Driving to Samui over Song khran - media hype........and the reality?

[cumgranosalum]

I drove from Chonburi to Samui and back over the SK period. Here are my observations. Whereas I understand that a lot of the most serious effects of Song Khran are in the North of Thailand my trip took me past several holiday areas where Song Khran is still a major event.

My trip leads me to conclude 2 things firstly the soaring death rates of Sioong Khran are a myth, and secondly the police have no idea what to do when it comes to road safety.

But first, a quick summary of road deaths in Thailand.......World health Organisation says about 24000 people die on the roads of Thailand every year. Now before the smart get going on how Thailand gets its road death figures, read the WHO article on how they come to this figure...it takes into account the idiosyncrasies of statists collection in all countries to arrive at figures that are pretty universally representative on a worldwide scale.

24k is a daily rate of......65.7. (BTW - UK works out a about 5 per day.)

Which - by the government’s current figures by strange coincidence appears to be the national average for Song Khran too.......So one has to conclude that the “carnage” is largely the result of media hype, with every accident being reported on TV and in local/national press. To give the impression that the death rate is “soaring” or at least higher than normal?

80% of deaths both annually and at Song Khran have been attributed to those on motorcycles and about 36% said to “involve alcohol” - this needs to be clarified. (In UK bikers are 21% of annual deaths but only 1% of road traffic)

A common cause for a motorcycle accident is that another motorist fails to see them and drive out in front........

e.g. - Ministry - The centre said 66% of the incidents involving motorcyclists travelling at high speed on straight local roads in districts, sub-districts and villages.

In fact in ALL types of road collision, car or motorcycle included, one of the most common phrases heard is “I just didn’t SEE them”

So is all this special to Song Khran? - I think not and here are my observations whilst driving.

I drove down to Don Sak on Tuesday 12^th and back up on Friday 15^th and Saturday 16^th. I stopped overnight on the way back at Chumpon, I also spent quite some time driving around the island. I did not go to Chaweng but did go to Lamai and Nathon.

BTW - My driving - I have averaged about 38,000 km per annum for the past 12 years, mostly in Thailand some in Laos and Malaysia.. Driving has been both long distance and commuting. I drive every day

The “main events” on the route down were on different days in different towns,.

The journey down, the traffic was light with no real delays any delays were caused by police road checks or directing traffic at junctions - more of this later. - I saw no accidents at all and didn’t encounter any driving that I don’t normally encounter on Thai roads. So, the situation was pretty much normal?

The celebrations I witnessed on the island were pretty ubiquitous; they peaked on Wednesday 13^th and then just about stopped after that....at least in and around Lamai.

On the island, my main observation was the behaviour of foreign tourists on rented motorbikes.........it seems the majority of this group have left their brains in the country from whence they came, which is just as well as the majority weren’t wearing crash helmets to protect them anyway.

I got the impression they thought they were driving “like the Thais do” - which actually was a misconception - the average Thai driver is aware of and expects to encounter some strange driving, the foreigner however seems to think that it is just a matter of disregarding every road regulation they possibly can.... ignoring traffic lights one way streets, simple parking sense etc. etc. ....I understand that Samui has the highest accident rate in Thailand, which I would find highly believable and a recent stay in one of the 4 hospitals on the island did nothing to dispel this idea.

I guess at Song Khran it becomes all the more dangerous for foreigners as they don’t seem to realise that they are expected to slow down or stop at every water-butt to be splashed, smeared and have their breasts felt (wherever available)....so they try to pass at full speed and lose control when hit by a veritable tsunami of ice-cold water. In short it is the ignorant foreigner on the island who appears to be most at risk than anyone else.

The return journey was quite different...I left on the Friday to avoid the traffic.... as did several thousand other road users.......basically it was a crowded trip from beginning to end.

It started with a 3.5 hour wait at the Raja ferry. Once on the mainland a pattern began to emerge------- the heavy traffic would move at around 80 to 100 kmph for a while and then slow to a crawl or stop for about 5 minutes - the first time it happened I assumed that there had been an accident....but I was wrong - it was the same thing I’d noticed coming down, only compounded by the extra traffic. It was the police - for some bizarre reason they were taking over junctions and traffic lights, blocking U-turns and occasionally - very occasionally actually pulling over a motorist. The whole exercise appeared to be completely random and without any rational reason at all.....the result - and I could see this painted on the road - seems to have been multiple shunts as people were caught on the hop by the sudden slowing of the traffic..

