Skip to main content

Thailand’s dangerous roads prove risky for users

Late December and early January has proven to be a dangerous time to use the roads in Thailand. Official data shows that there were 3,092 road crashes, causing 3,216 injuries and 340 deaths in the period between the 29th December 2015 and the 3rd January 2016. The death toll was the highest in Nakhon Ratchasima at 15, while the number of injuries and accidents were the highest in Chiang Mai, both at 125. A total of 339 crashes occurred nationwide on 3 January 2016 with 361 injuries and 48 deaths. Among the
January 4, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Late December and early January has proven to be a dangerous time to use the roads in Thailand. Official data shows that there were 3,092 road crashes, causing 3,216 injuries and 340 deaths in the period between the 29th December 2015 and the 3rd January 2016. The death toll was the highest in Nakhon Ratchasima at 15, while the number of injuries and accidents were the highest in Chiang Mai, both at 125. A total of 339 crashes occurred nationwide on 3 January 2016 with 361 injuries and 48 deaths. Among the main reasons for crashes include speeding at 16.2% and drunk-driving at 19.8%. Most of the accidents happened on major roads at 68.7% while motorcycles accounted for below 80% of the whole figure.

With a view to reducing the toll of deaths and injuries on its roads, the Thailand Government implemented its 'seven dangerous days' road safety campaign, which started on the 29th December 2015 and ended on the 4th January 2016. The campaign saw police and soldiers arrest people driving drunk and seize their vehicles.

The authorities in Thailand are introducing measures to lower the country’s crash rate. As one part of that initiative, a pilot road safety project was run during New Year on a short stretch of the country’s Highway No4, the Phetkasem Road. The trial was run jointly by the Highways Department and the Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT). If this pilot proves successful, the scheme may be extended to other major roads across the country.

A section of the Phetkasem Road was selected as this stretch is considered one of the most risky in the country. Thirty road crashes, resulting in three deaths and 38 injuries, were reported on this stretch of road last New Year alone.

Related Content

  • Thailand’s poor road safety is a concern
    November 11, 2019
    Thailand’s poor road safety is a serious concern, hitting the country’s economy hard and resulting in a casualty high toll for its people. In the period between January 2019 and October 2019, there were 13.692 fatalities on the road network in Thailand. There were also 757,010 people suffering injuries in this period. The data has been provided by Road Accident Victims Protection.
  • US road safety concern
    June 18, 2021
    There is concern over a worrying trend in US road safety
  • Europe’s road safety improved for 2019
    June 22, 2020
    New data shows that Europe’s road safety improved in 2019.
  • Sales gain for Italian manufacturers
    February 22, 2016
    An upswing is being seen in construction machine sales in Italy, according to the latest official figures. The data from the Samoter-Prometeia Observatory reveal increases in key markets. Gains have been seen in Europe (+7.7%), Central and Eastern Europe and Turkey (+3.7%), North America (+23.1%), Central and South America (+6.3%), Middle East (+26.3%), Asia (+28.7%), Australia (+23.5%) and Africa (+2.5%). However the figures also show another sharp fall in Russia (-62.8%).