Thai safety centre to study road smashes, offer ways to cut toll

[thailand49]

Another study! study after study and still another study? I wrote a comprehensive letter to Bangkok Post a number of years ago, you guys didn't get it or was it just not from a Thai?

The letter had point by point as to what was being done and not being done? My experience in the States were well stated and my offer was for free but now I've lived here for so long I basically one of you I'm told so if you want help now and if the leaders have the fortitude I can cut it in half in one year, just one year! it is easy! but it comes with a price? Give me a call?

"I wrote a comprehensive letter to Bangkok Post a number of years ago, you guys didn't get it or was it just not from a Thai?"

You know this is ThaiVisa, not the Bangkok Post?

"...if the leaders have the fortitude I can cut it in half in one year, just one year! it is easy! but it comes with a price? Give me a call?"

I think this offer needs to be addressed to Prayuth, not some relatively insignificant foreign language forum and the chances of him taking advice from a member here or even reading a forum that seems dedicated to slagging him off are fairly remote. Try sending your application to Government House.

I wrote to the Bangkok Post a number of years ago after reading a article regarding accidents here in Thailand. It was basically a response to that particular editorial. I ask them if they like the letter since I had no idea how to go about it ( you suggest needs to be addressed to Prayuth ) do you have his address? Is it as easy as you respond? rather than post in their Editorial what I had written to have it translated and forward to someone in the government that is willing to forgo all the corruption money and actually do something about the problem. Also have the translation printed in a major Thai language paper so Thais can read how foreigners who have seen other ways of driving view how they are needlessly killing themselves.

I was actually told by BP, it was none of their business but forward my letter to the Government House? Never heard a thing? I fully understand that writing to the post or posting here might be great for one's ego but I'm not the one killing myself needlessly! I also understand the people in the government house have no intention of every doing one single thing since they most likely come and go from work doing the same thing that is killing so many Thais. I see each morning here in Pattaya taking my son to school on my bike and watch time and time again how government officials drive going to work on Pattaya Nua Government office. You can't fix something if you don't see the problem yourself. The Thais who do the study have seen nothing else. Confront any Thai as to why they made a particular execution and you are asking for a fight.

You can't help someone if they do not want the help instead just go through the motion of talking about it!

Edited December 31, 2014 by thailand49

[Jim walker]

The roads in Thailand are not policed properly and as has been said a million times already no proper approved crash helmets worn by child bike users.

[Porkster]

When you're among the worst in the world it shouldn't require experts to get you started. See above.

AMONG!???

Only #3 in the world last year!

1 death for every 25,000 people in 2013

I thought, "How about Gruesome safety campaign commercials, uncensored Thai style"?

But there again...

I have a collection of said commercials and put them n a playlist for the wife's friends to watch (as we're at Mae & Por's for NY)...

Trying to get them to buckle up in the back has always been a nightmare, but get this! The new car has a loud "ding ding" chime reminding them to buckle up,

I'm puzzled as to why? But it seems to "scare" them into to putting it on! [emoji106] Sorted

Anyway,

She showed them the videos and they just didn't get it.... In awe and wanting rewinds of the impact moments of course... But they just didn't get the message..???

I thought, "this one will hit home, knowing what they're like about ghosts"

youtube/nI9_BTm41MI

The blank stares on their faces... Waiting for something else to happen to the driver...

They just haven't got it in them to understand consequences...

As for things changing or getting better...

It doesn't matter what the government does... The "stuck in their ways" public are still going to do what they want and will continue to cause accidents and deaths because they're too uneducated (diplomatic term) to see the logic.

Edited December 31, 2014 by Porkster

[wilcopops]

The 5 Es.....everybody knows about them but successive Thai governments have failed to address them.

Most of the above seems total <deleted> as there is nothing likely to happen in its wake...unless.....I think it was "Make Roads Safe" who announced a few months back they were going to attempt to improve road safety in Thailand.

