No Matter How Hard I Try

[doppa]

This thread is a glaring illustration of why I spend so little time here among the wingeing moaning ever-complaining bigots and xenophobes - including the OP, who hasn't spoken a sensible word since the thread began, and who seems to think that if he keeps repeating himself, he'll suddenly enlighten us all with his BS.

These are the very people who, if they were still back 'home', would be flicking through their racist small-world tabloid newspapers and screaming at all the dark-skinned people 'if you don't like it here, why don't you go back to where you came from!?'

The irony of them now being in another country and daring to write off Thais as stupid is pathetic.

The only possible purpose of this winge-fest is the satisfaction of grumpy, unimaginative morons who wake up every morning wondering what they are going to moan about today. In Australia they call them wingeing poms. Here, the only difference is they are not all English.

pj

your way out of order there pal !

[hellodolly]

I might be wrong but my impression of this thread is that it express a view that Thai drivers are not only in luck of skills for driving but also have an inability and lack of will to learn and understand what is obvious.

I have to agree with you on that point.

That being said it should be obvious to these posters that if the inability of Thai's to drive sensibly according to the standards they learned else where were true you would see a accident every mile and a dead body every 20 miles.

Just maybe they might want to try to look at it from the stand point of a Thai. They probably still won't like it but it might help them to drive better with the Thai's.

[hellodolly]

its the one major problem i have with thailand, their disregard for care when driving will force me to leave.

Wherever you decide to live in this paradise world of ours, you are still going to be greatly disappointed with the behaviours of the natives. People are selfish, self-indulgent and complete pigs the world over, that’s how things have progress in these modern times.

No matter where you go it`s going to be virtually the same.

Total bullshite. It must have been a long time since you have driven in a western country as this sort of crap doesn't happen. I take that back, it does happen on occasion, but usually when some transplant from a 3rd world country brings their driving "skills" with them.

So I gather by what you are saying that you are not in Thailand but in a Western country and the only bad drivers there are some Immigrants from third world countries.

You`re either a bigot or living on another planet.

Give him some credit. He at least is not saying Thailand is the only country in the world that has driving habits not up to their standards. That puts him a little higher in the knowledge field than some of the other posters,

[properjob]

your way out of order there pal !

You are right. I was certainly wrong to call you a moron, never mind that the evidence to support such a slur was overwhelming. I apologise for saying that.

As for the rest of the post, I stand by it.

pj

[doppa]

your way out of order there pal !

You are right. I was certainly wrong to call you a moron, never mind that the evidence to support such a slur was overwhelming. I apologise for saying that.

As for the rest of the post, I stand by it.

pj

you can stand by whatever you want mate, 'sarky' apologies aint accepted around here.

[properjob]

you can stand by whatever you want mate, 'sarky' apologies aint accepted around here.

You're no doubt reassured by the flood of supportive comments rushing in to back you up. Oh no, wait a minute, there aren't any.

[femi fan]

Well, if the OP is trying so hard, but not succeeding, then i suggest a good old bit of buddhist action: quit trying, accept, and just get on with life. It's the trying that's defeating you mate, so quit the trying and you stop getting defeated... too easy, no??

There seems to be a near-universal driving culture around the world so far as i've experienced: get in the car (or on the bike) and turn on the engine while simultaneously turning off the brain. It's a dual-purpose key!

This affliction clearly is suffered by a large number of people, of all creeds and races. I call it the driving culture.

This disengagement of the brain can, though, be virtually stifled out of existence in highly state-controlled societies, evidence of this can be found in countries like australia and britain. However in place of apparent stupidity and care for other drivers, this state controlled version has instead created an extremely angry driver, prone to violent acts of road rage and a level of almost total intolerance of any other driver's mistake, small or not.

I personally prefer a driving culture based on stupidity rather than anger. In Thailand i have to watch out for erratic and sometimes non-courteous drivers, but when i drive in australia or britain i spend a lot of energy trying not to make any mistake so i'm not an object of roadrage by very angry intolerant drivers, and i also have to spend most of my time looking at the speedo to make sure i'm not caught driving faster than slow motion, whereupon the state will put its long arm into my pocket.

But each to their own eh.

[udonguy]

the bottom line is examine how easy it is to get a licence here compared to farangland = therein lies the story and when you cut through all the 'noise' on here it's about education bla bla bla

[pipo1000]

This thread is a glaring illustration of why I spend so little time here among the wingeing moaning ever-complaining bigots and xenophobes - including the OP, who hasn't spoken a sensible word since the thread began, and who seems to think that if he keeps repeating himself, he'll suddenly enlighten us all with his BS.

