The never-ending PARADE of daredevils on Thai roads

Thailand’s road-fatality rate has been measured at more than double the global average of 18 deaths on the streets per 100,000 people. The World Health Organisation, in its latest overview, covering statistics from 2012, sets the Thailand figure at 36.62 per 100,000 – placing it among the worst three countries in terms of road danger. 

Findings from other agencies note that motorcycles are involved in 75 per cent of fatal road accidents here, and some of those killed are child passengers on motorbikes who aren’t wearing helmets. The Thai Roads Foundation says only 43 per cent of motorcycle drivers wear helmets, only 20 per cent of their passengers, and only 8 per cent of the children they carry, age 15 and under.

The law, of course, requires all motorcycle users to wear helmets. It’s been in effect since 1996, and yet less than half the people are heeding it. Thus, two shameful facts become evident – that far too few bikers care about safety, and that the police are not enforcing the law adequately. 

The foundation also confirmed that the use of helmets declines precipitously once you look beyond the cities, where there is less chance of being stopped by the police and, admittedly, far less traffic. Seventy-four per cent of urban motorcyclists wear helmets, but as few as 28 per cent in the rural areas do so. Clearly 

 the mindset is one of obeying the law only where it is most routinely enforced, and yet country roads, ill lit at night, are rife with vehicle carnage. 

Compare these numbers with those of Vietnam, where most motorcyclists wear helmets even in the remote areas far from the law’s reach, obviously better appreciating the need for safety. 

Are Thai bikers so poorly informed about safety that the nation is doomed to failure when its much-vaunted “decade of road safety” ends in 2020? The ambitious but not impossible plan was to reduce road-related fatalities to 10 in 100,000. Halfway through the decade, we’re still a long way from that target.

The common advice from abroad it to make people aware of the traffic rules and make sure the police enforce them. Harsher punishment for law-breakers has significant local support, with Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha earning cheers by invoking Article 44 of the interim constitution in a bid to halt the noisy, perilous racing of bikes in the streets. 

It would be wonderful if we never had to rely on such draconian legislation. The alternative is getting everyone who’s involved in road safety working together toward a common goal. 

Civic campaigns to encourage the wearing of helmets and foster common sense on the roads are admirable, and more such initiatives are welcome. But we need to get everyone on board – lawmakers, police, schools, motorists and pedestrians too. 

And we all have to work on the problem non-stop, rather than simply reacting in alarm when horrendous accidents occur or when a fresh batch of shameful statistics is released.