Thailand
The Kingdom of Thailand consists of 76 provinces with a total area of 514,000 square kilometres. The country is governed by a constitutional monarchy. The Prime Minister heads the government and is designated by members of the House of Representatives. The Royal Family is greatly revered by the population and the King plays a significant role in the development of the country.
Thailand has a well developed infrastructure, a free-enterprise economy, and welcomes foreign investment. Thailand has fully recovered from the 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis and was one of East Asia's best performers in 2002-04. Increased consumption and investment spending and strong export growth pushed GDP growth up to 6.9% in 2003 and 6.1% in 2004 despite a sluggish global economy. Growth slowed to 4.4% in 2005. In 2006, investment stagnated as investors, spooked by the THAKSIN administration's political problems, stayed on the sidelines. A new economic team was appointed and led by the former central bank governor after the military coup in September. In December, the Thai Board of Investment reported the value of investment applications from January to November had declined by 27% year-on-year. On the positive side, exports have performed at record levels, rising nearly 17% in 2006. Export-oriented manufacturing - in particular automobile production - and farm output are driving these gains.
In 2004 some 10 % of the population lived on less than a dollar per day and there is a considerable variation in living conditions for the current population of over 65 million people. About half the labour force is employed in the agricultural sector but Thailand is experiencing rapid urbanisation. The population of the capital, Bangkok, is now estimated to exceed 9 million.
Facts
Road Network
Most parts of Thailand are accessible by road, with a total road network of more than 218,000 kilometres. Of this, some 60,000 kilometres are national roads of a reasonable standard. The majority of rural roads are 4.5 metres wide and of a low standard.
Vehicle Fleet
The vehicle fleet is estimated at about 25 million vehicles, and is growing rapidly (5-10% per annum). In many parts of the country, the traffic mixture contains a high proportion of motorcycles and improvements in road infrastructure and vehicle design have led to increasing speeds especially on the highway network.
The Thai government is highly concerned about its road crash problem which costs the country nearly 2,1 % of GDP. The Thai government has put road safety up in the national agenda by setting up a Committee of Road Safety Operations (war-room) in 2003.
The Thai government has also shown a keen interest in the GRSP partnership approach to road safety and has welcomed the support and encouragement provided by GRSP and its partners in Thailand. The Road Safety Bureau at the Office of Transport Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) hosts the TGRSP secretariat.
Sources:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/th.html
Ministry of Transport (MOT), OTP; Thailand Road Safety Action Plan 2004-2008. June 2004
Professor Jordpol, ADB in country advisor; The status of road safety in Thailand, ADB-ASEAN Regional Road Safety Program, Country report CR09, March 2004
Road Safety Situation
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 more 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: New Year (6 days) December/January and Songkran (9 days) in April.
In 2005 the road fatality rate were 20.6/105 population and 5.09/104 vehicles.
According to Thailand’s crash records, the main features of the country’s road crash and injury problem 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 injured: 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
While the actual statistics should be treated with some caution due to possible under-reporting, analyses indicate the primary causes of road crashes: excessive speed involving mixed traffic (also vulnerable road users), drinking and driving, dangerous overtaking and the poor use of helmets.
In 2007, the Road Safety on 4 Continents conference will be held in Bangkok.
Click on the above image to obtain information on the "Raging roads of Bangkok".
Road Safety Coordination
In the 1990’s, the Thai government recognised the need to adopt a systematic, multisectoral approach to tackling the road crash problem and it developed its first National Road Safety Master Plan with assistance from consultants hired under the Fourth Highway Sector Project financed by the World Bank.
The ‘Thailand Road Safety Action Plan 2004-2008’ agreed by cabinet currently guides road safety interventions in the country. It was produced by OTP as part of the ADB/ASEAN Regional Road Safety Project and follows Action Plan Guidelines published by UN, ADB and the World Bank. The aim of the plan is to halve the anticipated increase in road deaths from 10% to 5% per year over 5 years. The plan encompasses 5 strategies (law enforcement, traffic engineering, education/publicity, emergency medicine and rescue, and monitoring and evaluation). Each strategy contains a number of programmes and projects.
Road safety activities are coordinated by the Committee of Road Safety Operations known locally as the war-room chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister (established in 2003). Other members of the committee include: Deputy Minister of Transport, Deputy Minister of Public Health, Deputy Minister of Education and Deputy Minister of Interior. The Committee is responsible for defining policy and directing and evaluating interventions and allocating budgets for road safety initiatives in Thailand.
