380 people died in New Year's 7-day festive season

[mrfill]

Speeding and drunken driving, for Gods sake lower the speed limit, 120 km per hour some roads is to fast for these clowns.

Nz lowers the limit on holidays from 100kmp down to 90 kmp with zero or sometime a 5kmp tolerance and in suburbs from 50 down to 40 kmp, this combined with cops everywhere with speed cameras and high fines plus random alcohol testing all over the country has dramatically reduced the holiday Rd Toll.

Random testing all year + vehicle confiscation is common practice as well.

Germany has no speed limit on a lot of autobahns and 130kph limit otherwise. It doesn't lower speed limits during holidays.

Its road death rate is nearly half that of New Zealand, one third of the USA and nearly one tenth of Thailand.

Stop blaming the speed limits or the roads. It is dangerous driving (often assisted by alcohol) by drivers and lack of law enforcement that causes the problems.

Just like having a country packed with guns does not necessarily mean a high shooting rate (e.g Switzerland) but sometimes it does (USA). Its the idiots using them carelessly and trying to look big.

[mancub]

Just think, this carnage will be repeated in only three months time.

Nah, it's being repeated on a daily basis, (and with interest) until Songkran.

[masuk]

Another success story for the government, more deaths than last year.

But isn't the national average road death 70 per day? I know it's a totally disgraceful figure and only good policing and realistic education of drivers will ever fix this.

But the bright side, if we can call it that, is that a 7-day toll would normally have been 490!

[noosard]

For a western world country NZ road toll is quite high at 7.4 per 100k

USA is worse at 11 per 100k

[Jeremy50]

Just think, this carnage will be repeated in only three months time.

Was your comment 'tongue in cheek'? 380 is less than the weekly average throughout the whole year. So we can say that the police activity over the last 7 days has saved about 100 lives. Yearly deaths run at 18000 to 26000 depending on which stats. you believe, the Thai government's or the UN's.

[Jeremy50]

Speeding and drunken driving, for Gods sake lower the speed limit, 120 km per hour some roads is to fast for these clowns.

Nz lowers the limit on holidays from 100kmp down to 90 kmp with zero or sometime a 5kmp tolerance and in suburbs from 50 down to 40 kmp, this combined with cops everywhere with speed cameras and high fines plus random alcohol testing all over the country has dramatically reduced the holiday Rd Toll.

Random testing all year + vehicle confiscation is common practice as well.

Germany has no speed limit on a lot of autobahns and 130kph limit otherwise. It doesn't lower speed limits during holidays.

Its road death rate is nearly half that of New Zealand, one third of the USA and nearly one tenth of Thailand.

Stop blaming the speed limits or the roads. It is dangerous driving (often assisted by alcohol) by drivers and lack of law enforcement that causes the problems.

Just like having a country packed with guns does not necessarily mean a high shooting rate (e.g Switzerland) but sometimes it does (USA). Its the idiots using them carelessly and trying to look big.

Yep. And do something wrong on a German road and and about 10 citizens will let you know about it, and you WON'T make that mistake again. That's exactly the way it should be.

[sawadee1947]

Now I realized the meaning of "Thailand moves forward"

[apetley]

Just think, this carnage will be repeated in only three months time.

Was your comment 'tongue in cheek'? 380 is less than the weekly average throughout the whole year. So we can say that the police activity over the last 7 days has saved about 100 lives. Yearly deaths run at 18000 to 26000 depending on which stats. you believe, the Thai government's or the UN's.

No not tongue in cheek as I don't believe the figures released this last week reflect the true death toll due to under reporting.

[lee68]

Utter disgrace and every death a family tragedy, yet nothing effective is ever done. Thailand needs a real DRIVING TEST with nobody allowed to pay for one if they cannot pass it.

The one they have most Thais cant pass so they just buy the licence.

[lee68]

Maybe it time for the government to stop messing around an implement huge fines for people who fail a breathalyser test. I'm talking about perhaps a100,000 plus Baht fine with no exceptions, and if they cannot pay with in let's say a week, then jail time. You have to really frighten people. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

5-10,000bt is enough to frighten most Thais, its a lot of money for most familys,makes them have to borrow from the family and look stupid,a Thai friend of mine was caught coming out of chaing mai early morning and breathalyzed,he was locked up for the night and fined 6000bt in the morning and lost his licence,i laughed when he told me,he was only upset about the money part that hurt!

[White Christmas13]

After all the alcohol over New Year I still don't know if I'm one of them. Alcohol must really damage brains...

Or is something wrong with my Alzheimer?

What was it all about? Nooo, I don't have a work permit for my wife.

You have Alzheimer's and you still post on here yes there is some thing wrong with you

[trainman34014]

Hooray;another chest beating, back slapping.......FAILURE !

