226 died, 2,457 injured in four days of Songkran festival

[rooster59]

226 died, 2,457 injured in four days of Songkran festival

 

The Road Safety Centre said today traffic accidents during the past four days of the Songkran festival have now claimed 226 lives and 2,457 injuries.

 

Only yesterday, the fourth day of the campaign to reduce traffic accidents, and road fatalities during the “7-Dangerous Days” campaign, 57 were killed and 664 others injured in a total of 642 traffic accidents happened across the country.

 

Drunk driving is a major cause of yesterday fatality rates or 44.08%, followed by speeding, 27.41%.

 

In total, the centre said 226 people have died and 2,457 others were injured during the past four days of the campaign to reduce traffic accidents.

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/226-died-2457-injured-four-days-songkran-festival/

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2017-04-15

[Basil B]

Compare that that to the UK (Population UK 64m, Thailand 66m)

In 2013 there were 1,713 road fatalities average less than 5 a day, yet in 4 days of Thai madness more than 50 a day...

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Are these the true numbers? (Just can't trust the local news any longer)

[franklnooner]

Congratulations 

The hits just keep on coming

Stay tuned.

<deleted>

[Ramen087]

24 minutes ago, Basil B said:

Compare that that to the UK (Population UK 64m, Thailand 66m)

In 2013 there were 1,713 road fatalities average less than 5 a day, yet in 4 days of Thai madness more than 50 a day...

So many drive with a BAC @  over 0.105 which is the legal Thai limit.  So many ride motorcycles without a helmet and other safety gear.  So many have never obtained a license.  It truly is as you describe: MADNESS.

[DMC1]

Compare that that to the UK (Population UK 64m, Thailand 66m)

In 2013 there were 1,713 road fatalities average less than 5 a day, yet in 4 days of Thai madness more than 50 a day...

As posted many times on this forum that is the normal death rate on Thailands roads every day throughout the whole year - it's possibly just a little lower at the moment!

[Misterwhisper]

And the numbers will spike on the last day as usual, as people hurry back to their places of work at high speed, many of them still stone drunk and/or entirely exhausted after several days of non-stop partying.

 

Nothing ever changes in this country. It seems like its stuck in a bizarre time warp and people never learn. You can go back in newspaper archives 20, 30, 40 years and it's always the same story - and always for the same accident reasons. Journalists could in fact safe themselves a lot of time by just keeping a couple of article templates and simply updating the accident, fatality and injury figures. 

[Megasin1]

You really don't know though do you? They are having a safety drive so it would be a huge face loss if figures had gone up... where media is strictly controlled you can never really believe anything and to believe anything written by journalists in any country is naïve at the best of times....just stay well away from the roads and keep yourself safe

[Dag Ekeberg]

Funny... we did just that, went back in time.

 

http://www.thailandstidende.com/component/k2/item/3261-7-dangerous-days-no-more-dangerous-than-rest-of-year

[farcanell]

Statistics... damn statistics.

 

226 in the first four days... but what does that mean?

 

Well, divide by 4 then multiply by 7, and it means we are on track for about 396 deaths during songkran ( more if you factor in a last minute spike.. but... on face value... 395)

 

2015 toll was 364... so we are looking at a bigger toll this year.

 

2016, acknowledged as being a particular bad year, was 442... so we may be better off than last year.

 

the RTP will undoubtedly claim the high ground, if the toll is less than last year, but it seems likely that it will be an inexcusablely high fatality rate, compared to previous years ( prior the carnage of 2016), with police asleep in their roadside tents, doing little of a proactive nature, to intervene in the carnage.

[tso310]

40 minutes ago, HiSoLowSoNoSo said:

Are these the true numbers? (Just can't trust the local news any longer)

Years ago I'm sure road deaths were counted only at the scene of the accident. That may have changed.

[Pungdo]

4 minutes ago, tso310 said:

Years ago I'm sure road deaths were counted only at the scene of the accident. That may have changed.

I was told a while back that if you make it to a hospital and die there and don't die on the road, then you are not counted as being part of the road toll, so just what is the real figure ??

 

[Dag Ekeberg]

5 minutes ago, Pungdo said:

I was told a while back that if you make it to a hospital and die there and don't die on the road, then you are not counted as being part of the road toll, so just what is the real figure ??

 

The 2015 WHO (World Health Org.) report cites 14,059 yearly deaths (2012 numbers) and has a footnote regarding the Thai government numbers that reads: "Unlimited time period following crash".

