Road Toll Reaches 144 Three Days Into Songkran Holidays

[malcyx]

I am not sure how many deaths there have been in our town but it is a few, and lots of accidents. I have seen a couple of pile ups in the last few days. I continue to find it very distressing when attending an accident to render assistance and in the front of a car you see a 4 year old child or less that has been used to cushion the impact of the mother on the dashboard. Dead, or massive head/facial injuries, broken necks, all because they were sat on someones knee in the front and that person, lets say 60kg and unrestrained suddenly becomes a 120-400 kg hammer that the small child absorbs the full impact of.

It is all bloody senseless. Yes there is drink driving and idiots on bikes, but if people would take the smallest precautions with themselves and their children the deaths and injuries would be nowhere near as many.

In our town I still get strange looks when I load my two children in the back of the fortuner into large robust child safety seats. Thais ask, 'but how do you get them to sit there without complaining'? answer....'they have no choice! They have been in a car seat since they were born everytime they have traveled in a car, it is part of their routine, they don't know any different and they are happy, never cry, never complain, and god forbid if we are in a smash, I have some chance of getting my children out relatively unharmed. It is education! Thais need to see road safety advertising campaigns as in the UK and the states. Wrecked cars, wrecked lives and family train wrecks left behind. To be honest it would be much easier than in the UK. The authorities need to get to the women! It must be 90% of women do not drink in Thailand and most get very pissed off that their husbands drink to destruction. The wives could go a long way in helping to stop the carnage. Rant over! Still feel helpless and sad.

90% of woman in thailand dont drink..????

Really ???

[sirchai]

But things will not change unless there is bad international press about a holiday that kills so many people.

it is not the holliday that kills,they kill themselfs ....every day of the year !

Hopefully the drunk drivers are killed at their first accident ,so they can not kill innocent people in their

following accidents !

Yes, I agree with you Lucjoker. The more drunk drivers that are killed, the better, these potential murderers deserve to die and hopefully during their first "accident", the more drunk drivers that die, the less innocent people will die. A quick death also to those who throw water at moving vehicles, especially motorbikes.

Insane....

So you're saying that all drunk drivers should get killed?

You wish people a quick death who throw water at moving vehicles on Songkran? My family, friends and I are doing this as well, when celebrating the Thai New Year.

So you really wish us a quick death?

What if a family member would cause an accident drunk, should he/she still get killed?

I don't know where you're coming from,but I do hope that I'll never meet you somewhere in LOS.

You and your posts are so annoying.......

[sirchai]

The ONLY people I feel sorry for is the innocent victims who are sober and have accidents due to drunks, and the family members who lose a loved one, be it an idiot or an innocent.

As for the drunks... this is just Darwin doing what Darwin does best, weeding out the weak and stupid. A drunk taken today is one less a-hole who may crash into an innocent family and kill them tomorrow.

IMHO, they should have a weekend once a month where only drunks go out to party. Everyone else stays inside. No police. No road checks. Just 100% drunk driving morons. Let them take care of themselves.

I'd recommend to let some other species join.Not just all drunks, druggies should have their "free" weekend.

Also those who want to kill others, because they enjoy life by throwing water at each others on Thai New Year....

[GentlemanJim]

I am not sure how many deaths there have been in our town but it is a few, and lots of accidents. I have seen a couple of pile ups in the last few days. I continue to find it very distressing when attending an accident to render assistance and in the front of a car you see a 4 year old child or less that has been used to cushion the impact of the mother on the dashboard. Dead, or massive head/facial injuries, broken necks, all because they were sat on someones knee in the front and that person, lets say 60kg and unrestrained suddenly becomes a 120-400 kg hammer that the small child absorbs the full impact of.

It is all bloody senseless. Yes there is drink driving and idiots on bikes, but if people would take the smallest precautions with themselves and their children the deaths and injuries would be nowhere near as many.

