Editing Transport in Thailand (section)

===Road safety===
{{see also|List of motor vehicle deaths in Thailand by year}}

According to the [[World Health Organization]]'s, ''Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018'', Thailand had an estimated traffic fatality rate (all vehicle types) of 32.7 persons per 100,000 population in 2016. The only nations exceeding Thailand's death toll were [[Liberia]]; [[Saint Lucia]] (population: 178,000); [[Burundi]]; [[Zimbabwe]]; [[Dominican Republic]]; [[Democratic Republic of Congo]]; [[Venezuela]]; and the [[Central African Republic]].<ref name="WHO-2018" />{{RP|114, 119, 133, 136, 181, 222, 245, 263, 266}}

Thailand's death rate for operators and passengers of motorized two- and three-wheeled motorbikes was the world's highest in 2016 at 74.4 fatalities per 100,000 population.<ref name="WHO-2018" />{{RP|310-311}}

Sixty-six persons die every day on Thai roads, one every 22 minutes,<ref>{{cite news|title=Toll still worst in the world|url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1392026/toll-still-worst-in-the-world|access-date=8 January 2018|work=Bangkok Post|date=8 January 2018|department=Opinion}}</ref> seven of them children.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sukprasert|first1=Pattramon|title=Set 'fixed' road safety goal|url=http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1184433/set-fixed-road-safety-goal|access-date=22 January 2017|work=Bangkok Post|date=22 January 2017}}</ref><ref name="NNT-20170205">{{cite web|title=Crash helmet campaign to be strengthened to promote bike safety|url=http://thainews.prd.go.th/website_en/news/news_detail/WNSOC6002050010029|access-date=6 February 2017|website=National News Bureau of Thailand (NNT)|date=6 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206105440/http://thainews.prd.go.th/website_en/news/news_detail/WNSOC6002050010029|archive-date=6 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2015, Thailand's roads were the second deadliest in the world in 2015.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Marukatat |first1=Saritdet |title=Thailand tops Asean road death table |url=https://m.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1589682/thailand-tops-asean-road-death-table |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20190617092812/https://m.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1589682/thailand%2Dtops%2Dasean%2Droad%2Ddeath%2Dtable |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 June 2019 |access-date=2018-12-11 |work=Bangkok Post |date=2018-12-07 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/work/738124/thailand-roads-second-deadliest-in-world-un-agency-finds|title=Thailand's roads second-deadliest in world, UN agency finds|newspaper=Bangkok Post|access-date=2016-10-06}}</ref> Among public transport options, [[minivan|passenger vans]], with a monthly average of 19.5 accidents resulting in a monthly average of 9.4 deaths, rank as the most dangerous of all public transport services involved in road accidents. Regular tour buses on fixed routes were in second place with a total of 141 accidents, resulting in 56 deaths and 1,252 injuries. Third on the list were irregular tour buses, involved in 52 accidents, resulting in 47 deaths and 576 injuries. Taxis were fourth with 77 accidents, resulting in seven deaths and 84 injuries. Ordinary buses were involved in 48 accidents with 10 deaths and 75 injuries. {{As of|2016|10|31}}, there were 156,089 legally registered public transport vehicles in Thailand, 42,202 of which were passenger vans, including 16,002 regular vans, 24,136 irregular vans, and 1,064 private vans.<ref>{{cite news|title=Passenger vans are the champion of road accidents among public transport services|url=http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/passenger-vans-champion-road-accidents-among-public-transport-services/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223132025/http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/passenger-vans-champion-road-accidents-among-public-transport-services/|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 December 2016|access-date=23 December 2016|work=Thai PBS|date=22 December 2016}}</ref>

