Saturday's Road Toll

[TizMe]

From WHO 2004. World report on road traffic injury prevention:

Road traffic death rates have decreased in high income countries since the 1960s and 1970s, although countries’ rates vary greatly even within the same region. For example, in North America, from 1975 to 1998, the road traffic fatality rate per

100 000 population declined by 27% in the United States but by 63% in Canada.

Meanwhile, rates in low-income and middle income countries have increased substantially. Again, countries vary widely. In Asia, from 1975 to 1998, road traffic fatality rates rose by 44% in Malaysia but by 243% in China ( 48).

Two major studies predict that the trend towards increase in low-income and middle-income countries will continue, unless deliberate action changes it. As a result, the annual numbers of road traffic deaths globally will rise sharply over the next two decades.

The first study, the WHO Global Burden of Disease study ( 1), predicts the following changes from 1990 to 2020.

• Road traffic injuries will rise in rank to sixth place as a major cause of death worldwide.

• Road traffic injuries will rise to become the third leading cause of DALYs lost.

• Road traffic injuries will become the second leading cause of DALYs lost for low-income and middle-income countries.

• Road traffic deaths will increase worldwide, from 0.99 million to 2.34 million (representing 3.4% of all deaths).

• Road traffic deaths will increase on average by over 80% in low-income and middle-income countries and decline by almost 30% in high income countries.

• DALYs lost will increase worldwide from 34.3 million to 71.2 million (representing 5.1% of the global burden of disease).

A World Bank study on traffic fatalities and economic growth found the following.

In high-income countries, the annual number of road traffic deaths is projected to decrease by 27% from 2000 to 2020. In the six regions where low-income and middle-income countries are concentrated, the annual number of road traffic deaths is projected to increase by 83%.

The projected percentage increases from 2000 to 2020 are very similar in these two studies.

NB: DALY is disability adjusted life years

[taxexile]

the thais might not be afraid of dying in a car accident, but they would certainly be afraid of having their right to drive taken away.

i think fear of losing their licence is the only thing that will make drivers take more care.

the fear of death or the fear of causing someone elses death doesn't even enter the equation.

strict enforcement of motoring laws by a responsible and well trained police force backed up by a speedy, strict and no nonsense court system with access to an up to date driver and vehicle database will soon bring the death rates down.there are certainly enough police to do it, its just that they dont seem to be bothered. the police drive just as bad as everybody else. (i was nearly hit by a police bike whilst i was walking on the pavement in bangkok the other day!!!)

such a system would be very expensive to install here, motorists would need to pay a lot of tax to fund such a system. i dont think the thais are ready for that yet.it would take a brave government indeed to do it.

braver than taksins lot for sure.

if you are worried about getting caught and being very heavily fined or losing your license then you will take more care with your driving.

a bit of intelligent road design and signpost placement wouldnt go amiss either.

[Nam Kao]

>>>In ENGLand they just blame WOMEN DRIVERS!!!!!!!!

Hmm, you English guys are smarter than we Americans thought

[philmac]

The Songkran death toll has reached 90 in the first two official days of the holiday (Friday and Saturday). Around 6000 people have been injured. 30 dead on Friday, 60 dead on Saturday

Of those killed about 75 percent were motorbike fatalities (this explains Thailand's high road accident death rate compared with countries having similar populations). 66 percent of those who died in motorbike accidents were not wearing helmuts.

The daily road carnage statistics during Songran are now released at midnight each day, instead of the previous method of having a running total throughout the period.

Keep that in mind when you read Monday's paper and only see statistics up until Saturday.

[chonabot]

Poor Buggers , I'll stick to my Easter Eggs...

[KevinN]

POLO; the fair way to figure the traffic fatalities is how many dearhs per 1000 miles ' how many miles is put on each car per year in which country,,if you have a lot of cars but dont drive any of them,then you will have no fatalities,and if you have a few cars and drive them a lot of miles,you will have more deaths,right, and i do not think that any country in the world has more drivers putting on more miles than an american.

A 100 mile commute for an american per day is not unheard of and getting more common every day.

I myself had jobs where the daily drive was close to 100 each way,6 and 7 days a week. and I have never had a traffic accident.

[Boon Mee]

A 100 mile commute for an american per day is not unheard of and getting more common every day.

I myself had jobs where the daily drive was close to 100 each way,6 and 7 days a week. and I have never had a traffic accident.

Probably most of that 100 mile commute was on well-maintained and lit freeways...

[george]

Motorbikes rev death toll up to 90

The nationwide Songkran death toll from Friday and Saturday has climbed to 90, said Chaturon Chaisaeng, the deputy prime minister directing the road safety centre.

On Saturday alone, road accidents killed 60 people and injured 3,612. When combined with accidents on Friday, the number of deaths surged to 90, and injuries to 5,921.

