Songkran Death Toll Way Over Last Year As Millions Return To Bangkok

[transam]

Where did the new gov theory go wrong. ? OK, they forgot to tell the BiB to go to work.

[metisdead]

A nonsense comment on moderation has been removed.

[oldsailor35]

How about a road safety campain 24/7, not just lip service during holidays. How about the police actually doing their jobs and enforcing the law. How about requiring that drivers actually take driving lessons and actually pass a drivers test. None of this slip the police 100 baht to ignore the infraction or slip the test examiner 1000 baht to get the license nonsense.

Nothing will change until all the corruption stops. So not in my lifetime.

some scary public information films on drunk driving would be useful , same as they show every xmas time in the UK with kids being killed and the spirit leaving the body , i think it would scare the sh*t out of thais , ............ well worth it if it saves a life though ! , i can never understand why there are no safety ads on thai TV , at least it would make the people think the Govt cares .

Might be better to show a few ghosts hanging around, that would surely scare the shit out of them.

[oldsailor35]

http://www.unescap.o...and_RSpaper.pdf

All that in depth info and unless i missed it, no mention of driving licences ! Obviously this is not important in Thailand ?

[oldsailor35]

Note that the Muslim Southern Provinces had no fatal accidents. Shows what consumption of alcohol does to the statistics.

This is a very astute and interesting observation, and one that never occurred to me. Thank you.

BUT ! i notice that Suratthani and Nakon Si Thammarat have the highest death rate. So maybe muslims were going a few klms north to drink away from eyes !

[travelmann]

You k now I used to say they are idots over Songkran, and then you get the its only a few days brigade, or its just harmless fun or what a sad ole bugger you are etc, well here is my Songkran report.

Drove wife up from BKK to Loei 9 hours car got covered in water/flour/wahetever they use, over the next few days car got more water thrown at it twice the idiots throwing let go of the bucket, one was metal, result two big dents in the doors, took car to car wash result cannot get off the flour water car has to be T cutted and polished and no guarantee it can be removed completely.

I almost ran over at least 2-3 people aimlessly wandering into the road.

Conclusion

Songkran is a F****ng nightmare, mainly played out by irresponsible Wan*ers pissed out of their head with no care or thought for anything or anyone. Total cost to me about 8000 baht.

Thanks you and happy F***king Songkran, the sooner its banned outright the better.

Its used to be sprinkle a bit of water, I saw real hatred in little kids eyes ( aged about 5-6 yrs old) as they hurled with ALL their might the water.

Just harmless fun though............................. time to ban it!!

[oldsailor35]

Personally writing I think the actual "body count" /Casualty/accident rates is way over those that are portrayed , "head onners" in the UK are extremely rare ,yet here they are the order of the day ,simply because (1) they overtake were they cannot see like on a blind bend or the brow of a hill , or (2) when turning right they invariably take the corner on the WRONG SIDE of the road!, the results of these insane moves are obvious.

I have a restaurant close to a small but very busy road that has a T junction with no lights and just 5 meters left of the junction there is a small road to get to a bunch of small apts.

In 3 years sitting around the restaurant for an hour a day i have NEVER seen a single thai turn from the bottom of the T to the right without by moving forward then turning right once he crosses the line, im not exagerating, 0 in 3 years, they all try to run over the motorbikes turning left into the lane. Also never seen a single thai coming from the left of the T junction turning into the bottom lane doing it right. They always stop right at the junction ini front of the incoming and they turning straight, trying to cut to the right of the cars waiting in the wrong lane instead of moving forward to their left lane and turning in it. Almost everyday this creates massive jams as the guys going forward on the upper part of the junction have no stops. So once someone wwants to turn in the mini APT road 5meters down the people will leave a spot open in front of the bottom of the T to turn in but since they are too dumb to move forward to the lane and want to cut from A to C directly they block the APT road, waiting to cut into parked car instead of moving 2meters forward and now everyone is completely stuck for 5-10mins untill either the guy turning home gives up or the idiot who doesnt want to go from A to B to C decides to finaly hit the B point. 2meters ahead where he should be turning in a 90 degre angle.

