]

220 deaths and 2,658 injured in first four dangerous days

In other words it was 100+ times safer to be in the middle of the riot in Bangkok than on the streets of Thailand! Strange...

Uh... YEAH!!! Songkran 2009 aka DEATHRACE 2009

Amazing event that brings so many people together (sometimes at 40 miles an hour!) just happens to be the more dangerous the an linen sale at Selfridge's in London, Bloomingdales in New York or the 'running of the bulls' in Pamplona, Spain.

This is the Thai version of the 'running of the lemmings', nature's way of culling the herd if you will.

After my 3rd one, I have since decided for the last decade to just stay indoors and as close to home as possible during Songkran.

:jerk:

I was a little slow on the uptake since I should have learned my lesson on my first one. When I went home three times to change out of my wet clothes only to be soaked within seconds of leaving.

I thought I was clever finally donning my scuba wetsuit mask and snorkel to drive on my motorcycle from point 'a' to point 'b'.

What I didn't anticipate was the drunk Irishman (is that a redundancy in terms?) that tried to rob me with a claw hammer (no joke) and after disarming him and knocking some sense into him only to be arrested by Koh Samui's finest for "fighting"?!?

I think the Irishman's Thai girlfriend may have had a hand in that since it was her 'uncle' I later found out was the arresting officer.

WORST PART was trying to explain to the officers and fellow cell mates I was the sober and sane one of the two while they looked at me in my my highly visible RED WETSUIT!!!

Traveling worldwide in some of the most dangerous warzones only comes close to the mayhem that voluntarily takes place in the Land of Smiles during Songkran.

Live long, prosper and for God's sake be careful in the quest for sanuk.

Edited April 15, 2009 by DMasut

[aussimike]

Just to put this into perspective.

Very interesting figues -- and when one compares the population of OZ to LOS - AUST has 1/3 the population but hardly a death due to road accidents -- and when u consider that Easter is one of the most mobile holiday periods the figures from here are worse that a war zone -- compare these figures from a similar period in Baghdad -- haaa its a joke - but the figures from Oz reflect the strict - and i mean strict enforcement of all road laws -- use of seat belts front and rear, and mobile phones -- enforcement of speed limits - no booze = or .05 limit on intake -- young drivers - zero intake -- motor cycle helmets - also passenger -- and perhaps more importanly - licenced drivers -- that helps with those who have - having passed a rather hard test both theory and driving test - not just a run around the car park -- and effective policing of all roads -- minor and major - will sufficient police to fullfill this - harsh sentences and fines handed down by the courts for road infringements --

[OffTheWall]

Hey, maybe the April's fool thing about reduced alcohol sales wasn't that bad an idea after all?

Really sad. Saw a massive fight between two "gentlemen" with a British accent. The more unfortunate one was on the floor, cold out & bleeding from the head after having a workout from a pool cue; the other guy wouldn't have stopped hadn't it been for a few people with a bit more blood in the alcohol... Easy to get into the statistics here!

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi.

Much of this is caused, indirectly, by the police.... i have to say. I was in Chiang Mai and on Sunday we went out of town to have a bit of water fun. Passing the Bor Sang intersection at about noon there was a large police checkpoint there, in one direction only (!) but a police checkpoint nevertheless.

In the evening however, when all the drunks are on the road, no cop anywhere to be seen!

Same on the way back to Bangkok yesterday, as always a good dozen or more "checkpoints" where a two- or three-lane fast road is narrowed down to one lane, creating a traffic jam - and then either nobody at all manning the "check point" or a single bored looking cop sitting in the shade, apparently only watching that nobody steals the thousand cones they use to semi-block the road.

If they would ever get serious with these "checks" they could drastically reduce the death toll each year by pulling the drunks off the road before they can slam into someone else. But nope, the cops must be partying, too. In Bangkok they stand at every corner harassing motorbikes for no reasons...

Best regards....

Thanh

[yabaaaa]

I just tried to discuss with my wife the 2 dead in the riots which she was apalled at and the 220 deaths on the road which I was apalled at. Sadly as I have found with many discussions like this she was disinterested " up to them" her comment, I mentioned how about the folk walking on the pavement that get run down by them who didnt choose to drink and drive, " I got pain my tummy" came next and frustratingly this is how many of our "serious" chats often end up or with "u correct" which means she doesnt want to talk about this anymore.

Anyone else get these type of responses? I get disheartened at times by it.

[SiamNilsson]

Is the country drowning?

