Songkran Holidays: Fatalities Rise As Crashes Get Worse

[webfact]

SONGKRAN HOLIDAYS
Fatalities rise as crashes get worse
WANNAPA KHAOPA,
TANATPONG KONGSAI
THE NATION



Academic blames rising number of deaths on roadside obstacles, ineffective laws

BANGKOK: -- Traffic accidents over long holidays have gone down over the past few years, but fatalities remain stubbornly high because the crashes have become more severe, an academic said yesterday as the death toll hit 321 in the seven dangerous days of Songkran.

"Our records show that more people are killed per accident when we calculate the severity index by dividing the number of deaths by the number of accidents," Assoc Prof Kunnawee Kanitpong, manager of the Thailand Accident Research Centre (TARC) at the Asian Institute of Technology, said.

According to TARC, the severity index during Songkran had risen from 8 per cent in 2007 to 10 per cent in 2010 and about 11 per cent this year. Severity index during the New Year holidays rose from 9 per cent in 2008 to 10 per cent in 2011. (10 per cent means 10 people killed in every 100 accidents.)

The Road Safety Centre reported 321 deaths and 3,040 injuries in 2,828 road accidents from Thursday to Wednesday, compared to 320 deaths and 3,320 injuries from 3,129 accidents during the same period last year.

Wednesday alone saw 36 deaths and 257 injuries from 247 accidents.

Deputy Interior Minister Chatt Kuldiloke said that drunk driving was responsible for 39 per cent of the accidents, followed by speeding at 24 per cent. Prachuap Khiri Khan suffered the most deaths at 12, while Chiang Mai witnessed the most injuries at 110 and the most accidents at 104. Chaiyaphum, Trat, Pattani, Phuket and Ranong were fatality free.

"Speeding and harmful objects near roads have made the collisions worse," Kunnawee said. "We found that many of the deaths in Prachuap Khiri Khan were caused by vehicles skidding off roads and crashing into obstacles like trees. The authorities have not paid enough attention to reducing speeding and dangerous things along roads."

Features like trees and power poles were placed far too close to roads, when they should be at least five to seven metres away.

The Thai Roads Foundation's survey last year found that only 56 per cent of drivers wore seat belts and 43 per cent motorcyclists wore helmets.

"We recommended agencies to seriously enforce existing traffic laws, pass new ones, especially those involving speeding, and give violators tougher punishment. Obstacles should also be removed from the roads.

"Although we have a system that records traffic offences and suspends the drivers' licence, it is not practical. Police and the Land Transport Department should hire a company to update and link data of violators, which would make the system more effective and practical.

"Also, another system that sends evidence to the home of traffic-law breakers and lets them pay a fine is not practical or effective enough," she said.

Effective law enforcement and penalties would make drivers fearful so they will stop ignoring laws. Some European countries succeeded in reducing their road tolls after they forced drivers to slow down and policed traffic laws more strictly, she added.

Road accidents during Songkran from 2003 to 2013:

51,722 accidents during Songkran from 2004-2013;

4,310 people killed and 106,869 wounded from 2003-2013;

668 deaths in 2003, the highest;

320 deaths in 2012, the lowest;

Most accidents involved motorcycles and the main reason was drunk driving.

Year/injuries/deaths/accidents

2003/40,825/668/NA

2004/28,527/500/17,873

2005/5,213/392/4,470

2006/4,726/375/4,197

2007/4,805/361/4,274

2008/4,803/368/4,243

2009/4,332/373/3,977

2010/3,802/361/3,516

2011/3,476/271/3,215

2012/3,320/320/3,129

2013/3,040/321/2,828

Sources: Road Safety Centre, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, Interior Ministry


-- The Nation 2013-04-19

[SlideRiceFC]

Not having been here that long I wonder what changed between 2004 & 2005. Did people suddenly get less accident prone or did the calculation methods change?

[Bellweather]

Ha, Ha, Ha, " harmful objects placed near the roads ". I thought the object was to drive in such a way as to remain on the road and not skid off into these pesky and badly placed objects. Where do they find these people, is it a spin off from Orwell's 1984 and they are specially bred ?

[bigbamboo]

So harmful objects like trees should be placed five to seven metres away from the road...!!!

Jeez, I knew Thais were crap drivers but come on! Pedestrians, you have been warned.