Edited December 31, 2014 by wilcopops

[Porkster]

I appreciated driving in Germany and Norway... I know it the government that teaches the Norwegians, not sure about Germany?

But I'm sure that getting rid of the Mickey Mouse driving schools will be a good start!

It's these fools that are teaching at least half of all new drivers or a relative with even worse driving skills and even less knowledge of the road signs...

But we all know corruption will take over and Mickey & Minnie will just go a "buy" the government schooled & approved tutors licence...

Speed limit signs!!!

They're a protected species here also...

Edited December 31, 2014 by Porkster

[wilcopops]

There is a massive misconception that Thai drivers don't have "common sense".

Firstly the concept of what is and isn't common sense is not universal....so the premise is mistakenly held by those who promulgate the concept.

Secondly all drivers all over the world are equally stupid in equal proportions.

No attempt to improve road safety in Thailand will EVER work if it starts from the premise that Thai drivers are more to blame than anyone else. What road safety entails is preventing those idiots from doing what they do and reducing the severity of it when they succeed.

[Jonmarleesco]

'THE INTERIOR Ministry yesterday opened a Road Safety Centre to oversee road accidents ...' Were it not so serious, that line would be worth 1,000 studies.

[Jonmarleesco]

There is a massive misconception that Thai drivers don't have "common sense".

Firstly the concept of what is and isn't common sense is not universal....so the premise is mistakenly held by those who promulgate the concept.

Secondly all drivers all over the world are equally stupid in equal proportions.

No attempt to improve road safety in Thailand will EVER work if it starts from the premise that Thai drivers are more to blame than anyone else. What road safety entails is preventing those idiots from doing what they do and reducing the severity of it when they succeed.

I see Thai drivers from both a driver's and a pedestrian's POV. So, yes, they are exceptionally incompetent. And, no, no amount of studies will work.

[dcsw53]

Interior Minister General Anupong Paochinda said the centre would not predict a national accident toll. Instead the government would concentrate on avoidance and implement measures such as traffic law reinforcement, trying to limit the sale and consumption of alcohol, and road safety awareness campaigning.

Initiatives

1. Avoid any form of driving and stay away from roads / tracks.
2. If you do have to drive, pretend you have a brain. This means not driving after 6 beers, using your Ipad/cellphone or eating a meal while at the wheel.
3. Try to have some working lights on your vehicle at night. At least one at each end is a good idea. Also camoflage is the military's job, yours is to be seen ( not at the last moment ).
4. Get someone to explain the word "consideration" to you. It will be an alien concept but it's worth a try, maybe in a few generations.
5. Stop the practice of mandatory lobotomies for minibus drivers, it just encouragies them.
6. Repair massive pot holes on dark country roads within the decade. Would reduce the need for juggernauts to suddenly change course and head for you.
7. Make fines and penalties meaningful. Heavier fines could be used to fund more traffic surveys and studies of how other countries do it. Has anyone in the Thai police ever spent a month studying in Hawaii or Monaco ? Think of all the souvenirs information they could come back with.

I could go on but I am late for the whisky-a-go-go challenge. Have been in training all afternoon. 35 km to go and I got 20 minutes to do it , piece of cake.

[LawrenceN]

Poor driver.eduction,understanding how to drive and no enforcement leads to the chaos out on the roads...

CB

Right. That's what the "road safety awareness campaigning" is for. Number one on my list is to get the word out to the Thai driving public that they must STOP and look right before pulling out onto any roadway. This idea that anyone can merge anywhere anytime when coming off a side road or business (like a petrol station) KILLS.

[Fairynuff]

Driving schools in Thailand? I remember seeing one once, a long time ago but I can't remember which town or city it was in. I was very surprised to have seen it. Of all the towns and cities I've been to I can't ever remember seeing another. Not even in Bangkok. I have definitely never seen a car from a driving school nor a car with "L" plates (or a Thai version of). If there were such a thing as a driving school, who would the instructors be? The answer to that question scares me. Having said all this, there seem to be millions of learners on the roads.

