Thailand's roads second deadliest in the world: World Health Organization

[superal]

If the UK traffic police were suddenly posted to Thailand they would be unable to cope . They would probably have to double their officer numbers .

As most of us know the UK traffic police use a system called Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) . This cctv software will indicate within a second the status of a vehicle i.e. is it insured ,does it have road tax , does it have a current vehicle test cert; Is the car stolen , has the car been cloned .

Gas stations are also equipped with cctv that can be used with the ANPR to catch fuel thieves . However I guess that for some reason it will not be introduced here . Imagine how many vehicles would be taken off the road and/or impounded !

Food for thought

...and your point is what?

Well I am surprised you asked . The statement above is self informative inasmuch to say that there are traffic management systems and tools available right now to stop this avoidable carnage on the Thai roads yet for some reason there appears to be no interest or effort to mitigate the problems . Unless you know better .

[cumgranosalum]

If the UK traffic police were suddenly posted to Thailand they would be unable to cope . They would probably have to double their officer numbers .

As most of us know the UK traffic police use a system called Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) . This cctv software will indicate within a second the status of a vehicle i.e. is it insured ,does it have road tax , does it have a current vehicle test cert; Is the car stolen , has the car been cloned .

Gas stations are also equipped with cctv that can be used with the ANPR to catch fuel thieves . However I guess that for some reason it will not be introduced here . Imagine how many vehicles would be taken off the road and/or impounded !

Food for thought

...and your point is what?

Well I am surprised you asked . The statement above is self informative inasmuch to say that there are traffic management systems and tools available right now to stop this avoidable carnage on the Thai roads yet for some reason there appears to be no interest or effort to mitigate the problems . Unless you know better .

"Well I am surprised you asked" - I bet you are! You actually just pointed out a couple of enforcement options used in the UK.....so I'll re-phrase my question - "so what?" I've said time and again that most posters just offer these blinkered on off statements as if they are some kind of panacea for all Thailand's motoring needs - total nonsense.

[metisdead]

An inflammatory post has been removed as well as a reply.

[LarryBird]

I think the thing to realize here is that there is no country with perfectly safe roads, and therefore you could die on the roads anywhere. This then means it doesn't matter where you travel, ok? -- Sarcasm.

[Gonsalviz]

Have been visiting LOS for almost 40 years. Drove around Chiang Mai, Lampang & Chiang Rai this month. I commented several times to the missus that the driving attitudes seemed markedly better than ever before. Nowhere near as much passing on blind curves and driving at insane speeds etc. Was I dreaming or has anyone else felt the same?

36 years for me. I try not to look but it does seem they are getting better. Still lots of room for improvement.

[Jonmarleesco]

Deadly roads? Poorly built and maintained they might be; capable of lethality they are not. The roads are a subsidiary problem to the main cause of road fatalities in Thailand - p . ss poor driving.

[Jimdandy]

This is what happens where there is no enforcement. You know? Highway patrol,,,

[Jonmarleesco]

If the UK traffic police were suddenly posted to Thailand they would be unable to cope . They would probably have to double their officer numbers .

As most of us know the UK traffic police use a system called Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) . This cctv software will indicate within a second the status of a vehicle i.e. is it insured ,does it have road tax , does it have a current vehicle test cert; Is the car stolen , has the car been cloned .

Gas stations are also equipped with cctv that can be used with the ANPR to catch fuel thieves . However I guess that for some reason it will not be introduced here . Imagine how many vehicles would be taken off the road and/or impounded !

Food for thought

Given your use of the term gas stations, instead of petrol stations, I am assuming you have taken UK police as an example, but aren't, yourself, from the UK? Besides which I can't see any relevance to the article in question.

[Wilsonandson]

Speeding, helmetless motorcyclists families. Teenager, mood swinger with a taste for alcohol and caffeine sports drinks wearing a helmet but without protection for the chin.

Fat mail man pulling out of the side street into fast running traffic without looking sporting a helmet for a construction worker.

White mini bus public transport caffiene induced manic pulling in front of motorcyclists and then slamming on his breaks to let out his passenger.

White van man school bus returning kids home drives like a manic as if its life or death to get the kids home as wuick as possible.

Just a few observations. Anyone else have examples of Thai drivers?

[phycokiller]

no surprise that motorcyclists die when the fashion is not to do up the helmet strap, darwinism at work

Edited October 22, 2015 by phycokiller

[Thian]

Believe it or not but today i saw a real motorpoliceman (with a big white motorbike) who had stopped a white minivan and was writing a ticket.

I'm getting hope now that one day it will be safe to drive around BKK.

[ramrod711]

I have no fear of accidents, my vehicle has been blessed by a monk. I have strings tied around my gear selector, rear view mirror and steering wheel. I have two Buddha's on the dashboard and something hand painted on my roof liner. What could possibly go wrong?

