Personally I cant see how Thailand has the number one spot, I think there are a lot of country's not in the poll, I have spent time working in India and Indonesia, those two country's are heaps worse just to name two, sorry but I don't believe Thailand has the real number 1 spot.

I believe it's computed as a % of the population and computed by the United nations World Health Organization. This may explain the problem a little better.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38660283

Thailand may not be number 1 but the article mentions 2 survey and 1 is from the WHO which had 120 counties on the list which Thailand came 2nd.
Doesn't matter where they are on any survey the fact that 50 or 60 are dying every day is just not acceptable in any sane persons thinking.
The article has a suggestion by the drunk driving minister or what ever his title is, that dash cams will help. What a load of BS.
Problems is where do you start. 2 biggest killers will be helmets and drink driving and, now with the new cars and bigger bikes available speeding must be catching fast. No pun intended.
The Thai govt's over many years have failed the Thai people by not enforcing existing laws.
I like others reporting here have worked in some very dangerous road usage countries and those to me seem more dangerous but maybe the stats don't lie. It would depend on how each country is transparent in reporting.
I was in Bangladesh for 18 months and they were dreadful drivers. Larger numbers dead there would be attributed to the fact they don't drink.

Today's accident near Central (across from the PTT gas station) didn't result in serious injury........but is notable because of the age of motorcycle driver (13) and the type of bike (bigger than a 125cc). I don't see a helmet in any of the 35 or so photos.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =3&theater

There's a short video interview of the boy where he reports his age as 13
https://www.facebook.com/191NewsUdon

Any takers on the translation of the gas tank "ไม่ซิ่งก็ตุ๊ด"

And with the boy being 13 years of age and an underage driver then one of two things should happen. The bike was stolen and therefore the 13 year old should be help accountable OR the owner of the bike should be charged with allowing an underage non licensed individual for riding the bike.
Chose ones poison

I would think the parents should be brought into this. I would just love to be a fly on the wall if that ever did happen.

Unfortunately, he's just one of many here in UT. Parents don't care, teachers don't care and the police certainly don't care either. Let's see I know the powers to be will erect more signs saying 100% with a pic of a safety helmet. No sense in having the police do some policing now is there?

Worldatlas rates Thailand as #1: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the ... dents.html

WHO rates Thailand as #2: http://www.searo.who.int/thailand/areas/roadsafety/en/

The attitude of the 13 year old says everything.
When he talks to the police who ask him his age he is too busy on his phone either playing games or whatever.
He has no respect for the police or the laws he has broken & probably expects his parents to pay for damages & fines.
He could not care less.

parrot wrote: ↑

December 17, 2017, 3:37 pm

Today's accident near Central (across from the PTT gas station) didn't result in serious injury........but is notable because of the age of motorcycle driver (13) and the type of bike (bigger than a 125cc). I don't see a helmet in any of the 35 or so photos.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =3&theater

There's a short video interview of the boy where he reports his age as 13
https://www.facebook.com/191NewsUdon

Any takers on the translation of the gas tank "ไม่ซิ่งก็ตุ๊ด"

Mai Sing Gaw Dtoot.

My wife just got home she translates it as "If you not racing like man you are a Katooey"

It's got a Facebook page and artwork stickers: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Wittaya.aot/photos/ Seems like a bike racing club.

That's a heavy bike. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_YZF-R3

300+ pounds. 320cc.

Show to have bad braking:

The bike has the ability to reach 0–60 km/h (0–37 mph) in less than 3 seconds, and 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) in 5.5 seconds.[12] The 2015 R3 has a braking distance of 131.5 feet from 100–0 km/h (62–0 mph). While Indian reviewers praised the handling, same cannot be said for some western world reviewers. According to some reviewers, the braking system is not powerful enough to match the engine power, and is also prone to fishtailing under hard braking (non ABS).

jimjay wrote: ↑

December 17, 2017, 5:31 pm

"ไม่ซิ่งก็ตุ๊ด"

Mai Sing Gaw Dtoot.

My wife just got home she translates it as "If you not racing like man you are a Katooey"

Katooey being generally accepted as 'trans'.....I think the idea is more along the lines of 'if you don't race, you're gay'


As for the boy being interviewed by 'police', although I never saw the interviewer's face in the video, I'd guess he was a reporter. And the boy was polite enough to answer ครับผม with his responses. As for having a phone glued to his face, I'd just assume he's calling his older brother the bad news about his (older brother's) bike.

To 747man, and drivers in Thailand;
Land Traffic Act,1979, Title 6, Section 71;
The vehicle on the left side has a right of way.

jeebeeg wrote: ↑

December 17, 2017, 7:06 pm

To 747man, and drivers in Thailand;
Land Traffic Act,1979, Title 6, Section 71;
The vehicle on the left side has a right of way.

I think Thai traffic law says, give way to the left, except for roundabouts, where you give way to the right

parrot wrote: ↑

December 17, 2017, 7:22 pm

jeebeeg wrote: ↑

December 17, 2017, 7:06 pm

To 747man, and drivers in Thailand;
Land Traffic Act,1979, Title 6, Section 71;
The vehicle on the left side has a right of way.

