Thai Officials Investigate a 54% Increase in Foreign Tourists Deaths

[ggt]

At least one area of Foreign Tourism is up...now they need to figure out how to capitalize on this trend...

[mikebell]

www.farang-deaths.com

[tomacht8]

At least one area of Foreign Tourism is up...now they need to figure out how to capitalize on this trend...

Here on the islands are almost on every street corner, private hospitals and clinics.

They earn very good from motorcycle crashes.

And the bills of theses private hospitals are on par with swiss top clinics.

[chrisinth]

54% increase is a huge jump! Something's very wrong with safety and security of Thailand. Hope the authorities will really investigate into this, and not sweep the whole issue under the carpet.

The more one should buy insurance before stepping onto Thailand soils.

either that or there is something very wrong with the figures being released..........................

[Shaunduhpostman]

Not sure any figures would be meaningful, I doubt there has been nor is there now any coordinated systematic effort to actually keep track of who has died. What is in it for anyone, face or money? Don't mean to be cynical, but I haven't noticed that anyone's life particularly matters in Thailand, unless you are some kind of vip or what have you.

Edited February 14, 2016 by Shaunduhpostman

[Artisi]

" ......thai-officials-investigate ......." well that's means nothing found..

​

[BangkokKen]

Yes it's assisted suicide, Thai murderers are actually doing us a favor, for which we should be charged for!

[honcho]

need to look at the bannister rails on the balconies...... seems like middle aged men with in relationships longer than 6 months have balancing issues when on the balconies!

[smotherb]

British foreign office statistics show 300-400 Brits dying in Thailand every year.

Only 83 foreigners died last year?

Sounds more like the numbers of deaths in one month to me!

Maybe the 83 were overstayers

[webfact]

Trouble in Thailand as tourist deaths soar
Kate Schneider

SYDNEY: -- NEW figures have been released concerning tourist deaths in Thailand and they are so worrying that the local government has finally promised to work on improving visitor safety.

There was a 54 per cent jump in the number of tourist deaths at Australia’s much-loved holiday destination last year, according to a report by Thailand’s Bureau of Prevention and Assistance in Tourist Fraud.

Data collected from the ministry’s 10 regional offices showed that while 83 foreign travellers died in 2015, another 166 were injured (a drop of 160 per cent year on year).

While the main cause of death was road accidents (34), swimming and boating accidents claimed nine lives, congenital disease six, suicides four, and other causes 30.

The statistics showed that in 2015, visitors had a 1 in 301,204 chance of dying in Thailand, including a 1 in 735,294 chance of being killed in a road crash.

Full story: http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/health-safety/trouble-in-thailand-as-tourist-deaths-soar/news-story/


-- News.com.au 2016-02-18

[carstenp]

British foreign office statistics show 300-400 Brits dying in Thailand every year.

Only 83 foreigners died last year?

Sounds more like the numbers of deaths in one month to me!

Maybe the 83 were overstayers

I agree if you Read the http://www.farang-deaths.com seems like there is alot more people past away than 84 for 1 year

[petedk]

While the main cause of death was road accidents (34), swimming and boating accidents claimed nine lives, congenital disease six, suicides four, and other causes 30.

The statistics showed that in 2015, visitors had a 1 in 301,204 chance of dying in Thailand, including a 1 in 735,294 chance of being killed in a road crash.

The main cause being road accidents at 34, but following close behind is "other" at 30.

What are the "others"?

[PaullyW]

I reckon the real figure would be at least an order of magnitude larger, say 840 rather than 84...

[terryp]

Data collected from the ministry’s 10 regional offices showed that while 83 foreign travellers died in 2015, another 166 were injured (a drop of 160 per cent year on year).

HILARIOUS ...if it was not so sad.........there are many many more that this, dont all the Malay , Indian, Chinese , Russian that were killed on the terribleaccidents of the tourist bus tours from last year not count...I can remember at least 10+ people died on each of the coach tours accidents (Russia even sent airplanes to airlift the bodies and injured back to Russia)

Never ending garbage as always here

[Assurancetourix]

British foreign office statistics show 300-400 Brits dying in Thailand every year.

