Thailand’s drive to boost road safety

Thailand is working on plans to improve its road safety.
By MJ Woof October 11, 2021 Read time: 1 min
Thailand’s chaotic roads are highly dangerous and particularly so for powered two wheeler riders - image © courtesy of Mike Woof
Thailand is looking to address its shockingly high road crash rate, amongst the worst in the world. A new approach is to be utilised by the Road Safety Operation Centre (RSOC). This system follows an approach set out by the Stockholm Declaration and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The aim of the new system is to reduce the number and severity of road crashes in Thailand.

In 2018 Thailand’s road fatality rate was 32.7 deaths/100,000 of population. By comparison Sweden, which has amongst the world’s safest roads, had around 2.6 road deaths/100,000 of population in the same year. With the introduction of the RSOC system the strategy is to bring down the country’s horrific road fatality rate to 12/100,000 of population by 2027.

Powered two wheeler riders figure highly in Thailand’s road casualty rate. Many powered two wheeler riders do not wear helmets. Rider and driver training standards are poor in Thailand while speeding as well as driving or riding while under the influence of drugs or alcohol are well recognised problems for road safety.

Traffic in Thailand’s major cities and towns can be chaotic and road rules are frequently flouted by road users.
Highway & Network Management

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