[mark131v]

I don't think people realise just how roads in their home countries like in Europe are designed from the ground up to prevent idiots from doing what they do best. even more laughable, they put down the low casualties at home to their own good driving...for the most part, a colossal misconception.

Oh dear, a know it all and contender for pedant of the month....

Yes you must be right it is all down to the shoddy Thai road system and bugger all to do with the untrained retards behind the wheel....

[DrTuner]

I have no fear of accidents, my vehicle has been blessed by a monk. I have strings tied around my gear selector, rear view mirror and steering wheel. I have two Buddha's on the dashboard and something hand painted on my roof liner. What could possibly go wrong?

Have you bought fresh garlands to hang from your rear view mirror? If not, you're screwed. Ze hungry ghosts will get ya.

[Sunderland]

I have been travelling around Sichuan and Yunnan provinces of China for the past 2 weeks. It is a miracle that there is not an accident every 100 metres here. Somehow the Chinese avoid crashing into each other as often as their driving should entitle them to. I guess more than 250,000 road deaths a year is insignificant in a country of 1.3 billion people.

Honestly, the driving here in China makes Thailand's driving skills look developed.

[brling]

Just another chance for expats etc to display their ignorance of road safety and engage in a litany of racist abuse and bigoted misconceptions about Thai drivers and Thai roads.

Thailand has no more or less stupid drivers than any other nation.

What a pathetic reply from a Thai apologist.

[newnative]

Great posting, Superal. I was unfamiliar with the UK traffic technology that you mentioned and it was interesting to read about. And, indeed, food for thought. Obviously, you don't get to be number 2 in the World for deadliest traffic without doing lots of things badly--many of which have been mentioned by various posters. Using new technology like this as well as red light cameras, etc, could certainly help. I'm still convinced that the biggest thing being very badly done is enforcement and anything that can improve that would be a big plus.

[phycokiller]

to be fair I think if western countries were a little warmer and most people used motorbikes as here the tolls would be similar. motorbikes are much more dangerous then cars and often the accidents are caused by cars hitting them

[RubbaJohnny]

I'm sure as other nations improve rds ,driver traning,safety requirements, enforcement of seatbelts that Thailand can lead the world.

Songkhran such a great way to get a lead days of drunks unbelted in unit pickup trucks returning over windy hills to the crematorium,kinda Darwinian birth control plus the innocent victims to foolish to hide indoors during the "holidays\

[mike324]

simple law enforcement would save many lives, speeding and running red lights are probably the main causes of deaths.

Unlikely, as things like this are not independent of other factors.....as I said just looking at single issues is a waste of time.

speeding alone accounts for most deaths, look at how many of trucks and buses that speed and can't brake in time causing deaths? How many accidents where cars can't brake in time hitting motorcycles. What do you propose they do?

[cumgranosalum]

Deadly roads? Poorly built and maintained they might be; capable of lethality they are not. The roads are a subsidiary problem to the main cause of road fatalities in Thailand - p . ss poor driving.

Yet again a failure to see the whole picture and just focus on one aspect and try to shoe-horn it into being a answer to the problems.

[cumgranosalum]

simple law enforcement would save many lives, speeding and running red lights are probably the main causes of deaths.

Unlikely, as things like this are not independent of other factors.....as I said just looking at single issues is a waste of time.

speeding alone accounts for most deaths, look at how many of trucks and buses that speed and can't brake in time causing deaths? How many accidents where cars can't brake in time hitting motorcycles. What do you propose they do?

an incorrect interpretation. Speeding is a factor in many collisions or incidents....but that is a constant - more or less - everywhere in the world - so why are the death figures so high in Thailand? you are obviously missing something?

[brling]

Deadly roads? Poorly built and maintained they might be; capable of lethality they are not. The roads are a subsidiary problem to the main cause of road fatalities in Thailand - p . ss poor driving.

Yet again a failure to see the whole picture and just focus on one aspect and try to shoe-horn it into being a answer to the problems.

"yet again", how many more replies are you going to post on this thread trying to defend stupid drivers ?. Why are you Thai apologists in denial ? The "World Health Organization are not Thai bashers. If this thread is too negative, then avoid it.

[cumgranosalum]

Deadly roads? Poorly built and maintained they might be; capable of lethality they are not. The roads are a subsidiary problem to the main cause of road fatalities in Thailand - p . ss poor driving.

Yet again a failure to see the whole picture and just focus on one aspect and try to shoe-horn it into being a answer to the problems.

"yet again", how many more replies are you going to post on this thread trying to defend stupid drivers ?. Why are you Thai apologists in denial ? The "World Health Organization are not Thai bashers. If this thread is too negative, then avoid it.

I'm appalled at the low standard of comprehension on this thread - people just don't have the most tenuous grasp of the issues surrounding this topic.

Now - PLEASE can you show me one instance where I " defend stupid drivers"?

[mike324]

simple law enforcement would save many lives, speeding and running red lights are probably the main causes of deaths.

