Road deaths
Thai road death toll tops 12,000 in 2019

PHOTO: Motorcyclist skittled by pick-up and killed in Ranong this week – Daily News
Thai media report 12,304 people have been registered as dying at accident scenes in Thailand so far this year.
Academics caution that this figure only relates to those who die at the scene, and the actual death toll is far higher when when all all data is collated, and when victims succumb to their injuries after leaving the accident scene.
The total annual Thai death toll, over recent years, is between 21,000 – 24,000, making it one of the worst in the world (currently #5 in the world according to World Health Orginisation data).
On Monday this week 62 people died, bringing November’s toll to 144 on just the fourth day of the month.
The Daily News runs an ongoing campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of Thai roads. They report the death toll daily, along with accident reports.
The Daily News reported that a motorcyclist was recently killed outside a chicken rice shop in the southern province of Ranong, north of Phang Nga. The lane-changing motorcyclist was hit by a pickup driver who could not brake in time, and flung the victim into the back of another pickup.
SOURCE: Daily News | Thai Visa
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Road deaths
392 killed in road accidents during New Year holiday’s “7 Dangerous Days”

Nearly 400 people were killed in road accidents in Thailand over the New Year holiday week known as the “7 Dangerous Days.” Motorcycles were involved in the vast majority of accidents while speeding and drink-driving were the most common causes of accidents.
From December 29 up until yesterday, 392 people died in accidents, a 5% increase from last year’s toll of 373 deaths, according to the Road Safety Directing Centre. There were 3,333 accidents altogether and 3,326 people were injured, a decrease from last year’s count of 3,421 accidents and 3,499 injuries.
Motorcycles were involved in 82.5% of accidents. Speeding was reported as a major cause of 33.6% of accidents followed by drink-driving which was reported as the cause of 33.1% of accidents.
The centre says the “riskiest behaviours” were people not wearing helmets and driving under the influence of alcohol.
Chiang Mai reported the most accidents and injuries with 115 accidents and 117 injuries. Chiang Rai had the highest number of deaths, reporting 18 people killed in accidents over the holiday week.
Only 7 of Thailand’s 77 provinces reported no deaths during the New Years holiday week.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
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Road deaths
19 year old killed in motorbike street race accident in Chon Buri

A 19 year old was killed in a street race accident after he crashed his motorbike into a trailer truck early this morning in Chon Buri’s Banglamung district.
Around 3 am this morning, a crowd of teenagers were lined up at the side of Highway 36 in the Nong Plalai subdistrict to watch the Jeerapat Nongyai race another motorbike rider. Some of the teens told police that Jeerapat lost control of his motorbike and crashed into a trailer truck. Police say Jeerapat was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 64 year old truck driver told police that many motorbike riders were racing at high speeds, not just 2. He says Jerrapat swerved slightly and crashed into the back of his truck.
SOURCE: Pattaya News
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Thailand
Drunk driving claims most traffic accidents over holiday season

Drunk driving is being blamed for most of the road accidents over the 7 deadly days of driving during the New Year season. So far, there have been 2,748 road accidents with 316 deaths and 2,741 injuries reported on the 5th day of the weeklong stretch.
Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation says there were about 383 accidents with 44 deaths and 384 injuries on January 2, with about 30% of those accidents attributed to drinking and driving.
About 29% of road accidents reported were attributed to excessive speeding, while almost 80% of accidents involved motorcycles. 67% of road accidents occurred mostly on a straight part of the roads, 40% were reported in provincial sub-districts and local vilages while about 32% were reported as having occurred on national highways.
Most of those accidents, about 34%, occurred between 4 to 8pm with about 31% of injuries and deaths involving victims of 50 years or older. Chiang Mai held the highest accumulative accidents and injuries, at 97 times and 99 times respectively, while Nakhon Ratchasima held the highest accumulative fatalities.
Chayathon Promsorn, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Transport, says today marks the 5th day of the safety road campaign, “A new way of life, Safe driving without accidents.” Now as New Year’s celebrations wind down, many are using major routes to return to Bangkok. He says traffic jams may occur and may cause drowsy driving for those who stayed late for New Year’s celebrations.
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, therefore, is urging provincial authorities to increase checkpoints with strict law enforcement to help curb road accidents nationwide. The department also says that public transportation will be provided to help those who wish to return to the capital after the holiday season.
Despite the numbers of traffic accidents under the new campaign, it is unclear if this year’s accidents are an improvement over last year’s.
SOURCE: The Pattaya News
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Jim FERGUSON
Saturday, July 4, 2020 at 2:27 pm
I’ve lived in Thailand for 5 years now and driven over 100,000 kms. I have never witnessed the police pull over any of the diabolical drivers we all encounter every day on Thai roads. Jumping red stop lights, speeding, not signalling, tailgating, lane jumping, mobile phone use and texting while driving. These are only a few of the lawless activities that continue unheeded by the police, who appear to be happy setting up road blocks purely for monetary gain. Unfortunately, the death toll will continue unabated and good innocent drivers and their passengers will die at the hands of the aforementioned lunatics. The Corona Virus death rate in Thailand is around sixty people and has resulted in a lockdown and economical disaster, however, approximately sixty people lose their lives daily on Thai roads and no one lifts a finger to end the carnage!
Tom
Sunday, October 25, 2020 at 9:27 am
I have been driving in Australia for 50 years and have been driving in North east Thailand for about 18 months, Thai people have got no idea of road rules.i think most drivers dont have a license or if they did the police must be giving them to anyone as long as they pay.Kids as young as 8 are riding their motorbikes to school and if that is not bad enough , they might have 1 or 2 more children on the back all with no helmets.When people want to turn right at intersections they mov e to right lane about 50 metres before turning. They are just lucky no won is coming around that corner in left lane or they would be killed.I don’t know how many times i have nearly been in a accident because of idiot drivers but because of my good driving i was able to avoid them. I am not boasting but i just know how to drive.I have been to music festivals where the young kids are as drunk they cannot walk straight, walk past police and hop on their bikes and off they go.Police do nothing,and they wonder why the death toll is so high.