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 to work.
GRSP in Thailand
Organisation
In 2000, GRSP worked with the Thai Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC now the MOT) and a number of national partners to establish the Thailand Road Safety Partnership, currently known as Thailand GRSP (TGRSP). TGRSP was set up to coordinate the development of a partnership road safety programme aimed at supporting the Thai national plan.
TGRSP began as an informal association of members, who shared the same goal of reducing the number and toll of road crashes through a partnership approach. In 2003, because of growing numbers of members and projects, TGRSP sought to established itself as a more sustainable organisation in the form of a Foundation under Thai law. Registration was completed in 2004. Currently, TGRSP has a steering committee led by a Chairman, who is the former Inspector General of the MOTC. The committee meets every month. Much of the coordination effort is supplied by a coordinator (now retired from Shell Thailand) with additional support from the Road Accident Victims Protection Co. Ltd. providing extra staff and funding for publicity events and dissemination activities. Apart from hosting the TGRSP secretariat, the Office of Transport Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) has also made substantial staff contributions for specific initiatives.
The technical projects are mainly lead by one organisation/company with support from other members. All projects are funded from within the participating organisations. TGRSP is also running a number of advocacy activities; newsletters, website, press interviews, workshops, conferences and organising road safety declarations (see more under dissemination activities).
TGRSP was invited both to the ASEAN workshop in Kuala Lumpur (May 2004) and to a road safety stakeholder meeting in Jakarta (Jan 2005) to share their experiences of partnership building in the Asian region.
The main partners of TGRSP include:
Government: Ministry of Transport (MOT), Office of Transport Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP), Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), Department of Highways (DOH), Department of Land Transport, Royal Thai Police, Ministry of Education (MOE), National Road Safety Committee (NRSC), Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DPM), Department of Insurance (DOI), Road Accident Victims Protection Co. Ltd (RAVP), Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA).
Private sector: 3M, A.P. Honda, BP, DaimlerChrysler, General Motors/Chevrolet, Michelin, JOR SOR 100 (radio), Road Accident Victims Protection Co. Ltd. Shell Yontrakit Intersales Co. Ltd., Volvo/Ford.
NGOs/Academia: Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), International Federation of the Red Cross and red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Medical Institute of Accident and Disaster (MIAD), Thailand Red Cross Society, Thailand Automotive Institute, Thai Motorcycle Enterprise Association (TMEA). World Health Organisation (WHO).
Development agencies: Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), World Bank.
Click here to contact the GRSP local coordinator at this location
Projects
Road Systems Management
Thailand Accident Research Center (TARC)
The Thailand Accident Research Centre (TARC) was established in 2001 with significant support from GRSP partner Volvo Car in Sweden to provide a national centre for collecting scientific information about the road crash problem in Thailand. The project was launched with a high profile media event at the TARC Center located at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), and opened by King Carl XIV Gustav of Sweden. Experts from Volvo Car Safety Centre in Sweden have trained a Thai accident investigation team who are carrying out in-depth studies of crashes by collecting data from the crash sites and on helmet and seat belt use.
The three sources of information they analyse are: the crash scene itself, damaged vehicles, and human injuries. Their work includes photographing all physical evidence and assessing major evidence (e.g. skid marks); in addition to sketching the crash scene and taking notes from drivers statements. The team consist of members from the Department of Highways, OTP, Police and AIT. After collecting the data they are entered into a crash data base for further analysis. A website has been developed too: www.tarc.or.th.
A TARC case study was presented at the Road Safety on 4 Continents conference in Warsaw in October 2005 showing that though human error is the most contributing factor in any road crash, it can not be taken for granted in developing countries where road and vehicles are still not the same standard as in developed countries. To download paper presented at the Road Safety on 4 Continents conference in Warsaw , Poland October 2005 please click here. Another paper on TARC: In-depth Study on Road Accidents: Thailand Perspective was presented in Bangladesh in August 2006 at the International Conference on Road Safety in Developing Countries, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 22-24 August, 2006. To view please click here.
Part of the curriculum for TARC is to do base line studies of seat belt wearing rates and helmet wearing rates. In 2005 more than 25.000 observations were made around greater Bangkok, concluding that 88% of riders wear helmets, only 19% of the passengers and as low as 9% of the children.
