Carnage on the Thai roads "even worse than you think" reports Thai media.

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

39 minutes ago, inThailand said:

Are these numbers even accurate? High season deaths are 35-40% less than the other months???

Nothing they publish seems reasonable. Must be the fault of the Chinese made calculator.

High season is for foreigners high season not for Thais. Thais travel mostly over long weekends and Songkran. The so called 7 days of death around the foreigners festive season is incorrectly named as the aversge death rate over those days are lower than the annual death rate per day. High season also fall outside of the raining season which I think should produce more accidents. 

[smew]

Today at playground near Mapachan lake, 3 cars single drivers boys getting drunk, 2 large bottles of whiskey on the picnic table, to a point of not being able to walk straight. Policemen drives bye and not a word out of him: music volume full blast and I am sure they will drive once booze is all gone.... garbage all around in ditches and boozing is Thai culture .... sad sad 

[Muhendis]

24 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

What percentage are motorcycle deaths?

Some few months ago it was 80%.

[hansnl]

3 hours ago, Cadbury said:

So does that mean if the fatality numbers were tweaked to give a more accurate reading like the story is suggesting then Thailand could be No.1on the world road fatalities/per capita list? 

 

If so then that world record could probably be counted as PM Prayut's greatest ever under achievement. He is personally in charge of everything in Thailand from the attire of twerking dancers to road safety and corruption. The buck stops with him on every little thing even though he habitually passes the blame on to someone else.

Blaming the latest PM of Thailand for the carnage on the roads is a bit silly.

How on earth can he change the state of mind of the Thai people.

This state has been growing for very long, and I guess is quite difficult to change or stop within a couple of years.

The blame lies divided by the police not doing their work and the gods, ghosts or whatever that might change the mentality of road users in Thailand.

[masuk]

Maybe they could double the speed limit signs (90) around Chiang Mai ring roads.

A 2nd sign would help I'm sure.

A few speed cameras and the nation would rake in more than the rice harvest!~

[Jonmarleesco]

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

It was established long time ago that in Thailand, lives are cheap, and it manifest

itself in many forms in the thai society, from committing crimes that will put them

in jail for their lives to the  perilous way they drive cars trucks and motorcycles..

where the concept of safety is not in their vocabulary..... 

The problem is, the concept of safety is not in Thai governments' vocabulary. 

[oldlakey]

1 minute ago, hansnl said:

Blaming the latest PM of Thailand for the carnage on the roads is a bit silly.

How on earth can he change the state of mind of the Thai people.

This state has been growing for very long, and I guess is quite difficult to change or stop within a couple of years.

The blame lies divided by the police not doing their work and the gods, ghosts or whatever that might change the mentality of road users in Thailand.

The death toll in Thailand is a team effort and most people are pulling their weight

It is what it is because thats what it is

Its not rocket science is it

[Classic Ray]

In the U.K. they follow the same "year and a day" rule as they do for murders, the death must occur within that time to be valid for statistics. 

 

I can't imagine anyone in the RTP following up victim's conditions for this long, so never likely to be measured here. 

 

I sense with motorcyclists that they have not really moved on from the walking and pedal cycle generation, to realise that they are charge of a potentially lethal vehicle, to them or others. They just ride how they like, without looking or using any road direction or lane discipline, or concentration on the task.

 

They can't even look to the police for an example, as they break all the same rules, hardly ever even fastening their helmets while they carry all the station's lunches in one hand and ride with the other.

[gummy]

Don't knock the road death rate.  Buddha's work is not finished yet

[inThailand]

22 minutes ago, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

High season is for foreigners high season not for Thais. Thais travel mostly over long weekends and Songkran. The so called 7 days of death around the foreigners festive season is incorrectly named as the aversge death rate over those days are lower than the annual death rate per day. High season also fall outside of the raining season which I think should produce more accidents. 

TAT reported about 31 million tourists came to Thailand in 2016. This is almost 50% of the Thai population, with most coming during the high season months. Common sense would say there should be more accidents and deaths during this time.

In Phuket it's crazy driving around here in high season.

[oldlakey]

1 minute ago, gummy said:

Don't knock the road death rate.  Buddha's work is not finished yet

Whats the overtime rate then, he must be coining it in

[oldlakey]

2 minutes ago, Jonmarleesco said:

'The punishment varies but not stopping at a crossing is around $300'

 

Compared to 300 THB. No contest. 

Its a matter of class as the English would say

[oldlakey]

3 minutes ago, inThailand said:

TAT reported about 31 million tourists came to Thailand in 2016. This is almost 50% of the Thai population, with most coming during the high season months. Common sense would say there should be more accidents and deaths during this time.

