Choice facing Thailand: safe roads or driving for all 

The editorial completely missed the point that Thailand’s huge accident and death rate is caused by untrained, unskilled drivers without a clue of the rules and regulations for driving. It’s dodgems on a national scale. 
A citizenry that breaks the law because it is convenient and unlikely to result in penalties is never going to have safe roads. Law enforcement whose sole reason for existence is the collection of money is never going to want safe roads, so encourages the current state of affairs. 
To suggest that in “a fair and efficient society, anyone anywhere should be able to get a driving licence quickly and either free of charge or at minimal cost” is ignoring the whole purpose of a licence, which is to show you have skills to the proficient level. 
If Thai society thinks driving is essential for every citizen regardless of their age, their knowledge of rules and their ability to drive, then it will have to accept the carnage it has today. 
If it wants to have safe roads, only the proficient will be permitted to drive while others will have to find alternate means of transport. Yes, public-transport infrastructure for non-drivers is badly needed, but the savings on accidents, injuries and deaths would help fund it. The very idea that everyone has a right to get out on the road at any age, using unsafe vehicles and drive unfettered by rules, is why Thailand is in this position. 
The choice is there: safe roads or driving for all. Time to choose.
Lungstib