Thailand third worst in the world for road deaths; Phuket killing someone every three days

[bra]

I come from Australia, where everyone in a vehicle must wear seat belts (and babies carried in capsules), and all bike riders must wear crash helmets, and even push bike riders must wear helmets. This in itself does not prevent accidents but has been proven to substantially reduce injuries and deaths. Accidents are reduced by complete law enforcement (especially drunk and drug affected driving), and by good driver training.

As pointed out by many these rules and habits are almost completely missing in Thailand. How many times do you get into an almost new taxi in Bangkok and find the seat belts stuffed under the back seat? I get in the front when this happens to the complete surprise of the driver.

After some tough persuasion I finally convinced my GF to use seat belts, but I have no chance of convincing her mother. My GF also wears a helmet when using a motorcycle - but she is the only one in her village that does. Same goes for riding in the small Sois in BKK. We are about to buy a second hand dual cab pick up for a fish farm business and I have told all of my GF's family that no one will sit in the back tray when I am driving - they all think I am mad.

Driving on country roads I experience the same wrong side, dangerous overtaking, bikes, farm machinery moving very slowly at night with no lights etc. However I must admit I have not seen many accidents and I think that that is the problem. Most Thai road users don't see that many accidents either, and don't see the need to take any precautions or drive/ride more or less complying with the rules.

I lived in Kuala Lumpur for many years and there are numerous motor bikes there too. However most sort of comply with the rules and wear helmets (except men on Fridays going to the mosque) but even then there is a high accident rate for bikes.

The problem will not be solved for years. I can only say drive and ride very defensively (not necessarily slowly) and avoid nights if possible. And wear seat belts and helmets and protective clothing on a bike.

[Ulic]

The majority of road accidents in LOS is due to a lack of "cognitive reasoning" and "common sense" in the gray matter located between Thai ears.

Nope.

You generally get all the safety you can afford... Putting it down to "cognitive reasoning" is pretty racist, huh?

The vast majority of the carnage on Thai roads is due to economic conditions that put so many Thais on motorcycles- which are 20-30x more dangerous per km than a car, and (almost) infinitely more dangerous than walking.

A little poorer, and they'd be riding bicycles or walking. A little richer, and they'd be riding in their own individual seats in cars with seat belts fastened.

I have never read so much <deleted>...so all the idiots who ride the WRONG WAY (cars and bikes) are not to blame, the fools who undertake in Cars bus's and trucks are not to blame , the donkeys that make instant uturns in 6 wheel trucks are not to blame and the flat heads who drive bus's with 1 foot on the brake are well .....not to blame ....

If you think Thai drivers are bad, you don't travel much, do you?

Yet countries with much worse drivers don't have nearly the same fatality statistics. Why? Because they don't have the same proportion of 2 wheel vehicles to skew their fatalities by a factor of 20-30.

I have driven in over 60 countries world wide and while I am sure there are worse divers somewhere I have yet to see them. My brother

assures me the drivers in Vietnam are worse. I have not been there yet so I will defer to his experience there. But I am thinking of a short

visit there in the next six weeks so I can make up my own mind. Until then Thailand is # 1 for me # 2 to Vietnam for my brother.

[Andre0720]

Americans are not a useful yeadstick as they are in fact dreadful drivers - it's just they are far more cosseted by road engineering and regulations.

Putting other drivers (and excluding oneself) as the only reason for road deaths is also a very distorted way of looking at road safety as they are just one of many factors involved.

Then pick a country, any country... You do the math for that one...

So your mathematics include people's culture, beliefs, education, and parent's teachings and responsibility patterns....

The world has been waiting for that trend in mathematics..

Thanks for that...

[Jim walker]

Learning to drive with an intelligent qualified instructor might be a first idea then a blessing from a high ranking monk and give a very large donation to his cause just to finish the job then everyone will be safe to go on the roads once again and will not need to worry about accidents ever again because they won’t happen.

[amse]

I was an xpat teacher in Phuket for 2 years up to 2004 and rarely ever heard an ambulance, I came back 5 years ago to retire and I live between chao-fa west and east, and hear no less than 6 ambulances everyday. Every person on a motorcycle should wear a helmet and no more than two persons. Speed traps set up everyday in many locations, police have to fine everyone breaking the law. BUT the biggest problem in Thailand is Loosing Face, which is why even existing laws aren't enforced.

