With commitment from all, we can bring Songkran road toll down

[webfact]

BURNING ISSUE
With commitment from all, we can bring road toll down
Supon Thanukid
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Songkran has just ended. The water-splashing festival is associated not only with celebrating Thai New Year, but also with a dramatic rise in the number of road accidents. While complete official accident statistics are not yet available, it appears unlikely that the death and injury tolls will drop this year, as some agencies had expected.

While it is true that the number of accidents shoot up partly because there are more people on the roads during the long holiday, these tragedies are preventable.

Since 2005, the country has recorded as many as 100,000-120,000 accidents per full year, with about 13,000 people killed and up to 10,000 injured. The economic losses from road deaths amount to Bt232 billion per year, equivalent to 2.8 per cent of gross domestic product, according to Prince of Songkla University's studies.

The studies show that reducing traffic accidents not only saves lives, but also reduces unnecessary losses to the state. Each fatal crash costs up to Bt5.3 million on average, while accidents involving disabilities lead to Bt6.2 million in damages for each person.

Over the past 10 years, although several agencies have staged well-run campaigns to reduce road accidents, they have had limited success in cutting the number of casualties. In fact, the figures have skyrocketed. The state campaigns are often criticised as not attacking the root causes of the problem.

It is a shame that the state agencies have not taken a leading role in solving this problem. The private sector, in fact, has been at the forefront in initiating measures to solve the problems.

Reducing the number of traffic accidents would not be an uphill battle if all parties seriously addressed the problem and adopted safe and correct practices.

The No 1 reason for road accidents is motorists' failure to abide by traffic laws, followed by lax law enforcement by police, who are inclined not to treat rules as sacrosanct. As a result, motorists have no respect for the law. Given these two reasons, it is not surprising that we have seen a dramatic rise in road crashes.

In Western nations such as the United States and European countries, police strictly enforce traffic laws and apply them to every single citizen without leniency. The living testimony to that are the occasional news reports of world-class sportsmen, stars and celebrities being arrested and detained on charges of driving under the influence.

Some may argue that our country's traffic laws are outdated, and that is why they are not effective. Therefore, this argument goes, we should never compare our traffic laws with those in Western countries. But the fact is that strict law enforcement actually makes motorists comply with the rules. If law enforcers carry out their duty strictly, honestly and in a straightforward manner, that will be enough to stop motorists breaking the laws.

In our country, traffic police act like pine trees bending in the wind. A "Zero Death Songkran" campaign would be achievable with contributions from every driver and every sector concerned to help carry out their roles and responsibilities to the best of their ability. It is simply a matter of whether everyone will display total commitment to help reduce the number of road accidents.


-- The Nation 2014-04-18

[CelticBhoy]

The motorbikes cause the most deaths, so start there.

Far too many gangs of teenagers flying around without

helmets.

Easy to police. Just listen to the noise they make.

You can hear them coming from miles away.

[chainarong]

They say if U keep dreaming, it may come true one day.

[saltandpepper]

every year, at the same period, as well as in January, we read this news...every year!

And yet, nothing has improved, and nothing will improve! A bit like the big PR operation about the cops clearing the streets from illegally parked vehicles, or giving a fine (one with receipt) to all offenders!

It lasts one hour, and then it is back to square one...

Next year, we will read this very same article again,...unfortunately not followed by any action!

[Langsuan Man]

What's this We crap.

We are not the police who just sit in tents along the highway and read newspapers, watch TV, and eat.

We are not the law enforcers that seem to only be concerned with easy money from helmet-less motorcycle drivers.

We are not out there not giving random breathalyzer tests

We are the ones that have to sit a home hoping that our family, friends and relatives make it back home alive

[Pib]

The No 1 reason for road accidents is motorists' failure to abide by traffic laws, followed by lax law enforcement by police, who are inclined not to treat rules as sacrosanct. As a result, motorists have no respect for the law. Given these two reasons, it is not surprising that we have seen a dramatic rise in road crashes.

On target!!! Bingo!!! Dead center!!! Double bullseye!!!

[Thaddeus]

What's this We crap.

We are not the police who just sit in tents along the highway and read newspapers, watch TV, and eat.

We are not the law enforcers that seem to only be concerned with easy money from helmet-less motorcycle drivers.

We are not out there not giving random breathalyzer tests

We are the ones that have to sit a home hoping that our family, friends and relatives make it back home alive

+1

The "We" thing is like the individuals at an AA meeting who agree that together 'we can fight this' .... then go home and open a bottle of JD.

(with about the same memory span as goldfish)

[leggo]

Two weekends ago I was in a minibus from Bangkok to Rayong when the driver stuck in a traffic jam decided to take a short cut against the traffic on a side road. Apart from being a terrifying experience the thing that should have amazed me the most was that we passed to groups of police who didn't even bother to notice! I wasn't surprised because I am used to it. I would say that in Rayong less than 30% of drivers adhere to the speed limit etc etc. There is absolutely no chance of Thais changing their driving habits until the law is enforced and that is never going to happen!

Sent from my i-mobile IQ 2 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[englishoak]

Same line different year, nothing will change just the usual rhetoric. What a surprise

[LuckyLew]

It will never change ... as long as there is Songkran and alcohol ... they will be dead Thai's

They are to stupid to learn from others mistakes. They put little to no value on life ...so the carnage will resume next year

[NongKhaiKid]

every year, at the same period, as well as in January, we read this news...every year!