Only 83 foreigners died last year?

Sounds more like the numbers of deaths in one month to me!

read again the title :

" Foreign Tourists Deaths "

To them, we are tourists. Not 'expats'. How many times this is repeated and yet still many labour under the delusion they are anything BUT 'tourists'. When at a police station/government office I am still designated 'tourist' on any report/form. Simply with an 'O' visa. And this after 18 years here.

It's because you are not living in the same Thailand as I am

I'm living in Issan since ten years and nobody here say I'm a tourist , maybe because I answer to them in thai-lao

[Assurancetourix]

I reckon the real figure would be at least an order of magnitude larger, say 840 rather than 84...

And you can count idem with thai people who died the 19 of may 2010 in Bangkok .

Offical number is 91 ...

[PaullyW]

British foreign office statistics show 300-400 Brits dying in Thailand every year.

Only 83 foreigners died last year?

Sounds more like the numbers of deaths in one month to me!

read again the title :

" Foreign Tourists Deaths "

To them, we are tourists. Not 'expats'. How many times this is repeated and yet still many labour under the delusion they are anything BUT 'tourists'. When at a police station/government office I am still designated 'tourist' on any report/form. Simply with an 'O' visa. And this after 18 years here.

It's because you are not living in the same Thailand as I am

I'm living in Issan since ten years and nobody here say I'm a tourist , maybe because I answer to them in thai-lao

Can those Isaan 'Moo Ping' vendors you greet in your village also approve your immigration documents?

[stickylies]

Maybe they mean there is a 54% increase on top of the non-communicated tourist deaths. ???

[Colabamumbai]

Better odds than the lottery.

[Assurancetourix]

Can those Isaan 'Moo Ping' vendors you greet in your village also approve your immigration documents?

They never saw them and I'm sure it's not their problems ; only the pouya-ban knows about them because he went once with us, me and my wife, to the Immigration Office .

[Katipo]

While the main cause of death was road accidents (34), swimming and boating accidents claimed nine lives, congenital disease six, suicides four, and other causes 30.

The statistics showed that in 2015, visitors had a 1 in 301,204 chance of dying in Thailand, including a 1 in 735,294 chance of being killed in a road crash.

The main cause being road accidents at 34, but following close behind is "other" at 30.

What are the "others"?

"Others" reads a lot more nicely than "Murders".

[stickylies]

Maybe they mean there is a 54% increase on top of the non-communicated tourist deaths. ???

[Rorri]

British foreign office statistics show 300-400 Brits dying in Thailand every year.

Only 83 foreigners died last year?

Sounds more like the numbers of deaths in one month to me!

read again the title :

" Foreign Tourists Deaths "

To them, we are tourists. Not 'expats'. How many times this is repeated and yet still many labour under the delusion they are anything BUT 'tourists'. When at a police station/government office I am still designated 'tourist' on any report/form. Simply with an 'O' visa. And this after 18 years here.

It's because you are not living in the same Thailand as I am

I'm living in Issan since ten years and nobody here say I'm a tourist , maybe because I answer to them in thai-lao

That's because Isaan people do not know the word "tourist," you, like me, in Mukdahan, will always be farang.

[Deli]

How many are Chinese of this ?

If you are focussing on tourist who need to be nursed 24/7, this is not a surprise.

Add the maniacs on the road... and here we are !

[Rorri]

Can those Isaan 'Moo Ping' vendors you greet in your village also approve your immigration documents?

They never saw them and I'm sure it's not their problems ; only the pouya-ban knows about them because he went once with us, me and my wife, to the Immigration Office .

Shouldn't that be "pooyai?"

[lostinisaan]

British foreign office statistics show 300-400 Brits dying in Thailand every year.

Only 83 foreigners died last year?

Sounds more like the numbers of deaths in one month to me!

I'm trying to update the German/ Austrian and Swiss' deaths on farangdeath and the number can't be correct.