These are the very people who, if they were still back 'home', would be flicking through their racist small-world tabloid newspapers and screaming at all the dark-skinned people 'if you don't like it here, why don't you go back to where you came from!?'

The irony of them now being in another country and daring to write off Thais as stupid is pathetic.

The only possible purpose of this winge-fest is the satisfaction of grumpy, unimaginative morons who wake up every morning wondering what they are going to moan about today. In Australia they call them wingeing poms. Here, the only difference is they are not all English.

pj

Wasn't there recently an Ambassador from a foreign country who aired the same thoughts about Thais?I doubt he could be considered as being a racist foreigner who fled his home country and now refuge to comments on an anonumous forum.

[doppa]

you can stand by whatever you want mate, 'sarky' apologies aint accepted around here.

You're no doubt reassured by the flood of supportive comments rushing in to back you up. Oh no, wait a minute, there aren't any.

whether people support me or not is up to them, either way it's their opinion,but that's not the point, the point is you my friend accused me of racism, that i will not accept from you or anyone else, your feeble pathetic attempt of being humorous in your 'apology' dont wash with me, more like your attempt of covering your arse.

[ARISTIDE]

There could have been the Preparation for Graduation Ceremony in Mae Tang which create a lot of traffic jam as people from all over the country will attend, I think the number of Rajaput University students alone coming this year could probably be more than ten thousands at least. Not to mention their family from all over Thailand (All Rajapat University campuses in the Northern part of Thailand)

[funcat]

There could have been the Preparation for Graduation Ceremony in Mae Tang which create a lot of traffic jam as people from all over the country will attend, I think the number of Rajaput University students alone coming this year could probably be more than ten thousands at least. Not to mention their family from all over Thailand (All Rajapat University campuses in the Northern part of Thailand)

...yeap...got stock in this traffic today myself...what a mess,even with hundreds of cops around...part of the "tradition",I guess...saw 2 ambulances trying to get thru,still feel sorry for the poor victims inside...

[hellodolly]

the bottom line is examine how easy it is to get a licence here compared to farangland = therein lies the story and when you cut through all the 'noise' on here it's about education bla bla bla

I am afraid it is not that simple. years of experience should tell them for the most part where they can fit through and where they can't.

But it seems like if they see a opening that is 12 feet wide they are not sure they can get through it until they are through it.

You can give them lessons all you want and they will still hesitate. Or watch them turn a corner years of experience and still they creep through it.

Motor bike riders are different.

[uptheos]

There could have been the Preparation for Graduation Ceremony in Mae Tang which create a lot of traffic jam as people from all over the country will attend, I think the number of Rajaput University students alone coming this year could probably be more than ten thousands at least. Not to mention their family from all over Thailand (All Rajapat University campuses in the Northern part of Thailand)

...yeap...got stock in this traffic today myself...what a mess,even with hundreds of cops around...part of the "tradition",I guess...saw 2 ambulances trying to get thru,still feel sorry for the poor victims inside...

With hundreds of cops around, I would be very surprised if it wasn't a mess!

[ARISTIDE]

According to Rajabhat University website http://www.cmru.ac.th/

Graduation Ceremony in Mae Tang involve 19,111 graduates from 8 University campuses, at the largest campus in Thailand

[funcat]

No wonder they clear everybody of the streets...the motor-cage must have been going 150 km/hr,or more.. !!!

[dave2]

re . No wonder they clear everybody of the streets...the motor-cage must have been going 150 km/hr,or more.. !!!

hes right .. and they took me off the street as well : (

a few days ago i was walking from airport plaza to chiang mai land on mahidol road

and every 50 yards was a policeman .. some said hi nodded or whatever and i must have passed

twenty with no problems until i came to the esso gas station

there were three policemen there two ordinary and one with a peaked cap obviously a senior man

he put his arm up and said where you go .. i said chiang mai land ... he said no .. go inside

and pointed at the gas station so i said ok no problem .. ive got all day : )

i walked in about ten yards and there was i little wall by some grass so i sat on it had a drink of

water and got my new phone out to pass the time playing with it ... he didnt like that : (

in seconds he came over and said no photo and said move inside more .. ok ok

so i moved further in and sat on the pump island a good 20 yards from the road

he spoke to both his men while pointing at me and for the next 5 minits they never took their

eyes off

me until the convoy of probably twenty cars bikes army vans and ambulances had passed

why he thought an old man out for a walk could or would be a threat to any thai

ive no idea but he wasnt letting me anywhere near that road for sure : (

dave2

[uptheos]

re . No wonder they clear everybody of the streets...the motor-cage must have been going 150 km/hr,or more.. !!!