Unlikely, as things like this are not independent of other factors.....as I said just looking at single issues is a waste of time.

speeding alone accounts for most deaths, look at how many of trucks and buses that speed and can't brake in time causing deaths? How many accidents where cars can't brake in time hitting motorcycles. What do you propose they do?

an incorrect interpretation. Speeding is a factor in many collisions or incidents....but that is a constant - more or less - everywhere in the world - so why are the death figures so high in Thailand? you are obviously missing something?

Well if you look at how much the average motorist drives over the speed limit compare to other countries in the world... I agree there are other factors such as vehicle maintenance such as brakes, driver ability, tail gating, etc etc ...but in the end its all related to speeding

how many percentage of the deaths have we seen that are not related to speeding?

[cumgranosalum]

speeding alone accounts for most deaths, look at how many of trucks and buses that speed and can't brake in time causing deaths? How many accidents where cars can't brake in time hitting motorcycles. What do you propose they do?

an incorrect interpretation. Speeding is a factor in many collisions or incidents....but that is a constant - more or less - everywhere in the world - so why are the death figures so high in Thailand? you are obviously missing something?

Well if you look at how much the average motorist drives over the speed limit compare to other countries in the world... I agree there are other factors such as vehicle maintenance such as brakes, driver ability, tail gating, etc etc ...but in the end its all related to speeding

how many percentage of the deaths have we seen that are not related to speeding?

"Well if you look at how much the average motorist drives over the speed limit compare to other countries in the world.."

Now you're just making assumptions based on....well nothing.

"speed" or "speeding" or "excessive speed" l are different.

"how many percentage of the deaths have we seen that are not related to speeding?" - this is the kind of question you get from someone who really doesn't understand the issues. May I suggest that you go and read the report being discussed - it is on WORLD road safety and even proposes some solutions - it also has comprehensive comparisons of road safet stats for most countries. If you come to the discussion it is not for me to fill you in on the dwtails - find thhem out for yourself and cometo the discussion prepared.

" I agree there are other factors" The "other factors" are primarily defined by the 5 "E"s; if you don't know what these are, you need to find that out too....these are the basics of road safety and I would suggest they are required if you are to have any chance of understanding the topic.

[masuk]

An understanding of action and reaction time! If I am travelling at 90kph, with 3 metres between me and the car in front, can I see - react - brake - stop, in the few milliseconds available?

The answer is invariably NO! But this doesn't seem to be understood.

Having a poorly secured load such as pipes hanging over your roof, does not help the driver in front a lot either.

The number of motor cyclists I see driving with one hand while texting with the other, never ceases to amaze me.

[cumgranosalum]

An understanding of action and reaction time! If I am travelling at 90kph, with 3 metres between me and the car in front, can I see - react - brake - stop, in the few milliseconds available?

The answer is invariably NO! But this doesn't seem to be understood.

Having a poorly secured load such as pipes hanging over your roof, does not help the driver in front a lot either.

The number of motor cyclists I see driving with one hand while texting with the other, never ceases to amaze me.

You seem quite oblivious of the topic and now have decided to waffle on about speeding and appear to be implying that the Thai nation has some unique inherent inability to deal with this. I would regard this as further evidence that you really have no grasp of the topic of road safety as discussed in this report.

[apetley]

That figure is underrated. Thai only count the dead AT THE SCENE. If you die later in the hospital, you don't don't get counted. Fact, not fiction.

Interesting. Who at the "scene" is qualified to pronouns a person is actually dead,?

Could you please supply a reference for this "fact not fiction" you quoted. Thanks

Actually "fiction," more like it. The road accident follows the injured to the hospitals and through the registrations of "cause of death," reports and into the court system and National registry. Nice try there, however you almost got away with that Porkey!

See post #14

Quote "What is more, Thailand’s actual road fatality rate may be even worse than reported, thanks to skewed reporting by the nation’s Public Health Ministry whose figures only include fatalities at the scene of accidents. Traffic-related deaths which occur later in hospital are not included in official figures."

[cumgranosalum]

That figure is underrated. Thai only count the dead AT THE SCENE. If you die later in the hospital, you don't don't get counted. Fact, not fiction.

Interesting. Who at the "scene" is qualified to pronouns a person is actually dead,?

Could you please supply a reference for this "fact not fiction" you quoted. Thanks

Actually "fiction," more like it. The road accident follows the injured to the hospitals and through the registrations of "cause of death," reports and into the court system and National registry. Nice try there, however you almost got away with that Porkey!

See post #14

Quote "What is more, Thailand’s actual road fatality rate may be even worse than reported, thanks to skewed reporting by the nation’s Public Health Ministry whose figures only include fatalities at the scene of accidents. Traffic-related deaths which occur later in hospital are not included in official figures."

FGS - read the report - it talks about this and many other problems with gathering statistics. Do you think that their statisticians are unaware of this sort of thing?