In our town I still get strange looks when I load my two children in the back of the fortuner into large robust child safety seats. Thais ask, 'but how do you get them to sit there without complaining'? answer....'they have no choice! They have been in a car seat since they were born everytime they have traveled in a car, it is part of their routine, they don't know any different and they are happy, never cry, never complain, and god forbid if we are in a smash, I have some chance of getting my children out relatively unharmed. It is education! Thais need to see road safety advertising campaigns as in the UK and the states. Wrecked cars, wrecked lives and family train wrecks left behind. To be honest it would be much easier than in the UK. The authorities need to get to the women! It must be 90% of women do not drink in Thailand and most get very pissed off that their husbands drink to destruction. The wives could go a long way in helping to stop the carnage. Rant over! Still feel helpless and sad.

90% of woman in thailand dont drink..????

Really ???

Yep! That is 90% of normal people leading normal lives. Can't vouch for bar girls as I've never been in one of those bars and never spoken to a bar girl. But the rest of Thai females hardly ever drink and hardly ever smoke.

By the way, according to statistics in the UK over decades, 30% of all fatal crashes are caused by drunk drivers, that means two thirds of fatal crashes are caused by sober ones! Now the conclusion to this is NOT that we make it mandatory for everyone to get drunk before they drive, therefore saving 60%+ of the deaths on the road, the conclusion has to be continuous education, continuous monitoring of standards and a police force that ensure thats drivers abide by the law and issue sufficient penalty to ensure a deterrent effect is in place. How that philosophy fits into Thailand I don't know but trying to solve the problem here by telling Tesco they cant serve alcohol between 2pm and 5pm is not effective. Something absolutely radical needs doing and there is now 1 year and counting to plan and implement something.

[Felt 35]

I really don't see why we bother to discuss this issue, it will never change until either Thai culture changes or Thai males stop worrying about the size of their penises.

In the end I agree with this statement. However the penis thing I dont know!

[anterian]

I really don't see why we bother to discuss this issue, it will never change until either Thai culture changes or Thai males stop worrying about the size of their penises.

In the end I agree with this statement. However the penis thing I dont know!

Fast cars are seen as phallic images, a substitute for the real thing. Amongst mammals, and that includes primitive humans, an erect penis is a signal of dominance.

[Felt 35]

I really don't see why we bother to discuss this issue, it will never change until either Thai culture changes or Thai males stop worrying about the size of their penises.

In the end I agree with this statement. However the penis thing I dont know!

Fast cars are seen as phallic images, a substitute for the real thing. Amongst mammals, and that includes primitive humans, an erect penis is a signal of dominance.

Aha...well that I understand but….. Btw I think I will stop with the symptoms…

[Jim walker]

#34

Yep! That is 90% of normal people leading normal lives. Can't vouch for bar girls as I've never been in one of those bars and never spoken to a bar girl. But the rest of Thai females hardly ever drink and hardly ever smoke.

By the way, according to statistics in the UK over decades, 30% of all fatal crashes are caused by drunk drivers, that means two thirds of fatal crashes are caused by sober ones! Now the conclusion to this is NOT that we make it mandatory for everyone to get drunk before they drive, therefore saving 60%+ of the deaths on the road, the conclusion has to be continuous education, continuous monitoring of standards and a police force that ensure thats drivers abide by the law and issue sufficient penalty to ensure a deterrent effect is in place. How that philosophy fits into Thailand I don't know but trying to solve the problem here by telling Tesco they cant serve alcohol between 2pm and 5pm is not effective. Something absolutely radical needs doing and there is now 1 year and counting to plan and implement something.

How about a Dr and Police at every accident black spot for next year.

P.S I think most of the Bar girls smoke

[oldsailor35]

The other sorrowful statistic is the 1,668 injured, because in Thailand it is bikes with no helmets and it is cars with no seatbelts or airbags. My common sense guess would be that injuries from road accidents are much more severe in this country than in countries with safer cars and bike helms. In other countries 'injury' might just mean whiplash or bruises but over here I'm not so sure. F.ex. I still haven't seen a taxi with seatbelts in the back since visiting here.

My prayers are with the injured & the families of the dead, and for the travellers in the days ahead.

Well i have, because i get so bloody scared at times riding from Suvarnabumi to the city, that the first thing i do is buckle up.