Road Tolls In Thailand Among Highest In The World

[Locationthailand]

The majority of the problem could be solved if there was a rule of law but that is never going to happen in this country. Road rules have been written but never enforced unless there is a payoff be it at the scene of the crime or right up to the courts. Sadly with increasing populace and vehicles on the road this figure will simply be set to rise.

[Mosha]

Isn't it the highest according to the WHO, just published?

38.1 per 100000 population, can see here http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2013/data/table_a2.pdf

The Hub of road deaths

[kimamey]

Yet the BiB are never out enforcing the laws unless their wallets are a bit thin before payday. IF the BiB would actually enforce the existing laws there would be a lot fewer road casualties IMO. Given the drivers with no licenses, those who have no clue, scavengers with an old POS scoot with a dump trailer in front, no lights, no signals and all the scooters with modified electrics to turn the lights off, plus adding drugs and alcohol into the mix I am surprised more are not killed.

Of course there's also the fact that the police seem to think those stupid peaked caps some of them wear are helmets. It doesn't really set a good example does it?

[kimamey]

At least someone in a postion of authority has finally stood up and given the true figure instead of the official 12000 per year. All it takes to impact on the tragic total is enforcement of existing laws. Make riders where a helmet, drive respinsibly and with respect for the consequences of their actions. Strict enforcement of drink driving laws would have a large impact too I suspect.

One other point which may have been mentioned is the fact that deaths aren't recorded unless they happen on the day. If the death occurs after that it doesn't count. I have no proof of this but I've heard it many times on here so I'm guessing it might be true.

[tominbkk]

The OP is very vague - 'between 70-80%'

Where are the actual stats?

This chart from 2010 gives % (source)

'two wheels bad'

Five times a day I am making some maneuver to keep a bike from crashing into my car. After awhile here you get a sort of spidy sense about things. Sometimes I think they are actually trying to get me to crash into them.

[tominbkk]

Where are the Thai apologists when you need them ?

Staying away from falling into your pit of negativity and racism.

[tominbkk]

What i love is when any truck or car passes another on a 2-3 lane road they simply cannot stay in their lane they drift wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy over into the other lane, in effect using 1.5 lanes to pass.

Or how so many drivers when turning onto a road need three lanes to do it. They dart halfway out and then stop...

[Mosha]

The OP is very vague - 'between 70-80%'

Where are the actual stats?

This chart from 2010 gives % (source)

'two wheels bad'

Five times a day I am making some maneuver to keep a bike from crashing into my car. After awhile here you get a sort of spidy sense about things. Sometimes I think they are actually trying to get me to crash into them.

It also helps to assume the rider you are approaching is going to do something stupid. The don't disappoint me often. As I said on another thread. My thumb is always resting on the horn, to let them know I'm there. Down south it's not considered an insult to toot the horn.

[Semper]

The OP is very vague - 'between 70-80%'

Where are the actual stats?

This chart from 2010 gives % (source)

'two wheels bad'

Wonder what "others" consist of? Dogs or other pets maybe buffaloes?

Edited March 16, 2013 by Scott

[MilesCh]

These stats are only related to fatalities. How many more have broken or lost appendage? And who is paying for the hospital/doctor costs? For one it's those of us who pay medical insurance.

[Mosha]

These stats are only related to fatalities. How many more have broken or lost appendage? And who is paying for the hospital/doctor costs? For one it's those of us who pay medical insurance.

A friend of ours on the school run was side swiped by a drunk running a red light. A friend of his niece suffered a broken skull. The other driver's wife turned up at the hospital to tell them their insurance couldn't cover the costs. Luckily the girl's family are well off and could afford the treatment. She was lucky and made a complete recovery.

