Road Accidents Kill 254 During New Year Holidays: Thailand

[webfact]

Road accidents kill 254 during New Year holidays

By Digital Media

BANGKOK, Jan 1— Thailand's death toll from road accidents nationwide during the first five days of the New Year's holiday has climbed to 254, while the number of injured has reached 2,454, the national Road Safety Centre reported Tuesday, New Year's Day.

Yesterday alone, New Year's Eve, 52 deaths and 556 casualties were reported in 524 road accidents.

The central province of Nakhon Pathom had the highest death toll of 12 persons, followed by Chiang Mai with 11 and Nakhon Ratchasima and Bangkok with 10 deaths each.

So far, the eastern province of Trat has not recorded any road accident in the past days.

The major causes of road accidents were attributed to drunken driving and speeding.

The government's Road Safety Centre was set up to prevent and reduce the number of the road accidents, deaths and injuries as well as serve as headquarters to link all commands at all level, to solve immediate problems occurring from road accidents and to adjust traffic plan to response the needs arising during from the 2013 New Year period from December 27, 2012 through January 2.

In related developments, holidaymakers on Tuesday began gradually returned to their homes as well as to Bangkok.

In Lamphun, traffic is congested on Highway No 11 while Chiang Mai Arcade Bus Terminal 2 is crowded with travellers.

Meanwhile, Mo Chit Bus Terminal in the capital began to be packed in the afternoon through evening. The number of travellers who returned to the capital was expected to be approximately 200,000-300,000. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2013-01-01

[edwinchester]

So far, the eastern province of Trat has not recorded any road accident in the past days.

Sounds like their entire admin dept must have been wiped out in a bus crash then.

[GentlemanJim]

What I don't understand is why they make a big thing of it during the holidays. It seems to me that everybody gets so drunk that accident rates actually decrease during the holidays. Depending on where you look, the number of deaths on the roads in Thailand each year is around 17 000-20 000 which will work out at around 50-60 a day ball park. So whats the drama now? It is in fact situation normal. They need to get the safe driving campaigns going all year and improve the ludicrously easy driving tests, and start jailing people who drive without a valid licence, including 16 year old rich Girls who kill 9 people at a time.

[whybother]

2011    Total            Daily            2012    Total            Daily    
Day    Deaths    Injuries    Deaths    Injuries    Day    Deaths    Injuries    Deaths    Injuries
1     34      501          34      501         1     33      322          33      322 
2     94      1,051          60      550         2     71      826          38      504 
3     165      1,782          71      731         3     148      1,362          77      536 
4     241      2,382          76      600         4     202      1,898          54      536 
5     282      2,783          41      401         5     254      2,454          52      556 
6     314      3,166          32      383         6    
7     358      3,750          44      584         7    

Edited January 1, 2013 by whybother

[otherstuff1957]

There are about 12,000 - 13,000 traffic fatalities in Thailand every year. That's about 35 per day. According to the figures above, day 1 was actually safer than average!

[PoodMaiDai]

Trat, the hub of road safety.

[01322521959]

No, no, no, no, yes! no, no, oh you asked what I was doing, just a little game of " Look out of your condo window and count how many motorcyclists are wearing helmets" If they can't get that sorted, what hope for all the other broken laws?

Slightly off topic, but it has been a rather long New year break for me.

[aguy30]

There are about 12,000 - 13,000 traffic fatalities in Thailand every year. That's about 35 per day. According to the figures above, day 1 was actually safer than average!

Sounds to me like the totals are pretty good with 254 dead for five days. That is only 17 deaths a day more than the usual 35. The 50% increase in dead is rather low considering all of the extra vehicles, passengers and the number of driven kilometers on a holiday. Never did understand all the hype for what isn't really that much more on a holiday.

The average of 35 each and every day is far more troubling than the occasional holiday. Everyday bad driving with disregard for following traffic laws, the me first attitude and low quality traffic policing are the blame for many of the13,000 dead.

Edited January 1, 2013 by aguy30

[upena]

Remember, these are road deaths reported by the Thai Government - so - most likely under-reported

[SOTIRIOS]

....the government was bragging about how accidents and deaths are down.....

( ....no mention of comparisons regarding total number of vehicles on the road.....thus meaningless....)

...I tend to think that, because of a number of factors, that, this year there are LESS drivers and comparatively MORE deaths and accidents...

[Chao Lao Beach]

climbed to 254, while the number of injured has reached 2,454

I wonder how many of the 2454 died after leaving the scene in a ambulance and wont be counted in the statistic?

It is just statistics when presented like this, how many families have been smashed ?

[aguy30]

....the government was bragging about how accidents and deaths are down.....

( ....no mention of comparisons regarding total number of vehicles on the road.....thus meaningless....)