[TomYumpoochai]

You all keep talking about education but how many of you posters got better at driving since you passed a test? No thais improve no matter how many years they drive.... they just dont get it.

[changsinghleo]

First it should start with a brain exam to determine if the driver to be has any intelligence at all. Then a drivers test, on

paper and behind the wheel. Equally as crucial as the tests, the maximum speed throughout the country should be 50 m.p.h. Max! If anyone needs to go faster then they can fly. Flying on the roadways is mainly why drivers here can't avoid a situation

that might lead to an accident. At 50 m.p.h. most accidents can be avoided. Why should anyone need to go faster? It is a speed

which one soon will learn is pleasant, especially for tourists trying to have a look at the country. Think back to horse and

buggy and it can be realized that 50 m.p.h. is a huge improvement over that so enjoy it. Thais I've discussed this with often

don't even know why they are in such a hurry. So, enforced max speeds of 50 m.p.h. is the answer. Stop all the foolish carnage.

Slow down and enjoy life, not destroy it! Another incentive would be that Thai boys wouldn't get their hair so mussed at lower

speeds on motorcycles when not wearing helmets. That in itself should be a big help as traffic wouldn't be held up while waiting for them to get their hair just right!

[connda]

Until the Thai Govenment puts cops in traffic cruisers and enforce the minimum basic laws, not a freaking thing will change -- which means -- not a freaking thing will change. Moving violations are not enforced, and the primary causes of accidents are moving violations.

Edited December 31, 2014 by connda

[Bigfarang1948]

Analyse risk factors and recommend solutions.

Drink driving

Excessive speed

Failure to comply with the rules of the road in general

Poor road design

No helmets

Underage/undertrained drivers

No traffic law enforcement

This is not an exhaustive list, but could you just deposit my fee direct. Job done.

So much drivel from the Ministry. I give no credence to their comments and less to their intention of doing anything that will cut down on the number of people killed and maimed along Thailand's highways. This talk is the same as it has been since I came here 7 years ago and undoubtedly, for many years before that. If there are no vehicle inspections, especially for brakes and tires, no mandatory drug testing of drivers, no mandatory seat belt laws enforced, etc., what we can expect is the same carnage to continue. I mean, what is there to study? Speeding drivers overtaking in blind spots, passing when they cannot see clear to do, falling asleep because they are pressed to drive more hours than is reasonable, faulty brakes, etc., are the common threads in this ongoing mayhem. Speed limiters on trucks and buses would surely save lives, This common sense fix would slow the drivers down to the speed limit and to go further, the Minister could reduce the speed limits on long winding mountain roads that are notorious for accidents. Talk is all I expect along with a Post after the holidays proclaiming a successful accident reduction campaign, if the number of deaths is down even by one. Pitiful face saving attempt ahead of the deaths to come......

[Lokie]

This is a joke right?

[Porkster]

There is a massive misconception that Thai drivers don't have "common sense".

Firstly the concept of what is and isn't common sense is not universal....so the premise is mistakenly held by those who promulgate the concept.

Secondly all drivers all over the world are equally stupid in equal proportions.

No attempt to improve road safety in Thailand will EVER work if it starts from the premise that Thai drivers are more to blame than anyone else. What road safety entails is preventing those idiots from doing what they do and reducing the severity of it when they succeed.

Never read so much waffle!

[Porkster]

Driving schools in Thailand? I remember seeing one once, a long time ago but I can't remember which town or city it was in. I was very surprised to have seen it. Of all the towns and cities I've been to I can't ever remember seeing another. Not even in Bangkok. I have definitely never seen a car from a driving school nor a car with "L" plates (or a Thai version of). If there were such a thing as a driving school, who would the instructors be? The answer to that question scares me. Having said all this, there seem to be millions of learners on the roads.

These "driving schools" are easily spotted with their miniature road signs plastered all over the shop front...

There's one in Phuket on East Chao Fa road and one in Samui in Chaweng...

