How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

Driving and riding in Hua Hin and Thailand, all topics on cars, pickups, bikes, boats, licenses, roads, and motoring in general.
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

Post by Thistle »

Nereus,i honestly do not believe that what you witnessed is anything unusual,seriously i believe this happens on a day to day basis throughout the major routes entering/departing Bangkok.,and routes beyond.If a woman is sitting behind in her Toyota Vios playing Candi Crush.her initial reaction will be,good,have time,i can get to level X.
If its a male Thai driver he will accept the fact, as obviously the guy is more important than him because he drives a Mercedes.
Then of course if its a farang they will say ,expletives which will not be published here,and it will continue on a day to day basis and nothing is going to alter in most of our lifetimes.
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

Post by migrant »

buksida wrote: Sat Mar 24, 2018 10:50 am I'm talking about going south.

There are at least two cameras between Pranburi and Thapsakae. Go through them at over 120 kph and you will get a ticket mailed to your house (or whoever owns the vehicle).
Yes you will :oops:
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

Post by StevePIraq »

Only one way to make Thai roads safer, keep Thais off them.
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

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Speed limits in and outside urban area under change to curb traffic fatalities and facilitate driving
The Royal Thai Police and the Ministry of Interior are now considering an amendment to the Land Transport Law that will see speed limits from 80 kilometres an hour adjusted to 110 kilometres to facilitate driving on highways, and to 60 Kms in urban area.

The 80-km speed limit on some roads has been set by the law since 1979 or over 37 years and was outdated.

Today there have been much improvement on road construction which allows speed of up to 120 kilometres, said Pol Maj Gen Akkarak Limsangkas, a member of the working group on traffic of the Royal Thai Police.

Under the 1979 land transport law, speed limit in municipal area was set at 80 kms/hr and 90 Kms outside municipal area.

He said the law fixed the speed limit at 80-90kms because at that time most roads have only two traffic lanes.

But now this has changed and therefore the Royal Thai Police commissioner Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda had stressed the need for change of the law to increase the speed limit to facilitate driving, he said.

The government has already tasked the Ministries of Interior, Transport and the Royal Thai Police to work together for possible adjustment of speed, particularly on interprovincial highways which have no intersections or crossroads to 105-110 Kms from 80-90 Kms at present.

This would end traffic argument between traffic police and motorists when speed limit was violated, he said.

http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/speed- ... e-driving/
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

Post by HHTel »

I wish they'd make up their minds. On the one hand it's been heavily publicised that speed limits are being reduced for safety, and on the other hand they talk about raising the limits.
If only the right hand spoke with the left hand we may get some sense!
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

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It's the Thai way, never let you know the facts
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

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Faster roads bid gets a green light

A proposal to lift the maximum speed limit for many roads in Thailand from 90 kilometres per hour to 110km/h has drawn support from road safety experts and campaigners.

They also suggested the limit for roads in certain "sensitive" areas should be considered carefully, and that in all cases the speed limit must be more strongly enforced by traffic police.

Nikorn Chamnong, a member of the Leadership Council - Global Network for Road Safety Legislators, said he supported the idea as the conditions of the roads and the capacity of vehicles have changed over time.

"The speed limit must be set in consideration of the conditions in the community and the use of the road users. The types of vehicles must also be considered," he said.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/genera ... reen-light
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

Post by Big Boy »

buksida wrote: Fri Apr 06, 2018 9:07 am strongly enforced by traffic police.
Therein lies the problem.
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

Post by hhinner »

The idea of enforcement in Hua Hin seems to involve erecting electronic gantries showing what the speed limit is and showing how fast drivers are going. And only for 2 out of 3 Lanes. Does someone expect some magical change in behaviour?
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

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hhinner wrote: Fri Apr 06, 2018 1:22 pm The idea of enforcement in Hua Hin seems to involve erecting electronic gantries showing what the speed limit is and showing how fast drivers are going. And only for 2 out of 3 Lanes. Does someone expect some magical change in behaviour?
The same is used in many countries, it is a slowly slowy approach and it does apparently work, in some countries.
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

Post by hhinner »

^^ Yes, I've seen it in other countries, where you know you really do need to slow down, or else.
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

Post by Nereus »

Police mull raising road speed limit

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/genera ... recent_box

An online police poll has found that more than 86% of people support the idea to lift the maximum speed limit on many roads in Thailand from 90kph to 110kph.

On Friday, the Police Operations Command Social Media Centre asked Facebook users to vote whether they agreed with the idea.
As of 8pm yesterday, 86% of about 21,600 respondents said they agreed.
While most of those who commented supported the idea, some expressed concerns over safety and law enforcement.

Meanwhile, many also pointed out that some accidents are caused by those who drove slowly in the right-hand lanes.

However, Nikorn Chamnong, a member of the Leadership Council of the Global Network for Road Safety Legislators, advocated a cautious approach to any change in the law, saying it should be done on a road by road basis.

"While we are proposing to increase the speed of the cars on our roads, countries with more advanced road networks and vehicles are campaigning for lower speeds, saying it's one of the prominent causes of road deaths," he said.