hes right .. and they took me off the street as well : (

a few days ago i was walking from airport plaza to chiang mai land on mahidol road

and every 50 yards was a policeman .. some said hi nodded or whatever and i must have passed

twenty with no problems until i came to the esso gas station

there were three policemen there two ordinary and one with a peaked cap obviously a senior man

he put his arm up and said where you go .. i said chiang mai land ... he said no .. go inside

and pointed at the gas station so i said ok no problem .. ive got all day : )

i walked in about ten yards and there was i little wall by some grass so i sat on it had a drink of

water and got my new phone out to pass the time playing with it ... he didnt like that : (

in seconds he came over and said no photo and said move inside more .. ok ok

so i moved further in and sat on the pump island a good 20 yards from the road

he spoke to both his men while pointing at me and for the next 5 minits they never took their

eyes off

me until the convoy of probably twenty cars bikes army vans and ambulances had passed

why he thought an old man out for a walk could or would be a threat to any thai

ive no idea but he wasnt letting me anywhere near that road for sure : (

dave2

Quite right - you'd have snapped up anything interesting in a heartbeat.......not that there would have been anything interesting coming along.

[funcat]

re . No wonder they clear everybody of the streets...the motor-cage must have been going 150 km/hr,or more.. !!!

hes right .. and they took me off the street as well : (

a few days ago i was walking from airport plaza to chiang mai land on mahidol road

and every 50 yards was a policeman .. some said hi nodded or whatever and i must have passed

twenty with no problems until i came to the esso gas station

there were three policemen there two ordinary and one with a peaked cap obviously a senior man

he put his arm up and said where you go .. i said chiang mai land ... he said no .. go inside

and pointed at the gas station so i said ok no problem .. ive got all day : )

i walked in about ten yards and there was i little wall by some grass so i sat on it had a drink of

water and got my new phone out to pass the time playing with it ... he didnt like that : (

in seconds he came over and said no photo and said move inside more .. ok ok

so i moved further in and sat on the pump island a good 20 yards from the road

he spoke to both his men while pointing at me and for the next 5 minits they never took their

eyes off

me until the convoy of probably twenty cars bikes army vans and ambulances had passed

why he thought an old man out for a walk could or would be a threat to any thai

ive no idea but he wasnt letting me anywhere near that road for sure : (

dave2

Quite right - you'd have snapped up anything interesting in a heartbeat.......not that there would have been anything interesting coming along.

that must the first one....NO PHOTO(!) from Dave

[ARISTIDE]

why he thought an old man out for a walk could or would be a threat to any thai

ive no idea but he wasnt letting me anywhere near that road for sure : (

dave2

Me guess it is standard procedure for the police when a member of the royal family passing through the streets. i.e. no photo from dave

Edited April 28, 2012 by ARISTIDE

[hellodolly]

why he thought an old man out for a walk could or would be a threat to any thai

ive no idea but he wasnt letting me anywhere near that road for sure : (

dave2

Me guess it is standard procedure for the police when a member of the royal family passing through the streets. i.e. no photo from dave

Such is the price of fame.

[uptheos]

re . No wonder they clear everybody of the streets...the motor-cage must have been going 150 km/hr,or more.. !!!

hes right .. and they took me off the street as well : (

a few days ago i was walking from airport plaza to chiang mai land on mahidol road

and every 50 yards was a policeman .. some said hi nodded or whatever and i must have passed

twenty with no problems until i came to the esso gas station

there were three policemen there two ordinary and one with a peaked cap obviously a senior man

he put his arm up and said where you go .. i said chiang mai land ... he said no .. go inside

and pointed at the gas station so i said ok no problem .. ive got all day : )

i walked in about ten yards and there was i little wall by some grass so i sat on it had a drink of

water and got my new phone out to pass the time playing with it ... he didnt like that : (

in seconds he came over and said no photo and said move inside more .. ok ok

so i moved further in and sat on the pump island a good 20 yards from the road

he spoke to both his men while pointing at me and for the next 5 minits they never took their

eyes off

me until the convoy of probably twenty cars bikes army vans and ambulances had passed

why he thought an old man out for a walk could or would be a threat to any thai

ive no idea but he wasnt letting me anywhere near that road for sure : (

dave2

Quite right - you'd have snapped up anything interesting in a heartbeat.......not that there would have been anything interesting coming along.

that must the first one....NO PHOTO(!) from Dave

Bet he's got a secret button hole spy camera.

