Road Accidents Kill 101 In First Two Days Of Songkran Festival

[webfact]

Road accidents kill 101 in first two days of Songkran festival
By Digital Media



BANGKOK, April 13 -- Road accidents have killed 101 people and injured 838 in 791 accidents over the past two days in Thailand, as the country is celebrating the annual Songkran festival marking the start of a new year in the Thai calendar, according to an official in charge of disaster prevention.

Panadda Diskul, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Interior, said statistics compiled by the Road Safety Centre of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation showed 791 road accidents during the first two days, during the seven-day campaign to reduce road accidents nationwide ending Tuesday at midnight, also known as the “seven dangerous days.”

A total of 101 people have been killed while 838 people were injured in traffic accidents, he said.

On Friday alone, 62 people were killed and 496 others injured in 465 road accidents, he said. Most accidents resulted from drunk driving, followed by speeding.

Kanchanaburi and Prachuap Khiri Kan recorded the most deaths at six each during the first two days this year, while the northern province of Chiang Mai recorded the most injuries at 34 from 32 accidents, he said. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2013-04-13

[Thai at Heart]

100 in 2 days? Obviously they are starting to count properly....

[roxnadz]

Not surprised Prachuap is bloody this year. We were doing our final run for provisions and nearly got into 3 separate accidents on Phetchkasem in Pran Buri. It was ridiculous. Guys in trucks swerving from the fast lane to the median, running lights, all of it.

Edited April 13, 2013 by roxnadz

[SABloke]

Last night saw a Double Cab ON TOP of a sedan - facing opposite directions (literally like something in the movies) in Prachuap. Seems like the driver was travelling at some speed when he hit the raised tarmac of the intersection which gave him just enough lift to mount the bonnet of the smaller car. Weirdest crash I've ever witnessed.

No deaths - thank God!

Edited April 13, 2013 by SABloke

[webfact]

Songkran road casualties rise to 101 deaths, 838 injuries
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The second day of the so-call seven Dangerous Songkran holidays saw 62 people killed in road accidents nationwide, raising the road death toll to 101, the Road Safety Centre announced Saturday.

On the second day or Friday, 465 accidents occurred during which 496 people were injured.

ML Panadda Dissakul, deputy permanent secretary, told a press conference that drunk driving was the biggest cause of the accidents Friday.


-- The Nation 2013-04-13

[webfact]

RT @RichardBarrow: During the 7 days of #Songkran last year 320 people died in road accidents. In the first two days of this year, 101 have already died so far

[sjjmmi]

Good to see every 1 in the picture above wearing a crash helmet

[LuckyLew]

Said it before .. you cannot teach an old Somchai a new trick

Nobody cares what Thai politicians or Thai police say or do

They can both talk about safety this and safety that, but people

are laughing at them and do not care and do not listen to them

Nobody cares about the carnage they cause

Thailand is a me me me land

I am nice an cool in my condo

Have food and water for 7 days

Will leave hibernation on Wednesday

[jamhar]

I think doing a fatalities count is good reporting and good tactic by the policy makers.

Its hard to correct a problem, if you aren't aware of it.

So do a body count, report it, and keep it front and center.

Remove all excuses for someone to say "i didnt know" or "i'd forgotten that".

Hopefully, education will have an affect, and we'll all know how well the country is doing.

For me, I'm staying low like LL above. Its kinda crazy out there!

[jucel]

and these are the fudged figures!!

[bdenner]

Most accidents resulted from drunk driving,

What happened to the "Strict ban on alcohol sales this SongKhran"? Must only have applied to the 'Mom and Pop' store next door to us in the rice paddies. BTW he is slipping a nip of Lao Kow, in an old glass, out the back door, sneaky sod!.

[BrianCR]

and these are the fudged figures!!

Can you please expand your comment and give us the correct figures?

[BrianCR]

Most accidents resulted from drunk driving,

What happened to the "Strict ban on alcohol sales this SongKhran"? Must only have applied to the 'Mom and Pop' store next door to us in the rice paddies. BTW he is slipping a nip of Lao Kow, in an old glass, out the back door, sneaky sod!.

They banned ice-cream instead on the grounds that eating it could give you sticky fingers helping you to lose control of the throttle on your pushbike

[pilm]

Last night saw a Double Cab ON TOP of a sedan - facing opposite directions (literally like something in the movies) in Prachuap. Seems like the driver was travelling at some speed when he hit the raised tarmac of the intersection which gave him just enough lift to mount the bonnet of the smaller car. Weirdest crash I've ever witnessed.

No deaths - thank God!

I saw a pick-up lodged into the corner of an upstairs bedroom and balcony of a townhouse. front half of the pick up gone or into the house.

[maidu]

I have an old p.u. truck, and people often ride in back, but I never allow anyone to ride back there with their butts sitting on the sidewall.

Last night saw a Double Cab ON TOP of a sedan - facing opposite directions (literally like something in the movies) in Prachuap. Seems like the driver was travelling at some speed when he hit the raised tarmac of the intersection which gave him just enough lift to mount the bonnet of the smaller car. Weirdest crash I've ever witnessed.

No deaths - thank God!

How about: No deaths - thank the alpha member of the man-made myth of your choice.

There's a T near my house, where a road comes right angles to another. After the first several crashes - with vehicles going full speed through the top of the T, the authorities put a guard rail there. Didn't slow anyone down. That guard rail gets plastered and knocked back several meters, every 5 weeks or so. It's so twisted and bent now, it looks like a leather dog chew that the dog has played with for two weeks.