Then after i see this daily i remember people telling me that all thais need is education and time to evolve..

yeah right, have 3 years of data to prove the complete oposite. It's the same people who do the same mistake everyday.

A bit complicated ! but i get your drift...........they can't <deleted> drive .

[kruangfaifar]

How about a road safety campain 24/7, not just lip service during holidays. How about the police actually doing their jobs and enforcing the law. How about requiring that drivers actually take driving lessons and actually pass a drivers test. None of this slip the police 100 baht to ignore the infraction or slip the test examiner 1000 baht to get the license nonsense.

Nothing will change until all the corruption stops. So not in my lifetime.

You make two good points there one being the need for a more intensive safety campaign. The fact that I still remember a TV advert shown in UK in the 1970's is proof that such campaigns are worthwhile and really do work The Ad that I remember starred a young guy in a wheelchair explained how he was only driving his car on a short journey of around a quarter of a mile when he had a low speed accident which sent him through the screen causing permanent paralysis.The Slogan was "Clunk Click Every trip" and the Ad was I think part of a campaign just prior to introduction of the seat belt Law. Introducing the safety concept .

I also agree with your point that nothing will change until the corruption stops but you may be a bit pessmistic about the timescale as I have already noticed the use of radar cameras by police on BangNa-Trat elevated tollway and the BKK- Chonburi Motorway which can only be used to issue tickets by post thus removing the potential for corruption to a large extent.In addition one off the staff at my company was nabbed for dui in Chaiyaphum last year and he had to pay a hefty fine ( documented ) and was required to attend road safety seminars in Chaiyaphum on 4 occasions over a period of 6 months after being booked which meant him taking time off work to travel from BKK. My point is just that there are a few signs of a positive change. I can remember people in UK talk about for example putting a fiver in with your driving license as a ploy to get off a speeding ticket and now you will go to jail for the same thing. i also remember the Metropolitan Police being changed from being being so bent that it was the subject of jokes to being a professional almost incorruptable force who still manage to do their job without routinely carrying personal firearms. A lot can happen in a lifetime.

However don't expect too much. Since the year2000 road accidents still routinely kill 40,000 people a year ( DoT data just Google it if you don't believe it) in the USA even with a hitech police force with little petty corruption, use of high patrol cars and strict dui laws. I know data has to be looked at in the correct context but I am not comparing the US with Thailand I am just shocked at the number of fatalities given the extent that laws are enforced ( according to my understanding and experiences driving in US) and it tells me that whatever the extent that law enforcement is improved in Thailand the number of road fatalities will still be huge.

As a last thought anyone who is concerned about the safety of driving in Thailand don't try driving in India where truck drivers believe that the only factor in determining whether overtaking on a blind hill or corner will result in his death or not is god's will. Trucks are licenced to carry loads much higher than the manufacturer's recommendation too so I guess that the belief in god's will affects regulations there too. .

[oldsailor35]

Final analysis........Its about time that the Thai government issued visas/work permits to ENGLISH trained driving instructors.

[oldsailor35]

I wonder what Songkran was like in Kohsan Road ? anybody know .

[philw]

You k now I used to say they are idots over Songkran, and then you get the its only a few days brigade, or its just harmless fun or what a sad ole bugger you are etc, well here is my Songkran report.

Drove wife up from BKK to Loei 9 hours car got covered in water/flour/wahetever they use, over the next few days car got more water thrown at it twice the idiots throwing let go of the bucket, one was metal, result two big dents in the doors, took car to car wash result cannot get off the flour water car has to be T cutted and polished and no guarantee it can be removed completely.

I almost ran over at least 2-3 people aimlessly wandering into the road.

Conclusion

Songkran is a F****ng nightmare, mainly played out by irresponsible Wan*ers pissed out of their head with no care or thought for anything or anyone. Total cost to me about 8000 baht.