In Phuket it's crazy driving around here in high season.

Ban tourists, simple

[YetAnother]

5 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Figures for April - when the authorities mounted their usual Songkran road safety campaigns - were the worst.

so. give us the numbers

[oldlakey]

1 minute ago, YetAnother said:

so. give us the numbers

Dont worry about the numbers mate, just hope you dont become a statistic

The SLAUGHTER is going to continue unabated, TRUST ME

[Pomthai]

I have an idea to reduce road accidents caused by bus, truck, minivan and any other commercial / delivery vehicle. Simply mandate that all drivers are paid hourly. Greed alone would slow em down.

Current practice for most is drivers are paid by the journey and drive like a bat outta hell to get more journeys in within a day or week etc.

 

[YetAnother]

it will never be worse than i think; i see it it everyday, i dont really need the numbers; entertaining, sure; social DNA is the issue; self-centeredness to an extreme

[oldlakey]

3 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

it will never be worse than i think; i see it it everyday, i dont really need the numbers; entertaining, sure; social DNA is the issue; self-centeredness to an extreme

Well you seem to have a reasonable idea of whats coming down your way, good luck

[craigt3365]

5 hours ago, simple1 said:

Back in 2013 a Thai Vice Interior Minister claimed there were approx 26,000 road accident related deaths p.a. More detail @...

 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Road-death-toll-in-Thailand-among-highest-in-the-w-30202066.html

 

 

China has the same problem.  Under reporting of fatalities.  The UN provides better estimates.  Which are much higher.

[darren84310]

Population control..... Boost to the medical industry..... Boost to the Car and motorbike industry..... 

[oldlakey]

1 minute ago, darren84310 said:

Population control..... Boost to the medical industry..... Boost to the Car and motorbike industry..... 

Yes there is always a silver lining

[shanesox]

Dangerous place to visit, as I tell other relatives when they think about visiting me. Find a safer place is my advice and they do!


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[Thaimike370]

While waiting in my car 10 minutes for a shop to open I counted 43 people on motor bikes driving with no crash helmets, plus 5 driving on the wrong side of the road.  Just a suggestion, a 500 baht fine for a 1st offence, a 1000 baht fine for a 2nd offence, a years driving ban for a 3rd offence.  If you are caught driving while banned, automatic confiscation of your vehicle.  Sounds harsh but would certainly help cut the road deaths down.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I don't think it's possible that the deaths and carnage on the Thai roadways could be any worse than I already think it is -- because, I think it's just about as humanly bad as it could possibly get.

 

Nothing surprises me here any more. I keep waiting for a 3-way collision between a truck, a tuk tuk and a speed boat on one of the expressways one of these days...  

[phetpeter]

Strange place, Thai's are now able to get the hands on some of the newest, advanced trucks and cars on the roads today, and don't get me started on the big bikes. 0-60 in the blink of an eye! I sat on the right turn filter today, and 2 ton pick-ups where flying past me on an 80kph road rocking my car. and so close together that my little MGGS felt like It was at sea! The white spay man must be making a huge profit from the police has this 10 kilometer stretch of highway in Phetchabun looks like an art gallery of motorcycle and car and pickup symbol's Plus my wife thinks all them reg numbers next to them are lotto numbers. The law should have put a law in place to make the manufacturers lock down the speeds these vehicle's can do. because Thai eyes cannot focus very well over 90kph, and their brake foot cannot move very well over 80kph. as for direction control and lane observation plus turning corners seem to have a big problem over 10kph. and that's just the vehicles with 4 wheels!

[inThailand]

I think it's against the culture to use the brake more than once in any trip.

 

Have you seen a local ever "cover the brake" when a potential dangerous situation is developing?

[Happyman58]

Ineffective police force People who cant drive People who dont know road rules People who break the road rules Just goes on and on and people die in droves Oh well no good talking about it anymore Soon  Thailand will be No 1 In road deaths

[ChrisY1]

6 hours ago, Artisi said:

A little more complex than that, a curable problem but who cares - - and no need to worry, new trains, planes and submarines will sort it out pronto. 

A curable problem?...

Smart countries can lower fatalities on the roads....Thailand cannot!

[ChrisY1]

20 minutes ago, Thaimike370 said:

While waiting in my car 10 minutes for a shop to open I counted 43 people on motor bikes driving with no crash helmets, plus 5 driving on the wrong side of the road.  Just a suggestion, a 500 baht fine for a 1st offence, a 1000 baht fine for a 2nd offence, a years driving ban for a 3rd offence.  If you are caught driving while banned, automatic confiscation of your vehicle.  Sounds harsh but would certainly help cut the road deaths down.

