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

  • Road safety insights from iRAP
    August 5, 2024
    Road safety insights are now available from iRAP.
  • Lower traffic emissions in London
    May 20, 2019
    London’s ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) system is already proving successful. In the first month since the scheme was introduced, the number of non-compliant vehicles entering the charging zone has been reduced by 9,400/day, a drop of 26%. According to the latest research, 74% of vehicles entering the ULEZ have been in compliance with the emission requirements.
  • TISPOL Conference: autonomous vehicles high on safety agenda
    February 2, 2017
    Safety and autonomous vehicles exercised the minds of some of Europe’s senior police officers at the recent TISPOL European Traffic Police Network Conference in the UK. The European Union looks like missing its target of halving the number of people killed on its roads each year by 2020. Just when European police forces are trying to get back on target, along comes the autonomous vehicle with all its inherent safety issues.
  • India tops road fatality figures
    September 16, 2013
    A new report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) places India as having the highest annual road fatalities of any country in the world. The study is based on data collected from 11 May-13 December 2011, with 130,037 having been killed on India’s roads during this period. China had the next highest number of road deaths at 70,134, followed by Brazil at 36,499, the US with 32,885 and Russia with 26,567. Next in the list were were Iran, Mexico, South Africa, and Thailand, with 23,249, 17,301, 14,804, and 13