[lexilis]

The World Health Organization "Global Report on Road Safety" 2013 was just published this week. Here are some quick comparisons from it. In tabulating "deaths per 100,000 people" (road accidents) it shows:

Dominican Republic 41.7

Thailand 38.1

Venzuela 37.2

Malaysia 35.1

Iraq 34.1

Nigeria 33.7

South Africa 31.9

Uganda 28.9

Vietnam 24.7

India 18.9

Russia 18.6

Australia 6.1

Spain 5.4

[tominbkk]

The OP is very vague - 'between 70-80%'

Where are the actual stats?

This chart from 2010 gives % (source)

'two wheels bad'

Five times a day I am making some maneuver to keep a bike from crashing into my car. After awhile here you get a sort of spidy sense about things. Sometimes I think they are actually trying to get me to crash into them.

It also helps to assume the rider you are approaching is going to do something stupid. The don't disappoint me often. As I said on another thread. My thumb is always resting on the horn, to let them know I'm there. Down south it's not considered an insult to toot the horn.

I find a quick series of honks, fairly light touch, does not offend people here in BKK.

[Mosha]

Err In Doors has finally come round to me getting a dashcam. Not because of potential accidents, rather a perception it keeps the police honest.

[jamhar]

lol yep i did some number crunching also. from one of the references above.

Havent vetted the numbers, but at a casual lookover, it looks consistent.

Argue want you want about laws, enforcement, quality of drivers ect,

but i would not want to be #3 on this list.

Country/Area Roaddeaths/100K

1 Niue 68.3

2 Dominican 41.7

3 Thailand 38.1

7 South Africa 31.9

19 Malaysia 25.0

21 Saudi Arabia 24.8

22 Viet Nam 24.7

27 Swaziland 23.4

34 Brazil 22.5

50 China 20.5

51 Lao 20.4

63 India 18.9

68 Russian 18.6

75 Indonesia 17.7

78 Cambodia 17.2

96 Mexico 14.7

103 R ofKorea 14.1

118 Greece 12.2

127 USA 11.4

139 New Zealand 9.1

140 Philippines 9.1

149 Italy 7.2

152 Canada 6.8

154 Austria 6.6

156 France 6.4

159 Australia 6.1

162 Spain 5.4

163 Japan 5.2

164 Finland 5.1

165 Singapore 5.1

166 Denmark 4.7

167 Germany 4.7

168 Ireland 4.7

169 Israel 4.7

175 UK 3.7

178 Sweden 3.0

179 Iceland 2.8

182 San Marino 0.0

To the people of San Marino,

Got any cars?

do you drink booze at all?

What gives?

[desktop]

road tolls refers to the fee to use the road as far as i am aware, and yes they seem high

I thought they were talking about highway fees also.

Title should be Road Death Toll.

[NoshowJones]

It should be noted that those are only the figures for persons that die at the scene of an accident. Those that die later from their injuries are not included, and would make the actual figures far higher.

Good to see that the truth is coming out about the roads here, for too long obfuscation and lies have been the order of the day.

The main people to blame here are the government,firstly for not caring, and for not finding ways of enforcing the law, it's not rocket science in any country finding ways to enforce laws. There must be money coming in to this in some way TIT. Secondly, the parents of underage motor cycle riders, there are loads of them where I live.

[Payboy]

lol yep i did some number crunching also. from one of the references above.

Havent vetted the numbers, but at a casual lookover, it looks consistent.

Argue want you want about laws, enforcement, quality of drivers ect,

but i would not want to be #3 on this list.

Country/Area Roaddeaths/100K

1 Niue 68.3

2 Dominican 41.7

3 Thailand 38.1

7 South Africa 31.9

19 Malaysia 25.0

21 Saudi Arabia 24.8

22 Viet Nam 24.7

27 Swaziland 23.4

34 Brazil 22.5

50 China 20.5

51 Lao 20.4

63 India 18.9

68 Russian 18.6

75 Indonesia 17.7

78 Cambodia 17.2

96 Mexico 14.7

103 R ofKorea 14.1

118 Greece 12.2

127 USA 11.4

139 New Zealand 9.1

140 Philippines 9.1

149 Italy 7.2

152 Canada 6.8

154 Austria 6.6

156 France 6.4

159 Australia 6.1

162 Spain 5.4

163 Japan 5.2

164 Finland 5.1

165 Singapore 5.1

166 Denmark 4.7

167 Germany 4.7

168 Ireland 4.7

169 Israel 4.7

175 UK 3.7

178 Sweden 3.0

179 Iceland 2.8

182 San Marino 0.0

To the people of San Marino,

Got any cars?

do you drink booze at all?

