Songkran isn’t even over in some parts of the country but the official counting period for road deaths, accidents and injuries over the “seven dangerous days” of the week-long Songkran holiday period has already come to an end.
So with yet another ambitious road safety campaign in place and following a record 442 people killed last year over Songkran, could the daily road death count be substantially reduced this year? As usual, don’t hold your breath.
Experts at a conference promoting a motorcycle safety campaign have said that Thailand is no. 1 in the world in motorcycle accident deaths, with 5,500 bike riders dying annually on Thailand’s roads.
As a result, they have now called on Thai motorcycle manufacturers to use available technology to limit speeds to 90 kilometers per hour.
478 people were killed and 4,128 injured in a total of 3,919 road accidents during the so-called “seven dangerous days” of the New Year holiday period from December 29, 2016, to January 4, 2017.
In comparison with the same period last year, the number of deaths increased by 25.8%, the number of people injured by 17.8%, and the number of accidents by 16%.
This makes the 2017 New Year road toll the highest in the 10 years that records have been kept. Last year, for example, there were “only” 380 deaths and 3,505 injuries from 3,379 accidents during the :seven dangerous days”.
It’s plain to see that wealth isn’t exactly evenly distributed in Thailand. Most Thais are poor, relatively speaking. There’s a growing yet still small middle class. And only a few Thais are really loaded. The latter group is however so filthy rich that the country’s wealthiest 1% own a staggering 58% of the nation’s total… Continue Reading
It’s a well-known fact that Thai men (pardon, Khun Somchai) aren’t particularly well endowed but actually have the second shortest penises in the world. Now Thai women (nah, not ladyboys or “pretties” with their silicone breast implants) aren’t exactly famous for being busty either but most would describe their breast size as nom lek –… Continue Reading
While more than half of Thailand’s 50 richest billionaires saw their fortunes shrink in 2016, the clans at the very top of the list all managed to increase their wealth in the past 12 months. As in 2015, the four Chearavanont brothers, who control agribusiness conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group (CP), again took the top spot… Continue Reading
With three million arrivals in January and almost 3.1 million visitors in February, Thailand recorded an all-time high in tourist arrival numbers at the beginning of this year. Never had more foreign tourists visited Thailand in just two months. While we noted that tourists from European key source markets such as the United Kingdom or… Continue Reading
It’s the same macabre procedure as every year: Songkran, the traditional Thai new year and the longest public holiday period, hasn’t even officially begun and the media have already started to count the number of daily road deaths and people injured in traffic accidents over the so-called “seven dangerous days” of Songkran. Any other time… Continue Reading
Once upon a time not so long ago, high season in Pattaya would last as long as five or six months each year, from November through March or even April. But that was then. In recent years, it appears, the peak season has gradually been getting shorter and shorter, with the biggest influx of visitors… Continue Reading
The Thai transport ministry has revealed on Tuesday that 49 people were killed and 675 injured in a total of 104 road accidents involving public transport buses last year. That’s more than four people on average killed in bus accidents every month. The number of fatalities includes only deaths at the scene, not those of… Continue Reading
According to data compiled by the Thai Immigration Bureau and now released by the Department of Tourism, a total of 29.88 million foreign tourists visited Thailand in 2015. This wasn’t just a substantial 20,44% increase from the 24.8 million tourist arrivals the kingdom had seen in 2014 but also marks a new all-time record. While… Continue Reading
If people were asked to compile a list of Thailand’s most pressing issues “corruption” would likely take the top spot as the kingdom’s biggest and most persistent problem. And while it’s debatable whether or not corruption is really the root cause of all evil it’s certainly deeply ingrained in Thai culture and an issue that… Continue Reading
