New Year Traffic Mayhem - please take care

[DavidFL]

Only day 3 & 161 dead....4 more days to go!

Road deaths, injuries higher in first three 'dangerous days' than a year ago

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Road-deaths-injuries-higher-in-first-three-dangero-30223246.html

Wattana Khamchu
The Nation December 30, 2013 4:27 pm
A total of 1,322 road accidents on the first three of the "seven dangerous days" of the New Year holiday period claimed 161 lives and caused 1,390 injuries, the Road Safety Centre reported Monday.

As these three days were the time that people travelled upcountry and traffic jams were common, Nakhon Ratchasima, as the gateway to the Northeast, saw the highest accumulated numbers of deaths at 15, injuries at 62 and accidents at 51.

Across the board the accumulated figures were slightly higher than in the same three-day period last year, when 1,321 accidents killed 147 people and injured 1,361 others.

Only two provinces - Chaiyaphum and Samut Songkhram - were without road accidents.

Dr Amnuay Gajeena, deputy permanent secretary of the Public Health Ministry, said there were 456 accidents this Sunday alone, killing 75 people and injuring 503 others. The highest proportion of accidents were caused by drunk driving at 39.47 per cent and speeding at 30.26 per cent.

Most accidents involved motorcycles, at 78.48 per cent. They mostly took place on a straight highway section (60.09 per cent) and occurred between 4pm and 8pm, while the victims were mostly from the working-age group (60.56 per cent).

At the 2,261 main checkpoints, manned by 65,009 officials, 100,181 people were charged with violating traffic laws, mostly for failing to show a driver's licence (30,479 cases) and riding motorbikes without helmets (27,762 cases), Amnuay said.

Now that most people have reached their destinations, such as their home towns or tourist attractions, and started their celebrations, officials have been instructed to set up checkpoints for drunk drivers, speeding motorists and motorcyclists without helmets, especially Monday and tomorrow, said Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department chief Chatchai Phromlert.

PLEASE TAKE CARE if you're out there travelling on the road.

 

[TonyBKK]

New Years in Bangkok- cool weather and no traffic! Phetchaburi:

Asoke-Phetchaburi:

Asoke-Sukhumvit:

Ah, if only the streets were like this year around! :happy1:

 

[nikster]

Good point, actually, NYE is a good time to go to Bangkok 555

Pai is mobbed by tourists, seems like way more cars and fewer minivans this year. The town is grid-locked throughout the day. Traffic jams on the road from Chiang Mai - Pai. On a bike it's fine if you're OK with overtaking hundreds of cars. In a car that trip is now about 5 hours instead of the usual 2 1/2.

 

[Ian Bungy]

The Mae Rim to Samoeng Road came to a Standstill Yesterday both ways!!! Busiest I have ever seen it. Lots of Bangkok Cars so indeed that would seem to be the Place to go while they are all up here!

 

[TonyBKK]

^ Who'd have thought you'd have to go to Bangkok to escape the crowds?! Bangkok hotels are quite empty and many are running very good New Year holiday promotions right now.

Wireless road near the US embassy earlier today:

Almost creepy how empty the streets are!

 

[DavidFL]

The road toll is out to 209 dead now, on day 4.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/387402/death-toll-up-on-last-year

 

[DavidFL]

The Mae Rim mayhem - vehicles all heading for the city for New Year.

Power On. sent from Sony Xperia AcroS

 

[Hoghead]

Mae Rim is a cluster f@#k between Bungys place and mine - gridlock with every BKK car on my road!!! Both ways and not just the one way to the city as David shows
Cannot even get out and had to ride the maids scooter the wrong way back from Macro to buy booze for the Ambassadors party tonight
Bugger and I wish they all would go home as it is like this every holiday

 

[Franz]

My own private rule of the thumb is: get all my purchases done before the mayhem starts and then stay home during the holidaying period or travel abroad if weather there permits a snowfree holiday such as during Songkran in April. Through this I save my nerves & temper from boiling over, my body from injury and my 2 or 4 wheeled transport from costly repairs. It's just not worth the effort and time, I rather spend time with my partner, family, doing some repairs/services or reading a good book at home as being stuck in traffic for hours. I think this will get worse in the coming years as understandably BKK people are only too happy to escape the daily mayhem there only to find themselves being stuck in one big jam from Rangsit to Fang again.....

 

[DavidFL]

An early reminder for the next New Year; Chinese New Year 31 January 2014.
Nowhere near as bad as the New Year just passed, but still another very busy time & this time maybe busy with convoys of Chinese cars.
Take care.

 

[Hoghead]

Wonderful - Chinese drivers