The 4th Day Thailand’s New Year Holiday Reports 199 Dead, 2,099 Injuries

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The 4th Day Thailand’s New Year Holiday Reports 199 Dead, 2,099 Injuries

 

The accumulated road accidents over the past three days from Dec 29, the first day of the campaign, to 1,961, with 199 deaths and 2,099 injuries

 

BANGKOK – Thailand’s New Year holiday death toll has reached 199 as the country entered the fourth day of the so-called “seven dangerous days” of the New Year holidays.

 

On Saturday alone, 86 were killed, up 15 from Friday, 800 were injured, up 66, in 757 road accidents across the country, up 77,  Chaipreuk Sereeerak, permanent secretary for the Education Ministry, said on Sunday.

 

This brought the accumulated road accidents over the past three days from Dec 29, the first day of the campaign, to 1,961, with 199 deaths and 2,099 injuries.

 

Statistics from the Road Safety Directing Center showed there were 1,691 road accidents, 178 deaths and 1,755 injuries during the same period of the campaign last year.

 

Full story: http://www.chiangraitimes.com/the-4th-day-thailands-new-year-holiday-reports-199-dead-2099-injuries.html

 

-- © Copyright Chiang Rai Times 2017-01-02

[upena]

3rd day

[cardinalblue]

All the gov is good for is to record stats....

 

until they learn how to bring about efective program change....

 

 

 

 

[fxe1200]

There will be no change, as long the Thai people stick to their "mai pen rai" attitude towards everything: Drunk and reckless driving, not keeping their vehicle in a safe shape (Just look at the state of all these motorcycles), not wearing a helmet and so on. Tire pressure check is done with the right foot at gas stations, instead of using a tire gauge. This dangerous ignorance, which is also wide spread within the construction business, environmental issues and whatnot, is the result of the "mai pen rai" attitude. And a change will not be fruitful, as long the Thai government does not attack this problem through educational measurements. An almost impossible task, as most Thais won't listen: May pen rai.

[dieseldave1951]

i drove 2000k  over this weekend Luckily i never saw one of them, had a few close shaves, but my driving skills were more than enough to get me out of trouble 

thank god for UK standards

[anon467848]

Carnage on the roads, a daily average of 66 people killed in 3 days... if this happened in a civilized country it would be alarming... in Thailand it is the usual mai pen rai, not my problem...

Edited January 2, 2017 by merlin2002

[boomerangutang]

So many reasons why this annual carnage happens.  Same at Songkran. 

 

Not least:  Thais are very selfish drivers. If they can cut a corner by 1 added cm, they'll do it.  If They will speed through a little road packed with pedestrians - as fast as they can.  They rarely yield right-of-way, and that's why 4-way-stops don't exist in Thailand.  

 

I often stop when I see pedestrians waiting to cross a road.  However, there's a potential problem:  I stop. Pedestrians smile and cross in front of my vehicle, but there might be a car or motorbike zipping around the side, passing my stopped vehicle.

 

I sometimes worry, when slowing at a yellow light, or stopping at a red, that a driver behind me will plow into the back of my vehicle - because Thais are so accustomed to running red lights.  I estimate, just in my small city of Chiang Rai, that close to 10,000 drivers per hour (yes, per hour!) speed through red lights.  Note, that statistic assumes some drivers run red lights several times each hour.   Sometimes the criminals run through the intersection several seconds after the lights turn red.   No one has ever been cited or fined for that.

 

Probably the #1 scenario for Thai accidents is:  drivers cutting blind corners.

[LennyW]

They try to drive like an F1 driver on a straight piece of road as fast as they can and must be in front, but give them a corner, a roundabout, a junction, traffic lights or god forbid a piece of road with no lines - completely clueless.

I have never understood why they must always be at the front, it's not like a Thai has ever been on time for a meeting of any sorts!!:-)

[boomerangutang]

I challenge the Thai gov't (unelected or otherwise) to appoint a group of 9 farang to assess driving habits in Thailand and suggest improvements.  I specify farang, because Thais are too subjective to be able to do such a job.  The 9 farang should be paid for their efforts.