[DrMe]

Only Chalem could solve this problem, in 60 or max 90 days

[Torrens54]

Almost, "The HUB Of Road Trauma."

[CIHUAHUA]

It all comes down to the attitude of the people of Thailand. They do not respect the law. They do what they want. They are more important than the other drivers. If a Thai owns a car they feel they are better than those that don't. They are not accountable for their poor driving. The fact is that even in America the worst drivers are Asian. But - they do back down when you express your anger at them when they violate your driving space. I have been driving here for over 20 years and have never been in an accident though and there is some kind of organization to it all. For the most part I like driving here in the Los. I know the pitfalls and adjust to it and have a good time on my bike. Just flow with it - - -

[LivinginKata]

Unacceptable post removed

[pistachios]

“We've also had success convincing people to wear helmets. For the last three years, Phuket has ranked number two in Thailand for helmet use,” Dr Wiwat said.

Really? I thought Phuket had to be one of the worst of the densely populated province. I'm always surprised when I go to Chiang Mai or Bangkok to see the overwhelming majority of motorbike riders and passenger using a helmet.

[andreandre]

“We've also had success convincing people to wear helmets. For the last three years, Phuket has ranked number two in Thailand for helmet use,” Dr Wiwat said.

Really? I thought Phuket had to be one of the worst of the densely populated province. I'm always surprised when I go to Chiang Mai or Bangkok to see the overwhelming majority of motorbike riders and passenger using a helmet.

“We've also had success convincing people to wear helmets. For the last three years, Phuket has ranked number two in Thailand for helmet use,” Dr Wiwat said.

If this is true [which i doubt]..why then is the road toll so high here Dr Wiwat?

[nakhonandy]

It seems to me to have several root causes.

1/ Education, there needs to be a forced driving curriculum where drivers are required to have so many lessons etc and may only go forward for the test when qualified. I insisted on my wife doing this and it worked.

2/ The test itself has to be worthwhile, any idiot can pass here. Also with the pretty well 100% pass rate guarenteed it is meaningless.

3/ Of course you can buy your license if you want. Corruption needs to be removed.

4/ Laws are there, they just need to be enforced. Police need to do their job, not just go for the money.

5/ Educate the people that an amulet or flowers etc will not protect you.

6/ Ensure motor vehicles are safe, introduce yearly safety checks that really ensure this, not the simple kick the tyres we have now.

I am sure I have missed many points but these would certainly help.

[DekDaeng]

If only the BIB gave a flying fig - would halve the death rate within weeks.

[wilcopops]

There is absolutely no point in going on about Thai drivers per se ....... unless Thailand implements all 5 of the 5 "E"s of road safety, there will be no significant improvement.

[wilcopops]

Americans are not a useful yeadstick as they are in fact dreadful drivers - it's just they are far more cosseted by road engineering and regulations.

Putting other drivers (and excluding oneself) as the only reason for road deaths is also a very distorted way of looking at road safety as they are just one of many factors involved.

Then pick a country, any country... You do the math for that one...

The flaw in your argument is the very concept of "picking a country" - it really is simply too misleading.

[Jim walker]

You don’t need to tell a Thai anything about driving they know it all already they are born with this amazing skill and can drive any vehicle motorbike or car lorry at any speed without a problem from about the age of 10.

[wilcopops]

It seems to me to have several root causes.

1/ Education, there needs to be a forced driving curriculum where drivers are required to have so many lessons etc and may only go forward for the test when qualified. I insisted on my wife doing this and it worked.

2/ The test itself has to be worthwhile, any idiot can pass here. Also with the pretty well 100% pass rate guarenteed it is meaningless.

3/ Of course you can buy your license if you want. Corruption needs to be removed.

4/ Laws are there, they just need to be enforced. Police need to do their job, not just go for the money.

5/ Educate the people that an amulet or flowers etc will not protect you.

6/ Ensure motor vehicles are safe, introduce yearly safety checks that really ensure this, not the simple kick the tyres we have now.