...I tend to think that, because of a number of factors, that, this year there are LESS drivers and comparatively MORE deaths and accidents...

How is it meaningless when there many more vehihcles on the road drivng far more kilometers than usual and with far more passengers in the vehihcles? Thus the chance of a single individual being in an accident is probably much lower on a holiday if there many more of everything on the road.

BTW, I must have missed whatever it was that was "meaningful", that you were trying to add.

"this year there are LESS drivers and comparatively MORE deaths and accidents" That isn't mentioned in the report. You based that comment on what? Care to share where you obtained your facts?

Edited January 1, 2013 by aguy30

[Ian Curtis]

Anybody got a sweepstake running on the final numbers?

[stoli]

What I don't understand is why they make a big thing of it during the holidays. It seems to me that everybody gets so drunk that accident rates actually decrease during the holidays. Depending on where you look, the number of deaths on the roads in Thailand each year is around 17 000-20 000 which will work out at around 50-60 a day ball park. So whats the drama now? It is in fact situation normal. They need to get the safe driving campaigns going all year and improve the ludicrously easy driving tests, and start jailing people who drive without a valid licence, including 16 year old rich Girls who kill 9 people at a time.

I am licensed, but to jail people for not having one? Isn't that a little extreme? This country doesn't have that many jails.

Edited January 1, 2013 by stoli

[NoshowJones]

What I don't understand is why they make a big thing of it during the holidays. It seems to me that everybody gets so drunk that accident rates actually decrease during the holidays. Depending on where you look, the number of deaths on the roads in Thailand each year is around 17 000-20 000 which will work out at around 50-60 a day ball park. So whats the drama now? It is in fact situation normal. They need to get the safe driving campaigns going all year and improve the ludicrously easy driving tests, and start jailing people who drive without a valid licence, including 16 year old rich Girls who kill 9 people at a time.

Yes, and the stupid parents who give their 12 year old kids the keys to their motorbikes.

[ChrisY1]

Thailand road deaths record speaks for itself really......deaths/100000 population....We rate between Iran and the Congo...shows the level of care displayed by drivers and agencies.

http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/road-traffic-accidents/by-country/