Thanks you and happy F***king Songkran, the sooner its banned outright the better.

Its used to be sprinkle a bit of water, I saw real hatred in little kids eyes ( aged about 5-6 yrs old) as they hurled with ALL their might the water.

Just harmless fun though............................. time to ban it!!

How can you see hatred in the eyes of a six year old ???

Get a grip.

The might of a six year old is pretty scary though, especially as you flash past at 60 kmph in a ton of Toyota..........

And grief beyond grief, the car has to be polished.......

Edited April 17, 2012 by philw

[travelmann]

You k now I used to say they are idots over Songkran, and then you get the its only a few days brigade, or its just harmless fun or what a sad ole bugger you are etc, well here is my Songkran report.

Drove wife up from BKK to Loei 9 hours car got covered in water/flour/wahetever they use, over the next few days car got more water thrown at it twice the idiots throwing let go of the bucket, one was metal, result two big dents in the doors, took car to car wash result cannot get off the flour water car has to be T cutted and polished and no guarantee it can be removed completely.

I almost ran over at least 2-3 people aimlessly wandering into the road.

Conclusion

Songkran is a F****ng nightmare, mainly played out by irresponsible Wan*ers pissed out of their head with no care or thought for anything or anyone. Total cost to me about 8000 baht.

Thanks you and happy F***king Songkran, the sooner its banned outright the better.

Its used to be sprinkle a bit of water, I saw real hatred in little kids eyes ( aged about 5-6 yrs old) as they hurled with ALL their might the water.

Just harmless fun though............................. time to ban it!!

How can you see hatred in the eyes of a six year old ???

Get a grip.

The might of a six year old is pretty scary though, especially as you flash past at 60 kmph in ton of Toyota..........

And grief beyond grief, the car has to be polished.......

here we go, were you there?? NO, did you see the kids face?? NO, I was, he had hatred in his eyes as he hurled with all his might the water, he wanted to do as much harm as he could to any passing car or bike, in fact they prefer bikes as there is a good chance they can get one down.

Oh yeah for the record I was driving at WALKING PACE

Edited April 17, 2012 by travelmann

[heiwa]

This is the new way they are robbing people - motorbike/scooter following motorbike/scooter. they follow you from five to ten centimetres behind for over 10km - forcing you to go up to speeds of 140km/hr - if you are lucky enough to reach the city they will vanish. if you veer left they veer left if you veer right they veer right. they are doing this I am told in the hope of you having an accident or somehow stop - I don't know how stopping can be achieved unless you get rear ended. once you crash or stop they will rob you and leave you for dead. you can not stop as they are always 5cm to 10cm behind you. You can only increase your speed as they are always so close behind you - you are in fleeing mode. if you see this plate gaw gai saw reu see kaw kuat KRABI *** yamaha 135cc spark - good up to 140km/hr- I can verify this - you may want to make a will if you see this licence plate. there is a new evil here. It is the new tactic of choice to rob people. you may be better of riding a bus than hiring a bike. happy new year farang brothers and sisters. this is a good cautionary warning for your safety. this has been reported to the police today. there are some very evil hearted people out there targeting foreigners who will cause you to crash, leave you for dead and rob you. travel in pairs of scooters/motorbikes to be safe. And I have read that if you die after 24 hours of the accident it is classified as death by natural causes. However every country is entitled to their measuring yard stick. I have known many many Thais dying one week after the accident. Time to sell the scooter.

Edited April 17, 2012 by heiwa

[philw]

You k now I used to say they are idots over Songkran, and then you get the its only a few days brigade, or its just harmless fun or what a sad ole bugger you are etc, well here is my Songkran report.

Drove wife up from BKK to Loei 9 hours car got covered in water/flour/wahetever they use, over the next few days car got more water thrown at it twice the idiots throwing let go of the bucket, one was metal, result two big dents in the doors, took car to car wash result cannot get off the flour water car has to be T cutted and polished and no guarantee it can be removed completely.

