Bangkok governor opens road accident reduction campaign

[SPB65]

Yeah, good luck with that. They'll need to change the mindset of an entire nation and culture first.

[kannot]

Stronger traffic law enforcement, really ?

Can i ask who is doing it ?

The Invisible man.......... you can see him on any highway

[TigerandDog]

Stronger traffic law enforcement, really ?

Can i ask who is doing it ?

There is stronger traffic law enforcement. There are NO traffic laws, so as no traffic laws are being broken, the police have done a marvelous job enforcing them,(sic).

[jaywalker]

I once got a ticket for driving my bike (Kawasaki Boss) in a buses only lane.

No buses around. I was just driving on the left & POOF a cop jumps out from under the bridge near Sukh. Soi 0 & the expressway.

The light changed on the other side of the road and no less than 30 motorcycles zoomed down the pavement, going the wrong way, in the bus lane, and were ignored.

BTW, pavement to us yanks is where cars go. We call pedestrian "foot-paths" sidewalks, not pavement.......dozens of bikes, WRONG WAY in a bus lane is OK......No buses, so they can get by.

Farang in the correct buses-only lane gets a ticket......

Wait, I just confused myself.

[Jim walker]

I was involved in an accident a few years ago in Bangkok when a green bus suddenly turned left without indicating he then proceeded to drive over my Vios wing and bonnet bumper and the weird thing was it was all my fault as my international driving licence was in my condo and police man told me that because I did not have my licence on me I should not have been on that bit of road so the bus driver was in the right to drive instantly to the left, not sure how the bus driver could have known I did not have a driving licence on me at the time, luckily the insurance man when he arrived had a quick look and said I can see exactly what has happened and they took away my car and it was back within two weeks as good as new, so very wary now when driving alongside any bus on my right side and still feel resentful for being fined 750Baht for being on the wrong spot on a Bangkok road, as a bus driver got on with his job.

[spidermike007]

All the campaigns in the world will fail, as long as you continue to maintain a complete lack of law enforcement and traffic safety enforcement on the roads. Have you ever seen anyone pulled over and heavily fined for reckless driving? Have you ever seen a reckless driver?

[thailand49]

The key has always been available to this government. The problem is those responsible to educate are not educated themselves to provide a solution to the problem so they continue to blame the driver while they spin out the same old stuff.

[mercman24]

just read today 6 killed in one accident, have no comment to make as to fault as i wasn't there, (but someone will be along in a minute to put that right), i see a pic of 2 lorries and a car involved rip to the lost souls.

[toooa]

Good luck with that then.....

[connda]

This should be moved to the Humor Forum.

[cumgranosalum]

... and so as predicted, litany of anecdotes and half-baked solutions by those who really don't appreciate what road safety entails

[connda]

"Road safety" in Thailand is an oxymoron. Most drivers don't have any sort of license, insurance, driver's education, and really could care less.

Many vehicles don't have working lights, tires with actual tread, or brakes that function.

Seatbelts? Who needs 'em? Pickup trucks loaded with young kids in the bed weaving along at high speed. No traffic enforcement present. No common sense used.

As for road systems; if you were to design the most diabolical way of creating collisions, Thailand's roads would win the prize hands down. Like the old demolition derby's where collision was the objective and not something to be avoided.

As for enforcement - what the? Anybody seen a cop lately? I saw one a few days ago - riding down the wrong side of the road with his helmet straps flapping in the breeze! Great role model for proper driving habits!

If the gov of BKK really wants to reduce traffic accidents, he should think about hiring police that will enforce laws that already exist.

Sadly it will never happen in the land of smiles.

You can see cops galore once a VIP comes to town. Cops on every corner; cops on motorcycles; cops in Hiluxs' cops in cruisers; cops in van pools -- and during this time all traffic violations are simply ignored, especially the ones the cops are committing: weaving in and out of traffic at high speed; using multiple lanes; driving against traffic; speeding; aggressive and dangerous driving. Why bother? Lol

[cumgranosalum]

"Road safety" in Thailand is an oxymoron. Most drivers don't have any sort of license, insurance, driver's education, and really could care less.

Many vehicles don't have working lights, tires with actual tread, or brakes that function.

Seatbelts? Who needs 'em? Pickup trucks loaded with young kids in the bed weaving along at high speed. No traffic enforcement present. No common sense used.

As for road systems; if you were to design the most diabolical way of creating collisions, Thailand's roads would win the prize hands down. Like the old demolition derby's where collision was the objective and not something to be avoided.

As for enforcement - what the? Anybody seen a cop lately? I saw one a few days ago - riding down the wrong side of the road with his helmet straps flapping in the breeze! Great role model for proper driving habits!

If the gov of BKK really wants to reduce traffic accidents, he should think about hiring police that will enforce laws that already exist.

Sadly it will never happen in the land of smiles.

as with many of the posts in this and other threads...an exercise in the "bleedin' obvious" but like all those other posts actually doesn't address the whole picture OR suggest any practical solutions.

It's not down to what you see, it's the whole picture that['s important, and how one analyses that, that counts.

