News Forum - New year’s road safety campaign sees spike in accidents across Thailand

[Thaiger]

The nationwide road safety campaign over the New Year holidays, spanning from December 29 to January 4, experienced a substantial 385 road accidents on its second day alone. These incidents resulted in 404 injuries and claimed 37 lives, according to figures disclosed by Justice Minister Police Colonel Tawee Sodsong and the Road Safety Directing Centre. … …

The story New year’s road safety campaign sees spike in accidents across Thailand as seen on Thaiger News.

Read the full story

[cowslip]

THe media seem to spout nothing but nonsense at this time of year (and most of the rest of the time too) when it comes to Road safety.

"experienced a substantial 385 road accidents on its second day alone." - what does this actually mean? The implication is that Thailand is a really bad place for road safety and this figure is terrible.

In actual fact the average daily crash rate is not that bad, it is the resulting deaths and injuries that are deplorable.

Of course these stats are just an immediate reaction released by the police and they are not equiped either to analyse accidents or release proper statistics.

But just for a bit of context this number is about the same as the daily average for all year round in Thailand - so there is no significant change there at all....

furthermore it might surprise you to know that the average daily crash rate in the UK is 346. So what do you think is the difference?

[ChrisS]

These figures are meaningless without some sort of context. Do they include every little fender bender? or are they only accidents with serious injury or death resulting?

[cowslip]

  On 1/1/2024 at 1:30 PM, ChrisS said:

These figures are meaningless without some sort of context. Do they include every little fender bender? or are they only accidents with serious injury or death resulting?

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What context are you looking for?

Figures are "reported" - they may initially come from the police but in the final round up they come from insurance companies hospitals as well. If there is an injury they are reported and later any insurance claim will be included if it hasn't already.

Internationally injuries come in 3 categories - minor, serious and fatal.

Thailand has only recently strted serious recording of injury type and even that is inconsistent.

THe figures for new year now have some injury statisitcs.

Have you ever seen a crash report?

[Fuzzykens]

I consider that it is necessary to make road safety a prominent subject on schools national curriculum.

Education is the key to this everlasting tragedy.

From the very youngest at kindergarten to teenagers, all key members of families, almost totally reliant on motorcycles to get to school and work, its high time that road safety was dealt with seriously, alongside math's, physics and humanities etc. with proper certification issued annually, to those that have passed road safety, proficiency requirements. The importance of this cannot be understated.

I accept that there is no quick solution to this, but educating all students, who ultimately will have some influence in their families, would mark an important step forward.  

[Ellenroc]

Shocked at the figures? Not at all. Who shall be held responsible? The Minister of Transport, start with him/ her. They must be really proud of the figures. Or the drivers that are hell bent on speed wherever they are. So no one accepts responsibility. Then festoon the roads with enforceable speed cameras and take the boys in khaki out of the equation. Helmets on all bike riders including passengers, even the five up family riders! Restrict provisional bike riders to rider only. Leaner plates on all bikes and cars where there is not a full license. Do it now if they are serious about saving lives and reducing injuries. Otherwise we will read the same stats next holiday period.

[Honesto]

The figures quoted make no sense at all : 6.01pm- 9.00pm is 3 hours. 3 into 24 = 8. (3 hour periods in a day)

The most dangerous time slot is this 3 hour period with 9.61% of accidents.

Highest rate of accidents in this period is 9.61%, let's call it 10% for simplicity. 8 x 10 = 80.

That represents only 80% of accidents, consequently there must be 3 hour periods with a HIGHER rate than 9.61%.

Please correct me if I've messed up somewhere in my calculations or thinking.

[cowslip]

  On 1/2/2024 at 2:49 AM, Fuzzykens said:

Education is the key to this everlasting tragedy.

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People get nowhere by highlighting single issues - for any significant change there HAS to be a holistic approach involving these 5 tenets

Engineering: Designing roads and vehicles that are inherently safe and forgiving of human error, such as through wider lanes, protected cycle paths, safer intersections, and crash-resistant vehicles with advanced safety features.

Education:  (which you only mention in part) - Providing comprehensive and ongoing education to all road users about safe practices, including pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and public transport passengers. This can involve driver training programs, public awareness campaigns, and school curriculum integration.

Enforcement: Enforcing road safety laws and regulations effectively, ensuring compliance with speed limits, traffic rules, and safety equipment requirements. This could involve increased police presence, automated enforcement systems, and appropriate penalties for violations.

Evaluation: Continuously monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of road safety measures. This involves collecting data on accidents, injuries, and near misses to identify areas for improvement and adjust strategies accordingly.

Emergency: Ensuring a rapid and effective response to accidents by investing in emergency medical services, trauma care infrastructure, and post-crash rehabilitation. This focuses on minimizing long-term consequences and maximizing the chances of recovery for accident victims. I think that the number of deaths resulting in this sector is not even acknowledged properly.