[theblether]

I wonder sometimes if xenophobes should leave their homelands at all. It is claimed that travel is broadening, but it seems that it can be narrowing as well.

We find ourselves in a society that is leapfrogging from following bullocks around fields to driving high speed cars on fairly modern highways without generations and generations, let alone resources, to train themselves to drive. We who've had a century's worth of ancestors to evolve rules and raise us to follow their learning and yet we expect all others on the planet to be 'wise' in our ways in a fraction of the time?

They're climbing enormous learning curves (OK, sometimes curbs) here, steep everywhichway. I think that everyone who's not a newbie in Thailand should know that there's a risk involved in transportation - other places are worse yet on this pellet of muck.

I can recall clearly once upon a time in America, when a fellow quite drunk, after driving fast into a trolly island's steel abutment, would suffer nothing worse from the police than a scolding while said officers assisted the looped couple to their home. No seat belts, so my mom had a scar on her nose for a while.

Sheesh!

Garbage......you're treating Thais like uneducated peasants......who are you to do that? It would take the government 30 days to introduce stricter driving tests, and 30 days to introduce stricter traffic enforcement such as banning people from travelling unsecured in the back of pick up trucks etc.

Trust me, the Thais themselves would be thankful for an improvement in road safety, certainly the one's that I know. They are as terrified as any about being mutilated and killed on the roads.

So give it a rest with your patronizing tone, don't patronize the newbies, and don't patronize the Thais. Thailand is as capable as anywhere of driving to high standards.

[pipo1000]

I wonder sometimes if xenophobes should leave their homelands at all. It is claimed that travel is broadening, but it seems that it can be narrowing as well.

We find ourselves in a society that is leapfrogging from following bullocks around fields to driving high speed cars on fairly modern highways without generations and generations, let alone resources, to train themselves to drive. We who've had a century's worth of ancestors to evolve rules and raise us to follow their learning and yet we expect all others on the planet to be 'wise' in our ways in a fraction of the time?

They're climbing enormous learning curves (OK, sometimes curbs) here, steep everywhichway. I think that everyone who's not a newbie in Thailand should know that there's a risk involved in transportation - other places are worse yet on this pellet of muck.

I can recall clearly once upon a time in America, when a fellow quite drunk, after driving fast into a trolly island's steel abutment, would suffer nothing worse from the police than a scolding while said officers assisted the looped couple to their home. No seat belts, so my mom had a scar on her nose for a while.

Sheesh!

Garbage......you're treating Thais like uneducated peasants......who are you to do that? It would take the government 30 days to introduce stricter driving tests, and 30 days to introduce stricter traffic enforcement such as banning people from travelling unsecured in the back of pick up trucks etc.

Trust me, the Thais themselves would be thankful for an improvement in road safety, certainly the one's that I know. They are as terrified as any about being mutilated and killed on the roads.

So give it a rest with your patronizing tone, don't patronize the newbies, and don't patronize the Thais. Thailand is as capable as anywhere of driving to high standards.

So what holds back those Thais to apply those road safety measures without the need of reinforcement?

[theblether]

I wonder sometimes if xenophobes should leave their homelands at all. It is claimed that travel is broadening, but it seems that it can be narrowing as well.

We find ourselves in a society that is leapfrogging from following bullocks around fields to driving high speed cars on fairly modern highways without generations and generations, let alone resources, to train themselves to drive. We who've had a century's worth of ancestors to evolve rules and raise us to follow their learning and yet we expect all others on the planet to be 'wise' in our ways in a fraction of the time?

They're climbing enormous learning curves (OK, sometimes curbs) here, steep everywhichway. I think that everyone who's not a newbie in Thailand should know that there's a risk involved in transportation - other places are worse yet on this pellet of muck.

I can recall clearly once upon a time in America, when a fellow quite drunk, after driving fast into a trolly island's steel abutment, would suffer nothing worse from the police than a scolding while said officers assisted the looped couple to their home. No seat belts, so my mom had a scar on her nose for a while.