 

If just one life is saved from such a committee, then it's worthwhile.

 

Unfortunately, no reasonable suggestions will be enforced (whether suggested by Thais or farang), because Thais are embedded in their driving habits.

 

Try this on for size:   walk through any parking lot in Thailand.  Every car will have tinted windows, and every window will be closed up tight.  Same for traffic on the road.  The only exceptions might be an old beat up pick-up (maybe one of mine).  Closed tinted windows are not a major cause of accidents in Thailand, but they probably are a factor.  If a driver can't see another driver (or where his/her eyes are pointing) - that could contribute to road problems.

[eggers]

Yes, the driving skills & road laws are below acceptable standards. 

The driving skills are not taught or tested in proper manner, you only have to do eye & reaction testing.For young drivers, it's merely drive around carpark at Land Transport office. 

The road laws are patchy & not policed as strictly as should be, particularly speeding + many other aspects.

We can write & complain, but like all things, life is expendable & just a shrug of the shoulders.... "sabai sabai",  no one really cares, so things will stay as they are.

Edited January 2, 2017 by eggers

[Bangkok Barry]

It is impossible to discipline a Thai. Whatever you say, no matter how good the intent, they will always do exactly as they want. It is deeply ingrained into the culture, and might partly be due to so many stupid and unenforceable rules being introduced by officials who can't see beyond their nose which Thais then ignore. Like, for example, not selling alcohol from 2-5 in the afternoon. All but the major chains ignore it. The problem is that ignoring some rules leads to ignoring them all.

[kwak250]

1 hour ago, dieseldave1951 said:

i drove 2000k  over this weekend Luckily i never saw one of them, had a few close shaves, but my driving skills were more than enough to get me out of trouble 

thank god for UK standards

It's when you get rear-ended all the skills in the world won't help.

Just seen the car next to me stop at red lights only to have the car behind hit him .

[overherebc]

9 minutes ago, kwak250 said:

It's when you get rear-ended all the skills in the world won't help.

Just seen the car next to me stop at red lights only to have the car behind hit him .

 

Yesterday on the 331 the pick up behind me had to go left of me to skid to stop.

[TKDfella]

I agree with posters here, in that things are unlikely to change. Indeed I think the reverse since Thais can now get loans easier than before. Again I agree, it seems part of the culture in the same way that a female will always be a 2nd class entity so life itself remains a realm of suffering instead of something otherwise.

[roo860]

 
Yesterday on the 331 the pick up behind me had to go left of me to skid to stop.

At least he didn't hit you!
[emoji106]

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

[oldsailor35]

2 hours ago, fxe1200 said:

There will be no change, as long the Thai people stick to their "mai pen rai" attitude towards everything: Drunk and reckless driving, not keeping their vehicle in a safe shape (Just look at the state of all these motorcycles), not wearing a helmet and so on. Tire pressure check is done with the right foot at gas stations, instead of using a tire gauge. This dangerous ignorance, which is also wide spread within the construction business, environmental issues and whatnot, is the result of the "mai pen rai" attitude. And a change will not be fruitful, as long the Thai government does not attack this problem through educational measurements. An almost impossible task, as most Thais won't listen: May pen rai.

Be sensible, the Thai government are not capable.

[oldsailor35]

58 minutes ago, kwak250 said:

It's when you get rear-ended all the skills in the world won't help.

Just seen the car next to me stop at red lights only to have the car behind hit him .

It happened to me Bht40,000 damage and police told me "You have insurance, why you worry"   and let the offending drive go .

[Happyman58]

199 dead Already While i am typing this prob another 20 have died In the injured list Prob another 40 will die from there injuries No body wants anyone to die do they? But if the driving standards dont improve they will  I saw the mother of all things last night in Ubon. Standing outside a shop at night on the main road and the traffic was huge A black pick-up was driving at night in the traffic with no lights on and speeding. Come on government try and think of something to fix this Where are the bloody police? 

