News Forum - Latest ambulance crashes in Thailand dismay researchers

[Thaiger]

The grim statistics on ambulance crashes in Thailand worsened on Friday night when a patient was badly injured in a horrific late-night crash. An ambulance smashed into the back of a truck in Lom Sak district in the northern part of Phetchabun province, northern Thailand, close to midnight on Friday. The patient, who was being …

The story Latest ambulance crashes in Thailand dismay researchers as seen on Thaiger News.

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[Soidog]

I’m not clear why there is dismay. We all know that driving skills, standard of vehicles lighting and road infrastructure are all poor in Thailand. A speeding vehicle such as an ambulance will inevitably result in a high percentage of incidents. For an emergency vehicle to travel from A to B safely, other road users also need to be skilled in driving and observe rules of the road. I’m not dismayed in the slightest by these  accidents. 

[Pinetree]

57 minutes ago, Soidog said:

I’m not dismayed in the slightest by these  accidents. 

We may or may not be dismayed, but we are certainly not surprised. 

[Skip]

Did both drivers have training and licenses???  DOUBT enters my mind...

[Ray]

Surprised that you didn’t address the major cause of collisions here, poor  driver education and training.

You can have the best roads and enforcement in the world, not that either of those exist here, but without changing driver behaviour nothing will improve.

[Nace]

Why wouldn’t you expect this kind of thing? Nobody here learns to drive. The UK is about the same population of Thailand but it only has 1500 traffic deaths per year on average. Thailand? 25-30K!!! Something systemic don’t ya think? 

[AdvocatusDiaboli]

17 hours ago, Thaiger said:

The grim statistics on ambulance crashes in Thailand worsened on Friday night when a patient was badly injured in a horrific late-night crash.

…. As the ambulances are most probably driven by moonlighting Tourist Mini Van Drivers. No requirement here to up skill their driving.

[Viggen840]

5 hours ago, Skip said:

Did both drivers have training and licenses?

I would presume at least the ambulance driver would have been vetted for a valid license before being employed. The problem is that most drivers in Thailand are blasé about emergency vehicles. Why any vehicle has to have their emergency lighting lit while just driving from point A to point B (when NOT transporting a patient) continues to baffle me. As in other parts of the world, make it an offence to hinder an emergency vehicle displaying active lighting while at the same time slapping fines (and points loss) on drivers illegally using lighting and perhaps things will get better.

There again, as in this case, the question has to be asked - why drive into the back of the vehicle in front of you?

[AdvocatusDiaboli]

8 minutes ago, Viggen840 said:

As in other parts of the world, make it an offence to hinder an emergency vehicle displaying active lighting while at the same time slapping fines (and points loss) on drivers illegally using lighting and perhaps things will get better.

Just one itsy bitsy question to this that will prove in Thailand this is an impossibility. Who will police this because it certainly won’t be the Thai police as they will be too busy getting bribes from tourists, and escorting Chinese to their resorts from the airport. Remember Thai Police already slap fines on drivers …. Just now it’s to extort them of a little beer money for them, so to get things to get better we need to see less corruption here so they Will carry out the job they are paid to do.

[smartcontrol2]

aome people in Thailand might be dispayed that Thailand traffic laws are very much the same as many western countries. the land transport act states,  seatbelts are required by all passengers. both drivers and passengers must wear seatbelts at all times. Children, however, will also need to sit in child safety seats. Those who fail to comply will be fined over Thai Baht 2,000. helmet use has been compulsory for motorcycle drivers and passengers in Thailand since the enactment of the Helmet Act in 1994. The laws governing road safety in Thailand state that a vehicle which fails to stop while a person is crossing at a pedestrian crossing faces a fine not exceeding 1,000 baht. rescuers have backed calls to hike penalties for drivers who fail to give way to ambulances, they have called for an increase in the current 500 baht fine to 10,000-20,000 baht, and suspension of an offender's driving license from 1-3 months.
source :https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/special-reports/1454453/fine-hike-call-for-ambulance-blockers.

 

[Soidog]

1 hour ago, smartcontrol2 said:

aome people in Thailand might be dispayed that Thailand traffic laws are very much the same as many western countries. the land transport act states,  seatbelts are required by all passengers. both drivers and passengers must wear seatbelts at all times. Children, however, will also need to sit in child safety seats. Those who fail to comply will be fined over Thai Baht 2,000. helmet use has been compulsory for motorcycle drivers and passengers in Thailand since the enactment of the Helmet Act in 1994. The laws governing road safety in Thailand state that a vehicle which fails to stop while a person is crossing at a pedestrian crossing faces a fine not exceeding 1,000 baht. rescuers have backed calls to hike penalties for drivers who fail to give way to ambulances, they have called for an increase in the current 500 baht fine to 10,000-20,000 baht, and suspension of an offender's driving license from 1-3 months.
source :https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/special-reports/1454453/fine-hike-call-for-ambulance-blockers.

 

Yes, plenty of traffic laws, just no traffic law enforcement. Worthless pieces of paper gathering dust in a court room somewhere. Always handy to blow off the dust when it’s someone with influence who’s affected mind you. 

[Viggen840]

6 hours ago, smartcontrol2 said:

aome people in Thailand might be dispayed that Thailand traffic laws are very much the same as many western countries. the land transport act states,  seatbelts are required by all passengers. both drivers and passengers must wear seatbelts at all times. Children, however, will also need to sit in child safety seats. Those who fail to comply will be fined over Thai Baht 2,000. helmet use has been compulsory for motorcycle drivers and passengers in Thailand since the enactment of the Helmet Act in 1994. The laws governing road safety in Thailand state that a vehicle which fails to stop while a person is crossing at a pedestrian crossing faces a fine not exceeding 1,000 baht. rescuers have backed calls to hike penalties for drivers who fail to give way to ambulances, they have called for an increase in the current 500 baht fine to 10,000-20,000 baht, and suspension of an offender's driving license from 1-3 months.
source :https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/special-reports/1454453/fine-hike-call-for-ambulance-blockers.

 

Good quote - and it means absolutely nothing because just about every traffic rule and regulation in the country is ignored by everyone on the roads. Use of indicators? Surely the price of vehicles could be lowered by removing that unnecessary feature... and the list goes on!

[Soidog]

6 hours ago, Viggen840 said:

Good quote - and it means absolutely nothing because just about every traffic rule and regulation in the country is ignored by everyone on the roads. Use of indicators? Surely the price of vehicles could be lowered by removing that unnecessary feature... and the list goes on!

What we in the west call a Rearview Mirror is thought to be a place to hang your Buddha paraphernalia on in Thailand. Side mirrors are essentially blanked off by think black film on the side windows. Break lights are replaced with red/blue/white flashing lights.