And yet, nothing has improved, and nothing will improve! A bit like the big PR operation about the cops clearing the streets from illegally parked vehicles, or giving a fine (one with receipt) to all offenders!

It lasts one hour, and then it is back to square one...

Next year, we will read this very same article again,...unfortunately not followed by any action!

Spot on comments. I know we may sound cynical but we hear the same fine words year in and year out and it's impossible to take them seriously.

Road Safety is like every big promised crackdown it simply remains a promise, and an unfulfilled one at that.

Last year the head of a road safety organisation correctly complained that the emphasis on New Year and Songkran was all wrong as it's a a 24/7/365 issue but no government ever responds.

[noodle]

Easy fix. Just turn Thailand into a police state like Australia.

[Tomtomtom69]

Good article. However, why do western countries always have to be mentioned as points of comparison? Thailand need look no further than China and Vietnam for methods of enforcing road rules. Those two countries act as much better role models for Thailand to copy, long before the west's examples need to be looked at.

Let me start with China. In China, the law says that those driving without a driver's license (that means a driver's license issued in mainland China only and this applies to all drivers, Chinese and foreign) can be detained for up to 15 days. Yes, that's right - you can be jailed just for not being in possession of a valid driver's license! Similarly, a licensed driver that allows an unlicensed driver to drive their vehicle can also have their license revoked. Imagine how drivers would scramble to obtain licenses if that was enforced here in Thailand. Now of course I haven't heard of any specific cases of drivers in China being jailed for not possessing a license alone (in the absence of committing a major traffic offense that caused injury or death), but I wouldn't want to push my luck over there! BTW I hold a valid Chinese driver's license and was only allowed to drive there after I passed my test.

Fixed speed cameras are present in numerous locations in China and seem to be working all the time, as evidenced by the 4 speeding fines I obtained driving between Kunming and Mengla (near the Lao border) in Sipsongbanna on one weekend 2 years ago. Total fine amount was 1100 Yuan or about 5500 Baht. Needless to say, this was a major deterrent! Anyway, in my defense I only exceeded the speed limit by a few km/h in 3 of these cases and so didn't expect to be fined. In the 4th case, I made the incorrect assumption that particular road (which was an ordinary country road) wouldn't have any speed traps, but it did! This thinking probably came from Thai driving since the chance of getting caught for speeding here is very low indeed, even on the motorway where they claim to operate speed cameras (well sometimes when they're feeling up to it).

In Vietnam, drivers of motorcycles can have their vehicles impounded for not wearing helmets and other offenses, especially if they can't pay the rather steep fines of usually no less than $15. I don't understand why in much richer Thailand the fines for similar offenses are 3 times lower?! The presence of police trucks, which are more than willing to load a motorcycle or scooter onto the back at various checkpoints is enough to intimidate local riders in Vietnam. So are speed traps (for cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles). The fines can be quite significant, and the police will hold onto your license (like in Thailand) and possibly even your car registration if you don't comply. However, if you want to bribe yourself out that'll be something like $50 thanks, no not 100 Baht or perhaps nothing like here. Indeed, speeding is rare in Vietnam and it's not just because the roads aren't that good. Some roads are good enough to floor it to 100km/h or perhaps a bit more but if the speed limit is 80, the vast majority of drivers won't dare to do any more than this. Speed limit signs are also posted regularly and drivers actually slow down inside towns. Amazing, isn't it?! In Thailand, it seems drivers are illiterate as they can't seem to read the "slow down in town" signs, even though they are written in Thai (or sometimes bilingual English/Thai).

Sure, accidents are common in Vietnam too, but at least they appear to be doing something about curbing the road toll over there. Apart from their excuse of "Thais drive on the wrong side of the wrong" I'm quite sure the main reason the Vietnamese don't allow Thai vehicles to enter their country is because they don't want Thais causing accidents. After all, Thailand's road toll is the 3rd highest in the world, significantly higher than the Vietnamese road toll.

[JohnThailandJohn]

The mentality is wrong in being concerned with holiday road deaths. Festive holidays are always going to increase road deaths in counties with lots of drivers and extensive diverse roadways. The real issue they need to address and the most easy is; enforce helmet laws and age limits of being on and riding a motorbike. But no matter what, Thailand is always going to have a high road death count because of so many people on motorbikes 24x7 365 days a year but it certainly can be reduced significantly through enforcement and public education campaigns.

[seajae]

all it requires is common sense but that is not very abundant here, when you see people drive off the roads to pass another car, turn right from the extreme left lane, cross over to your side of the road to overtrake and then flash their lights at you and expect you to pull off the road because they dont want to be slowed down, ignore all road signage plus the fact that there are no police patrols actually on the roads or pulling over these morons it becomes blatantly obvious. I would rather have a big police presence on the roads and less deaths then what we have now, maybe then we would feel safer when we travel.

[geriatrickid]

I stopped caring years ago. Let them die if that's what they want. I don't have the time, nor patience to deal with it.

[bristolgeoff]

no change for next year then,as it will be for many years to come

[Chicken George]

Its the Festival of Death! Nothing to do with a so called religious celebration.. Its the Thai subculture drink to excess on cheap whiskey and drive. We stay at home even if it upsets by boys. No police doing anything and stupid Thais doing all that is wrong. How many people have lost a family member child or seen this carnage and still it goes on.. its turned into a sick festival of death covered up by throwing water.. And they look forward to it. Very sick. ..