Only these three groups seem to have a higher death rate in one year, of course including natural deaths.

Drug overdosed people in Mae Hong Son/Pai and the full moon island deaths caused by an overdose are never mentioned, it could be bad for the Land of Why's image.

A 23 year old German was the last victim who died in a motorbike crash, but there's nothing in the news about the poor guy.

Cremated in the cheapest box for 200 baht a few days ago. He didn't make it to the news.

It might be great to update this website and foreigners will have real numbers and no bullshitting.

Here's only the tip of the iceberg: ( Sorry, it's in German) https://www.google.co.th/?gws_rd=cr&ei=rVDEVu-BIsL9uATQkoaQCA#q=Deutscher+stirbt+in+Thailand+Urlaub+2015

Edited February 18, 2016 by lostinisaan

[lostinisaan]

A must read:

Thailand is ranked second in the world in terms of traffic fatalities, with 44 deaths per 100,000 people (5.1 percent of Thailand’s overall deaths), according to statistics from the World Health Organization and The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute in the United States.

Perhaps an indicator of just how dangerous Thailand’s roads are is the fact three visitors to the country, who were all attempting to cycle around the world, and were on the final leg of their journeys, were killed after being hit by vehicles in Thailand. Chilean national Juan Francisco Guillermo was killed when he was hit by a truck in north-east Thailand in February this year, and British couple Peter Root and Mary Thompson, were killed when they were hit by a truck in Chachoengsao Province, east of Bangkok, almost exactly one year before. The three cyclists had covered most of the globe before their endeavors were cut short on Thailand’s brutal roads. In the latter case the driver, Worapong Sangkhawat, told police he had been bending down looking for a hat when he hit the pair. He was given a suspended two-year prison sentence and fined around $30.

British cyclists Peter Root and Mary Thompson were killed by a pick-up truck east of Bangkok. Pic: AP.

In most parts of the world traffic deaths and injuries are increasing, according to the Bloomberg Global Road Safety Program, and Thailand is no exception. In 2009 WHO reports state that death per100,000 people was 19.6, and then in 2010, a year before the United Nations with the Thai government introduced its ‘Decade of Action Plan’ promoting and initiating road safety, that number shot up to 38.1. It’s now 44. It’s likely that traffic fatalities didn’t double within the space of a year; the sudden spike may relate to when, and how, the statistics were compiled. It should also be noted that statistics taken inside Thailand only includes victims who died at the scene, while WHO statistics include persons that died within 30 days of the accident.

There are significantly more vehicles in Thailand now than there were in the last decade, which could be a small factor relating to the sudden increase in road deaths. But that doesn’t answer why Thailand is particularly dangerous to drive in, and why, in spite of various police crackdowns and government road safety campaigns, is lack of road safety in Thailand so recalcitrant?

Why aren’t the crackdowns working?

In all the above cases alcohol was not reported to be involved, although it often is. It’s said drunk-driving is to blame for around 26% of road deaths in Thailand, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In an interview with Chiang Mai CityNews, rescue services told the reporter that alcohol was involved in as much as 80% of road accidents.

Thailand has never enforced its drink driving laws to any notable effect. While for the last few years police have somewhat cracked down on driving under the influence, setting up road blocks around many of the big cities, drinking and driving is still normalized behavior. In large cities such as Bangkok and Chiang Mai party-goers can be seen on any given night drinking, and later driving away from whatever establishment they have been in. In smaller towns too persons under the influence can be seen leaving bars and driving away on any given night.

It’s also taken widely accepted in Thailand that the law applies more to some than it does to others. A stand-out case in this respect is Vorayuth Yoovidhaya, the Red Bull heir, who was charged with drink driving in 2013 when his Ferrari mowed down and killed a policeman in Bangkok. He was never jailed for the offense and its unknown how the trial has progressed. While this is an unusual case, it is widely accepted in Thailand that people with enough wealth to have connections, will be granted some kind of leniency if they are ever pulled over by the police. Harsher drink-driving laws, implemented fairly, would certainly help reduce the number of road accidents in Thailand.