I almost ran over at least 2-3 people aimlessly wandering into the road.

Conclusion

Songkran is a F****ng nightmare, mainly played out by irresponsible Wan*ers pissed out of their head with no care or thought for anything or anyone. Total cost to me about 8000 baht.

Thanks you and happy F***king Songkran, the sooner its banned outright the better.

Its used to be sprinkle a bit of water, I saw real hatred in little kids eyes ( aged about 5-6 yrs old) as they hurled with ALL their might the water.

Just harmless fun though............................. time to ban it!!

How can you see hatred in the eyes of a six year old ???

Get a grip.

The might of a six year old is pretty scary though, especially as you flash past at 60 kmph in ton of Toyota..........

And grief beyond grief, the car has to be polished.......

here we go, were you there?? NO, did you see the kids face?? NO, I was, he had hatred in his eyes as he hurled with all his might the water, he wanted to do as much harm as he could to any passing car or bike, in fact they prefer bikes as there is a good chance they can get one down.

Oh yeah for the record I was driving at WALKING PACE

No, I was not there.

It must be that the mightily thrown water of a six year old is a terrifying experience.

A whole bucket, all of it ??

1/2 a litre ??

Especially when thrown at 1,000 kgs of vehicle traveling at walking speed...........

Well done for slowing down and you were lucky to get out alive.

What if he had brought his mates ??

[FM505]

Pattaya starts now that everyone else has 'finished' their holiday... wait and see.

[theanimaster]

"This succeeded in lowering the number of accidents and thus saved money."

God forbid that money would be spent during this government's rule. Forget the number of deaths -- we saved money!

[cardholder]

Personally writing I think the actual "body count" /Casualty/accident rates is way over those that are portrayed , "head onners" in the UK are extremely rare ,yet here they are the order of the day ,simply because (1) they overtake were they cannot see like on a blind bend or the brow of a hill , or (2) when turning right they invariably take the corner on the WRONG SIDE of the road!, the results of these insane moves are obvious.

I have a restaurant close to a small but very busy road that has a T junction with no lights and just 5 meters left of the junction there is a small road to get to a bunch of small apts.

In 3 years sitting around the restaurant for an hour a day i have NEVER seen a single thai turn from the bottom of the T to the right without by moving forward then turning right once he crosses the line, im not exagerating, 0 in 3 years, they all try to run over the motorbikes turning left into the lane. Also never seen a single thai coming from the left of the T junction turning into the bottom lane doing it right. They always stop right at the junction ini front of the incoming and they turning straight, trying to cut to the right of the cars waiting in the wrong lane instead of moving forward to their left lane and turning in it. Almost everyday this creates massive jams as the guys going forward on the upper part of the junction have no stops. So once someone wwants to turn in the mini APT road 5meters down the people will leave a spot open in front of the bottom of the T to turn in but since they are too dumb to move forward to the lane and want to cut from A to C directly they block the APT road, waiting to cut into parked car instead of moving 2meters forward and now everyone is completely stuck for 5-10mins untill either the guy turning home gives up or the idiot who doesnt want to go from A to B to C decides to finaly hit the B point. 2meters ahead where he should be turning in a 90 degre angle.

Then after i see this daily i remember people telling me that all thais need is education and time to evolve..

yeah right, have 3 years of data to prove the complete oposite. It's the same people who do the same mistake everyday.

A bit complicated ! but i get your drift...........they can't <deleted> drive .

i had posts deleted for saying that - apparently it is a generalisation against the Thais.

Of course the can't drive - they have neither the skill, aptitude, education, training or, desire to improve. Infact in the scenario posted by hostile17 it is evidence that they are not aware that they are doing anything wrong.

[theanimaster]

Personally writing I think the actual "body count" /Casualty/accident rates is way over those that are portrayed , "head onners" in the UK are extremely rare ,yet here they are the order of the day ,simply because (1) they overtake were they cannot see like on a blind bend or the brow of a hill , or (2) when turning right they invariably take the corner on the WRONG SIDE of the road!, the results of these insane moves are obvious.

