Cameron1 wrote:Yeah I completely agree with you. Things here in Thailand aren’t same as in other parts of world. I was in US and worked with a Los Angeles DUI attorney and there your whole life changes if you are caught driving drunk and rules are much stricter.
As they are in many other countries but we are in Thailand and It and it's surrounding countries are not going to significantly change whatever is published or promised.
So get used to it and learn to live with it. Part of the many hazards of coming to this part of the globe.
Take it or leave it
RICHARD OF LOXLEY
It’s none of my business what people say and think of me. I am what I am and do what I do. I expect nothing and accept everything. It makes life so much easier.
There are two reasons why Thailand's roads kill so many people, a high level of motorbike use and high alcohol consumption. Some other countries that have many motorbikes are predominantly Muslim so don't have so high a death toll and others have higher alcohol consumption but very low motorbike usage, Thailand has a deadly combination of the two.
The best hope for the future is higher prosperity as that will reduce motorbike usage, no one uses a motorbike in the tropics if they can use an airconditioned car,( apart from a few crazy people!) Wealthier people tend to be healthier and less likely to drink to excess as well, they aren't so desperate to escape their lives.
^^ I was with you 100% until the last sentence...are you sure. I believe that there is a mid ground between poverty and wealth where what you say may be true, however the two extremes can be equally desperate to escape their lives, especially if weath comes with notoriety or stardom.
"'The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why." - Mark Twain
Bristolian wrote:^^ I was with you 100% until the last sentence...are you sure. I believe that there is a mid ground between poverty and wealth where what you say may be true, however the two extremes can be equally desperate to escape their lives, especially if weath comes with notoriety or stardom.
Yes I'm sure that could be the case, I meant wealth in the context of enough rather than an excess.
STEVE G wrote:There are two reasons why Thailand's roads kill so many people, a high level of motorbike use and high alcohol consumption. Some other countries that have many motorbikes are predominantly Muslim so don't have so high a death toll and others have higher alcohol consumption but very low motorbike usage, Thailand has a deadly combination of the two.
The best hope for the future is higher prosperity as that will reduce motorbike usage, no one uses a motorbike in the tropics if they can use an airconditioned car,( apart from a few crazy people!) Wealthier people tend to be healthier and less likely to drink to excess as well, they aren't so desperate to escape their lives.
Funny you should mention the change from motorbikes to cars I was just thinking today if each motorbike was to be exchanged for a car the roads would be very safe because they would not be going anywhere fast. The traffic congestion will be horrendous.
Death rides a Moto.
The world's most pressing public health crisis isn't Aids or Ebola or Malaria-it's a soaring number of motorcycle fatalities. And it's costing developing countries billions: http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/02/dea ... torcycles/
Steve G, with all respect, you are talking nonsense!
Motorcycles are a very practical means of transport in any country.
They don't use much fuel (500cc Kawasaki twins excepted, for those who remember them), they are small and easily parked, cheap to manufacture and purchase, and can the modern scooters have good storage for shopping. They can also get to many places where cars cannot.
Try to remember that not everyone lives in a modern city with good public transport systems.
They are also fun to ride. Remember when motoring was pleasurable before it was taxed and over-regulated?
The accident figures are not a proper reflection of the "danger" of motorcycles because they do not take into account the cause of the accident.
In the UK the majority of accidents involving a motorcycle and car are caused by the car driver not looking when turning or pulling out in front of the bike.
I accept that in Thailand many are ridden badly, but then so are the cars driven equally badly, and with more serious consequences for other road users.
Accident rates will be reduced when drivers are better trained, and the penalties for causing an accident are drastically increased.
It would also help if the car driving age was raised to about 21, and encourage everybody to ride a motorcycle before having a car.
They would learn about road conditions affecting grip, anticipation of traffic problems and potential hazards, and also respect for other road users.
The problem is the weather is Western Europe is not conducive to motorcycling for about 5 months of the year, being cold and wet is not nice!
Here, no problem. We can ride 12 months of the year.
Perhaps you should try it sometime, you might change your mind.
Some of the points you make are good but you are forgetting s number of points:
1) You assume that people will use common sense
2) You assume the Buddhist mind will not assume the bike is under control of Buddhas will
3) You assume road use and rules will be enforced
4) You assume..............................etc
RICHARD OF LOXLEY
It’s none of my business what people say and think of me. I am what I am and do what I do. I expect nothing and accept everything. It makes life so much easier.
I've heard this all my life and found it to be true in my own and the experience of friends and acquaintances.
"There are only two kinds of motorcycle riders; those who have been on the ground and those who will be."
My brain is like an Internet browser; 12 tabs are open and 5 of them are not responding, there's a GIF playing in an endless loop,... and where is that annoying music coming from?
26,000 fatalities on Thai roads
70 - 80% involve m/cycles
43% of motorcyclists wear helmets
7% of children wear helmets
age to ride a m/cycle is 15 up to 110cc for bigger bikes it's 18
18 minimum to drive a car
more than half motorcyclists do not have a licence
Worst driving and most fatalities in the world always rank Thailand in the top five year by year.
All the traffic laws exist and are comparable to western laws ..... BUT ARE NOT ENFORCED!
The exact problem is no enforcement, an MIB could write tickets all day long everyday for a month, generate a boat load of revenue for the Gov't... Maybe get the attention of those caught, word of mouth and maybe the craziness would slowdown on the roads.... It would definitely have a positive impact over time...
Yeah I completely agree with you. Most Thais never care for their safety. Even back here in states you see so many DUI cases and then you feel why people don’t simply care. My cousin who works with a Los Angeles DUI attorney often tells me how harsh DUI can be and still people don’t care.
