Officials mull measures to reduce road accidents in Koh Samui

[snoop1130]

Officials mull measures to reduce road accidents in Koh Samui

 

 

Foreign tourists may be required to undergo driving lessons and an orientation in Thai traffic rules for at least two hours before they are allowed to rent a vehicle, especially a motorcycle, for driving in Koh Samui.

 

The measure is one of several being mulled by transport officials and authorities concerned in Koh Samui in a bid to reduce road accidents on the popular tourist attraction.

 

Over 3,000 road accidents, mostly involving motorcycles, occurred each year in Koh Samui. Of these, over 50 died each year – 30 percent of them are tourists.

 

One of the reasons of the high incidence of accidents is that motorcycle rental is easy – tourists are required only to show their passports, put up a deposit for the motorcycle and pay 200 baht a day for the rental fee.

 

Mr Watchara Promthong, a motorbike rental operator, said however that the tourists would be required to demonstrate whether they can drive or not before he would allow them to rent his bikes.

 

Another operator, Mr Montri Khanthong, said that there are more motorbike rental service operators these days and, worse still, there is no law or regulation to govern the rental services.

 

Mr Worakitti Chaichana, chief of land transport office in Koh Samui, said the Land Transport Department would encourage rental service operators to be more mindful about safety measures and to arrange for crash helmets to be provided to their customers.

 

It was reported that the Tourism Authority of Thailand was in the process of developing a software application called Samui Safety Navigator to provide information about safe driving in Koh Samui.

 

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/officials-mull-measures-reduce-road-accidents-koh-samui/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2016-08-24

[sweatalot]

mind blowing. What about driving lessons for the 70 % Thai drivers that cause accidents?

[ChrisY1]

2016 and they're pretty much laying blame for the road accident rate on tourists......but that's completely how Thai logic works.

[tingtongfarang]

3 minutes ago, sweatalot said:

mind blowing. What about driving lessons for the 70 % Thai drivers that cause accidents?

The 70% are just part of the population control program, 30% tourists although good for the hospitals is infact damaging.

[Basil B]

Would help if they were to ban Thais from the roads, that would have a very positive effect on road safety, 99% or greater reduction of road accidents...

[Thian]

Or do like any other developed country, only rent them a motocy if they have a driverslicense for it.

 

 

[evadgib]

3 hours ago, sweatalot said:

mind blowing. What about driving lessons for the 70 % Thai drivers that cause accidents?

 

'Lesson No 1: The Roundabout'....!

[Gulfsailor]

For all the posters blaming Thai people for most of the accidents and not the tourists; have you ever lived on Samui? I see at least one serious accident per day when driving around Samui. In the daytime at least 70% of those accidents involve foreigners on motorbikes. In the night it's more Thais on motorbikes and often more deadly. (Speed+alcohol+no helmet).

 

[Pdaz]

Simply:  Make every current holder of a driving licence attend mandatory lessons and practice. 

Retest them all using British or European standards. If they fail they lose their licence.

They can train and re-take the test until they pass ( if ever ) 

This should be rolled out nationwide.. Firstly it would reduce accidents and ensure every driver understands the rules of the road. Secondly it would ensure that anyone not bright enough to be in charge of a car isn't on the road.

If discovered driving without a licence they would face stiff penalties

In addition start driver awareness training at school for early teens.

[Gulfsailor]

First thing to do is explain to both tourist and most expats is that certain road rules in Thailand are NOT the same as in Europe or Britain. Certain right of way rules at junctions are opposite. Every single time I nearly had an accident on a junction was with a foreigner, in most cases British or Australian. They think the rules are the same as back home. Well, they are not! 

[Pdaz]

Actually bearing in mind that Thailand drives on the left ( like the UK, Australia etc ) you will find that most of the "rules of the road" are similar to the British system.

It's really no different. Thailand has plenty of road traffic regulations. It's just that due to poor enforcement and training Thais tend to ignore them. That said the standard of driving is better in Bangkok than the provinces.

[Gulfsailor]

1 minute ago, Pdaz said:

Actually bearing in mind that Thailand drives on the left ( like the UK, Australia etc ) you will find that most of the "rules of the road" are similar to the British system.

It's really no different. Thailand has plenty of road traffic regulations. It's just that due to poor enforcement and training Thais tend to ignore them. That said the standard of driving is better in Bangkok than the provinces.