What gives?

To the people of Saudi Arabia,

Maybe you should let your women drive.

[domomc]

Wow number 6 eh. I'd say India proudly sit at No.! Both countries also have some top trauma and A&E surgeons as well which Bangkok Ho$pital and the other private$ are very, very proud$

[NoshowJones]

About 98% or so of the motorcycle riders never look at oncoming traffic before entering onto a road. They just come on out. Same thing with changing lanes. Just zip over into the next lane without looking back. But when they are not taught road safety that is to be expected?

And another thing that makes my blood boil is a mother, caretaker will be walking with a 2/3 year old child on a road with the child on the road side of the mother/caretaker next to the traffic.

Good post Pimay1, but is it not common sense to look before entering a main road? Also to check before changing lanes? Thai motorcycle riders do know there are other vehicles on the road, don't they? I would say the biggest reason, and there are others, is the lack of common sense amongst most Thai people. Walking on the sidewalk, how many times do Thats walk into you because they don't look where they are going? It's definitely in the genes.

[tingtongfarang]

It should be noted that those are only the figures for persons that die at the scene of an accident. Those that die later from their injuries are not included, and would make the actual figures far higher.

Good to see that the truth is coming out about the roads here, for too long obfuscation and lies have been the order of the day.

The main people to blame here are the government,firstly for not caring, and for not finding ways of enforcing the law, it's not rocket science in any country finding ways to enforce laws. There must be money coming in to this in some way TIT. Secondly, the parents of underage motor cycle riders, there are loads of them where I live.

The parents also rode around when they were underage, Many never bothered to get a licence and drive/ride without and have no intention to change.

[NoshowJones]

About 98% or so of the motorcycle riders never look at oncoming traffic before entering onto a road. They just come on out. Same thing with changing lanes. Just zip over into the next lane without looking back. But when they are not taught road safety that is to be expected?

And another thing that makes my blood boil is a mother, caretaker will be walking with a 2/3 year old child on a road with the child on the road side of the mother/caretaker next to the traffic.

Have you also noticed even Thai dogs are stupid??

The problem is many Thais actually stop or swerve round them, the dog learns it so doesnt move.

What???? Thai dogs learning, definitely unlike Thai humans.

[NoshowJones]

Last October riding my motor cycle, a Thai shot accross the main road in front of me, I swerved to avoid him and came off my M/Bike--dislocated and broke my shoulder, still on physio and will never ever regain full use.

At the scene the Thai man NEVER said sorry, he didn't have licence/hat/ totally to blame, the police arrived -no report as he said I collided with no one so I lost control, I was taken to hospital-no charges were put on the Thai. I believe he paid the BIB so no report. My 1 experience in 31 years, maybe I am lucky,, but this Thai was typical here, Just no road manners, and not care, same the enforcement.

No punnishment.

But it's your'e fault, if you were not in Thailand, it would never have happened.

[sirchai]

It should be noted that those are only the figures for persons that die at the scene of an accident. Those that die later from their injuries are not included, and would make the actual figures far higher.

Good to see that the truth is coming out about the roads here, for too long obfuscation and lies have been the order of the day.

Plus those who never had a proper operation, amputated legs, arms, skull concussions & more.Should be part of the education at a high school to "teach" them about road safety.

Those who're speeding, drunk driving should have to work at an emergency room of a hospital for one month. That would help, I'm sure.

