Thai DDC launches campaign to improve road safety in 7 major cities

[webfact]

DDC launches campaign to improve road safety in 7 major cities

BANGKOK, 8 June 2016 (NNT) – The Department of Disease Control (DDC) has joined with the administrations of 7 major Thai cities to elevate the prevention of traffic accidents in response to new statistics indicating 3 Thais are hurt on the road every hour.

DDC Director-General Dr. Amnuay Gajeena was joined by representatives from Pattaya city, Nakhon Ratchasima Municipality, Udon Thani Municipality, Nakhon Si Thammarat Municipality, Khao Roob Chang City of Songkhla, Chiang Mai Municipality and Khon Kaen Municipality in launching “7 Cities Join Against Traffic Accidents”, a campaign to reduce road incidents in the nation’s major cities.

Dr. Amnuay indicated that the World Health Organization has noted Thailand as having the second highest rate of road fatalities in the world. The country experiences 24,000 road fatalities a year, or 3 every hour, while up to 1 million of its citizens are injured in traffic accidents with up to 7,000 a year ending up permanently disabled. All together, the incidents result in 200 billion baht in economic losses for the country annually.

Under the new campaign, the DDC will work with local administrations to encourage the wearing of helmets, dissuade drivers from using their mobile phones while on the road and to rid the nation of drivers under the influence. The campaign aims to make Thailand one of the safest nations to drive in, in ASEAN.


-- NNT 2016-06-08

[halloween]

Stupidity is not a disease. OTOH you catch it from your parents.

Edited June 8, 2016 by halloween

[Dexlowe]

quote -- "...new statistics indicating 3 Thais are hurt on the road every hour."

Sorry, but I think you'll find that that is KILLED every hour.

(edit for spelling)

Edited June 8, 2016 by Dexlowe

[Dexlowe]

quote - The campaign aims to make Thailand one of the safest nations to drive in, in ASEAN.

(Sorry) -- Thailand, the hub of safe drivers.

Once again, a failure to understand the solution to the problem -- at least a partial solution, as you can't eliminate entirely irresponsible behavior. And that is proper law enforcement and proper driver education about laws and road craft. Sadly, it's not only too late for this, it's also going to be impossible to overcome the Thai belief that they are too important to be governed by laws and common sense (that's not Thai bashing, it's a fact - you know it, and I know it).

[trainman34014]

More talk, zero action. Lost count of the times they have 'meetings' about road safety and pledge action. Truth is they don't give a stuff but the large lunches with beverage are very nice each time they meet and decide a date for the next meeting !

[selftaopath]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh here we go again.

[taichiplanet]

will every hospital administer the vaccine for this disease?

[NongKhaiKid]

Dept for Disease Control and road safety ?

Does that mean road safety officials and the BIB will tackling dengue fever etc.

[jamesbrock]

Why on earth is the Department of Disease Control (DDC) sticking its useless nose into road safety? I mean, haven't they got deadly diseases to be (pretending to be) dealing with?

Around Songkran, we had various stories, such as:

• The Ministry or Culture unveiling a road safety campaign, training 600 public transport drivers
• The Ministry of Interior directing the education strategy among Thailand's schools
• The Ministry of Science and Technology announcing a major tax initiative
• The Ministry of Public Health giving instructions on how to reduce accidents at level crossings...

No wonder nothing ever happens in the country!

Edit: beat me to it NongKhaiKid!

Edited June 8, 2016 by jamesbrock

[thai3]

I think if you look at the death figures that is 3 an hour, but they might be presenting that as 'hurt' They need a real driving test to replace the Micky mouse one and start from there

[waldroj]

Only 7 major cities?

According to Wikipedia there are 32 cities (with populations greater than 50,000) in Thailand as of January 2015 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Thailand).

From the ten most-populated cities listed in that link, Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Hat Yai, Pak Kret, and Chaophraya Surasak are all absent from the campaign.

And to think DDC aims to make Thailand one of the safest nations to drive in (no mention of cyclists) in ASEAN by encouraging the wearing of helmets, dissuading drivers from using their mobile phones while on the road, and to ridding the nation of drivers under the influence.

[clockman]

An empty bucket, makes the most noise!

[FloridaExport]

All together, the incidents result in 200 billion baht in economic losses for the country annually

This will not stand! it's one thing to lose 24,000 people. It's a completely different thing to lose money.

[Usual Suspect]

Every Thai male once behind the wheel of his Fortuner thinks he's #1..his mirrored glass means no-one can see/recognise him, so he's free to drive like a <deleted>, bully other roadusers, make moves that result in others taking evasive action, refuses to back off, instead opts to undertake at speed..he does not know what law-abiding is..he's above any laws, & in his mind has been since leaving school.

Every Thai female once behind the wheel of their (black-glassed) Yaris or Jazz thinks..no, wait on..correction..Does not think much at all.

She drives like a <deleted> at 30-50kph, makes moves that result in others taking evasive action, refuses to back off (down to 20kph), instead decides to finish her texting, check her face in her vanity mirror, stroke the fluffy dog on her knee, & she does not know what law abiding is because she's a

Hi-So bimbo..no laws apply to her, well that's what mummy say's.

The powers-that-be have a big job on their hands with this one.

[soalbundy]

what about the high sea's, oh we just did that one

[Jimbo2014]

What this country needs is a good crackdown on crackdowns - to make sure those crackdowns really crack down.

[whatproblem]

And a free for all everywhere else

[whatproblem]

3 Thais hurt on roads every hour

What bs ,more than that dead

[exalll]

Every Thai male once behind the wheel of his Fortuner thinks he's #1..his mirrored glass means no-one can see/recognise him, so he's free to drive like a t***, bully other roadusers, make moves that result in others taking evasive action, refuses to back off, instead opts to undertake at speed..he does not know what law-abiding is..he's above any laws, & in his mind has been since leaving school.

