Songkran 2015: Fifth day death toll now stand at 251

[bheard]

You talk as though these people actually have any value.

Anyone who drinks and drives only have themselves to blame.

It took 20-30 years in the UK to educate people not to drink and drive. Howver, I wonder if this would have much effect in a country where life has less value than in the West.

Once again, the national financial problems would be fixed if they employ a fleet of alcohol and drug breathalysers, and maybe save a few hundred lives a WEEK!.

The introduction of these 'booze buses' caused a significant drop in alcohol related deaths in Western countries, and those on drugs are now also being snared.

While the publicans might complain, more families will keep their fathers and sons.

But it's all in the hands of the government and a competent police force.

Hey there, hang just a moment now!!

Included in those figures are woman, wives and children whom the idiots killled in the mad spree.

Even if you discount the idiots themselves as having value, then at least say a prayer for the poor unfortunates that just happened to be in the way!!

[Neeranam]

It's like this and I said it before; the accidents do not occur because Songkran, the accidents occur because there are so many more vehicles on the road. You take a normal day any time of the year, divide the total number of vehicles on the road with the number of accidents, then do the same for a Songkran day and you will get very much the same result.

Of course there is a exponential factor that increases the the number of accidents exponentially to the number of traffic jams but basically the bottom line is it is there are not more accidents during Songkran than any other time of the year if you compare the accidents with the number of vehicles on the roads.

And why do you think that there are more vehicles on the road? Yes, it's because it's Songkran!

DM

There are less vehicles on the road except the day before and after Songkran.

[taony]

Isn't the number 26,000 per year? divide by 365 you get an average of more than 71. So 50 per day over five days is a 30% decrease over normal, no?

Edited April 15, 2015 by taony

[Mot Dang]

One word. DISGRACEFUL

In any developed country a road toll like this would mean that the head administrator in road safety would get the chop.

The root cause of a road toll like this comes down to two issues:

1st. and most important: a total lack of consistent policing of drivers and the road network. Highway police corruption is tied tightly to this aspect, as well as licencing.

2. Total lack of education of drivers and other road users.

There are other factors that are contributing, but they mostly come back to Point 2.

Then there is Thainess, a total lack of regard for their fellow Thai. One word, selfishness. When are administrators going to get a back-bone and tackle this issue with some fortitude.

So many of us who love Thailand steer away from the subject, but most of us know, life is cheap in Thailand.

Edited April 15, 2015 by Mot Dang

[LuckyLew]

Every year it is the same ... no longer news worthy in my opinion

Just feel sorry for the innocent ones who get taken out by drunk knobs

[Shiver]

It's a pretty muddy set of statistics to distill:

7 Dangerous days
Less accidents in those days than normal
More traffic at the start and end of the festival
Traffic moving slower during festival
More policing (allegedly - though I haven't seen many around here at night time).
More alcohol during festival period

What can be gleaned from that?

Wearing a helmet and not getting stupid drunk whilst in command of a bike or car would be the obvious ones, and go easy on the quieter roads since straight roads don't stop accidents (speed issue again).

Seems to me that the festival is an outlier point that is distorting any useful information. Life may be cheap here, but funerals are not, so hoping that people will think of their families before hitting the throttle to look cool (which may be actually cold rather than cool, and laid out on a tin tray).

Edited April 15, 2015 by Shiver

[NoshowJones]

Needs a reshuffle as to where songkran can be celebrated me thinks, say open parkland or retricted to open beaches.

No that won't do, TiT. No motorbike riders or car drivers to kill or maim. What you are saying is too sensible for this country.

[NoshowJones]

Looks like Songkran is one of the safest times of the year to be on the road. A mere 251 dead in five days? The average of up to 26,000 deaths a year, according to a recent report in the Nation newspaper, is twice that number per week;

Most of the victims of road deaths and accidents are motorcyclists, of whom just seven per cent have the sense to wear crash helmets. And alcohol is a main ingredient of the carnage. Few Thai drivers ever have driving lessons from a professional instructor before taking the joke of a test.

This largely avoidable carnage must be one of the worst self-inflicted wounds in Thailand's blood-soaked history.

and how is a "professional" going to learn how to instruct drivers? Oh I know, be like the Immigration Officials and make up their own rules.

[NoshowJones]

you can always look at this way:

251 new job openings for thais

You mean all those underage motorbike riders have jobs? Well, it is the school holidays.

[dotpoom]

Needs a reshuffle as to where songkran can be celebrated me thinks, say open parkland or retricted to open beaches.

Good idea, but they still will be driving to and fro.

[angiolo]

Do you know how to drive the Thai Way ? You dont need lessons or even to be drunk. Any day any time just dont look out for any other traffic. Try it ,it is so care free . TRy overtaking on the near side as someone is indicaying a left turn. If you have an accident Mr Ferrang ,you are to blame .

[AlQaholic]

For those who only read the first line in every post: The point I was trying to make is that if one compares the number of accidents with the total number of cars on the roads, there are not more accidents during Songkran than any other time. Of course this is difficult to prove as there seems to be no statistics available for how many vehicles totally on the road on a daily basis. So this have to be only my own speculation/theory.

It's like this and I said it before; the accidents do not occur because Songkran, the accidents occur because there are so many more vehicles on the road. You take a normal day any time of the year, divide the total number of vehicles on the road with the number of accidents, then do the same for a Songkran day and you will get very much the same result.

Of course there is a exponential factor that increases the the number of accidents exponentially to the number of traffic jams but basically the bottom line is it is there are not more accidents during Songkran than any other time of the year if you compare the accidents with the number of vehicles on the roads.

And why do you think that there are more vehicles on the road? Yes, it's because it's Songkran!

DM

There are less vehicles on the road except the day before and after Songkran.

[AlQaholic]

Agree completely. I also note that there seems to be some disagreement between WHO statistics and Thai national stistics on this subject.

Looks like Songkran is one of the safest times of the year to be on the road. A mere 251 dead in five days? The average of up to 26,000 deaths a year, according to a recent report in the Nation newspaper, is twice that number per week;

Most of the victims of road deaths and accidents are motorcyclists, of whom just seven per cent have the sense to wear crash helmets. And alcohol is a main ingredient of the carnage. Few Thai drivers ever have driving lessons from a professional instructor before taking the joke of a test.

This largely avoidable carnage must be one of the worst self-inflicted wounds in Thailand's blood-soaked history.

and how is a "professional" going to learn how to instruct drivers? Oh I know, be like the Immigration Officials and make up their own rules.

[janpharma]

When police stops me and I don't have my safety-belt fastened, I have to pay a fine of 200 THB...Today a drunken driver opened his window, driving a pick-up with more than 12 people standing in the back...his whisky bottle was almost empty...Thainess...again

[Cake Monster]

The happiness monger said " go and enjoy your new Year and spend lots of money " ( that you probably dont even have ).

Well, there are now 251 people that will no longer be able to rack up their debt load.