The slowdowns crawls and blockages became even more frequent on the Saturday and the painted out lines of cars that had clearly shunted into each other became more and more evident. I saw several groups of these painted outlines on the road clearly depicting multiple shunts - my guess is these almost certainly occurred during those police generated traffic hold-ups.

..........all the way to Chonburi I saw not one accident.....however I did end up again and again in these traffic jams that became stationary for up to 5 or 10 minutes.

Virtually the entire route was paved with police doing ...well ... nothing! ...the only thing they appeared to be doing was making it obvious that there were a load of police about - their effect on road safety was if anything, negative - it was the most ridiculous display of collective policing I have ever seen.

What did they think they were doing???? - Standing by the road waving cars to drive faster when the traffic is so heavy that this is patently impossible - you wonder what they hope to achieve....

Directing traffic at traffic lights...a pointless exercise if eve there was one.

Inexplicable closing of U-turns and junctions plus the most bizarre and dangerous placing of barriers lights and lumps of concrete....just inviting a collision - and at night half of these closures and adjustments were either invisible or so badly lit as to be incomprehensible.

During the day, gaily covered roadside gazebos where people sat drinking as the traffic went past.... appeared to be doing absolutely nothing...I believe some offered to check your car for its roadworthiness - so if you are in a 20 year old pick up with the family in the back I’m sure you are unlikely to be tempted by this offer - so who or what do they think they are going to pull off the road as a result???

Hopeless “security” checks on vehicles coming off ferries. Going to and from the ferries they were carry in out security checks - for what? Well it was clear they really didn’t know and certainly didn’t have their heart in it.... my pickup which was crammed with camping stuff etc. with as lid on the tray wasn’t touched at all.....

I am of the firm opinion that the policies of the police over Song Khran actually INCREASE the numbers of collisions and possibly actually road deaths over this period. Their traffic management is quite without any basis in science or reason - a hotchpotch of jumbled preconceived ideas that appear to have been handed out at the last minute by bosses who have suddenly realised that they need to be seen to be doing something. Meaningless posters and slogans, pointless road blocks and obstructions and an apparent total disregard to either the law or accepted internationally recognised road safety theory.

As it now appears that the Song Khran death rate is actually about 35% HIGHER than on previous years one has to question what the hell the police thought they were doing......in any other country the chief of police would resign......and a government minister

The final “result” is now about 442, which equals about 63 per day, so although up on all previous Song Khrans is slightly less than the normal daily toll of 67.

This begs the question WHY do people including those on ThaiVisa think that Song Khran is particularly high death rate?....well maybe a combination of various factors - firstly they themselves don’t normally drive any distance until this time of year, so they are unaware of what “the norm” is or what it looks like? Secondly one has to take into account the media hype of this 7 day period which statistically seems to have no basis in fact whatsoever.

BUT....there is also the police campaign - they seem to do sod-all for most of the year so they make an effort to show they are doing something - unfortunately it is patently clear that they to a man have not the slightest inkling about road safety....so the result is a fiasco.

So the death toll for Song Khran week is 442....and next week another 450 will die........ but without the media hype?

[ukrules]

I'm not surprised, most people here seem to drive around like brain dead morons.

The stats are interesting though, if accurate it sounds like it's all hype.

[kannot]

I'm not surprised, most people here seem to drive around like brain dead morons.

The stats are interesting though, if accurate it sounds like it's all hype.

but overall still horrendous

[cumgranosalum]

I'm not surprised, most people here seem to drive around like brain dead morons.

The stats are interesting though, if accurate it sounds like it's all hype.

"most people here seem to drive around like brain dead morons." - Nothing I saw backs up your supposition.

[KhunBENQ]

The final “result” is now about 442, which equals about 63 per day, so although up on all previous Song Khrans is slightly less than the normal daily toll of 67.

I have written that on different occasions.

These "seven dangerous days" are a hype. It's 365/366 dangerous days.

Especially for the morons on two wheels.

A safe day on the roads is one with the most jams, gridlocks.

As soon as there is a strip to race they will kill each other.

It's all depending on the accuracy of the numbers of deaths per year.

I always believed in the WHO numbers that you also find in the WiKi.

I am not surprised about the relatively mild traffic on these dates and these directions.