[hanuman2543]

Any info on a per capita comparison?

US about 300 mill people , and about 55 000 dead in trafic

Germany about 80 million people and 3600 died in traffic last year Edited March 16, 2013 by hanuman2543

[eurozhongguo]

I have driven quite literally all over Thailand, including many of the islands too, and one common danger is lane discipline whereby quite a few drivers appear to think that lane straddling is quite acceptable. On top of this, there are far too many drivers who think that by flashing their lights they will be immune from colliding with anybody, no matter how dangerously they drive.This practice is particularly common when overtaking on two-way roads when other road users are expected to drive onto the hard shoulder or over the hedge to avoid them. Also, turning into side streets on the right side and driving anywhere on the wrong side are also a menace. The number of u-turn places also cause a major danger since turning vehicles get in the way of fast-moving vehicles in the outside lane.

However, some parts of Thailand are more dangerous than others. I would say that the the most dangerous drivers of all are in the Southern muslim provinces where they simply use the horn and cut everyone up, just like in China (the country with the world's worst drivers). Some of the Northern provinces are not too bad, except the far north around Mae Sai (there are so many ethnically Chinese people there - need we say more!). A road that I consider particularly dangerous is road number 2 from Saraburi to the turn off top road number 24 especially close to the dam at Thao Suranari Park. This road is at its most dangerous when you travel along it in a Westerly direction where I have seen many narrow misses and plenty of dangerous, aggressive driving.

The statistics show that two-wheeled vehicles succumb to more road deaths than four-wheeled ones. This is no surprise since many two-wheeled drivers know little about the highway code and always get in the way of four-wheeled vehicles, often by darting out omnto roads without looking and other times by just taking to the middle of the road without checking if there is traffic there.

However, whatever we may say about Thai drivers, one thing is for sure : Thai roads are not that bad compared with Chinese ones. I wouldn't dare drive in China, but I drive in Thailand all the time.

[jamhar]

To the people of Saudi Arabia,

Maybe you should let your women drive.

Amen to that!

I read a book a decade or so back called "House of Saud"

The author recalled some of the happenings in SA in the 70's

One account was when the saud family decided that from the oil proceeds

they would give every citizen a car.

So it wasn't uncommon for a Bedouin to ride his camel to the car dealer

and leave with in a car.......... With no DRIVING EXPERIENCE!

Fascinating book if you like nonfiction.

I'd put TL way above that! lol

But every time i'm on the road in TL,

I'm amazed that there aren't more accidents.

[lookingeast]

Any info on a per capita comparison?

Without using exact stats, it is roughly 4 to 5+ times the rate by 100,000 pop. in some european countries, such as the UK, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland....and Australia. India does have a massive population of course, but its annual loss of life on the road is staggering at nearly 134,000, and is about twice that of an even larger population, China. For staying alive on the road, the European nations are way ahead in this table --->

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate

[lookingeast]

As a scarred old biker, i'd just like to note that a huge number of the motorcycle-deaths will of course have been caused by car, truck and bus drivers, not any stupidity on the part of the bikers. Not wearing a helmet is of course, stupid, but in a large number of car - on - bike smashes, death will happen with or without a 'lid'. Having had 'Sorry mate i didn't see ya' actually said to me while i was laying in the flower-bed in the middle of a huge roundabout after being knocked sideways by a car-driver in the middle of the afternoon in the London suburbs...i know for sure that drivers really don't see bikes from time to time.

[NomadJoe]

You can add a couple more to the stats. I witnessed a horrible crash yesterday between a motorbike, truck, and minivan full of passengers. At least two dead, including a pregnant woman, and 7 or 8 injured. This morning 2 more accidents along the same stretch of road.

There is only one explanation for Thailand's horribly unsafe road design, lack of any no training requirement of drivers, and virtually no enforcement of traffic laws. It is a government population control program.

Edited March 16, 2013 by NomadJoe