Picture: Daily News
In a week in which it has been admitted that measures to mitigate the appalling death toll on the Thai roads have been an abject failure, Monday was a disastrous day.
Deaths at the scene of accidents were 72.
In reality when deaths on the way to and in hospitals are added to the totals the death toll is considerably more, notes Thaivisa.
Daily News continued their campaign to keep the issue in the news.
They reported on a horror smash in which a Chevrolet Optra plowed into the back of a pick-up containing workers.
Picture: Daily News
The pick-up, in the far right lane, was propelled onto its side spilling the workers into the path of a 10 wheel truck carrying 40 tons of metal mesh.
The heavily loaded truck was unable to brake in time and three people were instantly crushed to death.
The death toll on the first two days of the month is already 99.
In 2018 13,956 died at the scene of accidents. In 2019 it was 14,907. So far this year it is 11,905.
The likely death toll each year has been admitted to be in excess of 20,000 by deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan in 2018.
Some safety advocates put it between 24,000 and 26,000 deaths making the Thai roads some of the deadliest in the world.
This week came news at a Zoom conference that a ten year accident reduction plan had been a complete failure over the last decade with deaths per 100,000 now at 29 compared to 20 in 2011.
The decade long campaign had hoped to reduce the figure to 10 per 100,000 of the population.
(Source: – Daily News)