I have a restaurant close to a small but very busy road that has a T junction with no lights and just 5 meters left of the junction there is a small road to get to a bunch of small apts.

In 3 years sitting around the restaurant for an hour a day i have NEVER seen a single thai turn from the bottom of the T to the right without by moving forward then turning right once he crosses the line, im not exagerating, 0 in 3 years, they all try to run over the motorbikes turning left into the lane. Also never seen a single thai coming from the left of the T junction turning into the bottom lane doing it right. They always stop right at the junction ini front of the incoming and they turning straight, trying to cut to the right of the cars waiting in the wrong lane instead of moving forward to their left lane and turning in it. Almost everyday this creates massive jams as the guys going forward on the upper part of the junction have no stops. So once someone wwants to turn in the mini APT road 5meters down the people will leave a spot open in front of the bottom of the T to turn in but since they are too dumb to move forward to the lane and want to cut from A to C directly they block the APT road, waiting to cut into parked car instead of moving 2meters forward and now everyone is completely stuck for 5-10mins untill either the guy turning home gives up or the idiot who doesnt want to go from A to B to C decides to finaly hit the B point. 2meters ahead where he should be turning in a 90 degre angle.

Then after i see this daily i remember people telling me that all thais need is education and time to evolve..

yeah right, have 3 years of data to prove the complete oposite. It's the same people who do the same mistake everyday.

Is it just me or does anyone else need a diagram to understand this? :3

[heiwa]

The spiritual songkran has been lost. If you want to find that again - do what Thais do - go to Laos, especially Pakse or Luang Prabang. In Thailand its all about body counts and high power water guns. Ban the guns. Why cater to stupid people? Have it like it was meant to be - water gently poured on the head. Government bowing to stupid people who don't know what Songkran is about.

Edited April 17, 2012 by heiwa

[cardholder]

Personally writing I think the actual "body count" /Casualty/accident rates is way over those that are portrayed , "head onners" in the UK are extremely rare ,yet here they are the order of the day ,simply because (1) they overtake were they cannot see like on a blind bend or the brow of a hill , or (2) when turning right they invariably take the corner on the WRONG SIDE of the road!, the results of these insane moves are obvious.

I have a restaurant close to a small but very busy road that has a T junction with no lights and just 5 meters left of the junction there is a small road to get to a bunch of small apts.

In 3 years sitting around the restaurant for an hour a day i have NEVER seen a single thai turn from the bottom of the T to the right without by moving forward then turning right once he crosses the line, im not exagerating, 0 in 3 years, they all try to run over the motorbikes turning left into the lane. Also never seen a single thai coming from the left of the T junction turning into the bottom lane doing it right. They always stop right at the junction ini front of the incoming and they turning straight, trying to cut to the right of the cars waiting in the wrong lane instead of moving forward to their left lane and turning in it. Almost everyday this creates massive jams as the guys going forward on the upper part of the junction have no stops. So once someone wwants to turn in the mini APT road 5meters down the people will leave a spot open in front of the bottom of the T to turn in but since they are too dumb to move forward to the lane and want to cut from A to C directly they block the APT road, waiting to cut into parked car instead of moving 2meters forward and now everyone is completely stuck for 5-10mins untill either the guy turning home gives up or the idiot who doesnt want to go from A to B to C decides to finaly hit the B point. 2meters ahead where he should be turning in a 90 degre angle.

Then after i see this daily i remember people telling me that all thais need is education and time to evolve..

yeah right, have 3 years of data to prove the complete oposite. It's the same people who do the same mistake everyday.

Is it just me or does anyone else need a diagram to understand this? :3

It helps if you understand that Thais approach any junction at 45 degrees to the right (and 'turn' too early as a result) - this puts them on a natural collision course with anything turning left.

