I have lived in Thailand for about a year, having visited dozens of times since my first trip here in 1987.
Thailand is a vibrant country, full of great hard-working people, but what shocks me greatly is the inability of the current or past governments to tackle the horrific road toll. Thailand has had the second highest road fatalities per capita for the past few years -- 26,000 last year.
Why doesn't the government have the strength to tackle this issue? The carnage and community cost are horrific.
The recent Songkran period saw 504 dead, 28,000 injuries, and 200 with permanent injuries, approximately 80% on a motorbike, 30% without helmets, 40% alcohol-related and 24% related to speeding. The community cost was about 1.4 billion baht.
The annual road death toll is about 26,000 which would equate to an annual community cost of about 50 billion baht.
Why is there no action to implement change, to reverse this costly carnage?
My ideas include making it mandatory for all motorbike drivers to wear helmets, considering this toll makes up 80% of road deaths. Fines for not wearing helmets should increase to 1,000 baht for a first offence, increasing 500 baht for each subsequent offence. Also, mandatory crackdowns on unlicensed riding, including school children.
Rear seat belts in cars to be mandatory by June 1, 2017 with fines to suit. All passenger-carrying vehicles to have maximum speed limits implemented, with the driver and company held responsible for non-compliance and injury or death of any passenger. Annual road testing of passenger-carrying vehicles including buses.
What is required is a major government crackdown to reverse this road carnage. But implementation requires a speedy approach, not one that can be put in the "too difficult" basket.
If PM Prayut wants to win friends domestically and abroad, this would be a positive step forward. Other countries can implement changes to drastically reduce the road carnage, so why can't Thailand?
Owen Maroney
'Me first' attitude
Khun Wasant's April 22 article on the root causes of Thailand's motor accidents is right on.
I wanted to add the observation that the "me first and me only" attitude begins very early when children are taught, or allowed, to leave their sandals, or shoes, directly in front of doors.
Murphy
Lost opportunity
Re: "Thailand lags as Myanmar gains ground", Opinion, April 22.
I must agree with Mr Thitinan that very soon Thailand will lose the political and economic edge it has attained in the last 50 years.
On-and-off military coups have not led to the political reforms needed to bring Thailand a viable democratic society.
As in Myanmar, the Thai military sees itself as being above the law, and hence the kinds of compromise and accommodations we have seen in Myanmar will not come easily.
History has shown that Thailand's political crisis and polarisation will not easily bottom out because all sides believe that others are corrupt, not they.
The behaviour of the current regime shows a similar attitude.
It took Myanmar's military regime almost five decades to come to terms with global economic realities, but the Thai military has failed miserably to learn the lesson that coups alone cannot curb corruption, steer the economy or create a better framework for cultivating democracy.
I bet the military will step aside when Thai economy tumbles. It is the only way Thailand can get out of the current situation. Part of the problem in Thailand is that the military always intervenes with good intentions and leaves when the economy turns bad.
The record also shows that when it fails, it kicks the can down the road and says, "Hey, it's the next government's problem."
Military coups have become a Thai way of filling the potholes of democracy.
Kuldeep Nagi
A military solution
Re: "Stray dogs set to reach one million", April 23.
If it wants to tackle this outrageous situation, why doesn't the junta use their unlimited powers to see to it that virtually every dog is spayed and neutered, crack down on the breeders and pet stores and severely punish people who abandon their dogs on the street.
This would be one time when the junta could put their tremendous power to good use.
Eric Bahrt
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