Alpha

1 NAMIBIA 53.4 65 NIGERIA 21.5 129 GEORGIA 11.4

2 SWAZILAND 48.2 66 LIBERIA 21.5 130 MONACO 10.7

3 MALAWI 45.4 67 CHINA 20.8 131 CYPRUS 10.7

4 IRAQ 44.7 68 MALI 20.5 132 SERBIA/MONTEN 10.6

5 IRAN 43.8 69 CAPE VERDE 20.5 133 PHILIPPINES 10.6

6 THAILAND 42.9 70 ECUADOR 20.4 134 ESTONIA 10.6

7 CONGO 42.4 71 TUNISIA 20.3 135 TURKMENISTAN 10.5

8 CENTRAL AFRICA 39.7 72 SOUTH AFRICA 20.2 136 HUNGARY 10.4

9 SUDAN 39.2 73 TOGO 19.6 137 NEW ZEALAND 10.3

10 MOZAMBIQUE 38.2 74 ZIMBABWE 19.3 138 TIMOR-LESTE 10.3

11 ZAMBIA 37.9 75 MOROCCO 19.3 139 NORTH KOREA 10.2

12 ETHIOPIA 37.8 76 UKRAINE 18.8 140 PORTUGAL 10.0

13 LESOTHO 37.4 77 INDIA 18.7 141 BELGIUM 10.0

14 YEMEN 37.3 78 BHUTAN 18.6 142 BARBADOS 9.9

15 BELIZE 36.9 79 COLOMBIA 18.0 143 SLOVENIA 9.8

16 ANGOLA 36.2 80 COSTA RICA 17.9 144 URUGUAY 9.6

17 VENEZUELA 35.8 81 SENEGAL 17.8 145 ALBANIA 9.3

18 DOMINICAN REP 34.8 82 MADAGASCAR 17.4 146 TURKEY 9.0

19 UGANDA 34.7 83 ST. KITTS 17.2 147 TUVALU 8.8

20 MALAYSIA 34.5 84 BELARUS 17.2 148 SAINT VINCENT 8.6

21 EQU. GUINEA 34.2 85 BOLIVIA 17.1 149 AZERBAIJAN 8.5

22 DJIBOUTI 34.0 86 NEW GUINEA 16.9 150 ITALY 8.4

23 JORDAN 32.9 87 CAMBODIA 16.7 151 LUXEMBOURG 8.1

24 CAMEROON 32.6 88 PANAMA 16.5 152 CZECH REPUBLIC 8.0

25 EL SALVADOR 31.8 89 KUWAIT 16.5 153 CUBA 7.9

26 MONGOLIA 31.6 90 BANGLADESH 16.4 154 SAN MARINO 7.9

27 GUINEA-BISSAU 31.4 91 SYRIA 16.2 155 CANADA 7.8

28 GUINEA 31.4 92 TRINIDAD/TOB. 16.2 156 PALAU 7.6

29 BURKINA FASO 31.4 93 BAHAMAS 15.7 157 SEYCHELLES 7.6

30 NAURU 30.9 94 PAKISTAN 15.5 158 HAITI 7.5

31 CHAD 30.9 95 LITHUANIA 15.5 159 SAMOA 7.4

32 SIERRA LEONE 30.2 96 LATVIA 15.5 160 AUSTRIA 6.9

33 ARAB EMIRATES 29.9 97 NIGER 14.9 161 MICRONESIA 6.8

34 TANZANIA 29.6 98 JAMAICA 14.7 162 AUSTRALIA 6.8

35 BURUNDI 29.5 99 ALGERIA 14.5 163 DOMINICA 6.6

36 GUYANA 29.0 100 MOLDOVA 14.5 164 FRANCE 6.6

37 COTE D IVOIRE 28.6 101 POLAND 14.3 165 VANUATU 6.5

38 LEBANON 28.6 102 SAINT LUCIA 14.3 166 IRELAND 6.1

39 REP OF CONGO 28.6 103 BRUNEI 14.2 167 SPAIN 6.1

40 KENYA 28.2 104 ARMENIA 14.1 168 COOK ISLANDS 6.0

41 GHANA 28.1 105 MAURITIUS 14.1 169 SOLOMON ISL. 5.9

42 BOTSWANA 26.6 106 PERU 13.9 170 GERMANY 5.7

43 MAURITANIA 26.1 107 UNITED STATES 13.9 171 FINLAND 5.7

44 VIET NAM 26.0 108 GREECE 13.8 172 ICELAND 5.6

45 BENIN 25.9 109 SOUTH KOREA 13.7 173 KIRIBATI 5.5

46 GABON 25.6 110 NICARAGUA 13.7 174 DENMARK 5.4

47 LIBYA 25.4 111 CROATIA 13.6 175 SINGAPORE 5.3

48 AFGHANISTAN 25.1 112 OMAN 13.3 176 GUATEMALA 5.2

49 RWANDA 24.2 113 MEXICO 13.1 177 NORWAY 5.2

50 BAHRAIN 23.6 114 BULGARIA 13.1 178 TONGA 4.9

51 KYRGYZSTAN 23.4 115 ROMANIA 13.0 179 YUGOSLAVIA 4.9

52 QATAR 23.3 116 SAO TOME 13.0 180 UNITED KINGDOM 4.8

53 SAUDI ARABIA 23.2 117 SLOVAKIA 12.9 181 BOSNIA/HERZEG 4.7

54 INDONESIA 22.6 118 HONDURAS 12.8 182 ANTIGUA/BAR. 4.4

55 COMOROS 22.3 119 CHILE 12.4 183 SWEDEN 4.1

56 PARAGUAY 22.2 120 UZBEKISTAN 12.3 184 ISRAEL 4.1

57 BRAZIL 22.1 121 ARGENTINA 12.2 185 NETHERLANDS 4.0

58 LAOS 22.0 122 SOMALIA 12.1 186 TAJIKISTAN 3.9

59 SURINAME 21.9 123 ANDORRA 11.7 187 SWITZERLAND 3.8

60 RUSSIA 21.9 124 MYANMAR 11.6 188 FIJI 3.8

61 GAMBIA 21.7 125 SRI LANKA 11.5 189 JAPAN 3.8

62 ERITREA 21.7 126 GRENADA 11.5 190 MARSHALL ISL. 3.8

63 EGYPT 21.6 127 NEPAL 11.4 191 MALTA 3.1

64 KAZAKHSTAN 21.6 128 NIUE 11.4 192 MALDIVES 2.4

[ChrisY1]

The above did'nt copy too well...the website is clearer

[whybother]

The above did'nt copy too well...the website is clearer

edit it and put the table inside 'code' tags.

replace the parentheses '( )' with square brackets'[ ]' (code) table (/code)

[jaltsc]

"Thailand's death toll from road accidents nationwide during the first five days of the New Year's holiday has climbed to 254, while the number of injured has reached 2,454, the national Road Safety Centre reported Tuesday, New Year's Day."

From what I understand, and correct me if I am mistaken: If any of the 2,454 of the injured were not declared dead at the scene of the auto crashes, and died in transport to the hospital or after being admitted to the hospital, they are not counted among the road "casualties". This appears to be an effective way of diminishing the danger of riding the Thai roads. Which in turn makes Thailand appear to be a safer place to travel for tourists.

