Now it’s official. Thailand’s roads have become the second-deadliest in the world, and that is a record we can hardly be proud of.
The figures were released in the 2015 Global Status Report on Road Safety, published by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The ranking is based on the number of traffic-related deaths, which totalled 14,059 in 2012. And that translates to a road-death rate of 36.2 people per 100,000, compared to war-torn Libya which came No.1, with 73.4 people per 100,000 dying on its roads.
In fact, the WHO questioned the figures which were from the Public Health Ministry. The organisation believes our road fatalities were much higher, at 24,237 deaths in 2012, or some 42% more than stated by the Health Ministry.
Whatever the numbers are, they assure us of one fact: All the road safety campaigns conducted by state and non-state agencies over the past few years have been a total failure.
One major failure has been the anti-drink driving campaign, and attempts to stem the flow of alcohol by limiting sale times and banning booze sales in areas close to educational establishments. Despite numerous police checkpoints, which have now largely been scrapped due to public complaints, drink driving remains the No.1 cause of traffic-related accidents, many of which are fatal.
Another failure has been the campaign for motorists to stop at pedestrian crossings. Police intensified the zebra crossing campaign earlier this year following the death of a TV reporter who was hit by a motorist who jumped a red light at a pedestrian crossing on Asok Road.
Pedestrians cross roads at their own risk as motorists simply pretend not to see them.
Also gone without any impact is the so-called haa jing (five traffic measures) which was supposed to involve serious efforts by police to punish traffic law violators. This brought no real change to motorists’ behaviour and, sadly, our roads are as dangerous as ever.
Following major, fatal accidents, we seem to realise that we lack strong law enforcement, and when the issue fades from public attention, we are back to square one. Nothing is learnt.
At the same time, much is blamed on a lack of safety standards, including poor road conditions, due to bad design and substandard construction, as well as dim street lighting which is another cause of accidents.
There was an effort to improve road design about a decade ago, initiated by an agency affiliated with the Public Health Ministry, but we have not seen concrete measures to deal with the problem.
And we should not forget that dangerous vehicles, in particular double-decker tour buses that caused many deaths in several separate accidents earlier this year, remain a road safety issue.
Considering the high number of traffic-related accidents as reported in the media every day, we cannot afford to hope that we can solve the problem. Not now and not in the near future.
As the Christmas and New Year holidays approach rapidly we brace for another big road death toll. The festive period is dubbed “the body-counting festival” because of the high number of accidents and deaths.
In tackling the issue, we need to reconsider all the measures, and overhaul them to ensure that they are efficient and effective.
Flash-in-the-pan and knee-jerk reactions are useless. They simply lead us nowhere.