Pol Maj Gen Ekkarak Limsangkat, commander of Special Branch Police 3, said the Royal Thai Police, Transport Ministry and Interior Ministry are working together on a proposal to change the speed limit, which was introduced in 1979.

As a member of the Royal Thai Police's committee working on traffic problems, he said the team would meet after the Songkran holidays to discuss the issue and expected to come up with the resolution within 30 days.

Cars are now allowed to drive at up to 80kph in some city areas. Outside urban areas, they are allowed to reach 90kph, or 120kph on inter-city motorways.

"The friction and the width of roads in Thailand follow US standards," he said. "However, not all the roads are suitable for such a high speed." :shock:

Meanwhile, Pol Maj Gen Theerasak Surewong, chief of the Traffic Police Bureau, agreed that the changes would suit improved road and vehicle conditions as well as reduce conflicts between police and drivers.

He suggested that in crowded areas, especially where schools are situated, the speed limit should be set at 40kph.

The head of the Thailand Accident Research Centre, Kunnawee Kanitpong, said any adjustment must mean that authorities strictly enforce the law.
"Authorities must erect clear signs detailing the maximum speed allowed and police must enforce the law," she said.
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In October last year, Gen Anupong Paojinda, the interior minister, was criticised for signing off on a request to buy 849 hand-held speed guns for a total of 573 million baht.

Questions were raised whether the price of the equipment was too high.

A senior official from the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation told the Bangkok Post yesterday the purchase of the speed guns is still under consideration, with the equipment likely to arrive by the end of the year.

He refused to elaborate, saying the public can check for updates on the department's website.

Despite the high prices, road safety experts and foundations met in December 2017 and came to an agreement that state-of-the-art speed guns used in Phuket, donated by the Safer Roads Foundation, have proven to be the most effective instruments for lowering speeds.

It is claimed that using more technology to make arrests would also help to reduce the levels of bribery involved in speeding offences as the once a car is recorded by the equipment a new layer of accountability is introduced into the process.
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

Post by Big Boy »

Nereus wrote: Sun Apr 08, 2018 9:59 am "Authorities must erect clear signs detailing the maximum speed allowed and police must enforce the law," she said.
And signs clearly stating when restrictions end.
Nereus wrote: Sun Apr 08, 2018 9:59 am It is claimed that using more technology to make arrests would also help to reduce the levels of bribery involved in speeding offences as the once a car is recorded by the equipment a new layer of accountability is introduced into the process.
Even before the technology arrives, how many of us have already been supposedly been caught on American speed guns, when we know we have been driving to the speed limit, and the officer can't show you the gun you were caught on? These guys are already using the technology to extort cash. If the technology actually arrives, it will just give their Jackanory claims a little more credibility. It will increase, not decrease the extortion.
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

Post by buksida »

I've just done about 8 hours on the roads driving to Suratthani and back again, and from my observations, which are still pretty fresh, it is quite clear why there is an appalling road fatality rate in Thailand:

1) Buses and Siplors
These will just sit in the outside lane doing 75kph forcing everything else to swerve around them and risk a potentially dangerous undertaking manoeuvre. An utter menace to say the least, they will not move over and use the correct lane. Using road conditions as an excuse is no longer relevant since most of the road surface is good now.

2) The Police
They are part of the problem with their pointless roadblocks forcing three lanes of highway traffic into one and causing kilometers of unnecessary tailbacks. Also the Bangkok warriors will not wait so they carve up the inside lanes at high speed causing a danger to all around them (the same happens at traffic lights).

3) SUV/Pickup rev heads
I think the title of 'king road menace' has passed from Fortuner drivers to Ford Ranger drivers (sorry BB), these guys seem to think they have the right to barge everything else off the road and bully their way past with little regard for life or limb. The more blinged up their Ranger is, the more of an asshole they are on the road.

4) Speed cameras
There were plenty of signs warning about them but they appear to be no deterrent whatsoever, an utter waste of time and effort there.

5) Stopping distances
These don't exist in Thailand - leaving a sensible gap between you and the car in front will drive you insane since some fcuknut in a minivan or Ford Ranger will cut into it every ten minutes forcing you to jump on the brakes again to maintain a safe distance. I purposely adjust speed and the gap to keep these nutters out.

Songkran isnt even upon us yet and already the mayhem has started. We witnessed no less than 5 accidents in just a few hours driving. Death toll this year? Same as always.

I have reminded myself why I drive as little as possible and prefer to use only two wheels on the roads here in lunaticland.
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

Post by Big Boy »

Can I add one more to that. I drove to Nakhon Pathom and back yesterday, and being the end of the long weekend, the roads were busier than normal. I've never seen U-turn antics like I saw them yesterday - I would rate them as suicidal. Not waiting, and expecting oncoming traffic with the right of way to yield. Of course, nobody wants to kill idiots as they pull out in front of you, so yield is what they were doing, causing the domino effect of cars stopping suddenly.

There was one guy late last night, not far from home, pulled into lanes 2 & 3 of Cha-Am to Hua Hin stretch, and stopped, broadside on - no idea what he thought he was doing. :banghead:

I'm pleased to report I survived the ordeal
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