Each of these presents its own problems in Thailand, which has for a longtime gone down a road that ignores these vital factors

[ChrisS]

  On 1/1/2024 at 2:04 PM, cowslip said:

What context are you looking for?

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I thought that was quite clear in my post "Do they include every little fender bender? or are they only accidents with serious injury or death resulting?"

If it includes every little fender bender then 385 accidents in one day is not too bad, if however they only included figures with substantial injury or death the 385 in a day is quite alarming.

[cowslip]

  On 1/2/2024 at 10:52 AM, ChrisS said:

I thought that was quite clear in my post "Do they include every little fender bender? or are they only accidents with serious injury or death resulting?"

If it includes every little fender bender then 385 accidents in one day is not too bad, if however they only included figures with substantial injury or death the 385 in a day is quite alarming.

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"fander bender" is subjective - collisions and crashes are reported as i said by police, insurance and hopsitlas - (and a few other organisations) - the fact that the same number of collisions results in ver 10 times the amount of fatlities is due to factors such as the emergency serives, road and veicle sign or type etcetc.

Over 90% of accidents world wide are caused by "human error" - not "bad driving" - human error is quantifiable bad driving is subjective

This site looks at a "top ten" for crashes in the Uk - https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/content/road-traffic-accidents/

THe causes are universal but unfortunately the RTP are not sufficiently trained to give comprehensive crash reports.

[Paulw]

The way most Thai's drive which seems to influence many visiting & resident farangs to drive in the same dangerous manner I am not the least bit surprised. The road authorities spout nothing but rubbish every year, the police are not interested in enforcing the laws unless there is some extra reward so the countries motorists habits are dangerous and undisciplined. This will not change until the law makers enforce the rules and thats not about to happen given the corrupt way Thailand operates and the general laziness of the enforcers. 

[cowslip]

  On 1/3/2024 at 4:02 AM, Paulw said:

The way most Thai's drive which seems to influence many visiting & resident farangs to drive in the same dangerous manner I am not the least bit surprised. The road authorities spout nothing but rubbish every year, the police are not interested in enforcing the laws unless there is some extra reward so the countries motorists habits are dangerous and undisciplined. This will not change until the law makers enforce the rules and thats not about to happen given the corrupt way Thailand operates and the general laziness of the enforcers. 

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THat's an incorrect assessment of Thailand's road safety due to applying home country norms that youu blindly accept as better - you are not looking at the root causes of road safety - but it is a lot easier just to blame others.

[Paulw]

  On 1/3/2024 at 8:30 AM, cowslip said:

THat's an incorrect assessment of Thailand's road safety due to applying home country norms that youu blindly accept as better - you are not looking at the root causes of road safety - but it is a lot easier just to blame others.

  On 1/3/2024 at 8:30 AM, cowslip said:

THat's an incorrect assessment of Thailand's road safety due to applying home country norms that youu blindly accept as better - you are not looking at the root causes of road safety - but it is a lot easier just to blame others.

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  On 1/3/2024 at 8:30 AM, cowslip said:

THat's an incorrect assessment of Thailand's road safety due to applying home country norms that youu blindly accept as better - you are not looking at the root causes of road safety - but it is a lot easier just to blame others.

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That's your opinion, driving standards in Thailand are atrocious by world standards so unless you come from Liberia or the likes world standards are generally much better. Thailand is amongst the highest road fatalities per 100k populace on the planet ranked at number 2 or 3 after central & west Africa!

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[cowslip]

  On 1/3/2024 at 12:59 PM, Paulw said:

That's your opinion

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THat's correct.

you then go on to make. a grossly incorrect premise which leads you to make a totally fallacious argument

your interpretation of statistics is below that of the average school pupil. you need to learn how to analyse and draw conclusions 0 the difference between association and causation too. Ask tyourself WHY and think about it.

In actually fact your point of view isn't backed up by any statistics, it is only backed up by your own prejudices.

What you have posted isn't even an opinion as it isn't backed up by any evidence logic or reason

[Sparrows]

So, 37 is a high number for reported fatalities in a single day.

But the WHO reports 60 per day “on average”. 

Worth going into the reasons for the discrepancy in more detail.

[cowslip]

  On 1/3/2024 at 2:46 PM, Sparrows said:

So, 37 is a high number for reported fatalities in a single day.

But the WHO reports 60 per day “on average”. 

Worth going into the reasons for the discrepancy in more detail.

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In most countries road accident statistics revel a lower than average death/injury count on holidays. Thailand's problem is the death rate is high but the collision rate is actually pretty average (it's the same as the UK which has a death rate 1/10th of Thailand's.

As things haven't changed significantly  for about 3 decades it is logical to conclude that the Thai authorities are barking up the wrong tree.