In 2006, TARC began focusing its efforts on on-site investigation, crash analysis, research publications and organising training seminars on data collection and analysis to increase local skills and knowledge. TARC began undertaking on-site investigations in the North-Eastern part of the country in 2006 in Khon Kaen and in Surat Thani in the south in 2007. Following detailed investigations at the crash scene, interviews with drivers and passengers and an inspection of all vehicles involved, possible contributory factors are determined and reported on.
TARC organised a capacity building workshop for Thai road safety professionals on the issue of crash investigation in 2006. Workshop participants included road engineers, medical and rescue professionals, health sector representatives and the traffic police. TARC investigators gave a class room lecture and demonstrated a mock crash-scene investigation.
In January 2007, TARC received the 2006 IRTE and Prince Michael International Road Safety Award. The award acknowledges the outstanding academic leadership of late Professor Yordphol Tanaboriboon in developing the basis for crash investigation and pushing road safety up the political agenda in Thailand. The panel of international judges has recommended the award be presented to the Asian Institute of Technology in his memory.
Project leader: Department of Highways
Project partners: Department of Highways (DoH), Ministry of Transport (MoT), Shell, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Volvo Car Corporation Thailand, Volvo Cars Sweden, Police, Thai Health Promotion Foundation, Insurance Department
Safer Roads Users
Motorcycle Instructor and Rider Training (ongoing)
TGRSP and Honda run training courses for dealers, and other instructors and conduct defensive rider training courses for individuals.
There are two levels of instructor courses: – a 5 day ‘sub-instructor’ course and a 3 day follow-up course. There are 3 levels of training for users ranging from Introductory (2 hours), Basic (1 day) to ‘License’ which provides basic training for new riders and also requires a whole day at a Honda training centre in Bangkok. The centre has a large off-road area for rider training and is equipped with motorbikes, lecture rooms and state of the art motorcycle simulators. In early 2004 about 1 million licences in total were issued since Honda and TMEA started the training courses. The programme is scaled up through the dealer network in the provinces. It’s a joint project with input from TMEA members, provincial Land Transport Offices and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. In 2004, 44,892 motor cycle users were trained and licensed.
Turn on Head light - Wear and tighten Helmet Campaign (ongoing)
The motorcycle crash problem has been given priority by many of the TGRSP partners beginning in 2003. In particular TGRSP partners, the Road Accident Victims Protection Co. Ltd, Thai Motorcycle Enterprise Association (TMEA), and Honda have been promoting helmet wearing through campaigns, public events and by donating free helmets to new riders who attend training courses and to motorcycle taxi riders. More than 100,000 helmets and 800,000 light bulbs were donated since 2003 by the Road Accident Victims Protection Co. Ltd. In 2004-2005 the government together with the insurance industry decided to initiate a project heavily subsidising motorcycle helmets to increase the usage rate of helmets in Thailand. One third of the cost is paid by the government, one third by the insurance industry, and the individual is to pay the remaining third (to support idea of ownership and value).
Other programmes within the scope of this project include a helmet rental initiative for students, producing safety flags for crossings and alcohol preventive measures in collaboration with the police and REACT an NGO against drink driving. Together with partners Thai Beverage co, ltd. and the Royal Police Enforcement Office initiated a campaign in 2006 to reduce the number of casualties and injuries involving motorcycle riders. The campaign is led by the Road Accident Victims Protection Co. Ltd. (RVP) and linked with the TGRSP helmet campaign. More than 10,000 motorcycle helmets have already been distributed in Bangkok and selected provinces in collaboration with the police enforcement office. The helmets comply with national helmet standards. The campaign consists of media spots on TV and radio encouraging riders not to drink and drive and to properly wear a helmet when riding their motorcycles.
Don't Drive Drunk Publicity and Enforcement Campaign (ongoing)
One of the most critical road safety risk factors in Thailand is drinking and driving/riding. It is believed that some 50 to 60 % of traffic victims are affected by alcohol. Studies indicate that alcohol can be traced in the blood in about half of all fatality injured persons. TGRSP supports the Don’t Drive Drunk Foundation extensively, who is playing a leading role in national efforts in Thailand against alcohol impaired driving by organising combined enforcement and publicity campaigns, lobbying for responsible driving, sensitising and activating students and communities, and discussing with the police how to introduce more effective enforcement, for example by introducing breathalyzers, improving detection strategies and raising penalties.
