The official Thai figure is 15,000 a year (for a population of 60 million), but the unofficial figure is 30,000. Apparently a significant proportion are from motorcycle accidents and though you cannot buy even a small step-through without a helmet, the helmets are just cheap plastic and only one person on the bike has to wear it. While I'm happy overtaking slow traffic either side on Thai dual carriageways, I'm not too sure about the practice of using the hard shoulder as a third overtaking lane. And road deaths do touch everyone. My Thai friend's former teacher was hit by a car in Bangkok a couple of weeks ago, lost an arm and a leg and an eye and is not expected to live much longer.
HJ
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Did any of you hear it this am on steam radio?.
World Health Authority have deemed 7th April, 2004 to be dedicated to road safety.
Do your best guys, best manners and practices on this day for 24 hours please.
DVD
PS. Just dawned that Growler chap must have some pull?
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dunno if its the same there, but in Brazil it only counts as a road death if you die at the scene. If you're so much as in the ambulance by the time you die, that doesn't feature in the stats.
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I have ridden motorcycles in Thailand and whilst I was wearing a proper helmet it was matched with jeans and a T shirt. Say it with me people:
SKIN GRAFT.
I was on a Harley 1200 sports and I took it really carefully and did not ride after dark but the number of young drunk foreigners I saw riding rented Fireblades in shorts and flip flops was incredible. Accident waiting to happpen.
HJ, hope your teacher friend has insurance or some money, if he's in the 20 baht hospitals then its definitely curtains.
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She's a 'she', but not my friend: a friend of a friend. No one holds up much hope. And yes, I know about Thai hospitals and of Thai friends being sick in Thailand. It's strange that even though we are 'farang' in their country, and they eat fantastically well, we seem to be less vulnerable to illness than them. It's down to who they believe is right and who they believe is wrong, and a Thai will believe a Thai rather than a farang.
HJ
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22,000 road deaths in Iran in 2002, apparently. I don't know how many people live there or what precentage of the roads are surfaced but it is pretty startling figure.
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Yeah, shorts and slops are common garb here too. Ever seen 3 helmetless cops on a motorbike? Or worse a whole family - Dad driving, Mum on the back, Junior in between them and 10 month old baby on the tank in front of Dad, main road, fast traffic, night-time, no lights.......in the residential subdivisions where the traffic laws don't apply, we've got 11 year olds riding scooters.
The problem is it's too darn hot to dress up in full kit.
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How about mainland China ? Accurate statistics are hard to come by but it's reckoned there were over 100,000 road deaths last year.
Matters can only get a lot worse as China is the world's fastest growing car market. Car sales in 2002 were 1.2 million (a 60% rise on the previous year) and sales in 2003 were expected to top 2 million.
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They have a tendency to drive in the hard shoulder in Poland as well, which makes driving for me when I go on holiday a nightmare. There are also no motorways or even dual carriagways where I go. It is odd that the poorer the country, the worse they drive.
Road deaths in Poland are very high as well. I wonder if anyone here has ever ventured into Poland on a motorcycle. Now that would be a wonderfull experience wouldn't it?
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S African road deaths ? Well I don't have stats but iirc it is not infrequent for a heavily overloaded lorry to crash killing up to 40 at a time..
Seat belts? Wot are they?
madf
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The TV news in Thailand doesn\'t hold back like the namby pamby news in the West (where it\'s okay to show blood and gore for commercial gain in movies, but not okay to show it in real life). One newscast broadcasted the result of a D-Max hitting a bus near Udon: rows of bodies on the road; blood everywhere. Another showed the aftermath of an attack where a man\'s manhood had been cut off and the camera even lingered on the deceased\'s little pet dog licking his bloodied hand. Different world.
HJ
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Just back from a 1600 km round trip to Kerala and back. I consider myself a safe driver but I faced
Truck going down the wrong lane of a dual carriageway - 5 near misses - They could not be bothered to take a U turn at the pertinant junction
Trucks overtaking on corners - 7 nera misses - if my left tyres are wearing out faster - I know why
People overtaking me on corners and cutting me up last moment - lost count - People seem to decalre wars on Honda Vtec's
What took the take - going down a toll highway - where bullock carts are not allowed. Find one moving ahead and wnadered into my path at 140km ---.........whew - am still recovering from that (I do not have ABS!)
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ajit,
There is a headstone on a grave in Germany with the inscription "He had the right of way"
Given your experience of 1600 km driving, do you not feel 140Km/Hr in a car without ABS is just a touch excessive?
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