Despite that, Mr Chaturon said the road toll in the early phase of the holiday was lower than expected.

Thousands of Songkran revellers left the city over the weekend to celebrate the festival upcountry. Officially, the holiday starts tomorrow and ends on Thursday.

Mr Chaturon said records showed road deaths would peak then, when celebrations were in full swing.

He had asked police to swiftly prosecute motorists caught driving drunk.

Most road accidents over the weekend involved motorcycles.

The six provinces reporting the highest number of deaths were Nakhon Si Thammarat, Kamphaeng Phet, Krabi, Surin, Nakhon Nayok and Bangkok.

--The Post 2004-04-12

[KevinN]

Granted, a lot of people are killed on cycles,,but why? It is not the lack of helmets as much as it is lack of driver control,I have seen 5 killed here and have heard of a few more,

But do you know the reason of death? Lack of driver control in the pick ups that ran over them or knocked them off their scoots. There were 3 on one cycle right by my house that ended up under the front of a pick up that ran upon them and drug them under his rig for about 100 meters before getting stopped.

When a person is in a wreck by himself and is killed,maybe a helmet would have saved him,I have never seen such an accident that a helmet would have made any difference.But when he is hit by a rig and knocked clear across 4 lanes of traffic and ran over by a couple of cars,then a helmet would have done no good,and how about passengers that die,they have no head gear and are not required by police to have any. and they are also counted in the deaths that I am talking about.so when you have 3 to 5 on a scoot and it wrecks,you have the statistics of that many killed in a scoot wreck.No matter the cause or who is at fault

You just have the news"4 KILLED ON MOTORCYCLE" and thats all.But the driver that ran over them has agreed to pay XXX baht to the family so the driver will serve no time and is not to blame.NO charges filed.

BOON MEE No a lot of it was on 2 lane roads with 2 way traffic in the states of Nevada,Calif.,Utah and Oregon, like from Beatty Nevada to well #3 nevada test sight[86 M each way],Foster Oregon into Portland[80 m. each way],Touele Utah out to AMAX mag. plant on the lake[60m each way in ice,snow and snowfog]

[gisele]

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/ap/ap...fic-Deaths.html

WHO Campaign Meant to Cut Traffic Deaths

By DEE-ANN DURBIN

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP)--Traffic accidents kill 1.2 million people worldwide every year and the number is expected to nearly double in the next 15 years. Unlike other mass killers such as AIDS or malaria, however, there is no international clamor to reverse the trend.

``There's a kind of fatalism,'' said Dr. Etienne Krug, director of injuries and violence prevention for the World Health Organization, a U.N. agency.

``People don't act on it in part because they think, `Well, society has to modernize. That will mean we'll have more cars, we'll have more roads, and therefore the price to pay is that people will be killed or injured.'''

The organization is starting a yearlong campaign to change that mind-set. The effort begins Wednesday with a news conference in Paris and promotions such as bicycle helmet program in Thailand and free eye examinations for drivers in Nigeria.

The group predicts that 2.3 million people will be killed in traffic accidents by 2020.

In high-income nations such as the United States, where 42,815 people were killed in road accidents in 2003, drivers and passengers account for nearly 90 percent of the victims.

In Southeast Asia, a substantial portion of those killed were riding bicycles or mo-peds, Krug said. In Kenya, 42 percent of the 3,000 killed each year are pedestrians and an additional 38 percent are passengers of public transportation, according to Dr. Olive Kobusingye, a regional adviser for the WHO in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.

Kobusingye said speed limits, if they exist, are rarely enforced in sub-Saharan Africa and only around 2 percent of cyclists use helmets.

``Roads that are built to carry heavy motorized vehicles are shared by cyclists, pedestrians, carts and animals,'' Kobusingye wrote in an e-mail. ``This conflict can only result in road deaths for the vulnerable.''

Southeast Asia had the highest number of traffic deaths in 2000, with 435,000. Africa and the Middle East had the highest rates per 100,000 people.

Low- and middle-income countries account for 90 percent of all traffic deaths, according to WHO statistics. In all countries, males are far more likely to die because they travel more and engage in riskier behavior, Krug said.

``There's not enough recognition of the fact that we can understand road traffic crashes and we can do something about their prevention,'' Krug said.

In Ghana, for example, speed bumps and rumble strips installed in the past few years have brought down the number of traffic crashes by 35 percent. Colombia has reduced deaths by improving public transportation, Krug said, while Mozambique and Nicaragua are models for collection of traffic data.

Dr. Jeffrey Runge, the government's top traffic safety official, said attention to the problem may lead more countries to share resources and data.

Runge, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said his agency is working to reduce traffic deaths overseas. For example, it helped China compile a database to keep track of vehicle defects, he said.