The Don't Drive Drunk (DDD) Foundation focuses much of its energy on the period just before and during Thailand’s major holidays, New Year and Songkran, when the problems of alcohol and road users are at their worst. For the past two years, these periods have also been referred to as "seven dangerous days" because numerous Thai people are killed in road crashes during these holidays. Prior to the New Year celebrations 2005/2006, the DDD Foundation launched a major campaign called "Arrive Alive". GRSP member Road Accident Victims Protection Co. Ltd, RVP corporated with DDD Foundation with the organization and by making wristbands. Together they did interviews and live TV national broad cast on the danger on the roads especially during the holidays and the importance of partnership. The Prime Minister gave patronage to the campaign. The aim of the campaign was to raise awareness about the dangers of alcohol impaired driving. Five hundred victims of crashes involving alcohol joined the police at 100 check points that were set up during the seven dangerous days to speak with those stopped about the dangers of drinking and driving. Some of the victims were in wheel chairs. They provided drivers with the campaign brochures, stickers and posters as well as water as refreshment.
The same campaign was repeated at the 100 check points before the Songkran festival in April 2006. For this years Songkran the DDD Foundation also organized a "wheel chair marathon" for road crash victims from Bangkok to Chiang Mai through 10 provinces (700 km) together with the Thai Health Promotion Foundation. The Marathon happened the previous 2 weeks before Songkran with a media and public event in each of the 10 provinces en-route. 9 road crash victims (using their wheel chairs) made it all the way. The wheel chairs racers were protected by the Bangkok traffic police. For this event they also raised funding for 209 breathalyzers which was used by the Thailand Highway Police at 209 different check points during and after Songkran. The funding was raised primarily from the Insurance industry and Michelin. In total the Police stopped 988,812 vehicles and charged 38,819 drivers during Songkran, mostly for riding a motorcycle without a helmet. The fatality and injury figures for Songkran were lower in 2006 compared to the previous years. 476 died during the holiday of which 30-40% were alcohol related. Similar events took place during Songkran in 2007 with wheel chair race, vicitims joining check points around the country and big publicity events at the main train and bus station in Bangkok. The deathtoll for Songkran 2007 was the lowest in at least 5 years.
For more information about the DDD Foundation, please visit their website (Thai):www.ddd.or.th
Examples of the DDD initiatives featured in the media:
Safer Schools Zones (ongoing)
In the first pilot phase of this project, new pedestrian crossing signs were installed at five school sites in Srisaket Municipality with the support of the Mayor. In the second phase at Khoen Kaen municipality, a more comprehensive improvement of the zone around the trial schools was integrated with education programmes for the children and the community. The third phase initiated in mid 2004 prepared a major study on "safer routes to schools" in different towns in Thailand together with municipalities, local police and local departments of land transport.
In each town, two schools were chosen for the study, which aimed to compare behaviour changes. One school was given a broad range of improvements including new road markings, flashing warning lights at school crossings, education programmes for students, training for school patrols (police and students), road safety competitions for the students and special events and "walks/parades" to inform the public about road safety. The other school received only new road "school zone" street signs. The purpose of the study is to compare differences between infrastructure and education improvements versus only infrastructure improvements. Two cities (Nakronratchasima and Udontani) were completed in March 2005.
Monitoring and evaluation was being prepared by the University of Suraneree for both cities.
The evaluation was based on both the number of road crashes but also the understanding of road safety and learning to take the right precautions. The evaluation of the immediate effect was completed in July 2005, including the measurement of conditions around the school (speed, number of pedestrians using and not using the crosswalk in the vicinity of school, pedestrian walkway usage, and safe crossing gap). The analysis showed that safe behaviour is more common among children, who completed a road safety education course. The behaviour of parents, however, doesn’t seem to have changed. Double parking or dropping off or picking up their children at unsafe locations remain common. The mayor of Nakronratchasima wants to replicate to 12 other schools.
The project is being expand in 2007.
Helmets for the King (ongoing)
In 2007, Thais celebrate the 80th birthday of His Majesty, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. For this auspicious occasion, Thailand GRSP’s board approved the project “Helmets for the King”. Eighty participating organisation from both the private and government sectors each donated 1,000 helmets to the initiative. These were painted yellow and affixed with King’s 80th birthday anniversary badge. The 80,000 helmets were sold to the public for 80 baht (less than USD 2.50) on condition that those purchasing the helmets sign a pledge to always wear the helmet while riding a motorcycle. Proceeds will be presented by the King to one of his foundations. The official project launch took place in May 2007. There will be events in every province throughout 2007.
