Songkran total death toll now stands at 277

[kkerry]

Did The Nation mention the reported double decker bus smash in Kanchanaburi that killed three people and injured 39 more this morning? Maybe there are so many bus crashes it isn't considered news anymore.

[beowolf2012]

don't go out for drive in songkran festival and xmas and new year then you can save your own live

[LUSHGOAT]

Whats it about Songkran its supposed to be a time for cleansing the spirit etc Holy Buddha in Thailand they have got it wrong all they seem to do is create spirits. R.I.P to all the deceased

[espinoza]

What do this Road Safety Centre of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation actually do ? Making up the numbers ? Calculating the numbers ? Are the people making this numbers paid by the tax-payers ? Do they do anything to prevent accidents ? I have after 7 years in Thailand not seen any traffic safety improving action been done. The rtp sitting on their chairs do not help anybody.

[HerIndoors]

I agree with the previous maths..... Songkran may not be hugely different from any other day in LOS. But the real issue is why? what is the cause? For my part I think it goes deeper than just poor driver education, pathetic law enforcement, I think it goes to the heart of Thai beliefs. There is a degree of fatalism in their Buddhist minds and what will be will be so why bother? How many times have you been in a taxi who, on seeing some BIB, puts his seat belt on only to take it off when they pass by? <deleted> is going through their heads? My other half would not wear her seat belt until it dawned on her we will sit in the driveway all day until I hear it 'click'. When I ask her why she does not like a seat belt, the answer is ...'It is OK, no worry'. So is their deep belief in reincarnation at the root of it all? Maybe they think...perhaps my next life will be better / easier than this one? Just a thought.

[Mosha]

It's incredibly frustrating when people are so stupid when it comes to road safety in Thailand .

I was telling my step daughter that she should put her 6 month old in a child safety seat . Oh la la . He is ok , anyway he does not like it . Aw , that's ok the precious little pet , yes your right , whatever he wants is fine .

I can barely get my wife to put our daughter in the safety seat. " Oh she not like being

there".... Good luck on getting the step daughter to follow safe procedures.. :-)

The mai pen rai attitude is staggering. A few years ago we climbed out of a crashed car where the driver had fallen asleep. He called a friend to pick us up. He and the friend laughed when I put the seat belt on. Despite us all in the wreck being belted up.

[Yunla]

What is wrong with this picture is the effort they put into analysing the statistics every year, but the lack of effort that is put into road-safety regulations, vehicle standards regulation, and driver-training standards.

It would be far more sensible to spend a lot less time counting the dead and injured, and spend a lot more time enacting and enforcing strict laws on dangerous driving, drink driving, traffic-etiquette lessons for young children, strict driving tests, tough laws on motorcycle helmets, and overhauling the vehicle maintenance regulations so that all cars, lorries and buses are truly roadworthy.

It is a mammoth task, but it is one of the few areas where shortcuts can not be made. Songkran is the crazy week, but the rest of the year is far from sane on the roads, and the state needs to take off the cottonwool mitts and start regulating roads, vehicles, and drivers. It would be good for the economy in the long run, the safer roads will keep workers alive longer, attract tourists and investors and this will eventually pay for the huge investment of money and effort required to overhaul the current system.

[Khunangkaro]

Bla Bla Bla....

The same same as last year and the years before and many if not all years to come....

R.I.P. R.I.P. R.I.P. ......

[Peterphuket]

don't go out for drive in songkran festival and xmas and new year then you can save your own live

In that case, you better stay at home for the whole year!

[monkey4u]

I read somewhere that the fatality list from motor vehicle accidents are only from those dead at the scene

If you die in hospital or on the way there you are not added to the list,

What the real numbers are I doubt anyone wants to say

[Larry001]

Same article every week. Same responses, same results and no changes. Will continue like this for years.This country is simply too ignorant and arrogant to listen and learn. Govt are too busy on personal issues to worry about the safety of the everyday people.

[marko kok prong]

I agree with the previous maths..... Songkran may not be hugely different from any other day in LOS. But the real issue is why? what is the cause? For my part I think it goes deeper than just poor driver education, pathetic law enforcement, I think it goes to the heart of Thai beliefs. There is a degree of fatalism in their Buddhist minds and what will be will be so why bother? How many times have you been in a taxi who, on seeing some BIB, puts his seat belt on only to take it off when they pass by? <deleted> is going through their heads? My other half would not wear her seat belt until it dawned on her we will sit in the driveway all day until I hear it 'click'. When I ask her why she does not like a seat belt, the answer is ...'It is OK, no worry'. So is their deep belief in reincarnation at the root of it all? Maybe they think...perhaps my next life will be better / easier than this one? Just a thought.

My wife was the same,but now always wears a seat belt,i was surprised when i took her father in the car and sitting in the rear seats he put his belt on,i have so far been unable to convince other family members to belt up in the rear seats,in Australia it is compulsory,i should really insist as a body flying around in a crash can do a lot of damage,i wonder what the law on seat belts is here especially regarding rear seats,if they are provided with belts.

[marko kok prong]

Having driven in many countrys around the world,i have to say Thailand is the scariest,you can do everything right and safe but the madness all around you make it a very unenjoyable expierience.

[NelsonHubbucks]

Songkran = Thailand'sway of population control

[connda]

In some countries police car are not painted just ordinary car to enforce road users , hope Thailand will these cars one day.

Sadly wont make any difference. I took a minibus recently from Hua Hin to BKK and on a three lane highway without any thought or fear the driver overtook a marked highway patrol police car on the inside doing 120 KPH.

I've never seen a 'hot-pursuit' or a police officer issuing a moving violation to a driver. Only roadblocks.

[foxteen]

Yep,they way the drive and ride the motorbikes make sense of this toll. Amazing Thailand

[CaptainKitty]

They should pass a law forbidding people from throwing water at moving vehicles with a hefty fine and prison for a second offence.

I thought I was the only one who found this a little risky!

Driving 60 kmph down the hiway on the back of a motorbike and nearly being knocked over from oncoming (ice cold) water that feels like cement in the face, well, I was scared of losing control and crashing. I do not have a clue how people can drive so calmly and not flinch...

I did enjoy taking a water gun and spraying people from afar while driving down the road, but it wasn't going to cause an accident!

[John Clarke]

"DARWIN AWARDS BY COUNTRY" ......and the winner is........

Sent from my GT-P5110 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[John Clarke]

Thailands unique way of improving the gene pool....

Sent from my GT-P5110 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[John Clarke]

Seriously thinking, not all Thais are bad drivers, you can see crazies behind the wheel in any country. Just so many more motorbikes on the roads here, and yes, lack of enforcement..... think seatbelts and helmets. Vehicles without airbags, I see Thais do not want pay more for airbags. The govt need get real and make airbags mandatory in all new passenger cars, as done in many other countries.

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[CelticBhoy]

Songkhran and Songkhram are very similar, not just in spelling.