Thread: 7 deadly days on the roads begin with a bang

First day road safety campaign claims 39 deaths

Thai transport authorities kicked off a weeklong campaign to reduce highway accidents during the New Year festival with 39 people killed and 456 injured in the first day of the campaign.

The week long campaign dubbed “the seven dangerous days” ran from today until January 5.

In the first day of the campaign, 439 cases of traffic accidents nationwide were reported, with 39 people died and 456 injured.

Drink driving is blamed for the main cause of most fatal accidents, or 26.94%, and speeding 19.56%.

Motorcycle is also the vehicle that was engaged in most fatal accidents or 89.22%.

Most accidents happen between 4 pm-8 pm, and most casualties are in working ages.

Chiang Mai remains the province with the highest risk of road accidents. A total of 17 cases was reported on the first day, and with the highest injuries of 19 persons.

Mukdaharn registered the highest death toll in the first day with four deaths.

First day road safety[at]campaign claims 39 deaths - Thai PBS English News

here's the stats from last year.

7 Dangerous Days on Thailand’s Roads:
Day 1: 58 deaths (39 last year)
Day 2: 70 deaths (47 last year)
Day 3: 60 deaths (75 last year) *1
Day 4: 37 deaths (48 last year) *2
Day 5: 33 deaths (57 last year) *3
Day 6: 42 deaths (xx last year) *4
Day 7: 40 deaths (xx last year) *5

Full Road Accident Statistics for New Year 2014-2015 in Thailand | Richard Barrow in Thailand

Shocking stats.

I was in mukdahan yesterday. The roads are scary!

80 lives lost every day: Why are Thailand’s roads so dangerous?

by James Austin Farrell | 27th March 2015 | @sorrydisculpe


ANOTHER week in Thailand, and with it another spell of fatal traffic accidents: Three Chinese tourists died after a bus plunged down a hill in Phuket on March 25, and seven migrant workers from Burma (Myanmar) were killed the day before when the truck carrying them was hit by a train in Chiang Mai. These were the headline-making accidents, on average around 80 people died each day on Thailand’s roads last year. Road tragedies are something we expect to hear about in Thailand on a regular basis, shocking stories made slightly less shocking due to their certain frequency.

Thailand is ranked second in the world in terms of traffic fatalities, with 44 deaths per 100,000 people (5.1 percent of Thailand’s overall deaths), according to statistics from the World Health Organization and The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute in the United States.

Perhaps an indicator of just how dangerous Thailand’s roads are is the fact three visitors to the country, who were all attempting to cycle around the world, and were on the final leg of their journeys, were killed after being hit by vehicles in Thailand. Chilean national Juan Francisco Guillermo was killed when he was hit by a truck in north-east Thailand in February this year, and British couple Peter Root and Mary Thompson, were killed when they were hit by a truck in Chachoengsao Province, east of Bangkok, almost exactly one year before. The three cyclists had covered most of the globe before their endeavors were cut short on Thailand’s brutal roads. In the latter case the driver, Worapong Sangkhawat, told police he had been bending down looking for a hat when he hit the pair. He was given a suspended two-year prison sentence and fined around $30.

In most parts of the world traffic deaths and injuries are increasing, according to the Bloomberg Global Road Safety Program, and Thailand is no exception. In 2009 WHO reports state that death per 100,000 people was 19.6, and then in 2010, a year before the United Nations with the Thai government introduced its ‘Decade of Action Plan’ promoting and initiating road safety, that number shot up to 38.1. It’s now 44. It’s likely that traffic fatalities didn’t double within the space of a year; the sudden spike may relate to when, and how, the statistics were compiled. It should also be noted that statistics taken inside Thailand only includes victims who died at the scene, while WHO statistics include persons that died within 30 days of the accident.

There are significantly more vehicles in Thailand now than there were in the last decade, which could be a small factor relating to the sudden increase in road deaths. But that doesn’t answer why Thailand is particularly dangerous to drive in, and why, in spite of various police crackdowns and government road safety campaigns, is lack of road safety in Thailand so recalcitrant?

Why aren’t the crackdowns working?

In all the above cases alcohol was not reported to be involved, although it often is. It’s said drunk-driving is to blame for around 26% of road deaths in Thailand, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In an interview with Chiang Mai CityNews, rescue services told the reporter that alcohol was involved in as much as 80% of road accidents.

Thailand has never enforced its drink driving laws to any notable effect. While for the last few years police have somewhat cracked down on driving under the influence, setting up road blocks around many of the big cities, drinking and driving is still normalized behavior. In large cities such as Bangkok and Chiang Mai party-goers can be seen on any given night drinking, and later driving away from whatever establishment they have been in. In smaller towns too persons under the influence can be seen leaving bars and driving away on any given night.