Helmet wearing workshop
In September 2006, TGRSP participated in the Thai helmet workshop facilitated as part of GRSP’s GRSI initiative (GRSI Helmet workshops) to support the development and implementation of a national ‘helmet’ action plan.
Project leader: Honda / Thai Motorcycle Enterprise Association (TMEA)
Project partners: Land Transport Department, Shell, Royal Thai Police
Project leader: Road Accident Victims Protection Co. Ltd
Project partners: Thai Motorcycle Enterprises Association, AP Honda, MoT
Project leader: Don't Drive Drunk Foundation, (established in 2002)
Project partners: Thai Police, MoT, MopH, municipalities, Thai Health Foundation.
Project leader: 3M
Project partners: Ministry of Education (MoE), Khoen Kaen Hospital, Thai Health Foundation, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Srisaket Municipality. Khoen Kaen Municipality, Department of Land Transport, Police and University of Suraneree.
Safer Vehicles
Child seat campaign (ongoing)
A publicity and information campaign through public events, dealer involvement and servicing outlets to encourage the better protection of child occupants through the use of child seats. General Motors has a mobile unit they use for their events (schools, university, hospitals, press conferences, road shows). They try specifically to target new families, sometimes through the children.
Project leader: General Motors Thailand
Project partners: DaimlerChrysler, Medical Institute of Accident and Disaster (MIAD), NSCT, MoT, Police, Dep of Insurance, Thai Industry Standards Institute, Ramathibodi Hospital
Dissemination
Website and publications
A TGRSP website has been developed (2005): www.thailandgrsp.or.th, and newsletters and brochures are regularly produced. A mobile conference stand was produced for World Health Day in April 2004 and has been used since at several other occasions. Press packets have been developed both for World Health Day (2004) and the Thailand GRSP Conference (2005), creating high media attention with newspaper articles and news brief on the television. A group of Danish journalist and media students focused on road safety with the help from TGRSP for their final assignment. The interactive website can be accessed through the GRSP link above or through the following link: www.bangkoksvildeveje.dk/
Thailand GRSP Conference, 26 March, 2005
The 2005 Thailand GRSP Conference was held at the Bangkok International Motor Show March 26, 2005 sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank and TGRSP. The conference was opened by the TGRSP chairman Dr. Prapansak, who officially launched a TGRSP video and website (www.thailandgrsp.or.th). After the key note speakers a road safety declaration was signed by keynote speakers and the conference participants declaring "to undertake concerted efforts to achieve safer roads, safer vehicles, safer drivers, and safer systems in Thailand to save lives through partnership approach" and to "foster safety initiatives for safer roads, to patronise safer vehicles manufacturers, to cherish safer driver development, to save lives via safe drivers, to pave the road to survival, to drive and stay alive".
After a press briefing, a panel discussion followed with leaders from the governmental road safety bureau, medical and insurance sector as well as the private sector. The chairman of the Bangkok Motor Show expressed his concern of the safety on the roads and wishes to work with TGRSP on including strong safety messages at the next motor show. More than 100 people participated in this first TGRSP Conference. The second day of the conference took place at the Bridgestone Proving Ground, demonstrating reaction time (personal and mechanical) and breaking distance.
Workshop on Data Collection, January 2005
TGRSP organised a half-day seminar on road crash data collection, types of data, data bases and data analysis. The workshop was held at OTP and was well attended from the transport, health and insurance sector. The workshop was conducted by the GRSP advisor.
ASEAN Road Safety Planning Workshop 7-9 January 2004
The workshop brought together representatives from relevant Thai government departments, TGRSP, and non government agencies including the Thai Red Cross to develop a national road safety action plan. The multi-sectoral plan was developed through sectoral working groups and facilitated by ADB consultants and the GRSP advisor. The action plan was built on national road safety action plan and was produced as one of a series of national plans being developed by all ASEAN countries. The action plan was approved by the Thai government in October 2004. The 10 national road actions plans from each of the ASEAN countries were aggregated into a regional program in September 2004.
Road Safety Exhibition at various events
Thailand GRSP had an exhibition in the road safety goods week, at BITEC in Bangkok, 14-17 June, 2005 and 20-22 June, 2006 at the high profile Road safety National Seminar in Muang Thong Thani.
Project leader: TGRSP
Project leader: Thailand GRSP
Project leader: TGRSP
Project leader: ADB, OTP, and GRSP
Project leader: TGRSP