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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Big Boy
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

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Spitfire wrote:The problem is though, that any measures likely to succeed are going to make the sitting government/police very unpopular....and that would never do in a world of social media where everyone has to pander to a collective online group of self-righteous idealists or intentionally vicious trolls.
What better time to do it? The current regime are on borrowed time, and aren't going for re-election. Nothing to lose. After all, they are the ones supposedly looking for a solution.
Spitfire wrote:Responsibility seems to be an anathema here to so many, along with most abstract other thought. Until that changes....forget it. The collective society and leaders of all level of it need to seriously look in the mirror and be honest......never going to happen as it's a nettle they don't want to grasp and it would be an affront to "Thainess"....whatever they think that is.
Of course, I accept that it won't ever happen.
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

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Big Boy wrote:
Spitfire wrote:The problem is though, that any measures likely to succeed are going to make the sitting government/police very unpopular....and that would never do in a world of social media where everyone has to pander to a collective online group of self-righteous idealists or intentionally vicious trolls.
What better time to do it? The current regime are on borrowed time, and aren't going for re-election. Nothing to lose. After all, they are the ones supposedly looking for a solution.
Well....I'm not entirely convinced they are on borrowed time tbh man. The way they are pulling stuff out-of-hats like the cyber laws etc. then it wouldn't surprise me at all if the current lot in charge somehow engineer their prolonged existence in power.

There are various ways they could do this but I reckon they will start a new political party with the current PM as leader when the date for an election is set and it (the election) is definitely going to happen. He sure has enough "friends" and supporters to have a go....would not be beyond the realms of possibility and when you think about it, it often happens in lots of countries of this ilk where the military has a disproportionate amount of power.

If I was the PM.....I would be looking at ways how to "get off the tiger's back without being bitten" and walk away into the sunset with history judging you mildly for doing what can be argued as necessary at the right time to get things back on track. However, few seem to realise the value of letting go when the time is right and get hooked on power.

We'll see.
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

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Here's the New Year holiday final, compared to last year. Not pleasant reading. Pete :(

Note: As could be expected, New Year's eve is the worst. Jan 2 is an anomaly because of the van/truck accident in Chonburi killing 25 all at once.
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

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Nothing will change here, there is no will to change and the Thai population do not care.

There is a good statistics table of at the following link.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... death_rate
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

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Big Boy wrote:I was involved in an accident a few months back. The fact the other party was not wearing a helmet, had no licence nor insurance didn't seem to matter one bit to the police officer attending.
The police don't give a hoot who is in the right or wrong, had a similar experience with one idiot that was driving without insurance, all the police did was spray the road and get the damaged vehicles off of it. Our insurance had to pay for the damage done by the asshole without any.
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

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Well where do you start ? Obviously enforcement of the law,the police service are very poorly paid and have families to look after so we can't be too critical of them. Perhaps if a policeman was given a bonus of 100 baht every time he stopped a motor cyclist without a safety helmet,200 baht bonus for stopping a non insured driver. Extra bonus and local and national recognition for diligent officers would eventually yield results. Schools should send home any student that turns up at school on a motorcycle without a helmet. And lastly or should that be firstly education, given the Thais huge respect for the Royalty it would be ideal if Princess (?) could lead the public road safety campaign. The loss of life and injury on the roads here is a tragedy.
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

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dundrillin wrote:Schools should send home any student that turns up at school on a motorcycle without a helmet. And lastly or should that be firstly education, given the Thais huge respect for the Royalty it would be ideal if Princess (?) could lead the public road safety campaign.
Or licence. There are so many unlicensed pupils riding motorcycles to my granddaughter's school, the school are trying to arrange for the licensing authority to come to the school. I doubt her school is any different to any other.
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

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Of course they can issue license's to under age riders. The legal age is 15
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

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dundrillin wrote:Well where do you start ? Obviously enforcement of the law,the police service are very poorly paid and have families to look after so we can't be too critical of them. Perhaps if a policeman was given a bonus of 100 baht every time he stopped a motor cyclist without a safety helmet,200 baht bonus for stopping a non insured driver. Extra bonus and local and national recognition for diligent officers would eventually yield results. Schools should send home any student that turns up at school on a motorcycle without a helmet. And lastly or should that be firstly education, given the Thais huge respect for the Royalty it would be ideal if Princess (?) could lead the public road safety campaign. The loss of life and injury on the roads here is a tragedy.
They do get a % of traffic fines given. Better, of course, is no paperwork and straight into their back pocket.
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

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There is always a reason not to do something. Obviously a crackdown on corruption needs to happen as well. Never said it would be easy.
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

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Of course they can issue license's to under age riders. The legal age is 15
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

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Geko wrote:
Of course they can issue license's to under age riders. The legal age is 15
Yes the legal age is 15 for two wheeled vehicles but the Pranburi licensing office do issue to underage people even though this is illegal. But in Thailand do you really think the traffic police fully understand and check your license correctly, no way.
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

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There is no way to stop this when there is no law enforcement, just read this article and make of it what you will

http://pattayaone.news/en/video-tour-bu ... s-driving/
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

Post by hhinner »

^^ FFS! An 18 bus convoy. Convoys of more than 3 or 4 buses should be banned anyway, in my opinion. And they should be made to stay in the left hand lane on highways.
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Re: How can Thailand curb its appalling road fatality rate?

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hhinner wrote:^^ FFS! An 18 bus convoy. Convoys of more than 3 or 4 buses should be banned anyway, in my opinion. And they should be made to stay in the left hand lane on highways.
Why worry. be happy, they will never stop this
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