So yes, they really DO exist

[Porkster]

You all keep talking about education but how many of you posters got better at driving since you passed a test? No thais improve no matter how many years they drive.... they just dont get it.

I imagine it was everybody...

At 17 I failed my UK driving test twice.

Then just after my 18th and a load more lessons I took it again and passed the 3rd time.

Living proof that passing my test made me a better driver...

In fact, it was the other way around... I had to become a better driver to be able to pass my test...

So there's living proof that having to take exams really does prove you're better than before... Because if you're not, you won't pass

[paymaster]

Give me break. Thailand has held the record for the first or second (after China) safety record in the world for years. So, now they are going to STUDY the problem. No more study needed folks; now you just have DO something.

one thing they should do but will never do is confiscate the vheicle at once! make the driver attend driving school(non existent) fine the hell out of him and place the idiot in jail for at least a month! it will never happen but it should.

Do something. The first thing to do is answer the big question. "Do you know who my father is?" The second thing is to empower the police to ignore the answer.

[wilcopops]

There is a massive misconception that Thai drivers don't have "common sense".

Firstly the concept of what is and isn't common sense is not universal....so the premise is mistakenly held by those who promulgate the concept.

Secondly all drivers all over the world are equally stupid in equal proportions.

No attempt to improve road safety in Thailand will EVER work if it starts from the premise that Thai drivers are more to blame than anyone else. What road safety entails is preventing those idiots from doing what they do and reducing the severity of it when they succeed.

Never read so much waffle!

If you disagree with something I've posted, perhaps you'd care to articulate it in a more coherent argument?

Or are you just someone who knows nothing about road safety and actually has nothing to say?

Edited December 31, 2014 by wilcopops

[wilcopops]

You all keep talking about education but how many of you posters got better at driving since you passed a test? No thais improve no matter how many years they drive.... they just dont get it.

I imagine it was everybody...

At 17 I failed my UK driving test twice.

Then just after my 18th and a load more lessons I took it again and passed the 3rd time.

Living proof that passing my test made me a better driver...

In fact, it was the other way around... I had to become a better driver to be able to pass my test...

So there's living proof that having to take exams really does prove you're better than before... Because if you're not, you won't pass

I'd say it means you were pretty slow at getting to the minimum standard required to drive and have a very limited outlook on world road safety.

[Cake Monster]

The laws of the road ( and many other laws ) in Thailand are currently not adhered to by the public at large, or the Police and the Judiciary, and the consequences are all to plain to see in the apalling waste of life every day on the roads in Thailand.

Tragically, without a complete revamp of the Laws, Police and Judicial Services, these figures will only keep repeating themselves, and the overall lawlessness will only continue to increase.

[pjmansions]

Accidents happen in the west but generally speaking you can predict what people in the car ahead are likely to do, here you have to expect the unexpected at every junction slip road roundabout or traffic light. its exhausting and very frustrating to drive here

[cup-O-coffee]

It's funny reading all these posts. I don't mean the posts are funny. Actually, they are quite accurate in a lot of their suggestions and comments for improving things.

But the overall and outstanding issue that hangs over all of this like a specter is that, AGAIN, all the Thais do is talk about a problem. AGAIN, nothing gets done. AGAIN, they dodge the real issues of behavior and attitude in this society and culture, ...and that is where the real issues lie; their brains.

Every tool out there, that is needed to make this problem go away overnight, is readily available to everyone. These tools are not material, and moreover they are lodged in the brain of every Thai out there; conscientiousness, common sense, restraint, self-will, self-discipline, generosity, compassion, self-awareness, environmental awareness, problem-solving skills, caution, etc. etc. ad nausea...

Regrettably, every one of these tools is stifled, snuffed out, buried deep, avoided, ignored, quenched, quelled, etc. for the mere and simple reasons that they are undeveloped - attitude-wise and behavioral-wise - in these higher levels of consciousness, because of their culture and anything related to it utterly forbids it. We all know the reasons, routines, etc. We all read about it daily and we all experience it or are subjected to it daily.