Most are the same as in the UK yes. But there are a few major differences. That's exactly what I was commenting on. Most foreigners (tourists and expats) don't realize this. That's where s lot of accidents happen and then the Thai gets blamed for not giving right of way when he came from the left at the junction. Well, in Thailand left has right of way... And there are a few other rules that are very counter intuitive to foreigners. Thai have had to learn these rules when getting their license. Most foreigners never. They either use their foreign license or apply for a Thai one without ever sitting the theory exam or reading the actual Thai rules. 

[sweatalot]

3 hours ago, Gulfsailor said:

Most are the same as in the UK yes. But there are a few major differences. That's exactly what I was commenting on. Most foreigners (tourists and expats) don't realize this. That's where s lot of accidents happen and then the Thai gets blamed for not giving right of way when he came from the left at the junction. Well, in Thailand left has right of way... And there are a few other rules that are very counter intuitive to foreigners. Thai have had to learn these rules when getting their license. Most foreigners never. They either use their foreign license or apply for a Thai one without ever sitting the theory exam or reading the actual Thai rules. 

 

 

"  Thai have had to learn these rules when getting their license. "

 

You sure?

[futsukayoi]

3 hours ago, Gulfsailor said:

For all the posters blaming Thai people for most of the accidents and not the tourists; have you ever lived on Samui? I see at least one serious accident per day when driving around Samui. In the daytime at least 70% of those accidents involve foreigners on motorbikes. In the night it's more Thais on motorbikes and often more deadly. (Speed+alcohol+no helmet).

 

 

Sure we have all seen idiot tourists falling of their bikes or colliding, but these usually result in cuts and bruises or at worst broken bones.  I have seen 3 very serious accidents here involving motorcycles all of which involved collisions with a much larger vehicle.  In one case a minibus was overtaking round a corner and realized a car was coming in the other direction so it just pulled straight in and took out a bike then sped off without stopping (I have had close calls like this myself).  In a second case a pickup pulled out of a side road without looking (probably on his phone) and smacked the side of a motorbike.  In the last case a big truck just pulled in to park left with no warning or indicators taking it an elderly couple on a bike.

 

I would bet that at least 80% of the fatalities are caused by other vehicles driving incompetently or with no regard to others.  I don't just blame the Thais as some of the foreign residents here are at least as bad once they get into local driving style.

[Lung Mike]

The main issue is the total lack of proactive enforcement by the Thai police. Nobody cares about the rules because the police never ever does anything even remotely resembling actual policing. The sporadic helmet checks at the end of each month in front of the police boxes are not going to solve anything, apart from the police men's personal bank balances.

[prakhonchai nick]

Siem Reap, in Cambodia, with millions of tourists each year  will not rent out motorbikes to foreign tourists. Perhaps thats the way to go in Thailand,. Just let the Thais kill themselves!

[tomacht8]

A general enforced speed limit of 50 km / h would also help.
It is mostly the local drivers, especially taxi and minivans which often speeding, overtake other vehicles at blind spots and relegate  motorcyclists to the sandy side stripes.  Unfortunately, many locals celebrate a people disparaging driving style.

[prakhonchai nick]

How can anything in Thailand, let alone Samui, be enforced, when the police are rarely to be seen out and about. On the rare occasions motorists are stopped for breaking a motoring law, they are either lectured or receive a 200baht fine. Thats not gouing to stop anyone doing what they have always done.

 

A 6month driving ban and a 5/10,000baht fine, with vehicle confiscation (regardless of ownership) would bring results. That's for 1st offences!

[samuibeachcomber]

5 hours ago, Gulfsailor said:

For all the posters blaming Thai people for most of the accidents and not the tourists; have you ever lived on Samui? I see at least one serious accident per day when driving around Samui. In the daytime at least 70% of those accidents involve foreigners on motorbikes. In the night it's more Thais on motorbikes and often more deadly. (Speed+alcohol+no helmet).

 

most of the accidents involving tourists...are a direct result of crazy out of it thai drivers, tourists need to understand that unlike the west these thai riders will over take on the inside,overtake on a bend or hill with no visibility..be completely out of it on ya ba etc  etc.take these idiots off the road and accidents will go down substantially...but as usual the blame  is directed at tourists,nothing wrong with thai driving.

[overherebc]

Lat time I mulled something it was cheap red wine with cinnamon and I got a fast result by sticking a red hot poker in it.

I have a feeling that kind of mulling might produce some good and fast results.

[blundaman]

14 minutes ago, overherebc said:

Lat time I mulled something it was cheap red wine with cinnamon and I got a fast result by sticking a red hot poker in it.

I have a feeling that kind of mulling might produce some good and fast results.

 

I am mollified but expect all will be mullified shortly, well as soon as high season over, like next week

[ronaldo0]

Over 50 per year ?? Could get that in a month in Samui !!

