Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Annual Road Carnage in Thailand

The Annual carnage on the roads in Thailand got even worse over this new year period. Last year 347 people were killed in traffic accidents. This year the figure rose to 358. Injuries were slightly down, but the number of accidents were up.

Most of the accidents happened to the under 20 year old age bracket and drivers of pick up trucks and riders of motorbikes. Drunk driving is the scourge of Thailand, it is a national pastime and not taken seriously. The government is trying to address the problem, saying it will suspend the license of people caught drink driving. A good start, except most Thais I know don't have a license! Maybe the confiscation and sale of the vehicle would deter people better.

This debate rages every year, it will be an issue next year for sure. Until people take notice of the drink drive laws and the Police enforce these laws then people are going to die on the roads of Thailand.

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