Thailand is sinking deeper into difficult political waters!

But maybe Thaksin will emerge as an unexpected lifesaver?

The otherwise very funny and wonderful water festival "Songkran" became this year rather than a small civil war between the blue, red and yellow groups in Pattaya and Bangkok.

But nothing bad that hasn't a positive effect and the expression "the 7 dangerous days" will probably have a new meaning in Bangkok due to the demonstrations and the major damage there.

The official road accident statistics for the Songkran period have now been published in the newspaper Bangkok Post.

This year's accident harvest with "only" 220 deaths so far and the 2 658 injured on the Thai roads seem to be less when compared to the previous year when it was even worse (324 dead).

The red demonstrators apparently won no major victory in the city, but anyway the red "Thaksinists" still have a good result to be happy and proud about. Their supporters have the last week been too busy demonstrating and thanks to this weekend fun - neither the red troops nor the army security forces have had any spare time to get drunk and drive around on the Thai roads.

So in a way, the demonstrations in Bangkok has after all, saved many lives on the roads - good work Mr "lifesaver" Shinawatra.

Take care,

regards

Mr Nilsson

[ricklee]

A real driver's license exam would certainly cut that casualty figure by at least 50%. Or is that too logical a suggestion for the LOS?

[george]

Update:

Songkran road accidents' death toll rises to 272 after five days

A total of 272 people were killed in road accidents from April 10 to Tuesday, the Road Accident Centre announced Wedeneday.

Chaliew Yusimarak, a member of the Road Accident Committee, said 3,375 other people were injured during the period.

On Tuesday alone, 638 accidents occurred, killing 52 people and injuring 717 others.

-- The Nation 2009-04-15

[stevehaigh]

A real driver's license exam would certainly cut that casualty figure by at least 50%. Or is that too logical a suggestion for the LOS?

you means asking someone to reverse into a parking spot isn't enough to test their driving skills?

FYI, Songkran in Ko Phangan seemed fun and peaceful to me, no problems that I saw.

[yabaaaa]

Update:

Songkran road accidents' death toll rises to 272 after five days

A total of 272 people were killed in road accidents from April 10 to Tuesday, the Road Accident Centre announced Wedeneday.

Chaliew Yusimarak, a member of the Road Accident Committee, said 3,375 other people were injured during the period.

On Tuesday alone, 638 accidents occurred, killing 52 people and injuring 717 others.

-- The Nation 2009-04-15

Aha i read there are 13500 deaths a year in Thailand on motorbikes alone which is 36 a day already so maybe only 100 or so are due to Songkran, still apalling though.

[sanook2me]

I just tried to discuss with my wife the 2 dead in the riots which she was apalled at and the 220 deaths on the road which I was apalled at. Sadly as I have found with many discussions like this she was disinterested " up to them" her comment, I mentioned how about the folk walking on the pavement that get run down by them who didnt choose to drink and drive, " I got pain my tummy" came next and frustratingly this is how many of our "serious" chats often end up or with "u correct" which means she doesnt want to talk about this anymore.

Anyone else get these type of responses? I get disheartened at times by it.

I thought I was reading one of my own postings!

The words are a little different in my household but the word discussion is definately not up for discussion.

Often used quotes to end discussion

bah

go for shower

upto them

i want fried durian

can't to do anymore (my favourite)

Back to OP

Its amazing that over 200 deaths on a weekend are not reported in the internation news!

How bizarre, its obviously not the quantity but the method of dieing that gets into the news

Riots & Pirates guarantee international exposure

[TVmonitor]

Poor roads

Poor vehicles

Poor driver education

Poor law enforcement

it's a wonder anyone survives.

PS - the "incident" rate in Oz is relatively very high - especially if you factor in the number of vehicles per mile of road.

[whitfield]

Another figure to give it some persective is that in a country of 60 million there will be roughly 2,200 deaths a day from all causes (given a life expectancy of 75 yrs).

[nrp1000]

Yep - difference is my x wife is English and (thnakfully) still lives there. Maybe its female thing But this Songkran thing is just getting way out of hand, and I'll bet at least half of the 'protesters' were fired up on rocket fule as well.

[Callanbkk]

They have units by the side of the road here, supposedly to test for or discourage drunken driving. Waiting to turn out onto a busy main road opposite one of these last night I counted three bikes without lights one of which was driven by a kid who couldn't have been much older than 12 or 13. One passenger, no helmets and probably not much chance of making it to twenty.