Runge is part of a U.N. coalition that is trying to raise awareness of human factors that kill people, such as speeding, drinking alcohol and failure to wear seat belts. A separate U.N. coalition is working to standardize vehicle safety features.

``They're not random acts of God,'' Runge said about traffic accidents. ``They're predictable, and therefore they're preventable.''

___

On the Net:

World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/en

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov

Transportation Department safety site: http://www.dot.gov/citizen_services/cars_b...ikes/index.html

[sbk]

In all countries, males are far more likely to die because they travel more and engage in riskier behavior, Krug said.

Whats this about women drivers again??

[gisele]

In all countries, males are far more likely to die because they travel more and engage in riskier behavior, Krug said.

Whats this about women drivers again??

Excellent observation!

[plachon]

But do you know the reason of death? Lack of driver control in the pick ups that ran over them or knocked them off their scoots. There were 3 on one cycle right by my house that ended up under the front of a pick up that ran upon them and drug them under his rig for about 100 meters before getting stopped.

You mean Kev, not only did this lousy driver run over the poor kids, but he tried to drug them as well? What was it - yaa baa or pong khao? Tssk, some people will stoop to anything!

[tutsiwarrior]

it is curious that the 'Buddha will protect' scenario with regard to reckless driving is repeated in the Gulf states but Allah is sloted in instead. Locals in the UAE will drive at high speed even when fog reduces visibility to 10 meters. This isn't a holiday occurence...happens all the time and most locals don't drink.

I'm as spiritual as anyone else but,...give me a break...

[tuky]

Returning back to LoS for my break is such a relief. I used to think Thai drivers were terrible but now I have changed my veiws. They could be a lot worse.

The things I see here in Azerbaijan are amazing, I have no idea how people can drive like they do here without any concern for their own lives, I now find it a pleasure to drive at home in LoS.

[tutsiwarrior]

my point as well...anyone that criticises local drivers should try the Middle East...Thailand is a dream world in comparison...

[sbk]

my point as well...anyone that criticises local drivers should try the Middle East...Thailand is a dream world in comparison...

Tutsi, it's not so much a criticism of local drivers as it is of the entire system. Lack of consistent police enforcement, lack of proper drivers training and the general apathy towards drunk drivers all must be major contributive factors to the accident rate.

I live in a small community and well remember the loss of almost an entire family in one accident (grandparents, two adult children and two grandchildren). It saddens me that Thailand loses so many of it's people in such an avoidable way.

[tutsiwarrior]

sbk...people don't simply 'drive crazily'...there are cops and systems wherever you go. In wealthy Gulf areas like Dubai and Abu Dhabi with big well tended roads and loads of locals with powerful cars the cops simply look away...the cops are there to ensure their privilege to drive like maniacs.

Except for European expats there is not a big drink driving problem there. There are a lot of local kids in daddy's S class 12 cylinder Mercedes terrorising others on the road. If they got connections with the local sheikh they can kill as many people as they want and not be punished...a number of instances come to mind where children playing on the pavement were killed by reckless drivers...all unpunished, the local maniac driver simply blamed the the kids' pakistani parents for not looking after them properly...happens all the time.

Filthy savages...the worst aspect of living in an otherwise OK place.

[Crash999]

I have never seen such an accident that a helmet would have made any difference.But when he is hit by a rig and knocked clear across 4 lanes of traffic and ran over by a couple of cars,then a helmet would have done no good

My step-mother used to work in a hospital ER, after which she became paranoid about me riding motorcycles.

The difference between wearing a helmet and not wearing a helmet, she told me, is whether the funeral would be open or closed casket.

[Padkapow Guy]

especially the little plastic helmet they give you when you rent a bike.

I think my head is harder!

[KevinN]

TUTSI,,Yea but in Saudi my Filipinos used to say,you drive same same arabi,and I did,,but I was not required to drive a mid size pick up, I had a full size GMC 1 ton step side. and I have some pics of wrecks there that would curl your hair.

I have been riding a motorcycle since 1948 and still ride one today,,and have never worn a helmet except on the T T track or hill climb when racing as required my AMA. and I have been in a couple of dandys,one was a head on between my new 1984 Harley FLT and a 74 Chrysler wagon with a stone drunk driver.I do not believe that helmets save lives,,and like has been said,these plastic cup thingys that are required here and then only on the operator and not on the other 2 to 6 passengers.

And if they save lives,why ain't the little dude with the high boots and Nazi SS hat wearing one,while he chewing your ass out for not having one on.?Coarse I wear one now,I got one of them GRP kraut cans,it light didn't cost much and it keeps the sun off my head and the cops off my ass.

The only reason they are required in the USA is because the ins. cos. backed the bill cause if you are in a wreck and killed,which you will most likely be,they can fight about paying cause you were in violation of the law,and thats the only reason they backed the bill cause it was proven that a helmet is a hindrance instead of a help in a crash over 20 miles an hour.proven ,the added weight of the helmet going down the road when your body was stopped causes added Brain stem damage and is the cause of death in most wrecks where head injury is a factor.

