8 hours ago, dcnx said:

Yes, they are stupid. 

 

What else can they do? Take the bus, take the train, not drive like a maniac, stop speeding, stop at red lights, stop overtaking in dangerous areas, stay sober, stay off the phone while driving, and make other tough choices that will save the lives of your family.

 

Tossing your family into the back of a truck is a choice.

 

What did they all do before they bought a truck?

Samlaw, tuk-tuk, saleng, all piled on to a motorbike? Riding in the back of a pick-up is a much safer option than those IF you are a sensible driver.

Headline says everything!

I agree that 4 or 5 Thais on a motorbike is  Thais acting stupid. The same thing for Thais crammed into a pickup box,

the practise is dangerous, and to see some trucks overloaded with people is just stupid, regardless if these people

are poor.  I grew up poor and stayed on the farm when there was not enough room in the family vehicle for everyone

to be going shopping, or visiting. Same practise could be done in Thailand without the other excuses.

Geezer

Do you really want to cut the death rate on the roads out there? Here's an idea how many cops do you have 250k I think. Try this enact the UK driving laws hire 25K UK police and in a month it will be just 5 a day at the most. but as life is so cheap out there carry on the way you are going as nothing ever changes for the better in this neck of the woods. Sadly

10 hours ago, trogers said:

Same can be said for those passenger vans...wait for the analysis before acting on them...

No argument from me. 

Just enforce the laws, speeding, booze, driving hours, and weed out the idiots. 

20 hours ago, trogers said:

This poll sums up the Thai mentality in a nutshell: the Law takes the backseat and personal convenience comes first!

You do realise that if you add the words "if you can get away with it", then the statement applies to almost any country in the world.

 

They can. They do.

19 hours ago, JAG said:

Perhaps the way in which the law should be drafted, and subsequently enforced, should take into account the reality of the situation.

The reality of the situation is that far too many people die under preventable circumstances...laws are not enforced.

15 hours ago, jimster said:

Oh no please don't make those kind of suggestions. Also, if the fines are too high they just won't be paid. Period.

 

Out of interest how much in Pounds are the speeding fines you speak of in the UK, just out of interest?

31mph in a 30mph limit - £100

As some mentioned the poverty of the people is a major factor.. lower and middle income families can't afford to have more vehicles.. the other major and primary factor is the limited transportation facilities available to
many of the interior areas in almost all the provinces.. my gf's house is 100 km from Phitsanulok in Nakhon Thai district.. from the district the village is nearly 20 km near the foot hills of the petchabun mountain range..there are  a limited number of buses that go to Nakhon Thai.. however there is no transportation to the village.. the main source is the own transportation.. most poor villagers don't have any vehicles.. they either request their neighbors or sometimes pay them to pick and drop from... this goes the same with most villages and provinces .. in case of emergencies what would such people do ?? They are at the mercy of their neighbors to travel from one place to the other.. 
 

Just excuses, and I think stupid excuses.
You say there are buses, so it's all just about planning.
And if they can afford a car they can't be poor.
But of course it must be always the newest and biggest version to impress neighbours and keep face.
Why instead not buy a second hand pick up if they really need it let's say for bad roads and transport some things and a small car with 5 seats to commute.

16 hours ago, trogers said:

What did their parents and grandparents do?

Can I respectfully please direct you to my previous post number 25 on this topic ..

Perhaps a possible solution is to bring in a law saying that all NEW pick-ups must have 'hand holds/bars' in the flat-bed (and if they're not used, a fine is payable) - plus a maximum of 6 in the back?

 

Obviously it will take a long time for the new pick-ups to filter through into the system - but the new laws will largely be ignored anyway, so at least its a sensible and understandable law that stands some chance of working?

Those who don't own pickups agree wholeheartedly.

Nothing is going to happen in this land of Mickey Mouse Law.

What about five fat farangs on a Samlor?

12 hours ago, CLW said:

Just excuses, and I think stupid excuses.
You say there are buses, so it's all just about planning.
And if they can afford a car they can't be poor.
But of course it must be always the newest and biggest version to impress neighbours and keep face.
Why instead not buy a second hand pick up if they really need it let's say for bad roads and transport some things and a small car with 5 seats to commute.

