322 deaths on roads over Songkran week

[Jim walker]

the so-called seven dangerous days of Songkran, said the state road safety agency. And they even make an error with such a small statement I think they meant 365 dangerous days.

[Alwyn]

Total BS on numbers.

Recently I read 38 deaths per 100,000 pop.per year, in and around 25,000 for the year. 25,000/365=68 per day,seems to me Songkhran is the safest time of year to drive. With 322/7=46 deaths per day,what am I missing?

You beat me to the punch! I was going to ask how many die on a normal day, not a great deal of difference and I'm betting lack of crash helmets etc etc will be the same ay?

[mok199]

make it 323 as i am about ready to kill MYSELF,as i listen to that dreadfull thai rock and roll on soi1...god....

[GAZZPA]

Total BS on numbers.

Recently I read 38 deaths per 100,000 pop.per year, in and around 25,000 for the year. 25,000/365=68 per day,seems to me Songkhran is the safest time of year to drive. With 322/7=46 deaths per day,what am I missing?

You're not missing anything, the numbers are total rubbish.. Also, did you know that if someone is injured on the road but they die in the ambulance or later in the hospital it is not counted as a road death!

The Thai authorities don't' expect people to use basic maths and challenge the numbers, they expect everyone to just believe the crap they spout.

In all my life in the UK I have never seen a fatality (dead body) and very rarely been stuck in traffic that was the result of a fatality. That is because of course the UK is far safer on the roads with relatively few deaths per car.

however, in my first year in Thailand i have seen 3 dead bodies (one was a Russian gentleman completely severed in half) and I have lost the count of nasty and bloody injuries I have seen by the roadside.

It will never change until they fix the driving tests, enforce the law and stop seeing road offenses as an opportunity for commercial gain,, simple as that.. In the meantime you will see these nonsense figures.

[GAZZPA]

What about today, April 19th, the biggest Songkran day in Pattaya? I notice it's not part of the database from which the statistics are compiled. Also....going from memory, but in years past I seem to recall a much higher Songkran number.

And as far as the injury totals, I have a very good friend who was injured at 2 a.m. on April 13th. Our small group was hitting the go go bars on Pattaya's Walking Street on the night of the 12th. Just before midnight I went down to Drinking Street to have a few drinks at a bar I oftentimes frequent. Inside this bar I got drenched twice. Meanwhile my friend Tom left Walking Street on his motorbike. Around 2 a.m. while driving 30 kph up 2nd road towards the Dolphin roundabout he got nailed by a Russian who drenched him with water just outside the Lisa Bar. Tom and the bike went down. The Russian didn't even as much as apologise and denied all culpability. Meanwhile the bar girls observing the accident kept saying, "So what, this is Songkran." There were other witnesses nearby. Had the police been called in it would have all been Tom's fault. Had Tom been killed, the newspapers would have reported, "Drunken falang loses control of his motorbike and dies." The reality is that assault and battery is condoned during Songkran and any days before and after Songkran that a group of half wits choose to declare a Mai Pen Rai day. Be sure that this accident did not make the database but the next morning my friend did go to the hospital for treatment and that he had to pay out of his own pocket 4000 baht to have the rental motorbike repaired.

He should have called police and had offender charged with assault.

His not doing so tantamount to saying it's OK to throw water at moving motorcyclists and injury them.

Not condoning the Russians behavior, I totally agree that its all bloody dangerous and very stupid. It's an excuse for idiots to behave like idiots and simply get away with it. But I have to say, if your mate was drunk then its as much his fault.

[ThaiTrav]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Please copy and paste this article for the next 20 years of reporting on deaths during this circus-ran 7 days of carnage. It will never change. alt=coffee1.gif width=32 height=24>

BANGKOK, 12 April 2014 – The Interior Ministry is confident that the number of road fatalities during the Songkran Festival this year will not exceed 300.

The ministry said the establishment of a road safety center would help prevent traffic accidents and implement other measures to boost safety. During the âSeven Dangerous Daysâ of the festival between April 11-17, the ministry is aiming to reduce the death toll to 300.

On Friday April 11th, which marks the first day of the period, already saw eight deaths in Chanthaburi province. A van ran off the road on a curve in the provinceâs Tha Mai district, killing eight Cambodian passengers and injuring 11 others.

Last year, a total of 321 people were killed and 3,040 others were injured in around 2,800 road accidents nationwide during the Songkran holiday.

[ThaiTrav]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Please copy and paste this article for the next 20 years of reporting on deaths during this circus-ran 7 days of carnage. It will never change. alt=coffee1.gif width=32 height=24>

BANGKOK, 12 April 2014 – The Interior Ministry is confident that the number of road fatalities during the Songkran Festival this year will not exceed 300.

The ministry said the establishment of a road safety center would help prevent traffic accidents and implement other measures to boost safety. During the âSeven Dangerous Daysâ of the festival between April 11-17, the ministry is aiming to reduce the death toll to 300.

