Thai road carnage: A motorcyclist is killed every 30 minutes in Thailand
Picture: Voice TV
Thailand media Voice TV made comparisons with the driving of motorcycles, their specifications, and road rules in the kingdom with what happens abroad.
And it made dire reading.
The experts were in agreement:
Thailand needs to buck up its ideas or tens of thousands of needless deaths are going to continue to occur each and every year.
Voice TV started by asking a salient question:Did you know that a person dies on a motorcycle in Thailand every half an hour?
And that in 2019 there were 17,000 deaths on two wheels making up 80% of all road death.
Several experts from road safety organisations were quoted for where they see the main problems.
Dr Chamaiphan Santikan said if the government were serious about doing something about death on the roads they had to focus on motorcycles.
Road surfaces, skills, vehicle specs and laws were key.
She pointed to the fact that a large proportion of 15-20 year olds were driving high powered machines. She called for bans on licences for Big Bikes for anyone not over 21.
Bringing in a system where younger riders were limited in the power of their machines - Graduated Driver Licensing - until they proved in tests that they could handle bigger machines could lower accidents by 25%. Such systems were used abroad.
Comparing death per 100,000 motorcycles on the road was also a damning stat for Thailand.
In the kingdom it was 81 deaths per 100,000.
In Europe it is just ELEVEN.
Also the specs on Thai motorcycles are terrible for promoting safety on the roads, say the experts.
Spped and fuel economy is promoted ahead of safety features.
They pointed to poor lights on 110cc models.
Speed warning lights come on on 110 and 125cc bikes in the UK at 90 kmph, the top speed allowed.
In places like Mexico, Malaysia and Japan the speed limit is higher but red warnings come on at just 80 kmph.
In Thailand 100cc's belt along at 140-160 kmph with no warning at all.
Baskets on the front of Thai bikes often obscure headlights when loaded. This causes a staggering 1000 deaths a year, the experts claimed.
In Japan the problem is solved by fitting lights on the baskets themselves.
Thai bikes have thinner tires that reduce stability but make them go faster - another detrimental factor.
They also have less weight than foreign bikes of a similar capacity that reduces fuel consumption but, again, raises speeds.
Heavier vehicles have more stability but are not favored by Thais who want to zig-zag everywhere.
Thaivisa notes that the article contained some interesting points but was almost entirely lacking in one area often cited by foreign riders as a major reason why the death toll is so high in Thailand.
Poor or non-existent law enforcement by an indifferent and lazy police force.
Many feel that if the police enforced helmet laws, cracked down on poor driving continually and concentrated their efforts on young people going to and from schools often with several people on one motorcycle, the death toll could be cut dramatically and quickly.
As with all analysis of this issue the question is of political will too.
And that seems to be sorely lacking as thousands continue to die on the roads.
If nothing is done a MILLION Thais will die on the roads over the next 40 years and tens of millions will be injured.
Despite acceptance by politicians that the death toll has a devastating impact not just on personal lives but GDP, the politicians in Thailand still offer only lip service to the issue.
While the people themselves continue to die and break the law with impunity hiding behind a "face of freedom".
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