Will never happen as that's too much a loss of money and time for rentors if people have to do a mini test ! Money is king on this island !!

Unless you go to a police box or have their mobile number you will rarely see police outside as watching tv is better than being out in the sun .

 

[Thian]

If a tourist without motor-drivinglicense gets an accident, who will pay the hospital bills?

 

Their insurances won't cover it and many tourists drive without license.

 

And what if an uninsured tourist drives into another tourist causing him to go hospital? Who will pay that? Guess my insurance will sue the other tourist if it happened to me.

[terminatorchiangmai]

How about some more streetlights on problem spots.

I drive everyday in Chiang Mai but boy was i scared driving from Chaweng to Lamai beach in the evening.

A restaurant owner in Lamai called it a dead road , which before they always mentioned on a big sign how many people died that year on that road.

But streetlights , no way !

[ronaldo0]

19 minutes ago, terminatorchiangmai said:

How about some more streetlights on problem spots.

I drive everyday in Chiang Mai but boy was i scared driving from Chaweng to Lamai beach in the evening.

A restaurant owner in Lamai called it a dead road , which before they always mentioned on a big sign how many people died that year on that road.

But streetlights , no way !

There are quite a lot of street lights on the north west and west side off the island but some are not always switched on. The road you mentioned between chaweng and lamai is very poorly lit or not at all in places.

I wonder if this favoring one side is because of the fact the people off importance always stay on the west coast at certain hotels like four seasons etc. When they arrive and the army stops all the traffic from the airport etc to speed them to their destination the street lights are always on, all off them !

[longtom]

8 hours ago, Gulfsailor said:

Thai have had to learn these rules when getting their license.

 

You must be kidding. 

[steveyinasia]

20 hours ago, sweatalot said:

mind blowing. What about driving lessons for the 70 % Thai drivers that cause accidents?

Beat me to it, again it's the tourist fault.....nothing about enforcing the law with the locals, ensuring they actually have a license and are not drunk/on the phone or just plain crazy, whilst driving

[robsamui]

Finally it's happened! It has been recognised that Samui has a problem with road accidents.

Un-named "transport officials" are reported to have dusted off their thinking heads and come up with some proposals - although unconfirmed reports indicate that the "officials" are being pressurised by their immediate superiors, therefore are not required to  suggest ideas that have any actual practical use, merely to come up with . . . . absolutely anything, really.

Their proposal  . . . 
Foreign tourists wanting to rent a vehicle will have to undergo driving lessons and also an orientation course in Thai traffic rules for a minimum of two hours before they can ride off with the rented vehicle.

 

However, all is not yet lost as the TAT are working in parallel on a high-tech solution - namely someone in their employ is developing a software application (presumably for hand-held devices) so that tourists can look at this and get information about why Samui is unsafe. It has the intriguing title of "Samui Safety Navigator". (But this is reported to be currently on hold as the software developers can't find the right kind of rat-a-tat-tat drumrolls, boings, bloops, yo-yo-whistle and toot-toot-toot sound effects.)

Whereas these radical new proposals are seen as a major breakthrough - (even though the official figures still remain at a giggle-making "50 road deaths each year" ) - this appears to be the first time ever that the authorities have actually acknowledged that Samui has a problem on the roads. However local authorities (probably) dismissed  the proposal for regular breath-tests and speed checks as unrealistic and (no doubt) too difficult to effectively administer, and refrained from comment as to why the wearing of compulsory motorbike safety helmets were enforced on Samui's roads on only one day every month.

(Statistics provided by RAK Samui http://www.samuifishing.net/RAK/construct.htm )
 

[evadgib]

I've heard more sirens today than I do during Songkran. Does anyone know the cause(s)?

[phetphet]

Been knocked off my bike three times in the last three years, by Thais every time. Including one woman who hit me from behind when I was stopped, waiting to turn right from Ghost Rd towards Bangrak. Lucky no oncoming traffic. Her excuse? "I'm not used to driving manual car. Only automatic"

Plus a near wipe out by a lorry that overtook me then immediately turned sharp left into Soi Sunday without even indicating. Don't even get me started on those minibus c**t drivers, and the safari trucks.

If they want to reduce the accident rate, they need to totally reform the driving test for real road stuff, and clamp down on driving without a licence. Maybe a minimum number of hours tuition  with a certified teacher.

I know Thais who drive without a licence. " Lipa Noi too far. No time! Have to work"

 

Avoid the lake road roundabout on the weekly afternoon money grab, and you can drive around with no helmet all you want.

BTW. What is the official right of way on that roundabout? Always seems like a "take your chancer" to me.