Campaigns have been set up to lessen the amount of drink-driving, and posters showing the results of horrific crashes with the ‘don’t drink and drive’ slogan can be seen throughout the country’s streets, but at the moment they don’t seem to be having the same kind of effect that similar, but more shocking campaigns had in western countries in the ’80s. Thailand is a long way from demonizing drink-driving. Also, of considerable note, pertaining mostly to the provinces outside of Bangkok, is that Thailand’s public transport system in the wee hours is virtually non-existent.

Ostensibly in an effort to cut down on the amount of road carnage in Thailand the police have for many years been an almost omnipresent feature in the lives of Thais in the form of daytime roadblocks, previously only pulling motorcyclists over, and fining them (sometimes an on-the-spot-backhander), for not wearing a crash helmet (only 43% of motorcyclists regularly wear helmets), but lately police have also been checking to see if riders have licenses, or even fining them for illegal modifications on their bikes.

There is some controversy surrounding these roadblocks, relating to the on-the-spot fine, but also to their effectiveness in tackling the damage done by road accidents. One point is that any kind of helmet can be worn, and often they are nothing more than a hard hat that you might see on a construction site. Unfortunately a crash helmet that met with standards in most Western countries would be unaffordable to most Thais even if more stringent standards applied to Thailand. Thailand, in the footsteps of Vietnam, could take advantage of the Asia Injury Prevention (AIP) Foundation, in developing low-cost helmets.

It’s widely reported that head trauma of motorcycle riders is the main cause of death, while the WHO repots 74% of fatalities on the road are motorcycle riders. But a question not often raised is how effective are most of the helmets used in Thailand, and also how many perhaps unavoidable deaths involve a motorcyclist being hit at high speeds by a reckless car driver? If police initiatives have focused mainly on fining Thailand’s motorcyclists for not wearing a virtually useless helmet, or not having a virtually useless license, might this be one of the reasons why these crackdowns have not made any significant progress concerning the number of fatalities? Safety initiatives are perhaps not tackling the most relevant problem.

Even if a Thai national does have a license for driving, or motorcycle riding, the test is notoriously easy. Although in 2014 more questions were added to the test to try and improve safety standards, the practical part of the test involves nothing more than seeing if you can actually operate a vehicle. A possible solution, as most people would not be able to afford driving lessons, would be driving education in high school, or at least a more thorough practical, not theoretical driving test.

He was given a suspended two-year prison sentence and fined around $30.

For killing two innocent people? And he could continue driving....

You only have to Google a bit and you've got more deaths in one hour.

Source: https://asiancorrespondent.com/2015/03/thailand-road-deaths/

P.S. My workplace is 23 km away from home and I see accidents almost every day.

Edited February 18, 2016 by lostinisaan

[Mot Dang]

Sure Thailand is now a very dangerous destination, and we can all list out the reasons why this is, but strewth tourists (from all countries), do some bloody stupid things. I think the Chinese have now taken the cake for drownings, why ? They just can't swim, and go snorkeling, swimming in unknown waters, paragliding etc. Complete muppets.

Thailand has a completely different set of street rules to any other country, these can only be learnt after spending time here, if not all tourists have to watch their backs 24/7, don't expect the tourist industry, the police or any level of the administration to do that.

[saminoz]

4 suicides? LMAO

Clearly they chose the cream of the Thai educated statisticians to compile (concoct?) these figures. You'll hear about at least 4 suicides in a week here. Utter crap.

[lostinisaan]

Sure Thailand is now a very dangerous destination, and we can all list out the reasons why this is, but strewth tourists (from all countries), do some bloody stupid things. I think the Chinese have now taken the cake for drownings, why ? They just can't swim, and go snorkeling, swimming in unknown waters, paragliding etc. Complete muppets.

Thailand has a completely different set of street rules to any other country, these can only be learnt after spending time here, if not all tourists have to watch their backs 24/7, don't expect the tourist industry, the police or any level of the administration to do that.

Mr. Red Ant. I've settled down here 15 years ago,and traveled to the country the first time about 23 years ago.

