Yesterday marked the end of the "seven dangerous days" -- the annual New Year festival period when roads become deadly and the death toll rises. Another such annual deadly week happens during Songkran in April.
The latest "deadly week" saw 3,791 road accidents, which is less than last year's figure of 3,841. However, there was a 10% increase in fatalities with 463 deaths compared to 423 last year, according to the Road Safety Directing Centre.
The statistics show that the government's campaign to reduce road carnage has failed, especially if we consider the large volume of personnel -- 135,940 to be exact -- comprising police officers, state officials and volunteers that have been deployed at 19,150 checkpoints daily.
Anchalee Kongrut writes about the environment in the Life section, Bangkok Post.
Despite the efforts, the rate of traffic violations has only gone up.
The failure of the road safety campaign reminds us of this anonymous quote: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results".
With due respect to the government and the people who are working hard to bring down the deaths on the road, I think the campaign, which has applied the same measures, needs to be fine-tuned. Despite achievements seen during the early days of the campaign, the latest outcome is far from impressive.
Before the annual road safety campaign began 15 years ago, the road death toll during the New Year week was as high as 700-800. Now, the figure stands around 300-400. However, the death toll over that period has not reduced in recent years despite the government's efforts, according to Tairjing Siriphanich, president of the Don't Drive Drunk Foundation (DDD).
Personally, I think the campaign is like a dog barking up the wrong tree. It is random and inconsistent.
During New Year and Songkran in the past year, we have seen a large number of police being deployed to check and arrest traffic violators and drink drivers. Yet we continue to count the number of deaths year after year.
But if we look closely at the statistics, we can see that motorcycle riders are a big problem. More than 50% of road accidents are caused by motorcyclists who refuse to wear helmets, followed by drunk drivers, 18%, and speeding at 15%.
During the latest deadly week, 205 deaths were motorcycle riders who did not wear helmets.
Unfortunately, the government or even society has not paid much attention to the helmet issue. While the law has been strictly enforced against drunk driving, little has been done to deal with those who do not wear helmets.
The traffic law imposes a fine of up to 500 baht on those who fail to wear their helmets. Unfortunately, the law is not enforced.
I believe the problem is larger than the law. I think it is irresponsible to blame the police for not enforcing it. It is a collective complacency that prevails among Thais.
Whenever I observe the behaviour of motorcyclists, I am aghast.
During last year's Loy Krathong festival, I saw a family of three riding on the same motorcycle. Neither of the parents nor their young son were wearing helmets. As if that was not bad enough, the mother lifted her son to stand on the bike seat between her and the father.
Another experience of mine feels more akin to black humour -- a dark joke I cannot laugh at. Last month, I saw a woman sitting on the back of a motorcycle taxi. The rider wore a helmet properly, she didn't. Furthermore, she was using a clipper to cut her nails while the motorcycle was moving!
Even if I see adults wearing helmets, most of the time they ignore the need to provide the same protective gear to children riding on the same bike.
The government needs to do something about this. I shared the same idea with Dr Tairjing that law enforcement alone is not a solution.
However, there is a solution.
On Jan 7, the Don't Drive Drunk Foundation will hold a seminar on the protection of children's rights in the context of helmet use at the Office of The National Human Rights Commission. The foundation wants to make the use of helmets a child rights issue.
"If we start educating children to wear helmets, we can protect their life and embed safety awareness among young people. That will help reduce road accidents," Dr Tairjing told me recently.
The foundation is launching a charity run to draw donations to provide small helmets for kids.
I totally support the foundation. If we wait until Thais become law-abiding, we will only count more dead bodies.