Sheesh!

Garbage......you're treating Thais like uneducated peasants......who are you to do that? It would take the government 30 days to introduce stricter driving tests, and 30 days to introduce stricter traffic enforcement such as banning people from travelling unsecured in the back of pick up trucks etc.

Trust me, the Thais themselves would be thankful for an improvement in road safety, certainly the one's that I know. They are as terrified as any about being mutilated and killed on the roads.

So give it a rest with your patronizing tone, don't patronize the newbies, and don't patronize the Thais. Thailand is as capable as anywhere of driving to high standards.

So what holds back those Thais to apply those road safety measures without the need of reinforcement?

There are plenty of Thais who are in a state of terror on the roads, ask around and you will hear them telling you they are terrified every time they jump on their motorbike in the towns like Chiang Mai. There are plenty more that effectively refuse to drive at night, as they are terrified of the drink drivers out there. Thais are perfectly aware of the dangers on the roads, I would be amazed if any ex-pat in Thailand did not know of Thais who fit those categories. I'm a regular visitor and I know plenty.

The driving test is a joke to the point of being non existent, that is a matter for legislation. The driving test is the starting point for any new driver, it would not take much to make a quantum leap in driving knowledge and standards for new drivers.

Now bizarrely I have found the Thais ( private vehicle owners ) that have driven me around the country to be good drivers, surprisingly so. I have found them to be defensive drivers as they know the dangers of the lunatics out there. I haven't met a Thai yet that doesn't know of someone ( many people ) killed in road traffic accidents, and I know of no Thais that have not been hurt in a motorcycle accident themselves. Most of them elect to stay off the roads at night, an act of self preservation.

The commercial vehicle sector seems to be a law unto itself, bus drivers are under immense time strain and end up driving like lunatics, ideas such as working time directives are alien to Thailand. Truck drivers are the same, taking on an extraordinary workload and driving until they fall asleep. I will agree with CMX that some of the problems facing Thailand now were faced in the West 30-40 years ago, such as the lax attitude to drink driving, however where I do not agree is in the fact that it is now well known worldwide about the dangers of drink driving and excessive driving hours / excessive speed.

These issues are easily tackled by BiB, they have the resources and manpower to do it, they have more checkpoints than you will ever see in the UK, and they have the intimidatory power to put an end to a lot of the malpractice quickly. You are already seeing a vastly higher uptake in daytime helmet use in CM than from two years ago, two years ago it was the norm not to wear helmets, now it's the opposite.

Thais are not stupid, it is they that bear the brunt of the road carnage, and it is up to the government and BiB to clamp down on the commercial vehicle market, and drink driving, as well as raising the standards for new drivers. Everyone will be a winner.

caveat...........we all know that even in the developed markets vehicle crime can be high, boy racers, speeding, poor vehicle maintenance, unlicensed drivers etc are a problem in every country. I am not expecting perfection, just a raising of standards and a curtailment of the fragrant abuses such as pick up trucks full of kids hurtling along the roads at 100mph.

[CMX]

In trying to point out that compliance with 'modern' standards of highway safety takes time in a society jumping from an agrarian to post-industrial technology, I did not in any way suggest that Thais are stupid. Nor did I wish to imply that laws and enforcement either should or could not change for the better, as we all agree.

Mine was an attempt to strike a balance against the judgmental indignation that some carry whenever they go to a foreign region - the notion that people should automatically do things our way right now and if they don't, they are inferior in some way.

As theblether points out, it would take a government willing to pass unpopular (seat belts come too mind from my nation) safety laws. It would require a police force so much dedicated to the public good that it would be willing to enforce unpopular laws and face the displeasure of the public. My thought was that these things take a while to evolve. I give you the history of the evolution of British parliament (who really decided what it should do, as it grew in power?)

Finally, common sense has been mentioned. I agree that such a standard is society's creation. And in fact (drunk drivers and speeders aside), most Thais drive according to their common sense. For example, they stay on the correct side if the road, so far as i can tell. Also, Thai drivers rarely stop before entering a main street from a soi. Most of us are aware of this and stay away from the left or are ready to stop. Very strange, but a habit fixed in the mix. We're aware of the wide turn, where the driver will swing right (sometimes half a lane) in order to make the left turn, as if going onto a narrow soi or driving an articulated truck. Those of us who don't learn these habits are vulnerable.