It’s also taken widely accepted in Thailand that the law applies more to some than it does to others. A stand-out case in this respect is Vorayuth Yoovidhaya, the Red Bull heir, who was charged with drink driving in 2013 when his Ferrari mowed down and killed a policeman in Bangkok. He was never jailed for the offense and its unknown how the trial has progressed. While this is an unusual case, it is widely accepted in Thailand that people with enough wealth to have connections, will be granted some kind of leniency if they are ever pulled over by the police. Harsher drink-driving laws, implemented fairly, would certainly help reduce the number of road accidents in Thailand.

Campaigns have been set up to lessen the amount of drink-driving, and posters showing the results of horrific crashes with the ‘don’t drink and drive’ slogan can be seen throughout the country’s streets, but at the moment they don’t seem to be having the same kind of effect that similar, but more shocking campaigns had in western countries in the ’80s. Thailand is a long way from demonizing drink-driving. Also, of considerable note, pertaining mostly to the provinces outside of Bangkok, is that Thailand’s public transport system in the wee hours is virtually non-existent.

Ostensibly in an effort to cut down on the amount of road carnage in Thailand the police have for many years been an almost omnipresent feature in the lives of Thais in the form of daytime roadblocks, previously only pulling motorcyclists over, and fining them (sometimes an on-the-spot-backhander), for not wearing a crash helmet (only 43% of motorcyclists regularly wear helmets), but lately police have also been checking to see if riders have licenses, or even fining them for illegal modifications on their bikes.

There is some controversy surrounding these roadblocks, relating to the on-the-spot fine, but also to their effectiveness in tackling the damage done by road accidents. One point is that any kind of helmet can be worn, and often they are nothing more than a hard hat that you might see on a construction site. Unfortunately a crash helmet that met with standards in most Western countries would be unaffordable to most Thais even if more stringent standards applied to Thailand. Thailand, in the footsteps of Vietnam, could take advantage of the Asia Injury Prevention (AIP) Foundation, in developing low-cost helmets.

It’s widely reported that head trauma of motorcycle riders is the main cause of death, while the WHO repots 74% of fatalities on the road are motorcycle riders. But a question not often raised is how effective are most of the helmets used in Thailand, and also how many perhaps unavoidable deaths involve a motorcyclist being hit at high speeds by a reckless car driver? If police initiatives have focused mainly on fining Thailand’s motorcyclists for not wearing a virtually useless helmet, or not having a virtually useless license, might this be one of the reasons why these crackdowns have not made any significant progress concerning the number of fatalities? Safety initiatives are perhaps not tackling the most relevant problem.

Even if a Thai national does have a license for driving, or motorcycle riding, the test is notoriously easy. Although in 2014 more questions were added to the test to try and improve safety standards, the practical part of the test involves nothing more than seeing if you can actually operate a vehicle. A possible solution, as most people would not be able to afford driving lessons, would be driving education in high school, or at least a more thorough practical, not theoretical driving test.


But how do the police tackle negligence, or perhaps more cynically, gain from it? It’s also evident that many crashes happen when, as is often the norm in Thailand, drivers are running red lights or leaving when the light is not yet green. Cameras at all junctions in Thailand might help reduce the amount of dangerous driving. The release of this footage, however disturbing, has probably been helpful. For many years now Isuzu, the manufacturer of the top-selling trucks in Thailand, have invested in long ‘cultural’ infomercials that can be seen at cinemas prior to the film starting. Perhaps Isuzu are in a position to create something affects the way people think about reckless driving in Thailand.

More than human error

Bus crashes are common in Thailand, and frequently large numbers of people are killed. Regarded as one of the worst accident black spots in the country is the road between Mae Sot and Tak in the north of Thailand. In 2014 alone there were a streak of accidents, all of which consisted of buses leaving the road and falling down steep ravines. The worst of these crashes saw 31 retired government employees die, and a further 20 injured. The driver told police the bus’s brakes had failed on a corner. A month later a truck crashed only 500 meters away from the aforementioned tragedy, killing 14 people. Again, the driver blamed brake failure. It’s reported that in 2013 there were over 300 hundred crashes on this stretch of rugged highway that twists through the mountains on the way to the Burmese border.

The Department Land Transport (DLT) states that to register and use a vehicle as a public bus, the bus must be “stable and strong and is certified by a mechanical engineer”, according to a 2008 report into the safety of Thailand’s public buses by professor Lamduan Srisakda from Chiang Mai University’s Faculty of Engineering. The report details the reasons behind some of Thailand’s worst bus tragedies. In most cases it states that often the driver is incapable (or incompetent) of negotiating difficult roads safely, but also once the bus has crashed it does not have the superstructure adequate to protect passengers. The report says that often the roads are dangerous themselves, having not been maintained, something of a problem throughout Thailand, especially in the rainy season.