In front of our restaurant (on a busy dual carriageway road) the Thais have 2 choices:-

1. Continue past our place for 60 metres and U turn for 60 metres to turn left down the road at the side of us.

2. Cross the oncoming traffic and drive for 60 metres against the flow of traffic and then turn right (as Hostile17 described) into the flow of traffic turning left onto the busy highway.

Most take option 2. including the local BiB taking the shortest route to their police box !

[travelmann]

You k now I used to say they are idots over Songkran, and then you get the its only a few days brigade, or its just harmless fun or what a sad ole bugger you are etc, well here is my Songkran report.

Drove wife up from BKK to Loei 9 hours car got covered in water/flour/wahetever they use, over the next few days car got more water thrown at it twice the idiots throwing let go of the bucket, one was metal, result two big dents in the doors, took car to car wash result cannot get off the flour water car has to be T cutted and polished and no guarantee it can be removed completely.

I almost ran over at least 2-3 people aimlessly wandering into the road.

Conclusion

Songkran is a F****ng nightmare, mainly played out by irresponsible Wan*ers pissed out of their head with no care or thought for anything or anyone. Total cost to me about 8000 baht.

Thanks you and happy F***king Songkran, the sooner its banned outright the better.

Its used to be sprinkle a bit of water, I saw real hatred in little kids eyes ( aged about 5-6 yrs old) as they hurled with ALL their might the water.

Just harmless fun though............................. time to ban it!!

How can you see hatred in the eyes of a six year old ???

Get a grip.

The might of a six year old is pretty scary though, especially as you flash past at 60 kmph in ton of Toyota..........

And grief beyond grief, the car has to be polished.......

here we go, were you there?? NO, did you see the kids face?? NO, I was, he had hatred in his eyes as he hurled with all his might the water, he wanted to do as much harm as he could to any passing car or bike, in fact they prefer bikes as there is a good chance they can get one down.

Oh yeah for the record I was driving at WALKING PACE

No, I was not there.

It must be that the mightily thrown water of a six year old is a terrifying experience.

A whole bucket, all of it ??

1/2 a litre ??

Especially when thrown at 1,000 kgs of vehicle traveling at walking speed...........

Well done for slowing down and you were lucky to get out alive.

What if he had brought his mates ??

THE BUCKET LEFT HIS HANDS and hit my car as he was throwing it as hard as he could, has that registered yet? I now have a car with a dent in hey but its just a harmless kid right, just like those Bulger boys were, do you think 6 year old kids cant be little gits??

But hey what do I know, I mean I was only there.

[sirchai]

There are about 12000 traffic deaths in Thailand each year. 250 per week or so. Songkran deaths are not any worse than any other week when you figure kilometers travelled.

Sorry, but do you write articles for the Nation? Sounds so familiar.........

[hawker9000]

The spiritual songkran has been lost. If you want to find that again - do what Thais do - go to Laos, especially Pakse or Luang Prabang. In Thailand its all about body counts and high power water guns. Ban the guns. Why cater to stupid people? Have it like it was meant to be - water gently poured on the head. Government bowing to stupid people who don't know what Songkran is about.

Ban the guns, and esp. lock up any farangs - who I think have done much to incite and been fanning the flames of this escalation over recent years - seen using them (or otherwise seen participating in the mayhem)! These idiots have the notion that anyone who doesn't like it can just leave. Well *I* have the notion that THEY can suffer the consequences for their mischief-making.

[atyclb]

"The first five days of the Songkran holiday saw 253 people killed on the roads - a large jump over last year, although the numbers of accidents and people injured were slightly down."

With some background in statistics, one of the inferences that could be postulated from the above is the "campaign" made people more efficient in killing themselves / dying.

Medical costs are absolutely reduced by death.

All joking aside.

Edited April 17, 2012 by atyclb

[kruangfaifar]

You k now I used to say they are idots over Songkran, and then you get the its only a few days brigade, or its just harmless fun or what a sad ole bugger you are etc, well here is my Songkran report.