Basically, I feel that the whole world will drive in concert according to the same rules - about the time we give up wars as solutions, arguably a higher goal yet.

[TommoPhysicist]

Garbage......you're treating Thais like uneducated peasants......who are you to do that? It would take the government 30 days to introduce stricter driving tests, and 30 days to introduce stricter traffic enforcement such as banning people from travelling unsecured in the back of pick up trucks etc.

Nobody would pay any attention to such laws, the police wouldn't enforce them.

It seems to me that many foreigners misunderstand many Thai laws, essentially they introduce lots of laws to placate outside organizations and countries (example USA and piracy) but don't really want such laws, so never enforce them.

[Paangjang]

This thread is a glaring illustration of why I spend so little time here among the wingeing moaning ever-complaining bigots and xenophobes - including the OP, who hasn't spoken a sensible word since the thread began, and who seems to think that if he keeps repeating himself, he'll suddenly enlighten us all with his BS.

These are the very people who, if they were still back 'home', would be flicking through their racist small-world tabloid newspapers and screaming at all the dark-skinned people 'if you don't like it here, why don't you go back to where you came from!?'

The irony of them now being in another country and daring to write off Thais as stupid is pathetic.

The only possible purpose of this winge-fest is the satisfaction of grumpy, unimaginative morons who wake up every morning wondering what they are going to moan about today. In Australia they call them wingeing poms. Here, the only difference is they are not all English.

pj

Has to be said again, most people forget what Non immigrant on their visa means. We're all visitors, but in my book a paying visitor is an unwanted visitor. A non immigrant who pays to be allowed to stay here...

The average IQ of a Thai adult is lower than the average IQ of a British 16 year old kid! (Check online as it can’t be copied but easy to find) Obviously if adults with this mental capacity are trying to operate 2 ton machines at speeds up to xxxKPH sometimes drunk on drugs, and often armed there is always going to be problems. This will never change so as a paying visitor in this 3rd world, undeveloped country we just have to try and suck it up. Not trying to Thai bash, just stating the facts.

Under supervision i used to drive my dads truck on our land when i was 12 years old. The concept of an automatic truck with a steering wheel and two pedals didn't seem difficult. Have you ever taken a driving test in Thailand? I have, With no exaggeration i can assure you i could of passed that test at 12 years old. Putting all of these facts together, the armed 16 year old, the 12 year old driver, a whiskey and Methamphetamine epidemic plus a lack of law enforcement. You get Thailand!

Gets to all of us. That’s why there’s a topic about it every day on this expat forum. However nothing we do about it is going to change them, ever. Correct?

[LarryBird]

A few things.. I think MOST thai drivers are quite good, as they HAVE to be. I think in general, they are more alert, as a result of the dangers on the road.

I also think Thai's are able to get a lot of vehicles through congested areas, where in my own country would result in a major traffic jam.

The negative... I think the number of bad drivers is large in comparison to other places. And, they're never taken off the road. I see about 1 accident per week on Canal road in between the royal flora and CMU. Usually in one of two places, often a single car crash.. That's actually a HUGE number of accidents.. What would that number be in other countries? But again, it's not most people driving like fools, it's that 2 or 3 out of a hundred, that make the roads seem like a free for all.

I don't have a problem with the DIFFERENCES of thai drives and their western counterparts.. I have a problem with the DANGERS presented by a small percentage of them. I don't get my panties up in a bunch when they form an extra lane, or something similar.. I have a problem with the RISKS that some of these people take with little to know reward.. Passing in tight traffic, only to pass one car, and be stuck behind another.. All the while risking hitting some on coming traffic. this stuff is just dumb.

But hey, it happens EVERYWHERE!! Just like you could get lung cancer whether you smoke or you don't!! So, you might as well smoke!!

[likite]

According to the World Health Organisation.....

"The death toll from road accidents in Thailand is among the worst worldwide.

Officially, between 2000 and 2010, an average of 12,000 people were killed on the country’s roads each year, but as police record a death only if it occurs at the scene of the crash – rather than within 30 days as is accepted practice in most other countries – these figures are widely accepted to be distorted.

The real figure is estimated to be closer to 20,000 annually.

This compares with 3,000 deaths a year in the UK – a country with a similar sized population."

Frightening, but I think most of know there is a huge number of needless deaths here.

If the Thai authorities can't get their head round these numbers and to do what needs to be done......then that is really ________ (fill in the blank).