Cutting road deaths requires tougher law enforcement

A World Health Organisation report on accident prevention ranks Thailand third in terms of road casualties – with 38 deaths for every 100,000 people.

Thanks to a strong campaign by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, Thais have learnt a lot about tragedies caused by drunk driving. Yet drunk driving is not responsible for all road accidents. Many are caused by drivers who are reckless, speed above legal limits, or overtake other cars in prohibited areas. These drivers can be anyone, from regular car owners and those with public driving licences. 

Asst Prof Wichuda Sathiennam, of Khon Kaen University’s Faculty of Engineering, has pointed out that Thais are prone to believe that road accidents happen because of “bad luck”.

‘Bad luck’ pops up first in their minds, she says, despite the fact so many accidents are preventable. 

Drunk driving, speeding, falling asleep at the wheel, holes in roads, inexperienced drivers, slow decision-making, dimly-lit roads, flawed braking systems, running against the authorised traffic direction and unfamiliarity with roads –these are all factors that cause accidents, which could have been prevented. 

Indeed, violation of traffic laws often leads to road accidents and casualties. 

So, what should the authorities do? Legislators should put in place stricter laws that will help prevent or at least reduce road accidents. 

Officials, meanwhile, should help with stronger law enforcement.

Japan’s tough laws, which punish even passengers taking a ride with drunk drivers, and serious enforcement, have been credited for the low road accident rate in Japan.

In Thailand, Maharaj Nakhon Chiang Mai Hospital has disclosed that since traffic police started to take serious action against traffic-law offenders in the North, the number of road-accident victims coming to the hospital has dropped significantly. 

So, sadly, authorities in general have not been enforcing laws strictly enough. 

In fact, police have long campaigned for a point-scoring campaign, through which reckless drivers would see their personal scores reduced. If a driver’s score is down to a certain level, they could face suspension of their driving permit. But in reality, how many of them have been suspended?

Available statistics show the Land Transport Department suspended the driving licence of 75 taxi drivers and revoked the license of one taxi driver during the past year.

This is despite the fact traffic police have got more tools to monitor drivers’ behaviour on the street. Cameras installed at intersections and other spots have helped police capture speeding drivers and others who violate traffic laws. 

Photos from these cameras are printed out and sent to offenders’ homes along with tickets. Many drivers have received such tickets and paid fines, but are convinced there is no punishment such as a score cut. 

A driver who admitted making a U-turn in a prohibited area said he had already paid fines but found nothing happened to his lifetime driving licence. 

Why don’t authorities strictly enforce laws and measures against such offenders? 

It may sound nice to find a traffic policeman who will not issue you a ticket or record your wrongdoing when you switch lanes dangerously or exceed the speed limit. 

It may sound nice if you don’t have to worry if your driving score may see a point deducted and you won’t be able to drive for some time. 

But such leniency may lead to complacency and a habit of ignoring the need to strictly comply with traffic laws. These two features are really too bad to accept. 

When accidents happen with casualties, life won’t be nice anymore and drivers will realise they should have worried about what needed to be done in the first place. Doing things right now is better than regretting it later. 

As for the authorities, they also should realise that they need to enforce laws strictly for the sake of saving people’s lives and property.