Drove wife up from BKK to Loei 9 hours car got covered in water/flour/wahetever they use, over the next few days car got more water thrown at it twice the idiots throwing let go of the bucket, one was metal, result two big dents in the doors, took car to car wash result cannot get off the flour water car has to be T cutted and polished and no guarantee it can be removed completely.

I almost ran over at least 2-3 people aimlessly wandering into the road.

Conclusion

Songkran is a F****ng nightmare, mainly played out by irresponsible Wan*ers pissed out of their head with no care or thought for anything or anyone. Total cost to me about 8000 baht.

Thanks you and happy F***king Songkran, the sooner its banned outright the better.

Its used to be sprinkle a bit of water, I saw real hatred in little kids eyes ( aged about 5-6 yrs old) as they hurled with ALL their might the water.

Just harmless fun though............................. time to ban it!!

How can you see hatred in the eyes of a six year old ???

Get a grip.

The might of a six year old is pretty scary though, especially as you flash past at 60 kmph in ton of Toyota..........

And grief beyond grief, the car has to be polished.......

here we go, were you there?? NO, did you see the kids face?? NO, I was, he had hatred in his eyes as he hurled with all his might the water, he wanted to do as much harm as he could to any passing car or bike, in fact they prefer bikes as there is a good chance they can get one down.

Oh yeah for the record I was driving at WALKING PACE

Can you tell the difference between dtermination and hatred? If it is hatred the look will most likely persevere after the water was thrown. If it was detetrmination then the serious look will be replaced by a laugh after the water is thrown especially if somebody fell of their bike as a result. Perhaps when you drove through at walking pace people could see the miserable look on your face and the crowds pulled out the " special paste made from powdered glass ( you must know about this surely it is often combined by letting go of the bucket when throwing it) and reserved for miserable old tossers who can't relax and have a bit of harmless fun once a year. I spent last week in BKK and travelled down to Rayong and saw only people having fun ( with a bit of mischief thrown in). I don't know how you managed to see hatred in a young child's face but I would suggest that it was some kind of a reflection.of your mood. If you got such a good look at a water thrower's face were you on the wrong side of the road or were you the passenger? If you were driving and drove at walking pace through mobs of water throwers whilst looking daggers at them I would say that you had your car scratched deliberately somnamnaa. Next year try smiling and get in the spirit and see what the reaction is you might be pleasantly surprised

[JAG]

I have heard this as well.

Not related to Songkoran but related to accidents, the last time I was at Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital, they told me they have at least 5 CASUALTIES from motobikes PER DAY in that hospital alone. Can't imagine the true number of road deaths that happen in Thailand. And like everything else, you KNOW they will tilt the numbers in their favor. So whatever is reported during any event is probably much, much higher in real life.

But.... there are far far more motorcycles on the roads in Thailand than in any western country, so you can only expect a greater number of casualties from motorcycle accidents.

That said, sensible sanctions for drunk driving and not wearing a helmet would reduce the casualties without overdoing the nanny state thing.

[Jdietz]

Dying at the hospital doesn't count for the statistics, only dead at the scene does.

[Colin Yai]

Dying at the hospital doesn't count for the statistics, only dead at the scene does.

Quite correct , thats why at the very start of this thread I wrote that the reported death figures ,or any other figures come to think of it are highly inaccurate.

[masterbiker49]

Excuse my ignorance of Thai but what does "gaw gai saw reu see kaw kuat KRABI" as I am not sure about my Translation of it.

[heiwa]

Excuse my ignorance of Thai but what does "gaw gai saw reu see kaw kuat KRABI" as I am not sure about my Translation of it.

gaw gai = g, saw reu see = s, kaw kuat = k. Its the Thai letters as they use them - as on the number licence plate. Yep, crime has taken an upswing. Would not be surprised if robbers tailgating farang scooter riders in Phuket in the early hours of the morning causing them to increase their speed and then crash on a bend. Robber following cleans up the wallet and leaves the farang for dead. Tuk tuk may be the cheaper option. Edited April 18, 2012 by heiwa