 

Spoken like a true rich farang who lives in the big city.

 

Yes there are quite a few big new pickups out here in rural Khampaeng Phet but they are not the ones owned by rural Thais.

 

The usual minimum monthly repayment on a reasonably priced pickup using the minimum deposit is around 8,000 baht a month. The average daily wage is 300 baht/day if you are lucky which gives you about 1,800 baht a week or around 7,200 baht a month. Take out money for rent, food, electricity, school fees (clothes etc) and work out how much per month is left to pay for a shiny new pickup truck.

13 hours ago, mrfill said:

31mph in a 30mph limit - £100

I would say BS to that statement, a measuring accuracy of 1mph wouldn't hold up in court. 

15 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

Spoken like a true rich farang who lives in the big city.

 

Yes there are quite a few big new pickups out here in rural Khampaeng Phet but they are not the ones owned by rural Thais.

 

The usual minimum monthly repayment on a reasonably priced pickup using the minimum deposit is around 8,000 baht a month. The average daily wage is 300 baht/day if you are lucky which gives you about 1,800 baht a week or around 7,200 baht a month. Take out money for rent, food, electricity, school fees (clothes etc) and work out how much per month is left to pay for a shiny new pickup truck.

Or a farang who hasn't been north of Don Mueang airport by road and never in a rural village. 

Or a farang who hasn't been north of Don Mueang airport by road and never in a rural village. 

Your assumption...

 
Spoken like a true rich farang who lives in the big city.
 
Yes there are quite a few big new pickups out here in rural Khampaeng Phet but they are not the ones owned by rural Thais.
 
The usual minimum monthly repayment on a reasonably priced pickup using the minimum deposit is around 8,000 baht a month. The average daily wage is 300 baht/day if you are lucky which gives you about 1,800 baht a week or around 7,200 baht a month. Take out money for rent, food, electricity, school fees (clothes etc) and work out how much per month is left to pay for a shiny new pickup truck.

Not rich, but have no other choice than living in Bangkok.

Your calculation wrong because based on only one person but as you should know Thai families always put their money together.
Also if you own land a house no need to pay rent.
I see so much new cars here so there must be money somewhere.
If not, I suggest they take the bus...

however good the laws are, the Thai population will never respect and obey them, becos the ones enforcing the laws are breaking and corrupting them everyday.

8 hours ago, CLW said:

Your assumption...

 And not too far off the mark... 

Edited April 26, 20179 yr by Artisi

Sitting in the back of a ute is not dangerous at 30kph. Risk is relative to speed.

14 hours ago, CLW said:

Not rich, but have no other choice than living in Bangkok.

Your calculation wrong because based on only one person but as you should know Thai families always put their money together.
Also if you own land a house no need to pay rent.
I see so much new cars here so there must be money somewhere.
If not, I suggest they take the bus...

 

Where is here for you then?

 

Of course there is money somewhere BUT there is not always public transport. That is not always available either.

Where I live in rural Khampaeng Phet my nearest bus is 6km away where there are 10 return trips a day to BKK350km away but only infrequent baht buses to KPP. There is NO public transport from our village to the main village nor is there any public transport which goes off the 2 main roads.

The only way that so many rural Thais can own land is to given it by their parents but after 2 or 3 generations the amount of land left to share gets smaller. If the land has been sold then Thais have to pay rent plus rent to plant and crop the land.

 

Rural KPP where I live is little different from anywhere else in rural Thailand. When my 12 year old son leaves school/uni he will HAVE to work elsewhere as there are few jobs beyond farming, 7/11, the banks IF you are smart enough and know a man who knows a man etc.

 

IMHO rural farming as we see it now will have vanished in the next 2 generations and rural Thailand will be populated by old people. The existing farms will be bought up by big business and turned into large farms that are mechanised with only a need for a small workforce.

11 hours ago, BigKahuna said:

Sitting in the back of a ute is not dangerous at 30kph. Risk is relative to speed.

That would depend on what wrote you off