On Friday April 11th, which marks the first day of the period, already saw eight deaths in Chanthaburi province. A van ran off the road on a curve in the provinceâs Tha Mai district, killing eight Cambodian passengers and injuring 11 others.

Last year, a total of 321 people were killed and 3,040 others were injured in around 2,800 road accidents nationwide during the Songkran holiday.

.......hmmmmmmm oviously didn;t work !!

[Dibbler]

239 people missing on a freak airline accident, 300 people missing on a freak ferry accident. The two are subjects of major investigations by relevant governments who will stop at nothing to find the causes so it never happens again.

200 - 300 people killed on the roads EVERY YEAR FOR THE LAST DECADE unnecessarily due to lawlessness and lack of implementation of road safety measures by authorities over the New Year celebrations in Thailand. Why is this not the subject of a major investigation by the Thai government so it doesn't happen again?

[jackcorbett]

What about today, April 19th, the biggest Songkran day in Pattaya? I notice it's not part of the database from which the statistics are compiled. Also....going from memory, but in years past I seem to recall a much higher Songkran number.

And as far as the injury totals, I have a very good friend who was injured at 2 a.m. on April 13th. Our small group was hitting the go go bars on Pattaya's Walking Street on the night of the 12th. Just before midnight I went down to Drinking Street to have a few drinks at a bar I oftentimes frequent. Inside this bar I got drenched twice. Meanwhile my friend Tom left Walking Street on his motorbike. Around 2 a.m. while driving 30 kph up 2nd road towards the Dolphin roundabout he got nailed by a Russian who drenched him with water just outside the Lisa Bar. Tom and the bike went down. The Russian didn't even as much as apologise and denied all culpability. Meanwhile the bar girls observing the accident kept saying, "So what, this is Songkran." There were other witnesses nearby. Had the police been called in it would have all been Tom's fault. Had Tom been killed, the newspapers would have reported, "Drunken falang loses control of his motorbike and dies." The reality is that assault and battery is condoned during Songkran and any days before and after Songkran that a group of half wits choose to declare a Mai Pen Rai day. Be sure that this accident did not make the database but the next morning my friend did go to the hospital for treatment and that he had to pay out of his own pocket 4000 baht to have the rental motorbike repaired.

He should have called police and had offender charged with assault.

His not doing so tantamount to saying it's OK to throw water at moving motorcyclists and injury them.

Not condoning the Russians behavior, I totally agree that its all bloody dangerous and very stupid. It's an excuse for idiots to behave like idiots and simply get away with it. But I have to say, if your mate was drunk then its as much his fault.

1. Tom was not drunk. 2. Even if he was, an assault and battery still took place.

[Crushdepth]

Second most dangerous country in the world for road accidents. Number one cause of British deaths abroad is tourists hiring motobikes in Thailand. But what do the government travel advice bulletins say? Beware of terrorism.

Edited April 20, 2014 by Crushdepth

[Issangeorge]

Has anybody thought that perhaps the Thais have decided that it is worth the deaths for the freedom, not to wear a helmet, not wear a seatbelt, to drive drunk, to Cary people in open pickup beds, to ride on a motorcycle with 3 or more people, to drive without a license. Remember Thais don't think of death the same as westerners, they seem to think that when your time comes, it comes. They seem to forget that the drunk driver may not only kill himself, but some innocent bystanders as well. I'm not saying that this is right or wrong, but I do know a lot of firings are here (including me) at least partially because they like the relaxed regulation. How many of you that complain about the road safety in Thailand have ridden a motorbike without a helmet or driven in a car without a seatbelt? I know I have.

Sent from my i-mobile IQ 6 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Issangeorge]

Has anybody thought that perhaps the Thais have decided that it is worth the deaths for the freedom, not to wear a helmet, not to wear a seatbelt, to drive drunk, to carry people in open pickup beds, to ride on a motorcycle with 3 or more people, to drive without a license. Remember Thais don't think of death the same as westerners, they seem to think that when your time comes, it comes. They seem to forget that the drunk driver may not only kill himself, but some innocent bystanders as well. I'm not saying that this is right or wrong, but I do know a lot of farangs are here (including me) at least partially because they like the relaxed regulation. How many of you that complain about the road safety in Thailand have ridden a motorbike without a helmet or driven in a car without a seatbelt? I know I have.

Sent from my i-mobile IQ 6 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited April 20, 2014 by Issangeorge

[Issangeorge]

Total BS on numbers.

Recently I read 38 deaths per 100,000 pop.per year, in and around 25,000 for the year. 25,000/365=68 per day,seems to me Songkhran is the safest time of year to drive. With 322/7=46 deaths per day,what am I missing?