I think that I'm a relatively good driver, to say the last. But even if you can drive like Evil Knievel, you can get into deep shit here.

Two examples what happened to me ( driving very carefully, of course)

1. It was a Monday morning at 6 am when I tried to drive to work, luckily sitting in my pick up truck. A speeding and red light doing Katheoy- also in a pick up hit me sideways with high speed, only about 200 meters from the coppers away.

\

Result: Some broken ribs, nobody until now knows about. various stitches all over my body. Very serious injuries at my spine ( it took three hospitals and many pain killers to find out that I was so close to a wheel chair). My "almost new artificial knee joint" got hit as well, my pick up was dead.

I couldn't work for 6 weeks and the freaking kathoey tried to bribe the witness, an honest hotel owner who saw the accident and waited on the other side of the traffic light, to tell the cops that i did the red light. But he was an honest guy and hated this prick, as I did.

There're several meetings at the coppers and the guy didn't even say sorry, or anything else to me. My car was in the rain for about 2 months at the police station. The freak only paid 500 baht for speeding and the # 1 insurance of the owner, a Thai teacher, paid for all.

I was really fragged in many ways and didn't do anything wrong. The car was finally redone completely by a garage that didn't even check the frame, but they billed the insurance for it. When i got it back after more than ONE YEAR,

it turned out that the chassis, frame, breaks, steering and a lot more was completely out of control and the whole shit had to be done again.

This time by Mitsubishi. But they also did a shitty job, because the insurance( we both had the same) wanted to save money. Again the whole cab off, the thingy in parts, frame welded and the three months had gotten into seven months, waiting for my car to get it back...

When i finally got it back, 5 ball joints were in very serious conditions, needless to say that it was a marathon with them to get it done.

I felt like I'd be screwed over again and again.I really lost my temper and had to tell the head mechanic, or foreman that he'd be a a retard that he didn't tell me what huge problems the car had after doing all this work?

Pick your completely redone car up from a garage just to have a strange accident because a ball joint falls out? I could take one out with a screw driver, if you know what I mean? I call that insane.

I could finally make it happen that they paid 100 K for a lot of damaged stuff I had in my truck and a few baht for my sincere pain.

All in all it took 19 months to get my car back that i could drive with it. Only one month after this happy event, i wanted to drive to a town where I'm now working, took the short cut, where you seldom see cars driving.

It was harvest time and i saw a tractor with a trailer attache don the other side of the road, when a guy on a Honda CBR 150 was coming from the other lane.

The guy didn't see the tractor with the trailer, drove on the ramp of the trailer, then became airborne, but also his motorbike.

My wife next to me was screening when the motorbike was heading towards our windshield and only hitting the brakes could prevent a motorcycle on our laps......

My robust front bumper took a lot of the energy away, but some front parts, the right fender, etc.. had to get replaced. But:

The speedfreak started to lie that it was already dark trying to blame the farmer who was willing to pay half of my damage that not three parties were involved.

But hell no, he's such a dighead and wanted to have money for the motorbike? God, i thought I couldn't get anymore when the cops told me that my car would have to be brought to the coppers and it can take a while until all is clear.

After 2 weeks at the cops i took the phone called the cop and told him that I'd also want money for the rented car from now on, not knowing that my wife was there on the same day.

When I came home from work, we could pick the car up and bring it to Mitsubishi. They told me it would take only two weeks, but it took three months unit i got my baby back.

You might be surprised why i wrote such a long post? Your statement that you get used to speeding here doesn't really hit the nail on its head.

And regarding your statement "street rule, there are no street rules. If you don't believe me, please drive one hour thru Uthumphon Phisai

( Sisaket province), pretty much the worst drivers in the Kingdom of Thailand.

If you don't have a crash, I'll buy you a beer, or two and we can discuss the street rules and maybe watch some weird accidents.

I saw one yesterday, I saw one today and I even watch the sky now that no motorbikes become airborne just to hit me. G'Day and ride.-

Edited February 18, 2016 by lostinisaan