I tell u something I have driven in Amsterdam  London  Sydney and the traffic there is huge but i felt safe. Here i getting so scared to drive the car i might give it away soon Not my ambition to die on Thai Roads

[nong38]

So now the road traffic accidents come under the Education department, amazing.

Sadly Education and Driving in Thailand have nothing to do with each other, Driving and School are not used together as they are in many other countries where road deaths are much lower, you dont think there might be a connection do you?

[TheFishman1]

Come on what's the real numbers. TIT

[boomerangutang]

If the trend to go thru red lights keeps gaining momentum, then a red light will indicate "go" and a green light will indicate 'stop.'   Already, when the light turns green, I wait about 3 seconds and look both ways, before proceeding.

[hobobo]

At this rate you'd think that the country is aiming for a record!

[currynamnam]

I was terrified by the thought of flying, weeks in advance of departure I suffered from agony and lack of sleep. 

All that's just a bleak memory now.....I got cured upon my first arrival to swampy,  the insanity of the taxidriver and his fellow motorists on the road into Bkk made me understand how silly I've been, and that when travelling by road in Thailand your life is constantly endangered.

These days I'm looking forward to flying! 

[hotchilli]

Just remember here in Thailand, traffic lights, road markings, barriers are all just "guidelines" not to be considered mandatory!!
You'l get along just fine....

[StefanBBK]

A quick google suggest 24,237 traffic fatalities per year in Thailand. That is about 66 per day. So we are on average....

[F4UCorsair]

Right on average by my calculations.

[NCC1701A]

sorry this story out of date.

it does not include the 25 people who died today.

 

Thailand needs a "real time" counter on all "total deaths so far" stories.

 

[fxe1200]

5 hours ago, StefanBBK said:

A quick google suggest 24,237 traffic fatalities per year in Thailand. That is about 66 per day. So we are on average....

 

 

...we are not on average. The Thai police only counts the fatalities on site. Folks, who die in the Hospital during the first thirty days due to the injuries suffered are not counted yet. Just add another 40% and then you have the actual numbers.

[bandito]

23 hours ago, LennyW said:

I have never understood why they must always be at the front

 

Are you driving one of these pick-ups which have the size of 6-wheel trucks?

Well, when I am behind one of these behemoth in my sedan I also want to be in front so I can see what is happening in front of me and don't have to wait and see what is going to happen next.

I like to make decisions myself and not wait for such a truck to do something stupid and wake up in a hospital.

For example these things are so big that they can not make a sharp turn or a u-turn in one go, a potential disaster in the making.

I'm not critisizing you, I critisize that they allow these things on the road.

Thus one of the reasons that I or someone else wants to be in front of these tanks.

[jerojero]

On 02/01/2017 at 9:59 AM, boomerangutang said:

So many reasons why this annual carnage happens.  Same at Songkran. 

 

Not least:  Thais are very selfish drivers. If they can cut a corner by 1 added cm, they'll do it.  If They will speed through a little road packed with pedestrians - as fast as they can.  They rarely yield right-of-way, and that's why 4-way-stops don't exist in Thailand.  

 

I often stop when I see pedestrians waiting to cross a road.  However, there's a potential problem:  I stop. Pedestrians smile and cross in front of my vehicle, but there might be a car or motorbike zipping around the side, passing my stopped vehicle.

 

I sometimes worry, when slowing at a yellow light, or stopping at a red, that a driver behind me will plow into the back of my vehicle - because Thais are so accustomed to running red lights.  I estimate, just in my small city of Chiang Rai, that close to 10,000 drivers per hour (yes, per hour!) speed through red lights.  Note, that statistic assumes some drivers run red lights several times each hour.   Sometimes the criminals run through the intersection several seconds after the lights turn red.   No one has ever been cited or fined for that.

 

Probably the #1 scenario for Thai accidents is:  drivers cutting blind corners.

Pure impatience and selfishness. Root cause.