Every Thai female once behind the wheel of their (black-glassed) Yaris or Jazz thinks..no, wait on..correction..Does not think much at all.

She drives like a t*** at 30-50kph, makes moves that result in others taking evasive action, refuses to back off (down to 20kph), instead decides to finish her texting, check her face in her vanity mirror, stroke the fluffy dog on her knee, & she does not know what law abiding is because she's a

Hi-So bimbo..no laws apply to her, well that's what mummy say's.

The powers-that-be have a big job on their hands with this one.

There is much to this with which I agree. When I first came to Thailand in the 1980's and puzzled over such aggressive driving, I concluded that it was because behind a tinted windscreen you are anonymous, unlike in the normal world.

May be a bit unfair on the females - not (just) from a chivalrous perspective. Unless hi-so, females I calm societies find other things to spend their scarce resources on

[elgordo38]

Just another PR stunt. Forget the rest of the country. Follow the bouncing ball folks.

[rayw]

Oh dear totally the wrong emphasis. As I keep saying wearing crash helmets and seat belts will NOT reduce or stop road traffic accidents of course. In fact if you want to be pedantic then consider that in fact you have slightly less peripheral vision wearing a helmet so if anything at all it will actually increase the chance of having an RTA. Never should be a legality to wear crash hat or seat belt (except for children of course who are too young or unable to make such a decision for their safety) as that is only affecting the level of injury when an accident occurs, and of course the only one to suffer extra injuries are the idiots who were not wearing a crash hat or seat belt. Such a silly law wastes police time where they could be spending their time and efforts clamping down on the real causes of RTA's e.g. those riding down the wrong side of the road, jumping red traffic lights, having no front and/or rear lights at night, 3 or more on a motorbike, bad lane discipline and cutting across traffic incorrectly at road junctions, and yes of course making telephone calls while mobile on a motorbike !!!! ect etc. Surely this should be absolutely obvious to everyone !!!

So they cannot be that serious about reducing accidents with the so wrong emphasise on the easy police action of simply nabbing folk on motorbikes without crash helmets. Dare I say though could be good for some easy tea money if there are indeed any police here who would do that sort of thing

[tuanku]

Dept for Disease Control and road safety ?

Does that mean road safety officials and the BIB will tackling dengue fever etc.

Probably already on the case, which would explain the steep rise in the number of dengue cases this year.

My job is too boring and/or difficult. I think I will do someone else's job for a bit, until I get tired of it.

[Tonawatchee]

I'm thinking a crackdown is in order here in lieu of a campaign although the results will be about the same.

[Winniedapu]

Only 7 major cities?

According to Wikipedia there are 32 cities (with populations greater than 50,000) in Thailand as of January 2015 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Thailand).

From the ten most-populated cities listed in that link, Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Hat Yai, Pak Kret, and Chaophraya Surasak are all absent from the campaign.

And to think DDC aims to make Thailand one of the safest nations to drive in (no mention of cyclists) in ASEAN by encouraging the wearing of helmets, dissuading drivers from using their mobile phones while on the road, and to ridding the nation of drivers under the influence.

helmet_toon.jpg

Thailand already has a law requiring motorcyclists and passengers to wear crash helmets. The Thai police do not enforce it.

Thailand already has a law forbidding motorcycles from being ridden on footpaths. The Thai police do not enforce it.

Thailand already has a law forbidding vehicles being ridden or driven on the wrong side of the road. The Thai police do not enforce it.

Thailand already has a law banning the use of mobile phones while driving. The Thai police do not enforce it.

Thailand already has a law forbidding vehicles being ridden without a valid driving license. The Thai police do not enforce it. An estimated 60`% of Thai driving licenses are fake - the going rate for a plausible fake is now is 2000 baht. An estimated 30% of Thais drivers do not have a license of any description.

Thailand already has a law forbidding motorcycles being ridden by children. The Thai police do not enforce it.

There is no point in passing laws because the police do not enforce them unless there is kickback money involved for them. The police take the money the Thai people give them for doing a job, and then they accept bribe money not to do the job. That is the definition of corruption.

Thailand has no effective law enforcement, it is already close to being a failed state. If the international community wasn't sh|t scared of China, they would do something about this state of affairs. There is something fundamentally rotten in Denmark, and has been for decades.

All the initiatives in thew world are going to achieve precisely nothing of any use unless and until the police are forced to do their job, and until the corruption which Prayuth continues to turn a blind eye to is resolved.

W

Edited June 8, 2016 by Winniedapu

[aussie11950]

I really wonder who decided on this action to finally reduce the tragic road toll.

Do they have figures from previous campaigns that show it will work again.

What a tragic joke.

[rodknock]

who is going to enforce it, the police Ha-Ha-Ha????1111

all the police can do is accept donations!!!!!!

just some more dog and pony story.

[yooyoo]

I guess you could call the way Thais drive as "disease'!

[yooyoo]

Or should it be referred to as "deceased"

[Strangebrew]

Don't take me wrong but what does disease control have to do with road safety? I can reduce traffic accidents by 99% in a heartbeat Forbid Thai's from driving. There in it's self lies the problem.

[selftaopath]

Don't take me wrong but what does disease control have to do with road safety? I can reduce traffic accidents by 99% in a heartbeat Forbid Thai's from driving. There in it's self lies the problem.

Humnnnnn good question. Perhaps it is a disease because most - if not all - Thais believe they are capable/excellent drivers. They are delusional so...

Delusional disorder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delusional_disorder

Wikipedia

Delusional disorder is a psychiatric illness