The attitude and behavior here, singularly in each Thai, works against the system. Each seems to go into a feeding frenzy any time some good opportunity comes along. Each window of opportunity is wasted, and cannibalized to its bare bones. The resulting consequences are always half-baked, bare minimum, barely working, dysfunctional, undermanned, low-skilled, poor quality, second rate, etc.

Without being able to develop the natural instincts and intuitions which activate conscientiousness, common sense, restraint, self-will, self-discipline, generosity, compassion, self-awareness, environmental awareness, problem-solving skills, caution, etc. etc. ad nausea... then nothing will ever get done, and the subsequent "finished product" will always remain unfinished. Only their utterly mind-beggaring cockiness will see their unfinished work as a "HUB" of reality and success, and cause for some great celebration of this mediocrity that they continually churn out.

At a grass roots level, seeing people constantly pull out in front of others without so much as a glance just about says it all. Dumb. Stupid. Ignorant. Selfish. Arrogant. Impetuous. Compulsive. Impulsive, etc. All of these things are the first born characteristics of a human being that, if not weaned out of the characteristic by the good things mentioned above, will be the first behavior and first attitude that engages and affects what is seen as action.

I am suggesting that as long as this culture forbids the kind of behavioral adjustments and attitude changes that will unleash these higher levels of consciousness, then these problems and issues will always be nothing more than mimicry of those who do have these characteristics; ...but it will fall short and lie dormant at the point of action.

The material tools are in their hands, and they never use them. Unless they have someone prodding them and driving them with fear or crisis, they never act, and never see it through.

This is my general view and take on the situation, and even the exceptions are lacking. This is simply a more in-depth interpretation of what I call FACE, and it will be cause for years and years of regret and suffering as the world turns. All talk and no show. All talk and no working examples. They can't even manage the simple things, and all for the reasons I stated above...

Behavior and attitude.

Edited January 1, 2015 by cup-O-coffee

[wilcopops]

The laws of the road ( and many other laws ) in Thailand are currently not adhered to by the public at large, or the Police and the Judiciary, and the consequences are all to plain to see in the apalling waste of life every day on the roads in Thailand.

Tragically, without a complete revamp of the Laws, Police and Judicial Services, these figures will only keep repeating themselves, and the overall lawlessness will only continue to increase.

Again single issues won't tackle the problem.....you MUST tackle all FIVE "E"s

[ubonjoe]

A Thai bashing post has been removed.

[Porkster]

I'd say it means you were pretty slow at getting to the minimum standard required to drive and have a very limited outlook on world road safety.

Edited January 4, 2015 by Porkster

[Asiantravel]

Driving schools in Thailand? I remember seeing one once, a long time ago but I can't remember which town or city it was in. I was very surprised to have seen it. Of all the towns and cities I've been to I can't ever remember seeing another. Not even in Bangkok. I have definitely never seen a car from a driving school nor a car with "L" plates (or a Thai version of). If there were such a thing as a driving school, who would the instructors be? The answer to that question scares me. Having said all this, there seem to be millions of learners on the roads.

" Having said all this, there seem to be millions of learners on the roads."

and I would bet a few hundred thousand of them don't have an instructor sitting with them

[Porkster]

Driving schools in Thailand? I remember seeing one once, a long time ago but I can't remember which town or city it was in. I was very surprised to have seen it. Of all the towns and cities I've been to I can't ever remember seeing another. Not even in Bangkok. I have definitely never seen a car from a driving school nor a car with "L" plates (or a Thai version of). If there were such a thing as a driving school, who would the instructors be? The answer to that question scares me. Having said all this, there seem to be millions of learners on the roads.

" Having said all this, there seem to be millions of learners on the roads."

and I would bet a few hundred thousand of them don't have an instructor sitting with them

But it's these Micky mouse "driving instructors" that are teaching them bad habits to begin with...

My personal pet hate is C@&£s that turn on their hazard lights because they're going straight across at a crossroads!