I am sure I have missed many points but these would certainly help.

The 5 "E's of road safety........?

[mogo51]

When you go for a Thai license and see the pathetic attempts at driving by Thais trying to obtain their license, most of whom are flat out starting the car or staying on the motor bike, you soon understand why their fatality rate is so high. No one fails, no matter how bad they are.

Farangs with many years of driving are failed or given a hard time, whilst the Thais get a free ride, then onto the roads. However, some farangs leave a lot to be desired on the road also.

[Benmart]

Confirms what we all thought. Shameful.

I would describe it as unfortunate or tragic.

[Fullstop]

The more we know about what causes road accidents, the more we are able to prevent them, Dr Thanapong stressed.

Zero driver training, laughable license testing and pathetic policing of traffic rules.

So there you go my good doctor... now that I've pointed out the "causes"... get cracking with the "preventing" and cut the noise making.

[HerIndoors]

The majority of road accidents in LOS is due to a lack of "cognitive reasoning" and "common sense" in the gray matter located between Thai ears.

Nope.

You generally get all the safety you can afford... Putting it down to "cognitive reasoning" is pretty racist, huh?

The vast majority of the carnage on Thai roads is due to economic conditions that put so many Thais on motorcycles- which are 20-30x more dangerous per km than a car, and (almost) infinitely more dangerous than walking.

A little poorer, and they'd be riding bicycles or walking. A little richer, and they'd be riding in their own individual seats in cars with seat belts fastened.

Hmmm, I can almost agree with you. Yes motorcycle riding has inherent higher risks than cars, however somewhere it has to be sheeted home to the Thais (and the Vietnamese and the Indonesians and the ....etc. ) that their driving habits incresase the risk many fold. By 'their driving habits' I mean the driving habits of all Thais on the road, not just the bike riders. A complete and total lack of the concept .... 'What would happen if .... ?"

So I'm driving along a country road about 6 months ago... behind a car which is behind a lorry. About 500 m further on there is a side street on the left.... So the guy behind the guy behind me decides to overtake ALL OF US ... only thing is, a someone pulls out of the side street and suddenly the scenario has changed completely. To this day I still don't know how a major accident was avoided ..luck or the Buddah with a thousand eyes on the dashboard? If this sort of thing happened only now and again it would not be so bad... but it doesn't, it is constant. So, whilst it may sound racist, Just1Voice has a valid point.... IMHO

[monkey4u]

how about some capital investment in road safely rather than throwing money out of the window to win the next election?

Cant do that.

No profit to the polliticians pockets

[HerIndoors]

I agree...there is no cause effect in thai mentality so one sees incredibly hush risk driving behaviors: passing blindly going the wrong way changing lanes within intersections not stopping for red lights speeding drinking and driving making turns from middle lanes driving with no lights or parking lights and on and on...

So yes lack of cognitive abilities have to be questioned when there is no presence of regulatory enforcement...

Year after year why can't they connect the dots these check pts of no license no helmet no registration has no correlation to fatality/accident reduction...

I just don't understand why the lack of enforcement is not identified as the main problem...again the lack of believing in cause -effect so yes their cognitive reasoning for decision makers and drivers is flawed or missing...

CB

Just a thought on 'connecting the dots' .... it's the same in Thai soap operas .... the bitch mother from hell has a little 'talk to herself to the camera' (spelling it out for the viewer)... they seem to be unable to understand a subtext or implied meaning. Of course this may be because as a nation they have never really been exposed to alternative 'quality' media. I don't think it is a racial thing... more lack of education?????

[jocko]

I agree...there is no cause effect in thai mentality so one sees incredibly hush risk driving behaviors: passing blindly going the wrong way changing lanes within intersections not stopping for red lights speeding drinking and driving making turns from middle lanes driving with no lights or parking lights and on and on...

So yes lack of cognitive abilities have to be questioned when there is no presence of regulatory enforcement...

Year after year why can't they connect the dots these check pts of no license no helmet no registration has no correlation to fatality/accident reduction...