[Basher]

I do not believe that helmets save lives

Idiot!

Bash

[sonthaya]

Tutsi, 30 years in the Middle East, the last 14 in Oman, I agree fully with you, they got more money than brain, that means fast expensive cars, it would have been safer if they had stayed with the camels for transport, they have more brain

[TizMe]

I do not believe that helmets save lives

And seat belts and air bags are just installed in cars to increase the price. Smoking is good for you and so is eating 5 big macs every day of your life washed down with a couple of bottles of Jack Daniels while having unprotected sex with a HIV carrier.

Wake up...

[davethailand]

has anyone ever driven or been in a car in cairo,

i have, thai drivers are great

[britmaveric]

Try Italia - god I almost had a heart attack and I was a passanger. (apparently rear endin someone is a national past time)

[KevinN]

TIZME AND BASHER; Very informative and intelligent posts,Do you have any documentation or are these very fine ideas your own?

I know a radiologist in Ensenada that would disagree that air bags are such neat things,her neck was broken because a car hit the front of hers at a speed of about 10 MPH and the airbag tore her seat loose and put her head in the back seat,so they are not such good things in all situations.There is also numerous litigation ongoing in the states because a number of children have been killed by air bags.

same as seat belts,sometimes they help and sometimes they hinder.I once went over on a D9 cat,I bailed on the first 1/4 roll,and it went on to the bottom of the hill,the cat was a total loss because it was all torn to pieces,but I just sat there on the ground and watched it scatter over about 100 meters of hillside. with the big 4 inch lap strap fastened I would have been smeared on the rock also as the roll cage came apart and the seat and fuel tank were torn off.

Not everything is fool proof, I can only speak for myself and from my own experiences,and helmets do not save lives.they might help in a very low speed wreck,but at higher speeds they are not that much of a plus,on the track they do help,but those are just go down and there are no cars or pickups involved,according to the info i got Dale Ernhardt's neck was broken because the weight of the helmet continued to go after his body had stopped.

[TizMe]

TIZME AND BASHER; Very informative and intelligent posts,Do you have any documentation or are these very fine ideas your own?

I know a radiologist in Ensenada that would disagree that air bags are such neat things,her neck was broken because a car hit the front of hers at a speed of about 10 MPH and the airbag tore her seat loose and put her head in the back seat,so they are not such good things in all situations.There is also numerous litigation ongoing in the states because a number of children have been killed by air bags.

same as seat belts,sometimes they help and sometimes they hinder.I once went over on a D9 cat,I bailed on the first 1/4 roll,and it went on to the bottom of the hill,the cat was a total loss because it was all torn to pieces,but I just sat there on the ground and watched it scatter over about 100 meters of hillside. with the big 4 inch lap strap fastened I would have been smeared on the rock also as the roll cage came apart and the seat and fuel tank were torn off.

Not everything is fool proof, I can only speak for myself and from my own experiences,and helmets do not save lives.they might help in a very low speed wreck,but at higher speeds they are not that much of a plus,on the track they do help,but those are just go down and there are no cars or pickups involved,according to the info i got Dale Ernhardt's neck was broken because the weight of the helmet continued to go after his body had stopped.

I don't doubt that in a very small percentsge of accidents that the damage is increased by the use of a seat belt, air bag or helmet. But in 99.99 % of cases they increase the safety of the user.

In my earlier years I was involved in two seperate high spead accidents. One on a motor bike and another in a car.

In the motorcycle accident I managed to wear about 1.5 cm of fibre glass off the bottom of my helmet. I wonder what ny head would look like now if I wasn't wearing a helmet.

The car accident I managed to roll 4 times in a car. During the process of rolling, the drivers door managed to open 180 degrees. When I stopped rolling the door was bent over the bonnet of the car. I was lucky that this particular car had had a full harness seat belt fitted by the previous owner. During the tumble I sustained a very small scratch on my right elbow and somehow managed to bend a stainless steel link in my watch band. When the Ambulance arrived to find me standing next to the wreck the Ambo walked up and asked me had the driver already been carted off to hospital. This guy who has probably already seen it all and then some was amazed that I was alive, never mind completely unhurt.

I owe my life at least twice. Once to an excellent Helmet and the other to a seat belt.

[TizMe]

Seat belts are the most effective safety devices in vehicles today, estimated to save 9,500 lives each year.

[FIGJAM]

Try Italia - god I almost had a heart attack and I was a passanger. (apparently rear endin someone is a national past time)

3000 odd deaths a year in a country of about 60 millions and where there are about 560 cars per 1000 people...

Do your maths.

Ciao