[Cloggie]

Whatever you use, motorbike, car or even a bicycle - just drive / ride normal. No need to have gas open 100% all the time just because it is possible, no need to overtake so you win an extra 5 seconds, no need to drive 120km through a city. For example, when I travel 90 / 100 km is more than enough in Thailand and when I arrive at my destination I won't be as tired as well - saves also some fuel. Even when you are drunk AND still want to use your motorbike, 30 / 40 is enough or maybe even to fast already. It's the speed that kills....

[BrianCR]

I think the majority of Thai main roads are quite well maintained with most road side "objects" placed at a safe distance. Two main problems spring to mind through, road works without suitable signage and the political signs that appear from time to time (especially during elections). No, the road carnage is caused by one object - the five hundred baht "tea money" that gives an automatic licence to drive -. If people are serious about stopping road deaths start by both driver and police training. Stop the use of handheld mobiles, stop the 3 year old kid sitting on the drivers lap, stop the 25 people in the back of a pick-up, stop the kids on motorcycles and most of all show drivers that it's not clever to race other cars just to be "at the front" and it is clever to have driving morals and road sense

[allalong]

Oh Mr academic surely you know nothing will change

And why.......? The folks dont want it to. Period

Sent from my GT-S7500L using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited April 19, 2013 by allalong

[mancub]

Roads here in Krabi are very good and the Authorities are also quite good at trying to improve safety by changing road /lane layouts and putting in fixed bollards at certain dangerous points to separate traffic. Most drivers ,however ,prefer to blatantly ignore these measures and the fore-mentioned bollards get demolished almost overnight.

Don't blame the roads , the trees ,the power pylons or the weather ,Mr traffic accident expert ,look no further than the driving habits of the majority.

[Radar501]

"Deputy Interior Minister Chatt Kuldiloke said that drunk driving was responsible for 39 per cent of the accidents, followed by speeding at 24 per cent".

Interesting use of statistics.

I don't think drunk driving has ever been responsible for a single car accident, but it certainly contributes to poor driving skills. It would be much more accurate to say that drunk driving was present in 39 per cent of the accidents.

Edited April 19, 2013 by Radar501

[DocN]

Not having been here that long I wonder what changed between 2004 & 2005. Did people suddenly get less accident prone or did the calculation methods change?

I guess it is called "moving the goalpost"...

[DocN]

It's not over yet, folks!

And everybody...well...Nisa...who was celebrating a downwards trend: well spotted!

[MEL1]

""Our records show that more people are killed per accident when we calculate the severity index by dividing the number of deaths by the number of accidents," Assoc Prof Kunnawee Kanitpong, manager of the Thailand Accident Research Centre (TARC) at the Asian Institute of Technology, said."

Is that supposed to sound impressive, and the best the manager at AIT can come up with? My respect for that place just flew out the window..

-mel.

[MEL1]

Not having been here that long I wonder what changed between 2004 & 2005. Did people suddenly get less accident prone or did the calculation methods change?

I guess it is called "moving the goalpost"...

or moving the trees and posts?

-mel.

[culicine]

Ha, Ha, Ha, " harmful objects placed near the roads ". I thought the object was to drive in such a way as to remain on the road and not skid off into these pesky and badly placed objects. Where do they find these people, is it a spin off from Orwell's 1984 and they are specially bred ?

I guess we will see a mega-deforestation project in Prachuap now ! Anyone driving past Hua Hin will know how bad the roads are down that way. They are very bumpy and uneven in many places. It's also a road where people drive very fast, even in heavy traffic - haven't seen too many police down there on that roads the last couple of times I was there. Not too surprised the road toll is high in that province.

[culicine]

""Our records show that more people are killed per accident when we calculate the severity index by dividing the number of deaths by the number of accidents," Assoc Prof Kunnawee Kanitpong, manager of the Thailand Accident Research Centre (TARC) at the Asian Institute of Technology, said."

Is that supposed to sound impressive, and the best the manager at AIT can come up with? My respect for that place just flew out the window..

-mel.

Maybe they should set about recording ALL the accidents from Songkran first. Let's see the real accident statistics first. I really would like to know if the number of vehicle accidents is higher than at any other time of year.

[BrianCR]

""Our records show that more people are killed per accident when we calculate the severity index by dividing the number of deaths by the number of accidents," Assoc Prof Kunnawee Kanitpong, manager of the Thailand Accident Research Centre (TARC) at the Asian Institute of Technology, said."

Is that supposed to sound impressive, and the best the manager at AIT can come up with? My respect for that place just flew out the window..

-mel.