[kannot]

If alcohol is to blame as the major causes of these accidents then more diligent Random Breath Testing needs to be set up all over the country and not just on holidays. In Australia I was pulled over at 10 am on a weekday and breath tested...negative of course but it shows just how hard line the police in Australia are on drunk driving. It needs to be enforced at random times in random spots all over the country as well as the license checks and rego checks wearing of seat belts and as for little kids on bikes without helmets don't get me started. Also I see that it's not just New Year when Thailand has these terrible fatalities but Songkran and any other holiday. My condolences and deepest sympathies to the families who have lost loved ones in this latest 7 days of drunken carnage.

its not alcohol its just the fact they are morons when it comes to driving

[nong38]

Drink is a problem for everyone else, speed the same, for a Thai this is not a problem, they can even use the phone whilst driving at high speed. Add to this not noticing what is going on around them, ignoring traffic lights and remembering those halcyon days on the computer driving games and what do you expect, an increase every year and this is important, in reported deaths and accidents, who really knows what the true figure is? After all the more accidents, the more work for the hard pressed police who have more important things to do, dont they?

[catman20]

99,9 %Thais ??????????????

[lvr181]

"......Drunk driving was blamed to be the main cause of most accidents or 20.14%......."

Correct terminology should be used here. Drunk driving doesn't cause accidents. Never ever.

Most crashes are caused by careless or reckless driving. Alcohol consumption just happens to be a contributory factor in many of these.

Huh?? Perhaps the careless or reckless driving would not have happened if they were not drunk?

[lvr181]

I used to work for the New Zealand Road Tansport Agency. The reduction of road fatalities was achieved by a strategy developed by Tony Bliss. Tony's strategy was internationally recognised as best practice and he went on to promote this strategy through his employment at the World Bank.

The stThe Government Transport Agency just sits on its balls and does nothing but congratulate itself for achieving wonderous new targets

This strategy works on the princials of safe engineering - Cars and Roads. Education - hard hiting TV commercials etc and Strict Enforcement by the Police.

This is undepinned by an understanding of the economic cost of a life and government willingness to establish and fund a road safety organisation mandated to reduce road trauma.

I don't see Thailand ever being able to adopt this strategy. New Zealand was able to cut its road fatality toll by half in a very short time.

New Zealand also has the benefit of an educated population which demonstrates high levels of road courtesy. I don't see any level of road courtesy in Thailand from the Thai. I don't think they know what courtesy means.

Unfortunately there seems to be a lack of willingness to learn from others by Thai Governments. They want to tout their own "successes" (and I use that term very lightly) - rather work harder than smarter I think.

[captspectre]

Another success story for the government, more deaths than last year.

why blame the government? it is the idiots who have no self respect, who booze and party it up every chance they get! the government can only do so much unless you want the gov't to shoot or lock up the drunks for a month! if they did that half of the country would be in the slammer. it is the Thai life style to get hammered, get nasty and down right stupid! that's just the way they are! not all of them but enough to cause harm to the decent people who go about their daily business without being half ripped.

[bbbbooboo]

how about this as an alternative heading? "380 people needlessly slaughtered in yet another Thai 7- day holiday driving frenzy"

[duckmandon]

Utter disgrace and every death a family tragedy, yet nothing effective is ever done. Thailand needs a real DRIVING TEST with nobody allowed to pay for one if they cannot pass it.

At age 68 I just finished a Thai driving school and passed the written and driving test on the first try. At the time of the testing there were about 200 applicants and only 10 of us passed. The new driving written exam is very hard to pass and the driving course looks easy, but different and tricky for drivers use to driving from the left side of the vehicle.

Many of my Thai friends recently gave up on the 3rd try trying to get a license.

I've been licensed in the U.S., Costa Rica and here. The Thai drivers license course preparation was the hardest I ever encountered. The problems I see are over crowded roads, alcohol and drug abuse, combined with a lack of commen sense! My opinion...

So your friends will just drive anyway? With no law enforcement how will any one know!

[Keesters]

While the recorded deaths and injuries are tragic the numbers do not seem to be sufficient to make people take notice. Perhaps if the toll had been 10x or 100x it might drive home the stupidity of driving while drunk and/or speeding and make next years figures far, far lower. If there is one thing I'd like to see this government spend money on it is public service announcements on TV enforcing safety especially while driving. The more gory the better as that does seem to attract attention.

My sympathies to all, and the families of, those who have been killed or injured by those reckless drunk and/or speeding drivers.

[Dibbler]

In most developing countries this statistic would be cause for replacing the head of police, possibly even the Minister. At least there would be serious discussion at higher levels about tackling the root cause of the problem. But TiT!

[sammieuk1]

Just a few observations the Uturn of death must be a major cause undertaking reckless speed to over/under take, inability to see a red light and queuing traffic, after finally stopping at red light the inability to pull away before red again, complete blindness to judge speed when pulling out ,big cars small brain the cocktail of death.

[jerome2]

We came from Loei to BKK tuesday ...not 1 police... my wife.... they are tired they sleep

a lot use their truck as a weapon... specialy the black Vigos and Fords