On 20th June 2007, Sornram Theppitak, a famous Thai actor killed a garbage collector in a car crash in Bangkok. He was driving a black BMW 525i and crashed into Pitploen Takoanma, a 59 year old woman near a telephone booth in Lad Prao district at 11 pm. The actor who had not consumed any alcohol that night had some minor facial injuries and a witness said the actor claimed he had dozed off at the wheel.
Traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of death in Thailand. In 2002 every tenth citizen of Thailand was injured in traffic. According to an ADB-ASEAN report released in March 2004, the average economic cost of death caused by one traffic accident is about 2.85 million Baht. In addition, there is also the inestimable psychological damage caused. The Thai government is highly concerned about its road crash problem which costs the country nearly 2.1 % of GDP. The Thailand Road Safety Master Plan identified the need for establishing an accident research center as a priority in its long-term action plan. The idea became a reality with the establishment of Thailand Accident Research Center (TARC) in 2003. This is the national center for collecting scientific information about the road crash. It conducts accident investigation and reconstruction, road safety audit, research studies both on primary and secondary accident data. The ‘Thailand Road Safety Action Plan 2004-2008’ agreed by cabinet currently guides road safety interventions in Thailand.
According to official statistics (police), 12,858 people were killed in road crashes in 2005. However the real number might even be higher. According to documentation from the health sector, the real death toll could be 20,000 or higher if victims who die after being removed from the crash scene are included.
The primary causes of road crashes are the dangerous mix of motorcyclists and larger vehicles, alcohol impaired driving, and excessive speed. Many road deaths happen during the two national holidays periods: New Year (6 days) December/January and Songkran (9 days) in April. It is estimated that 3 people died per hour during these 2 festivals.
In 2005 the road fatality rate were 20.6/105 population and 5.09/104 vehicles. The fatality rate has decreased by 23% over the last decade from 1995 to 2005 (16,727 to 12,858) and by 11% just the last two years from 2003 to 2005 (14,446 to 12,858) showing that the increased effort from all sectors has been proven effective.
According to Thailand’s crash records, the main features of Thailand’s road crash and injury problems are:
- The working adult age group (25-59 years) represents the majority of those dying in road crashes (over 50%) followed by young people aged 15-24 years who account for 29% of the total fatalities.
- Many deaths occur during 2 holiday periods, New Year and Songkran.
- 45% of deaths in 2004 occurred on the national highways, half of them involving motorcycles
- 44% of the total number of road crash injuries in Thailand occur in Bangkok compared with only 6% of the country’s fatalities
- In average less than 17% of all injured used seat belts and less than 15% used crash helmets. Numbers are higher in Bangkok where enforcement is stricter
- Of all injuries: 75% are male
- The Police identified excessive speed as the most common cause of crashes followed by unsafe passing and illegal overtaking
- In Khon Kaen Province (Northern Thailand), 81 % of total injured patients admitted to hospitals in 2002 were motorcycle injury victims. It is believed that this is likely to reflect the situation in other provinces too
- Hospital data indicates that over half of injured drivers and riders had been drinking alcohol