The WHO's estimate is 24.237 deaths per year

[SpeakeasyThai]

I will never fully comprehend this tribal yearly culling on the roads. A most remarkable nation.

Edited April 15, 2017 by SpeakeasyThai

[F4UCorsair]

I think I tead that the annual average has been between 25 & 26 thousand, so at 55 a day so far this Songkran, they're ahead of 'budget'!!!

As a direct comparison, I think Australia has about 1200 deaths for a third of the population, so about a seventh of the Thai figure.

They're unimpressive numbers.

[TumblinDice]

So many drive with a BAC @  over 0.105 which is the legal Thai limit.  So many ride motorcycles without a helmet and other safety gear.  So many have never obtained a license.  It truly is as you describe: MADNESS.

Stupidity is more like it!


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[TumblinDice]

I feel sorry for the 1st responders. The mess they must see.
What's the PTSD rate at for paramedics, doctors & nurses?


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[joecoolfrog]

Where would I find a list ( in English ) of the deceased ?

[rodney earl]

AMAZING THAILAND.!!!

[bluesmith]

som na na

 

[lvr181]

38 minutes ago, SpeakeasyThai said:

I will never fully comprehend this tribal yearly culling on the roads. A most remarkable nation.

Nature at work   

[Penicillin]

Such a tragic loss of life and unspeakable grief in many homes this holiday. 

 

[kunfish]

Hardly on the road, but saw 2 accidents. A car flew off the road and into a tree. Well, just before we arrived. It went about 40 meters off the road.

Last night, 2 teenagers on a fairly powerful motorcycle, no helmets, did a wheels and flipped. They were lucky. They landed in their backs in front of us. They promptly got back up and rode away.


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[elgordo38]

2 hours ago, Basil B said:

Compare that that to the UK (Population UK 64m, Thailand 66m)

In 2013 there were 1,713 road fatalities average less than 5 a day, yet in 4 days of Thai madness more than 50 a day...

They keep striving to be number one with the most accidents in the world and succeed. There are few wars today to control the population. 

[hobz]

2 hours ago, HiSoLowSoNoSo said:

Are these the true numbers? (Just can't trust the local news any longer)

No, the average per day is around 80 deaths. This means that song kran this year would be below average of any other days of the year. highly unlikely.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

"We're No. 1... We're No. 1..."

 

Just keep chanting like that, as the bodies pile up on the highways, hospitals and morgues.

 

[Misterwhisper]

1 hour ago, Dag Ekeberg said:

Funny... we did just that, went back in time.

 

http://www.thailandstidende.com/component/k2/item/3261-7-dangerous-days-no-more-dangerous-than-rest-of-year

I love that chart, thank you. And I fully agree, i.e. the so-called "7 dangerous days" declared twice annually (Songkran and New Year) are on average less deadly than any other normal day throughout the year. It's just that the powers-that-be always trumpet them like they were pure carnage - when in fact every god-damn day is carnage on Thailand's roads. 

[Airbagwill]

3 hours ago, Basil B said:

Compare that that to the UK (Population UK 64m, Thailand 66m)

In 2013 there were 1,713 road fatalities average less than 5 a day, yet in 4 days of Thai madness more than 50 a day...

Nothing to do with madness....the death rate in UK is one tenth that of Thailand THROUGHOUT the year...and this actually puts the daiky rate at Songkhran BELOW the Thai national average.

The problem is not Thai people ..they are quite used to driving here...it is not down to race...anyone left on these conditions would return these figures...it is down to traffic management and the authorities refusal to address road safety issues in ways that fully developed countries have. It is always poorer people  that suffer most from road casualties  . Tgevobes who can't afford thevkatest safety features or the best hospital care.

 

Edited April 15, 2017 by Airbagwill

[tezzainthailand]

And you have to wonder how many deaths as a result of Songkraan activities (but not due to drink driving/ speeding road accidents) occurred over the holiday period.  Accidents like drowning, careless behaviour etc.  It was personally worrying to see a young teenage girl slip from the central moat (converted to a  communal pool) in Nakhon Ratchasima and slam into the concrete.  Fortunately she was only stunned but got up after a couple of seconds and resumed her activities. Yet there didn't seem to be any officials supervising the festivities which had a potential for tragedy.

[jippytum]

1 hour ago, tso310 said:

Years ago I'm sure road deaths were counted only at the scene of the accident. That may have changed.

Yes it has changed the total deaths were increased recently  by nine fatalities that died in hospital after accidents