Maybe they should set about recording ALL the accidents from Songkran first. Let's see the real accident statistics first. I really would like to know if the number of vehicle accidents is higher than at any other time of year.

You have no proof that they aren't counting all accidents that are reported! Is taking a negative stance going to solve the problem? Surely it's better to accept the figures and then go for a positive approach in trying to solve the main problem, the accidents not the figures!

[A Member]

Ha, Ha, Ha, " harmful objects placed near the roads ". I thought the object was to drive in such a way as to remain on the road and not skid off into these pesky and badly placed objects. Where do they find these people, is it a spin off from Orwell's 1984 and they are specially bred ?

Will provincial governments be ordered to monitor the length of all highways in their jurisdiction and move all harmful objects back to whatever is considered a safe distance ? It won't make any difference as Thai drivers will still be able to hit them

[Payboy]

Academic blames rising number of deaths on roadside obstacles, ineffective laws

Anything but the idiots behind the wheel.

[Ragzilb]

Here is a way to fix it ;

place the steerring wheel in the middle of a car

Make all roads one way with no possable to pass oneanother.

Place Cams every 100 m,

install Cams in Police cars and on police motorbikes with a live feed. to TV stations

and move he shin. family to an island where iin no way they can contact the surrounding world.

I might be dreaming but I think it ill do the trick

[thequietman]

Those damn trees. Popping up every where. They must be the fast growing type.

News release : after intense thought processes and a meeting, the police have established that the trees were planted there to make them look silly. The trees will be removed and disposed off accordingly. One top ranking officer was quoted as saying, ' what the hell are we going to do with these 25 year old teak trees? It's gonna cost us money just to get rid of them."

A Thai man had just totaled his pickup in a horrific accident. Miraculously, he managed to pry himself from the wreckage without a scratch and was having another sup of Sangsom when the BIB arrived.
"My God!" the BIB gasped. "Your pickup looks like an accordion that was stomped on by an elephant. Are you OK somchai ?"
"Yes, officer, I'm just fine" the drunk man chirped.
"Well, how in the world did this happen?" the officer asked as he surveyed the wrecked car.
"Officer, it was the strangest thing!" the man began. I was driving along this road when from out of nowhere this TREE pops up in front of me. So I swerved to the right, and there was another tree! I swerved to the left and there was ANOTHER tree! I served to the right and there was another tree! I swerved to the left and there was ...."
"Uh, sir", the officer said, cutting him off, "There isn't a tree on this road for 30 miles. That was your air freshener swinging back and forth."

[Markaew]

I think the majority of Thai main roads are quite well maintained with most road side "objects" placed at a safe distance. Two main problems spring to mind through, road works without suitable signage and the political signs that appear from time to time (especially during elections). No, the road carnage is caused by one object - the five hundred baht "tea money" that gives an automatic license to drive -. If people are serious about stopping road deaths start by both driver and police training. Stop the use of handheld mobiles, stop the 3 year old kid sitting on the drivers lap, stop the 25 people in the back of a pick-up, stop the kids on motorcycles and most of all show drivers that it's not clever to race other cars just to be "at the front" and it is clever to have driving morals and road sense

Wow! That's the truth about big signs at intersections. Many times you can't see any oncoming traffic until you pull out into the street.

[Markaew]

"Deputy Interior Minister Chatt Kuldiloke said that drunk driving was responsible for 39 per cent of the accidents, followed by speeding at 24 per cent".

Interesting use of statistics.

I don't think drunk driving has ever been responsible for a single car accident, but it certainly contributes to poor driving skills. It would be much more accurate to say that drunk driving was present in 39 per cent of the accidents.

That's splitting hairs.

[Markaew]

It's not over yet, folks!

And everybody...well...Nisa...who was celebrating a downwards trend: well spotted!

Nice.

[Markaew]

Ha, Ha, Ha, " harmful objects placed near the roads ". I thought the object was to drive in such a way as to remain on the road and not skid off into these pesky and badly placed objects. Where do they find these people, is it a spin off from Orwell's 1984 and they are specially bred ?

I guess we will see a mega-deforestation project in Prachuap now ! Anyone driving past Hua Hin will know how bad the roads are down that way. They are very bumpy and uneven in many places. It's also a road where people drive very fast, even in heavy traffic - haven't seen too many police down there on that roads the last couple of times I was there. Not too surprised the road toll is high in that province.

That's not good. I'm going down there for the first time next week.