Edited April 13, 2013 by maidu

[jucel]

and these are the fudged figures!!

Can you please expand your comment and give us the correct figures?

Well the WHO figs are 71 people dying everyday from RTAs, which would make 142. Therefore it doesn't take much to imagine that they are slightly higher at this particular time of the year! Also, virtually every number that comes out of every dept of the govt seems to be questioned vehemently, so this leads me to deduce that most figures are fudged for political reasons!

[jucel]

Also, people are only counted in the stats if they die on the scene/same day.

[apetley]

and these are the fudged figures!!Can you please expand your comment and give us the correct figures?

Thailands 'official' annual road deaths reported as about 12000.

A few weeks ago the Thai Interior Minister reported the true figure as per the WHO figure of 26000.

I'd personally guess that well over 200 people have died or will die from injuries received already.

[siampolee]

Apart from driving habits that are more in tune with the sedate speed of buffalo powered transport we have the problem of poor old Somchai dog tired after a days work being put into the driving seat of his vehicle with a collection of noisy excited passengers who distract him from his true purpose of getting all of them safely to their destination.

Music blasting out at around 300 decibels, copious amounts of alcoholic beverage coupled with in a large number of cases poorly maintained vehicles and poorly educated drivers.

Now let us also consider that all of a sudden Somcahai is going to be driving some 400 plus kilomters in one hit as opposed to around 5 kilometers which is his daily trip.

Open roads and super highways act as a narcotic, down goes the right foot and up comes the speed and along comes that trance associated with high speed, fine until other vehicles appear or the road takes a bend in its course or road and traffic conditions change with little or no warning then Somcahi reacts however to late impact is felt and the carnage begins.

The easing of the bottlenecks is also of prime importance, Somchai freed from the shackles of the bottleneck like his counterparts in other vehicles is out of the bottleneck like a champagne cork and we all know how they react and also how dangerous they can be too

All of the above factors and more all combine.indeed contribute to this mass lemming like action each Songkran.

I well remember doing my advanced drives course in the U.K many a year ago one read the road and you commented as you drove thus you were always aware of the upcoming situation exactly the same as when one was driving at high speed on ''blues and two's.

Driver education and passenger education is vital if this yearly carnage is to be lessened.

Rhetoric is cheap. however true driver education will bear fruit,it would be interesting to see just how much the average R.T.A. costs financially and in human terms, if such a survey was carried out and the results published that might well spark a positive response from all parties involved possible driver and passenger education and road safety in general

However I would advise you all not to hold your breath whilst waiting for that above event to happen

[trainman34014]

If road deaths were an Olympic Sport Thailand would win the gold medal every time. Sad isn't it.

[PoodMaiDai]

Well done Thailand, you are exceeding everyone's expectations for 2013. You've found something you're good exceptional at. With a little more booze and faster cars, you could be the best at dying on the road in the entire world. Make your country proud, put that pedal to the metal uncle Somchai!

Edited April 13, 2013 by PoodMaiDai

[tomyummer]

Finally Thailand can be the hub of something which the world can pay attention to. Or maybe the country is trying for another Guinness Book entry right up there with days living with scorpions?

[PoodMaiDai]

Just noticed, this was posted today at 13:32

That's 101 dead by this afternoon on day 2. Not counting the whole day and night.

200+ by tomorrow?

[rookball]

Just noticed, this was posted today at 13:32

That's 101 dead by this afternoon on day 2. Not counting the whole day and night.

200+ by tomorrow?

they count 11th as the starting of the songkran

[PoodMaiDai]

Just noticed, this was posted today at 13:32

That's 101 dead by this afternoon on day 2. Not counting the whole day and night.

200+ by tomorrow?

they count 11th as the starting of the songkran

ah ha!

[surangw]

how many die on a non holiday ?

[khaowong1]

Good to see every 1 in the picture above wearing a crash helmet

And the police enforcing the helmet laws.

[metisdead]

^^ We were sitting at a red light today, saw a group of youngsters on motorbikes with no helmets speed away from the junction. There was a police box there. One policeman was getting irritated with this, saw another group of youngsters with no helmets on waiting at the red light across the junction. He went back to the police box, got a heavy stick, at least a meter in length and at least 30 centimeters in diameter, and proceeded to walk across the junction toward these youngsters and pointed his stick at them, to pull over, they did. The light turned green and as I proceeded through the junction he was busy dealing with them. This was in outer Bangkok though.

[robert888d]

It is very sad that so many people are killed and injured due to drinking and driving,When will they ever learn?

[fakename]

Just got back from a day trip, to visit the relatives. There were two police (family members) at the get together, both drunk. I guess they were some sort of volunteers, then they left for duty, a third came, in uniform, he sat for a while and had a few shots, then left for work. No one seemed concerned that they were drunk, since they could still walk, and still drive a car. Before we arrived, there were some urgent phone conversations, seemed that they couldnt get any whisky in town, so wanted us to stop and get a few bottles. The 7 didnt sell, so we had to go to a mom and pop store, so they saved the day!! hahaha. On my way back home, (no, I didnt drink) one motor bike just missed me, and one pick-up nearly clipped me, since he didnt know I was on the. Didnt see any accidents, but in the dark, there could have been a few that were in the bushes. I didnt want to drive today, but of course, the gf doesnt understand why it can be dangerous, and cant plan ahead, and go a day or two earlier.