I think Thai traffic law says, give way to the left, except for roundabouts, where you give way to the right

Unless there's a y in the month, or more importantly your vehicle is bigger or more hi-so than the others

fatbob wrote: ↑

December 17, 2017, 2:33 pm

Personally I cant see how Thailand has the number one spot, I think there are a lot of country's not in the poll, I have spent time working in India and Indonesia, those two country's are heaps worse just to name two, sorry but I don't believe Thailand has the real number 1 spot.

Probably because 90% of India are on foot and most don't even see roads and traffic.where Thais are 90% tooled up and love racing.

jimjay wrote: ↑

December 12, 2017, 9:18 am

Looks like Thailand even surpassed a former war zone to get to #1 this year.

My wife says that yes it's the police who ignore their duties in this regard, but the reason it isn't going to change is because Thai people don't regard police as responsible for road safety. So there will simply perhaps never be a push back on the leadership.

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

I'd like to ask if any member knows what the strongest car is, e.g. one least likely to get crushed, other than some bit of military equipment.

Is a truck better at least? Which vehicles have the most metal in their exterior, as opposed to Fiberglas.

I think it was Libya who were top but the UN cleared the road side bombs and the way for Thailand to win,win,win.

The term "give way" has no direct translation into Thai so it's hard to enforce a concept that cannot be expressed.

First of all people should have to take real driver training to get a license with much higher requirements than now. Police need to enforce the traffic laws and consequences for breaking those laws has to hurt financially. People driving with no license or insurance should have their vehicles impounded and prison time for repeat adult offenders. Drinking while driving should be jail time plus a hefty fine. This may sound extreme but it would work and save so many lives. There is one more problem that I do not have an answer for, that is the Thai mentality. I can't count how many times I have had motorbikes and cars drive right into my path and not even bother to look. It is really strange, almost like they believe if they can't see you than you are not there. This thought process applies to train crossings as well even with the barriers down. Sometimes I will watch Youtube videos of accidents in Thailand and you can plainly see this happening. One that I remember very clearly is of a mother on a scooter with 2 children ride right across a busy highway while looking straight ahead, not even a glance to the right or left. Needless to say all were killed. I know these changes won't happen for a long time if at all so be as careful as you can.

Marcosteffano wrote: ↑

December 17, 2017, 9:52 pm

fatbob wrote: ↑

December 17, 2017, 2:33 pm

Personally I cant see how Thailand has the number one spot, I think there are a lot of country's not in the poll, I have spent time working in India and Indonesia, those two country's are heaps worse just to name two, sorry but I don't believe Thailand has the real number 1 spot.

Probably because 90% of India are on foot and most don't even see roads and traffic.where Thais are 90% tooled up and love racing.

Seems like you haven't been there by that statement...

Re the Yamaha R3 acceleration 0 to 100km/r in less than 3 seconds. No, it's 6.5 seconds - Only the fastest bikes (1000cc+ sports) have sub-3 second 0 to 100km/h.

I hate driving the car here - makes me see red every time. Bike isn't much better either and I'm coming from a position of being (some years ago) a chief motorcycle instructor in the UK. I agree with much that's been posted regarding enforcement of the rules/laws, signage, visibility etc. But it's really the attitude of Thai's that's the problem. But we're not going to change that. Never. It's up to Thai's to change how they are on roads and in /on vehicles, and that will only come when they are shamed in to it. Greng Jai doesn't seem to exist on the roads at all, it's all for yourself.

I think at the moment if it's pretty much accepted by Thai society for 13 yr olds to ride Motobikes,maybe it's time to change attitudes in the classroom with compulsory road safety awareness lessons,also more tv government sponsored adverts at peak children viewing times,I remember the old green cross code adverts in the U.K.
And dare I say it for the Adults , adverts to refresh the memory on road rules such as approaching a roundabout,Traffic signals ,road signs etc.,they're be the usual grumbling but I guarantee the most vocal will end up taking a sneaky look,just because they'll want to keep their egos in tact.

fatbob wrote: ↑

December 18, 2017, 5:23 am

Marcosteffano wrote: ↑

December 17, 2017, 9:52 pm

fatbob wrote: ↑

December 17, 2017, 2:33 pm

Personally I cant see how Thailand has the number one spot, I think there are a lot of country's not in the poll, I have spent time working in India and Indonesia, those two country's are heaps worse just to name two, sorry but I don't believe Thailand has the real number 1 spot.

Probably because 90% of India are on foot and most don't even see roads and traffic.where Thais are 90% tooled up and love racing.

Seems like you haven't been there by that statement...

My point was they are too poor to afford wheels,I know the driving and roads are horrendous in India but statistics show Thailand is number one.stick the Thais back on to ox and cart or bicycle and you would see Thailand lose its place at the top.like I've already said I blame the banks and finance companies for arming the Thais with a set of wheels.i think if it wasn't for poverty you would see china,India and Russia all in the top spots.you don't have to visit a country to know what the roads are like,you can read or watch videos.try watching liveleaks.com...or crazyshit.com Thailand hardly pops up.anyway I used to get peed off with Thai driving but I take it with a pinch of salt nowadays,I treat everyone as an idiot on the road and try to stay clear of them.i sold my big bike this year because of these roads and I'm driving to krabi at the end of the month and taking 4 days not 2 to get there and deffo not driving in the dark.