[connda]

All the campaigns in the world will fail, as long as you continue to maintain a complete lack of law enforcement and traffic safety enforcement on the roads. Have you ever seen anyone pulled over and heavily fined for reckless driving? Have you ever seen a reckless driver?

85% of those whom I see on the road could easily be classified as 'reckless drivers'. Quite a few of them I think are just plain stoned or drunk. Drive on a divided highway, you're in the middle of your lane, some r-hole blasts by within inches of your bumper, and then commences to line his car up directly on the center line and drives a couple of kilometers like that, with other fools passing him on the inside and outside shoulders, and I'm just like: Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrox, over. I usually keep enough distance so I'm not hit with flying debris when the actually accident stupidity starts for real.

[cumgranosalum]

All the campaigns in the world will fail, as long as you continue to maintain a complete lack of law enforcement and traffic safety enforcement on the roads. Have you ever seen anyone pulled over and heavily fined for reckless driving? Have you ever seen a reckless driver?

85% of those whom I see on the road could easily be classified as 'reckless drivers'. Quite a few of them I think are just plain stoned or drunk. Drive on a divided highway, you're in the middle of your lane, some r-hole blasts by within inches of your bumper, and then commences to line his car up directly on the center line and drives a couple of kilometers like that, with other fools passing him on the inside and outside shoulders, and I'm just like: Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrox, over. I usually keep enough distance so I'm not hit with flying debris when the actually accident stupidity starts for real.

Complete and utter unmitigated bunkum.

a classic example of confirmation bias

[cumgranosalum]

The state of the roads is irrelevant. Any driver should adjust his behaviour to suit the road conditions. One of the problems here is that people have their cars blessed by a monk then think that they are invincible.

The remedy lies in training, proper driving tests and enforcement. For example run a red light, first offence 5k fine, second 20k fine, third offence confiscate both the vehicle and the licence. Only this morning I saw three vehicles run a red light, the last one actually overtaking stopped vehicles in front to do so, and that after the clear countdown on the green followed by the usual 3 seconds or so on amber.

Of course that needs police who are focussed on enforcement, assisted by cameras where necessary, rather than playing little boys games with their radios and the traffic lights.

There was a project for computerised control of traffic lights in the city way back in the mid 90s but never seems to have been implemented. Maybe the signs indicating congestion ahead are the only legacy of it.

"The state of the roads is irrelevant. " - sadly this shows you really haven't much idea of road safety....just check out the 5 "E"s and then think again.

[connda]

All the campaigns in the world will fail, as long as you continue to maintain a complete lack of law enforcement and traffic safety enforcement on the roads. Have you ever seen anyone pulled over and heavily fined for reckless driving? Have you ever seen a reckless driver?

85% of those whom I see on the road could easily be classified as 'reckless drivers'. Quite a few of them I think are just plain stoned or drunk. Drive on a divided highway, you're in the middle of your lane, some r-hole blasts by within inches of your bumper, and then commences to line his car up directly on the center line and drives a couple of kilometers like that, with other fools passing him on the inside and outside shoulders, and I'm just like: Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrox, over. I usually keep enough distance so I'm not hit with flying debris when the actually accident stupidity starts for real.

Complete and utter unmitigated bunkum.

a classic example of confirmation bias

Show me contradicting datum. I'd love to see it. Confirmation bias? I know what I see and how often, including being within 100 feet of where a big bike motorcyclist got his ticket permanently punched two days ago. I drive at a moderate speed and watch the incidences of bunkum stupidity pile up faster than I can count. And thanks for the new word. "Bunkum" Very expressive. Seminal in a way.

[cumgranosalum]

All the campaigns in the world will fail, as long as you continue to maintain a complete lack of law enforcement and traffic safety enforcement on the roads. Have you ever seen anyone pulled over and heavily fined for reckless driving? Have you ever seen a reckless driver?

85% of those whom I see on the road could easily be classified as 'reckless drivers'. Quite a few of them I think are just plain stoned or drunk. Drive on a divided highway, you're in the middle of your lane, some r-hole blasts by within inches of your bumper, and then commences to line his car up directly on the center line and drives a couple of kilometers like that, with other fools passing him on the inside and outside shoulders, and I'm just like: Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrox, over. I usually keep enough distance so I'm not hit with flying debris when the actually accident stupidity starts for real.

Complete and utter unmitigated bunkum.

a classic example of confirmation bias

Show me contradicting datum. I'd love to see it. Confirmation bias? I know what I see and how often, including being within 100 feet of where a big bike motorcyclist got his ticket permanently punched two days ago. I drive at a moderate speed and watch the incidences of bunkum stupidity pile up faster than I can count. And thanks for the new word. "Bunkum" Very expressive. Seminal in a way.

QED..... and you just ticked all the boxes.

[jerojero]

25 years later, and the city is now considered safe. 555

[cumgranosalum]

If ever anyone needed proof of how the roads themselves are a serious factor in road safety take a look at the video in this thread.......poorly designed / constructed road that lead to this guy losing control.....

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/853053-i-hope-u-appreciate-my-driving-skills/