[A Member]

"Road Safety" campaigns are a very bad joke. Every year at Songkran my local municipality sets up a 24 hour campaign tent in the same location and every year, irrespective of the time of day or night, the staff sit under cover eating, reading, chatting or sleeping (of course) whilst the youngsters beside the tent do their very best to knock motorcyclists off their machines. I suppose the staff are on O/T for "working" on public holidays and I'm not sure who funds the farce as it's a waste of money but looks good

[Schlanbusch]

To compare; Norway had 154 people killed in traffic accidents 2012 (incl. people that died in hospital becuase of the traffic accident)

This wil give the number of deaths to 3,05/100.000 population NOT 5,2 as mentioned in the post above.

Link (in Norwegian) : http://www.varden.no/nyheter/154-dode-pa-norske-veier-i-fjor-1.7704254

Edited January 1, 2013 by Schlanbusch

[noitom]

Does anyone know how many gun shooting deaths there are in Thailand per year? A British tourist was killed in a crossfire in a bar shootout by Thais in Koh Samui New Year's eve. Sad for the family of Stephen Ashton.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20883483

[whybother]

Does anyone know how many gun shooting deaths there are in Thailand per year? A British tourist was killed in a crossfire in a bar shootout by Thais in Koh Samui New Year's eve. Sad for the family of Stephen Ashton.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20883483

There is a thread about that (). You don't need to mention it in all of the road accident threads.

[Mosha]

"Thailand's death toll from road accidents nationwide during the first five days of the New Year's holiday has climbed to 254, while the number of injured has reached 2,454, the national Road Safety Centre reported Tuesday, New Year's Day."

From what I understand, and correct me if I am mistaken: If any of the 2,454 of the injured were not declared dead at the scene of the auto crashes, and died in transport to the hospital or after being admitted to the hospital, they are not counted among the road "casualties". This appears to be an effective way of diminishing the danger of riding the Thai roads. Which in turn makes Thailand appear to be a safer place to travel for tourists.

I know what's happening in Trat. They move the victims away from the carnage before they are counted.

Edited January 2, 2013 by Mosha

[IMA_FARANG]

Remember, these are road deaths reported by the Thai Government - so - most likely under-reported

Remember, these are road deaths reported by the Thai Government - so - most likely under-reported

Remember, these are road deaths reported by the Thai Government - so - most likely under-reported

-----------------

Of course, under reported because it doesn't include (in all likelyhood) people killed in Bangkok streets NOT on a intercity highway.

For example, does anyone know what the result was of that tuk tuk driver I saw laying on the sidewalk on the intersection of Soi Asoke and Sukhumvit Road Monday morning about 10:00 A.M. ?

He wasn't moving and the Ambulance crew that was there were just looking at him.

Couldn't tell if he was breathing or not because of the crowd, but he didn't look good.

Probably never included in any casualty figures, because he was "only" a Tuk Tuk driver in the city.

Probably never even made the holiday statistics.

[meatboy]

just watching the news channel 3 of the horrendous accidents,i posted previous on the motoring forum about the size of cars and pick-ups

crv's like mini buses with wheels big enough for buses and some you need a step ladder to get in,pick-ups built like builders lorries but used as family vehicles again not built for speed and people carriers again to high off the road that is why you see so many vehicles uppended they just cant hold the road when cornering.anyone else has another opinion.

[lucjoker]

1 34 501 34 501 1 33 322 33 322

2 94 1,051 60 550 2 71 826 38 504

3 165 1,782 71 731 3 148 1,362 77 536

4 241 2,382 76 600 4 202 1,898 54 536

5 282 2,783 41 401 5 254 2,454 52 556

6 314 3,166 32 383 6

7 358 3,750 44 584 7

Why discussing these numbers?

they are only the number of kills "on the spot"

those who die 15 minute later at the hospital are not in the numbers!

So it could be double or tripple numbers?

So many accidents with wounded are never recorded,so this number is very

inaccurate also.

As long as there are no accurat numbers.....stop discussing and compairing wrong numbers with wrong numbers?

[whybother]

Here are some more wrong numbers. So much for being less than last year.

2011    Total            Daily            2012    Total            Daily    
Day    Deaths    Injuries    Deaths    Injuries    Day    Deaths    Injuries    Deaths    Injuries
1     34      501          34      501         1     33      322          33      322 
2     94      1,051          60      550         2     71      826          38      504 
3     165      1,782          71      731         3     148      1,362          77      536 
4     241      2,382          76      600         4     202      1,898          54      536 
5     282      2,783          41      401         5     254      2,454          52      556 
6     314      3,166          32      383         6     315      3,116          61      662 
7     358      3,750          44      584         7    

Edited January 2, 2013 by whybother

[Langsuan Man]

Darwinism is alive and well in Thailand