They have frequent helmet checks here which, despite much cynicism from may of us expats as to the motive, have actually increased the wearing of helmets but it seems unless a policeman is actually in this or that particular mode they never stop motorists for anything else, no matter how obvious.

It reminds me of the nature documentaries that show preditors and prey all milling around near each other and paying not much attention until a predator gets hungry.

Hey I totaly agree with you! I have seen dozens of kids riding their motorbikes with no lights on and it seems to be fashionable now to have only either a front or back light on. I have also noticed a trend where people change their rear lights for bright white lights and/or change their front light for a ridiculously bright light to blind on coming traffic.

Also the helmets, you so right...In thailand a helmet is to save money not lives!! I dont think that 90% of the helmets you see here would save your life anyway, I think a crock bowl would serve just as much protection!!

[LPCustom69]

I doubt if 50% of the drivers have a license. It's always such a tragedy this time of year.

A real driver's license exam would certainly cut that casualty figure by at least 50%. Or is that too logical a suggestion for the LOS?

[wasabi]

What is the all time record for deaths during this time?

[seri thai]

I just tried to discuss with my wife the 2 dead in the riots which she was apalled at and the 220 deaths on the road which I was apalled at. Sadly as I have found with many discussions like this she was disinterested " up to them" her comment, I mentioned how about the folk walking on the pavement that get run down by them who didnt choose to drink and drive, " I got pain my tummy" came next and frustratingly this is how many of our "serious" chats often end up or with "u correct" which means she doesnt want to talk about this anymore.

Anyone else get these type of responses? I get disheartened at times by it.

All the time Why else do you think we are having "sensible" conversations on here? :D

Excellent summary! Maybe we can start a new thread on marital conversations.

I wouldn't marry an Essex Girl but I married a Thai one

[cushendall]

Anucha Mokhaves, directorgeneral of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, said provincial authorities and police were instructed to warn motorcyclists and passengers to strictly follow traffic rules and regulations, as Songkran travellers were expected to start returning to Bangkok today.

I was not aware that thailand had any rules and regulations, you learn something new everyday.

[reenatinnakor]

I just tried to discuss with my wife the 2 dead in the riots which she was apalled at and the 220 deaths on the road which I was apalled at. Sadly as I have found with many discussions like this she was disinterested " up to them" her comment, I mentioned how about the folk walking on the pavement that get run down by them who didnt choose to drink and drive, " I got pain my tummy" came next and frustratingly this is how many of our "serious" chats often end up or with "u correct" which means she doesnt want to talk about this anymore.

Anyone else get these type of responses? I get disheartened at times by it.

so her english hasnt improved even after you married her then? :-)

this is my 1st such experience of this festival - so when i read the headline i thought there was an earthquake or tsunami here or something! 220 people dead for celebrating? thats outrageous!! but then having thought about it and seeing at 1st hand all these people just running out into the middle of the road splashing water at anything for the last two days, and the 50 people in the back of the truck throwing water at opposite traffic and people just dancing in the middle of the road - what would one expect?

i guess people like the thai funerals which lasts one week and everyone seems happy about the dead person and not sad. another weird thing i witnessed at 1st hand!

[brahmburgers]

Just like Thailand is getting in to the Int'l news for all the wrong reasons, so too did Chiang Rai get in to the Thai national news for the wrong reason: namely: most deaths per province.

A real driver's license exam would certainly cut that casualty figure by at least 50%. Or is that too logical a suggestion for the LOS?

Chiang Rai, at least, appears to have a rather thorough licensing protocol. I went through it recently, and there were about 60 attendees there - for that one day. All were between 16 and 25, except me. Of course, getting 60 youngsters to spend a day pretending to pay attention to licensing requirements doesn't mean they're taking any of it in.

Thais hate to slow or stop while driving. Along with the myriad other shortfalls in their driving skill-set, it's altogether a place where you want to stay away from roads or, if you have to drive, do so like a little old lady - very cautiously. Though driving courteously can get a driver in trouble: example: slowing or stopping for people to cross the street (or for a yellow light about to turn red) might get you back-ended, or, more commonly, honked at.

[Kwic]

It's sorry to hear that... In Poland we also have drunk drivers which is kinda a plague.

I thought that Asians are more responsible, but that's only a myth as far as I can see

cheers

[loong]

It's a sad fact that these threads are a waste of time. You may just as well regurgitate the same threads from previous years. Same posts just a different year.

Nothing will change unfortunately, it's such a waste of lives.