Skip to main content

Thailand’s road safety plan makes novel step

A novel approach to improving road safety is being made in Thailand. The country is now making it compulsory for convicted drink drivers to visit hospital morgues. This move is being handled by the Thai Probation Department and forms part of a series of measures intended to improve road safety in Thailand. The aim of the programme is to scare drivers committing DUI offences into avoiding reoffending. The country has the second highest rate of road fatalities in the world, according to a report by the World
June 22, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
A novel approach to improving road safety is being made in Thailand. The country is now making it compulsory for convicted drink drivers to visit hospital morgues. This move is being handled by the Thai Probation Department and forms part of a series of measures intended to improve road safety in Thailand. The aim of the programme is to scare drivers committing DUI offences into avoiding reoffending. The country has the second highest rate of road fatalities in the world, according to a report by the World Health Organisation, with its risk of road death second only to Libya. Since the scheme was initiated over 1,700 drivers convicted of DUI offences have visited hospital morgues. The official data records 11,370 deaths in Thailand from road crashes in 2015, with drink driving being a major factor. However it is widely assumed that the actual death tolls is far higher, with many more people dying a period after crashes have occurred or with road deaths simply not being recorded.

Related Content

  • Golden route to success
    July 20, 2012
    Built in 1937 and still the ninth longest suspension bridge in the world, the Golden Gate Bridge across San Francisco Bay remains in fine shape despite its age - Andrew Bardin Williams writes The Golden Gate Bridge turned 75 years old on May 27 and continues to play a key role in the transportation, engineering, construction and ITS communities. The structure has played an important historical role, an engineering success that boosted the economy of the region. And it also led the way as the first major pub
  • Road safety plan proposed for Belgium
    August 27, 2014
    In Belgium a programme of safety measures is being proposed in a bid to tackle the country’s high road crash rate. Belgium’s annual fatality rate is significantly higher than that of its neighbours, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Research has revealed that the risk of being involved in a fatal crash in Belgium is near to double that of neighbouring Netherlands for example. Political parties agree that drivers should be checked periodically for alcohol or drug use as well as whether they wear seatbelts
  • Marginal US road safety improvement for 2018?
    July 19, 2018
    US roads have been slightly safer in 2018, according to new data from the National Safety Council (NSC). The research shows that motor-vehicle deaths have decreased in the first five months of 2018.There were 15,280 deaths in motor vehicle related incidents through January and May 2018. This represents a drop of 0.5% from the 15,330 deaths recorded through January and May 2017. However for the period through January and May 2016, the data shows that the rate of motor vehicle related deaths was 9% higher, h
  • Bad roads make people poorer
    July 17, 2019
    India is said to be the fastest developing countries today only after China. Although India is doing excellently well in fields like education, industrialization, infrastructure, health, agriculture and fashion, there are still certain areas where the country is lagging behind. India's road network is gigantic and said to be only after the United States of America. But one of the striking underlying facts is the condition of the roads, around 30 percent of the country’s population lacked access to all-weath