Road safety is a public health problem and needs government interference to make changes - unfortunately the authorities are reluctant to implement any significant changes.

[ChrisS]

  On 1/3/2024 at 2:56 PM, cowslip said:

Road safety is a public health problem and needs government interference to make changes - unfortunately the authorities are reluctant to implement any significant changes.

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The number of fatalities could be drastically reduced if the police were to actually police the existing traffic laws (crash helmets, number of people per motorcycle, kids underage and without licence, seat belts etc) without making any changes to the laws. The issue sits squarely at the door of the Royal Thai Police who time and again have shown that they are not fit for purpose.

[cowslip]

  On 1/6/2024 at 9:47 AM, ChrisS said:

The number of fatalities could be drastically reduced if the police were to actually police the existing traffic laws (crash helmets, number of people per motorcycle, kids underage and without licence, seat belts etc) without making any changes to the laws. The issue sits squarely at the door of the Royal Thai Police who time and again have shown that they are not fit for purpose.

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Sorry you are just citing single issue and you make no attempt to say how this might happen - you make assumptions about the police and constitution and have no figures to back up our assumption.

[ChrisS]

  On 1/6/2024 at 9:49 AM, cowslip said:

Sorry you are just citing single issue and you make no attempt to say how this might happen - you make assumptions about the police and constitution and have no figures to back up our assumption.

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I make no assumptions about the lack of policing of traffic laws by the Royal Thai Police my comments are based on many years of personally witnessing said lack of policing.

[riclag]

  On 1/2/2024 at 2:49 AM, Fuzzykens said:

I consider that it is necessary to make road safety a prominent subject on schools national curriculum.

Education is the key to this everlasting tragedy.

From the very youngest at kindergarten to teenagers, all key members of families, almost totally reliant on motorcycles to get to school and work, its high time that road safety was dealt with seriously, alongside math's, physics and humanities etc. with proper certification issued annually, to those that have passed road safety, proficiency requirements. The importance of this cannot be understated.

I accept that there is no quick solution to this, but educating all students, who ultimately will have some influence in their families, would mark an important step forward.  

Expand  

Years ago when my wife use to drive me around on the back of a motorbike,I use to see many cars pull out in front of us while they entered the soi from a parking lot.

I asked her why do Thai’s do that, her reply! They dont give way cause their car is bigger than our bike!

Something tells me ,aint no education gonna fix that reasoning !They just don’t care about rules of the road.

[cowslip]

  On 1/7/2024 at 3:10 PM, ChrisS said:

I make no assumptions about the lack of policing of traffic laws by the Royal Thai Police my comments are based on many years of personally witnessing said lack of policing.

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you haven't read my comment on your post - As I said you are concentrating on single issues which does not approach the whole topic .Using personal anecdote is not valid evidence - the plural of anecdote is not data.

[cowslip]

  On 1/7/2024 at 3:46 PM, riclag said:

Years ago when my wife use to drive me around on the back of a motorbike,I use to see many cars pull out in front of us while they entered the soi from a parking lot

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Actually it stems from the priority on the left rule - read your highway code.

[cowslip]

  On 1/3/2024 at 2:46 PM, Sparrows said:

So, 37 is a high number for reported fatalities in a single day.

But the WHO reports 60 per day “on average”. 

Worth going into the reasons for the discrepancy in more detail.

Expand  

WHO uses a more complete set of statistics - remember the figures we get "on the day" are just those collected by the local police who are bascially untrained amateurs when in comes to stats. THere is no time limit, for instance, on when someone dies after a crash so those figures will rise - what they are useful for is comparing like with like - e.g. police instant death counts over the years - the best you can do is extrapolate to a general trend year on year.

THere are of course also many other categories of crasg statistics  but the madia largely ignores these

[HiuMak]

  On 12/31/2023 at 7:05 AM, Thaiger said:

The nationwide road safety campaign over the New Year holidays, spanning from December 29 to January 4, experienced a substantial 385 road accidents on its second day alone. These incidents resulted in 404 injuries and claimed 37 lives, according to figures disclosed by Justice Minister Police Colonel Tawee Sodsong and the Road Safety Directing Centre. … …

The story New year’s road safety campaign sees spike in accidents across Thailand as seen on Thaiger News.

Read the full story

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Wow and we are all so surprised.

[gazmo16]

  On 1/7/2024 at 5:38 PM, cowslip said:

Actually it stems from the priority on the left rule - read your highway code.

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The left turn is actually only permitted "if safe to do so" and is not a priority over traffic flow on the primary route despite what people assume.

It's like the act of driving across a pedestrian crossing, only if safe to do so but so many do it when pedestrians are actually still crossing.

Both these have become the norm as the police fail to enforce the traffic laws when no money is changing hands it seems.