[lee68]

I think the majority of Thai main roads are quite well maintained with most road side "objects" placed at a safe distance. Two main problems spring to mind through, road works without suitable signage and the political signs that appear from time to time (especially during elections). No, the road carnage is caused by one object - the five hundred baht "tea money" that gives an automatic licence to drive -. If people are serious about stopping road deaths start by both driver and police training. Stop the use of handheld mobiles, stop the 3 year old kid sitting on the drivers lap, stop the 25 people in the back of a pick-up, stop the kids on motorcycles and most of all show drivers that it's not clever to race other cars just to be "at the front" and it is clever to have driving morals and road sense

None of that will ever happen in our life times, i've been here 20 yrs and it just gets worse

[anon210]

Ha, Ha, Ha, " harmful objects placed near the roads ". I thought the object was to drive in such a way as to remain on the road and not skid off into these pesky and badly placed objects. Where do they find these people, is it a spin off from Orwell's 1984 and they are specially bred ?

I guess we will see a mega-deforestation project in Prachuap now ! Anyone driving past Hua Hin will know how bad the roads are down that way. They are very bumpy and uneven in many places. It's also a road where people drive very fast, even in heavy traffic - haven't seen too many police down there on that roads the last couple of times I was there. Not too surprised the road toll is high in that province.

That's not good. I'm going down there for the first time next week.

Actually, I witnessed first-hand an accident with a scooter hitting a bahtbus over there when I went down south in January...

And I confirm about the bad state of the roads and the fast and reckless driving.

Talking about blaming the trees for high death tolls... That happened also in France (Western country, I am sure you will all agree!).

Case in point: a father blamed the trees bordering a local road for killing his son who drove too fast!

http://www.leparisien.fr/espace-premium/oise-60/les-platanes-mis-en-accusation-dans-l-accident-mortel-sur-la-d-136-16-04-2012-1955977.php

The father of the boy who lost his life demanded to cut down all the trees bordering that road...

So, being dumb and blaming exterior circumstances to avoid accepting responsibility is not specific to Thailand.

As to the death toll... The high figures this year should not hide the general progress towards a lower death toll year by year since 2003 (combined with a serious increase in vehicles on the roads!). There still needs to be a general effort made on increasing the safety of bikers (jailing the idiots who throw water on bikers, for instance) and I believe better results are achievable.

[FarangTalk]

As to the death toll... The high figures this year should not hide the general progress towards a lower death toll year by year since 2003 (combined with a serious increase in vehicles on the roads!).

Those figures are nonsense.

Undoubtedly picked out of thin air as usual.

Edited April 19, 2013 by FarangTalk

[FarangTalk]

I think the majority of Thai main roads are quite well maintained

Sorry but I have to disagree there. Most Thai roads are never resurfaced, causing the surface bitumen to become like an ice rink when it is wet, and it is already dangerous enough when dry. Not to mention cracking, potholes and other damage that is never repaired properly.

One of the biggest problems facing Thailand's increasing traffic nightmare is the lack of investment in maintaining the crumbling infrastructure, which in itself isn't even close to meeting the necessary requirements of the massive volume of new traffic using it, year on year.

Whenever there is a thread like this we all trot out the same solutions, somehow thinking that better training or more enforcement is the answer to what is very much a cultural problem. Better education may help, but it is difficult to see where to start with the staggering amount of arrogance and ignorance on display on Thai roads, day after day after day.

The most sad and worrying thing is, that they appear to display such a contempt for pedestrians and other motorists I fear it will be impossible to change that attitude. They seem not to want to be educated, as they know everything already, and are unwilling to learn.

[bikerider21]

Effective law enforcement and penalties would make drivers fearful so
they will stop ignoring laws. Some European countries succeeded in
reducing their road tolls after they forced drivers to slow down and
policed traffic laws more strictly, she added.

Wow! Wonder if she has just finished a degree course or she just found out what job she was being paid for all this time.

1000B for not wearing a helmet and 5000B for second offence will see everyone wearing helmets and so on for drunken and reckless driving.

[FarangTalk]

Effective law enforcement and penalties would make drivers fearful so

they will stop ignoring laws. Some European countries succeeded in

reducing their road tolls after they forced drivers to slow down and

policed traffic laws more strictly, she added.

Wow! Wonder if she has just finished a degree course or she just found out what job she was being paid for all this time.

1000B for not wearing a helmet and 5000B for second offence will see everyone wearing helmets and so on for drunken and reckless driving.

Who's going to enforce those big fines?

The tooth fairy?