In most tourist guides it is acknowledged that tourist buses are often cheap, but that they are also often poorly maintained. One of the most hair-raising experiences for any traveler to Thailand might be taking one of the overnight buses up and down country, whose drivers often break the speed limits at almost every section of the journey. Minivan drivers are also notorious for driving at very high speeds, and as this article shows, accidents and fatalities occur often.

As we approach the ‘Seven days of death’, the name given to Thailand’s New Year holiday period in which the country sees the highest frequency of road accidents and traffic fatalities, we might bear a few things in mind:

* The police initiatives to make Thailand’s roads safer have not worked yet, and will likely not work if they concentrate only on fining motorcyclists during the daytime for not wearing helmets. If road blocks are to be enforced, apropos road safety, then alcohol consumption and reckless driving should be the main reason why people are being stopped and charged. The police should invest in safe driving campaigns, and also ‘no double standards’ campaigns.

* All public buses and minivans should be maintained properly and the transport office should clamp down on any companies using vehicles not fit for the road.

* The government should attempt to introduce safer helmets to Thailand at a reasonable cost.

* The Thai driving test should include some amount of practical driving lessons, or driving education should be introduced to Thai schools.

* Public transport running at night should be available throughout the country.


80 lives lost every day: Why are Thailand?s roads so dangerous? - Asian Correspondent

Next up will be the other annual lunatic event as whoevers left to tear home for the water throwing excersise in April

Plan B hide until january 3rd

Originally Posted by david44

Plan B hide until january 3rd

Indeed...
Seems to be the growing favourite during the real [Songkran] New Year observations as well as the false Farang New Year - overwhelmingly, the majority just won't travel during these monkey-crazy periods.

If you take away the moterbike deaths, over 89% that leaves only 4 deaths in other vehicles on the first day.

A clear message there. "Stay off the things"

^ Which I find hard to believe.

Originally Posted by david44

Of course karma means you can be walking ,driving sober in the safest vehicle in the world, the rat cat is chased by the soi dog the drunk idiot on the bike careers onto the wrong side the car swerves the bus rolls over

It's not karma, it everyday stuff in Thailand! You not only have to watch out for the vehicles around you, but also for the vehicles (and people and animals) that might make those vehicles suddenly change direction. You have to be at least 2 steps ahead of somchai.

Originally Posted by rickschoppers

Will Thailand move to number one in vehicular deaths per capita this year? What a wonderful goal to seek out.

80 lives lost every day: Why are Thailand?s roads so dangerous? - Asian Correspondent

see full story below.

The answer is no. Believe it or not tbere are places worse than Thailand and a few lawless countried tbat do not even keep records.
Happy new year

Thailand being one of them.

They only count the deaths at the scene.

^
Just another reason not to believe any statistics coming out of Thailand. They have no clue how to tabulate anything accurately.

according to this chart there at number 2 now.

1. Namibia 45

2. Thailand 44

3. Iran 38

4. Sudan 36

5. Swaziland 36

6. Venezuela 35

7. Congo 34

8. Malawi 32

9. Dominican Republic 32

10. Iraq 32

11. Central African Republic 32

12. Mongolia 31

13. Belize 31

14. Djibouti 30

15. Lesotho 30

16. Mozambique 30

17. Malaysia 30

18. El Salvador 29

19. Yemen 28

20. Ethiopia 28

21. Equatorial Guinea 28

22. Zambia 28

23. Guyana 27

24. Jordan 27

25. Angola

http://www.livescience.com/43462-cou...ath-rates.html

Great. We can relax now.

I have seen three serious accidents unfold before me whilst driving the family ute between Chiang Rai & Chiang Mai. On each occasion, I flicked on the hazard lights and pulled off the road - on one occasion the vehicle behind sounded his horn, and gave me the 'stupid farang' look as I pointed ahead to the accident he was about to get involved in with the overloaded truck that had tipped on its side rounding a blind bend. He didn't disappoint me.
The family think I have a secret amulet ... though they do seem to now recognise that having a teetotaller amongst them may be a significant factor.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/poli...hing-for-phone

A total of 178 people were killed and 1,755 injured in 1,691 road accidents nationwide through Thursday, the third day of the Dec 29-Jan 4 New Year's travel season, according to the administration centre for prevention and reduction of New Year road accidents.

Thirty-nine people were killed on Tuesday, 65 on Wednesday, and 74 on New Year's Eve.

This dash cam video sums up motorbike accidents in Thailand...
No gore and quick...

Two points to this accident

Number 1. The knob who just rides straight out into the path of the guy coming down the hill

Number 2 . The other knob riding down the hill who is completely uneducated in road craft and believes he will never meet another knob like himself .

Ofcourse you do not have to ride or drive with any form of forethought in Thailand because its not in your way of thinking . You have to do as your forefathers have always done , because thats the way we do it .

Jeez imagine the road rash, they may well been scalped too with that much friction

I'd think that'd be difficult to survive anyway

Holiday death toll reaches 253 | Bangkok Post: news