Editor;
54 people have died of covid-19 in Thailand, at this time of writing. Mostly elderly non-productive and already with deadly diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart problem, cancer, etcetera. That has quickly made almost 100 percent of Thai people wear a face mask as protection.
22000 on average die in road accidents every year in Thailand. Mostly young and middle-aged productive people. But only maybe half of the motorbike riders wear a helmet, and helmets are not mandatory for children. Motorbikes count for 80 percent of deadly road accidents.
You often see motorbike riders wearing a mask but not a helmet which is ridiculous. If motorbike riders accepted the law and wearing a helmet as the norm, just like the mask, over 10000 lives could be saved in traffic in Thailand ever year.
But actually the coronavirus has a positive effect on traffic safety in Thailand. Thanks to draconian laws like the nightly curfew, ban on alcohol, ban on travelling, and geographical lockdowns, people either stay and work at home, or they have no work to drive to.
Normally circa 60 people die every day in Thai traffic. According to ThaiRSC (Road Accidents Data Center) about 20 people died on the roads during corona restrictions. That means around 40 Thai lives were saved every day!
This result can be achieved without draconian laws. Once again, if Thai motorbike drivers accept wearing approved and fastened helmets as norm, just like they do with the mask, then death fatalities could be cut in half.
Every Thai life is worth 10 million baht for society. That means that 100 billion baht would be saved for Thailand every year.
Am I just a stupid farang trying to tell Thai people what to do? Well I’m from Sweden where only 223 people died in traffic last year, although snow and ice on the roads during winter. Compare that to Thailand’s 22000, 100 times more road deaths!
Pete the Swede
Pattaya
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