Bang on, it is hard to get an accurate number, but from all the research I have done Thailand has at least 24million

deaths from road accidents each year, that works out to 65.75 per day, yet during Songkrang they averaged 46 per day. So Songkrang is a relatively safe time to drive. It makes sense when you figure that people don't drive as much this time of year. In my village and district town the traffic is a lot less. People go home to their village, park their cars and visit family. Also there is a lot more law enforcement this time of year. Instead of all these negative stories there should be positive stories and law enforcement should be praised and encouraged to keep up the good work the other 358 days of the year. The headlines should read; During Songkrang road Deaths Drop more than 19 per day compared to the rest of the year.

Sent from my i-mobile IQ 6 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[EyesWideOpen]

Total BS on numbers.

Recently I read 38 deaths per 100,000 pop.per year, in and around 25,000 for the year. 25,000/365=68 per day,seems to me Songkhran is the safest time of year to drive. With 322/7=46 deaths per day,what am I missing?

I think what you are missing is...........Thai reporting of road deaths is complete crap.

If the normal daily death rate is 68 per day, now a holiday comes where everyone is

drunk and it is considered great sport to try to knock a motorcycle down, and we are supposed

to believe that the daily death rate is going to drop ? To the best of my knowledge,

everywhere else in the real world, the traffic death rate goes up on holidays......

Conclusion ???? The reported death rates of Songkran are simply a pack of lies.

Or perhaps the reported deaths for the rest of the year are lies to the high side, to make

Songkran look like a safe holiday ?????

[starkey_rich]

there is never going to be a decline in accidents until the brains behind road safety pull their collective heads out of their <deleted> and get to the root of the problem, it will be a long and slow process

The problem is The Brain seems to be missing.

[MaxYakov]

Second most dangerous country in the world for road accidents. Number one cause of British deaths abroad is tourists hiring motobikes in Thailand. But what do the government travel advice bulletins say? Beware of terrorism.

Aren't Thai motorbike operators essentially terrorists? Case closed.

Edited April 21, 2014 by MaxYakov

[Benmart]

Please copy and paste this article for the next 20 years of reporting on deaths during this circus-ran 7 days of carnage. It will never change.

Never is related to the future. I can't say I can foretell where all this will go in 5,10,15 or 20 years from now.

When I arrived twenty years ago, skeptics were saying all sorts of things about Thailand that proved untrue. Progress is a slow times. I'm not in charge of it all and prefer to watch and appreciate change when it happens.

[Benmart]

Total BS on numbers.

Recently I read 38 deaths per 100,000 pop.per year, in and around 25,000 for the year. 25,000/365=68 per day,seems to me Songkhran is the safest time of year to drive. With 322/7=46 deaths per day,what am I missing?

I think what you are missing is...........Thai reporting of road deaths is complete crap.

If the normal daily death rate is 68 per day, now a holiday comes where everyone is

drunk and it is considered great sport to try to knock a motorcycle down, and we are supposed

to believe that the daily death rate is going to drop ? To the best of my knowledge,

everywhere else in the real world, the traffic death rate goes up on holidays......

Conclusion ???? The reported death rates of Songkran are simply a pack of lies.

Or perhaps the reported deaths for the rest of the year are lies to the high side, to make

Songkran look like a safe holiday ?????

I try to steer clear of conjecture, guessing, pseudo-detective work or assumption. When I don't, I am usually wrong and my credibility is called into question.

[Benmart]

Second most dangerous country in the world for road accidents. Number one cause of British deaths abroad is tourists hiring motobikes in Thailand. But what do the government travel advice bulletins say? Beware of terrorism.

The Internet is awash with warnings about traffic safety and the dangers of driving on Thai roadways. The US State Department clearly tells about such dangers.

I read this from the Home Office (UK), travel advisory:

You can drive in Thailand using an International Driving Permit or Thai driving licence.

124,855 people were killed in road traffic accidents between 2000 and 2010 meaning that on average there were over 12,000 deaths a year during this period. In the UK there have been on average about 3,000 deaths from road traffic accidents each year over the past decade. In any comparison of these statistics, you should also note that there is a difference in the method of calculating statistics for road deaths in Thailand (at the scene of the accident) and the UK (within 30 days of the accident). The risk of death or injury on the road increases if you travel at night.

With motorcycles so widely used in Thailand the majority of road traffic accidents involve motorcycles, contributing to around 70% of all road deaths. If youre riding a motorcycle in Thailand take extra care. According to Thai law, safety helmets must be worn...

You may have missed it.

[Benmart]

Maybe something like this should happen . I am aware this is not Christian country before anyone jumps on me . At least it may get someone to think if that's possible .

Please expand on your post. I am confused as to the point you are trying to share.

[Benmart]

Second most dangerous country in the world for road accidents. Number one cause of British deaths abroad is tourists hiring motobikes in Thailand. But what do the government travel advice bulletins say? Beware of terrorism.

Aren't Thai motorbike operators essentially terrorists? Case closed.

I do not think all Thai motorbike operators are essentially terrorists, just as i do not I think that all posters are essentially bigots that post baseless comments.