C'mon.....we all know fines don't work.....that's why they still drive the way you mentioned.....

[spidermike007]

And why are these drivers speeding in the first place, allowing so many accidents to happen? The primary reason is the toy police force. Nobody, and I mean nobody takes these guys seriously. There is absolutely nothing in the way of a deterrent here, and both the local governments, the central government, and the police do not take traffic safety seriously. Not even one iota. The safety of the public means less than zero to the small men in charge here. Nothing. They show that on a daily basis.

 

When I was growing up, we took drivers education classes. They showed us these horrendous films, of semi trucks crashing into cars, and literally obliterating them, and everything inside. Also, they showed very graphic images of head on collisions. Even as a young kid, it left a lasting impression, and I realized driving was no joking matter. Especially when you have your friends, or loved ones in the car with you. I am constantly astonished at the kinds of chances people take here, with their entire family in the car with them. Why? What is the logic? What is the reason? Why take those risks? Often, when someone cuts onto the highway in front of me, as I am doing 100kpm or more on the highway, I look in my rearview mirror, and there is nobody behind me for quite some distance. Which means, had they paused, and waited 2 or 3 seconds, there would have been zero risk to them, their family, or me and my family. What can one even say? All of this matters even more when driving a motorbike, where there is no protection. 

 

The only way to survive here on the road, is to be patient, have eyes in the back of your head, drive with caution, and always, and I mean always watch out of the other guy. Chances are, he does not have much driving skill, nor patience, nor reason, nor common sense. You cannot be too careful on the road here. Especially considering that the toy police offer no traffic safety, nor enforcement of the law. 

Now for my scooter rant:

 

Many of us drive motorcycles or scooters here, and it is dangerous getting on the roads with some of these other drivers. 

 

Getting on a scooter, or a motorcycle anywhere in Thailand, much less Phuket, Phangan, Dark Tao, or Samui without a very good helmet, is like playing Russian Roulette with three or four bullets in the chamber. It is absolutely asking for problems. The degree of recklessness here is astounding. And many foreigners come here thinking "how much trouble could I get in on a little scooter, on a tropical island"? Well, the answer is alot. The amount of foreigners who are killed on the Southern islands is staggering. Most are not reported in the media. I had a friend who worked for Samui rescue for many years, and said the numbers were about 30-60 a month, on Samui, Phangan and Koh Tao. The official number is about 3 a month. Rider beware. Use as good a helmet as you can afford, and do not use these eggshells pieces of crap. They crack at the first impact, and what lies underneath them? Your skull, which is very delicate. 
 
Just ask yourself- do I have enough problems already, without a broken skull, or smashed head, or face injury, or lost eye? I have two friends who have been in motorbike accidents on Samui within the last two years. One still cannot walk, or talk or function on her own, from a motorbike accident, where she hit her head on the pavement going only 20 kph. The other one has lost alot of his mental capacity after hitting his head. He insisted for years he would never wear a helmet. Now, he seems 15 years older. 

 

I was told by a very reliable source. He did not have an agenda. He rescued alot of the survivors. He attended to alot of the ones who did not make it. The press here is highly censored. The report only what the so called leaders want them to report. Nothing else. Social media? Why would social media report these statistics? They report individual accidents, but not overall statistics. Anything you read about accidents on Samui in the media would be false. 

 

 

• Road deaths are now calculated based on fatalities on-site. Victims dying later in hospital not counted.
• In 2000 there was an average of 30 deaths a month on Koh Samui (official figures released each month).
• Now it is stated that Koh Samui has 3-5 deaths each month (using the new way of reporting road deaths).
• In the last ten years the population has almost doubled and there are now 5x more vehicles on Koh Samui.
• Based on ‘official figures’ today it is possible to estimate that Koh Samui currently has 60 deaths per million per year. (Compared to 23 in London.) Based on the population and traffic density statistics from 10 years ago Koh Samui has in reality 720 deaths per million per year. This is probably the highest rate of road deaths in the world. Samui is a fatality death spot that nobody is willing to acknowledge!
• What is the #1 highest fatality country? Libya? Want to guess how many of those road deaths are due to IED's, or someone being shot? If there was not a war going on in Libya, Thailand would surely have the well deserved #1 spot. There is never a time I am on the highway, that I do not see some brainless numskull driving so carelessly, that it boggles the mind. In the US, he would have his car confiscated, his license suspended, and be fined thousands of dollars for such behavior, within 10 minutes. Here? Nothing. I have never once heard of someone being cited for reckless driving. Not once.