The stampede is always Bangkok to north/northeast at the beginning of SK and back at the end.

But as seen from another thread: flights back from the south (Phuket) to Bangkok at the end of SK were very heavy booked (but not 100.00% like from N/NE).

I assume mostly middle to upper class SK holiday makers, not the family get together?

[bermondburi]

Blocking of the u turns is a good idea. Keeps all lanes of traffic moving. If people want to u turn they should find a u turn under the road that doesn't affect the flow of traffic.

[cumgranosalum]

Blocking of the u turns is a good idea. Keeps all lanes of traffic moving. If people want to u turn they should find a u turn under the road that doesn't affect the flow of traffic.

"If people want to u turn they should find a u turn under the road that doesn't affect the flow of traffic." - you mean redesign the road??????

U-turns are a deadly cheap alternative other types of junction. so traffic use them to leave the road via what otherwise would be a r/h turn.

In the case of last Saturday the traffic by many of the u-turns was stationary - partlly due to the extra traffic flowing on looking for turn-offs. THe problem was exacerbated as people were unable to make the u-turns and then leave the main road....I'm sure the police were thinking the same way as you which was patently flawed in practicality

[cumgranosalum]

Blocking of the u turns is a good idea. Keeps all lanes of traffic moving. If people want to u turn they should find a u turn under the road that doesn't affect the flow of traffic.

"If people want to u turn they should find a u turn under the road that doesn't affect the flow of traffic." - you mean redesign the road??????

U-turns are a deadly cheap alternative other types of junction. so traffic use them to leave the road via what otherwise would be a r/h turn.

In the case of last Saturday the traffic by many of the u-turns was stationary - partlly due to the extra traffic flowing on looking for turn-offs. THe problem was exacerbated as people were unable to make the u-turns and then leave the main road....I'm sure the police were thinking the same way as you which was patently flawed in practicality

[ukrules]

I'm not surprised, most people here seem to drive around like brain dead morons.

The stats are interesting though, if accurate it sounds like it's all hype.

"most people here seem to drive around like brain dead morons." - Nothing I saw backs up your supposition.

Every time I go on the road I see people driving around like brain dead morons.

I might just be driving to the local Villa Market or Makro and I have to swerve to avoid crashing into someone every time, without fail and it's only a few miles down the road. This happens every day 365 days a year.

[cumgranosalum]

I'm not surprised, most people here seem to drive around like brain dead morons.

The stats are interesting though, if accurate it sounds like it's all hype.

"most people here seem to drive around like brain dead morons." - Nothing I saw backs up your supposition.

Every time I go on the road I see people driving around like brain dead morons.

I might just be driving to the local Villa Market or Makro and I have to swerve to avoid crashing into someone every time, without fail and it's only a few miles down the road. This happens every day 365 days a year.

"I might just be driving to the local Villa Market or Makro and I have to swerve to avoid crashing into someone every time" - I'd say a comment like this reflects more on your own driving.

Every country has morons on the roads - and in equal proportions....I'd say how difficult this is depends on your own driving and ability to adapt to driving on foreign roads.

[Lancashirelad]

Mid carriageway U turns are a very dangerous road layout and all should be permanently closed. You have fast moving traffic approaching stationary traffic from behind, then when drivers swing into the opposite carriageway they often misjudge the speed of oncoming vehicles or miss seeing motorbikes. At night you get buses and heavy commercial vehicles side on across the carriageway they are turning onto without adequate side marker slights.

They really are an accident waiting to happen.

Edited April 24, 2016 by Lancashirelad

[cumgranosalum]

Mid carriageway U turns are a very dangerous road layout and all should be permanently closed. You have fast moving traffic approaching stationary traffic from behind, then when drivers swing into the opposite carriageway they often misjudge the speed of oncoming vehicles or miss seeing motorbikes. At night you get buses and heavy commercial vehicles side on across the carriageway they are turning onto without adequate side marker slights.

They really are an accident waiting to happen.

as said, i agree, they are possibly one of the most dangerous features of thai roads....but why are they there? They are a cheap solution to making a proper junction which might involve bridges, roundabouts and/or flyovers even the "bridge u-turns have problems as they draw slow traffic into te r/h lanes.

however closing what is in effect a junction during heaving crawling traffic is just plain idiotic. it imprisons vehicles on the road who would have left it earlier and encourages drivers to lose concentration as they scour the horizon for a means of escape.