I just don't understand why the lack of enforcement is not identified as the main problem...again the lack of believing in cause -effect so yes their cognitive reasoning for decision makers and drivers is flawed or missing...

CB

Just a thought on 'connecting the dots' .... it's the same in Thai soap operas .... the bitch mother from hell has a little 'talk to herself to the camera' (spelling it out for the viewer)... they seem to be unable to understand a subtext or implied meaning. Of course this may be because as a nation they have never really been exposed to alternative 'quality' media. I don't think it is a racial thing... more lack of education?????

You could be spot on there I must admit when I saw that I thought they where talking to the ghosts

[Muhendis]

I had realised that Thailand has a bad road death record, but I had not expected it to be so high on a world scale.

It isn't so high on a world scale. It's actually number 6. http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/ There's a handful of African countries in front but that doesn't make Thailand so much better. The list in the link goes as far as 192.

Lets hope the election winners try to fix the road problem.

[nakhonandy]

It seems to me to have several root causes.

1/ Education, there needs to be a forced driving curriculum where drivers are required to have so many lessons etc and may only go forward for the test when qualified. I insisted on my wife doing this and it worked.

2/ The test itself has to be worthwhile, any idiot can pass here. Also with the pretty well 100% pass rate guarenteed it is meaningless.

3/ Of course you can buy your license if you want. Corruption needs to be removed.

4/ Laws are there, they just need to be enforced. Police need to do their job, not just go for the money.

5/ Educate the people that an amulet or flowers etc will not protect you.

6/ Ensure motor vehicles are safe, introduce yearly safety checks that really ensure this, not the simple kick the tyres we have now.

I am sure I have missed many points but these would certainly help.

The 5 "E's of road safety........?

Maybe, never heard of the 5 E's. Where do they come from?

[a99az]

Thailand will have to work a bit harder to win that accolade and become the hub of road deaths then.

[wolfmanjack]

Reaction time!

How many remember doing that test at the driver's licence center and watching Thai people try to switch from one pedal to the other before the lights change?

From my experience, I watched 6-8 Thai people and NONE of them did it on the first try.

Out of 3 or 4 farangs, taking the same test, they all did it successfully the first time.

Is it heredity? Or just not caring, as they know they'll get enough chances until they succeed?

Sure the lack of police enforcement of rules (and Thais just not understanding the rules) has something to do with it.

But, I do believe that we (farangs) are generally quicker in our thinking and acting process.

The thais were probably trying to figure out how to flash their lights instead of stepping on the brake.

[wolfmanjack]

The majority of road accidents in LOS is due to a lack of "cognitive reasoning" and "common sense" in the gray matter located between Thai ears.

Nope.

You generally get all the safety you can afford... Putting it down to "cognitive reasoning" is pretty racist, huh?

The vast majority of the carnage on Thai roads is due to economic conditions that put so many Thais on motorcycles- which are 20-30x more dangerous per km than a car, and (almost) infinitely more dangerous than walking.

A little poorer, and they'd be riding bicycles or walking. A little richer, and they'd be riding in their own individual seats in cars with seat belts fastened.

And saying it's all because of Thai's riding m/cycles is pretty Bikist I'd say... it's not the M/bikes causing the accidents it's the Car/truck/Bus drivers who are driving around like lunatics smashing into the M/bikes, bicycles, & pedestrians all over Thailand...

It is also the motor bike riders that pull out in front of cars without looking. Motorbike riders that stop in the center of the road so a turning car can not get past without hitting them. Cars and motorcyclists that cut across several lanes of traffic to make a turn. etc etc etc. I see it every single day.

[Rimbuman]

I have lived here in Thailand for nearly 4 years, and really enjoy living here, Great weather, Great quality of Life, beautiful Beaches, where i live, Food fantastic, the list could go on and on...

But my one and only problem, is ''DRIVING'' .. i just hate driving here, either a Car or my Scooter, its just not safe.., they drive so so crazy, and have no regard for life or anyone else..

Sad .....

One and only? What about the filthy stinking garbage dumped everywhere and the trash on the beaches, I'm sure there are some more things you think of than only the road safety problem after living here for about four years.

Other than that I agree with you, there are many things worthwhile living here in Thailand.

Cheers mate