From 2013 to 2017, an average of 17,634 children between the ages of 10–19 died on Thailand's roads. Most of the fatalities involved motorbikes.<ref>{{cite news |title=More youngsters dying in road accidents |url=https://www.nationthailand.com/detail/national/30369535 |access-date=17 May 2019 |work=The Nation |date=17 May 2019 |archive-date=17 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517062605/http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30369535 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The two most dangerous travel periods in Thailand are at the New Year and at [[Songkran]]. Songkran 2016 (11-17 April) saw 442 deaths and 3,656 injuries.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Barrow|first1=Richard|title=FULL ROAD ACCIDENT STATISTICS FOR SONGKRAN 2016|url=http://www.richardbarrow.com/2016/04/full-road-accident-statistics-for-songkran-2016/|website=Righard Barrow|date=18 April 2016|access-date=8 January 2017}}</ref> New Year 2017's death toll for the seven-day period between 29 December 2016 and 4 January 2017 was 478 compared to the previous year's record of 380. A total of 4,128 people were injured in road accidents during the period. The Centre for the Prevention and Reduction of Road Accidents said that the death toll in 2016 was the highest of the last ten years. Death toll records from road accidents for the last ten New Year periods are: 449 deaths in 2007, 401 in 2008, 357 in 2009, 347 in 2010, 358 in 2011, 321 in 2012, 365 in 2013, 366 in 2014, 341 in 2015, 380 in 2016.<ref>{{cite news|title=478 deaths and 4,128 injuries in seven days|url=http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/478-deaths-4128-injuries-seven-days/|access-date=7 January 2017|work=Thai PBS|date=5 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814074423/http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/478-deaths-4128-injuries-seven-days/|archive-date=14 August 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Lax enforcement of traffic laws appears to be a major contributor to traffic accidents: the [[World Health Organization]]'s Collaborating Centre for Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion found that only 20 percent of traffic violators on Thai roads are given tickets and only four percent of those cited pay their traffic fines.<ref>{{cite news |title=Elderly cyclist dies in crash as SUV smashes into bike |url=https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1521098/elderly-cyclist-dies-in-crash-as-suv-smashes-into-bike |access-date=14 August 2018 |work=Bangkok Post |date=14 August 2018}}</ref>

Government attempts to reduce the toll of deaths and injuries have proven ineffectual. In 2011 the government declared the following ten years to be Thailand's "decade of action on road safety". It named 2012 as the year of 100 percent helmet use on motorbikes. In 2015, about 1.3 million school-age children in Thailand regularly traveled on the back of motorcycles each day but only seven percent wore helmets.<ref name="NNT-20170205"/> In 2018, the WHO reported that motorcycle helmet use was 51 percent by operators and 20 percent by passengers.<ref name="WHO-2018"/>{{RP|245}} In 2015 the [[Ministry of Interior (Thailand)|Interior Ministry's]] Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation's (DDPM)<ref>{{cite web|title=Background|url=http://www.disaster.go.th/en/about-about01/Background|website=Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation|publisher=Ministry of Interior (Thailand)|access-date=19 January 2017|archive-date=31 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131195740/http://www.disaster.go.th/en/about-about01/Background|url-status=dead}}</ref> Road Safety Collaboration Centre<ref>{{cite web|title=Organization Structure|url=http://www.disaster.go.th/en/about-about07/|website=Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation|publisher=Ministry of Interior (Thailand)|access-date=19 January 2017|archive-date=24 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824054233/http://www.disaster.go.th/en/about-about07/|url-status=dead}}</ref> announced a target of reducing road deaths by 80 percent. According to ''The New York Times'', in 2015, Thailand vowed at a [[United Nations]] forum to halve traffic deaths by 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Beech |first1=Hannah |title=Thailand's Roads Are Deadly. Especially if You're Poor. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/19/world/asia/thailand-inequality-road-fatalities.html?rref=collection%2Fspotlightcollection%2Fpromises-made&action=click&contentCollection=world&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=collection |access-date=20 August 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=19 August 2019}}</ref> But DDPM's published mandate makes no mention of road safety.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mandate|url=http://www.disaster.go.th/en/about-about01/|website=Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation|publisher=Ministry of Interior (Thailand)|access-date=19 January 2017|archive-date=24 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824054204/http://www.disaster.go.th/en/about-about01/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Road safety falls under the purview of the Ministry of Interior's DDPM. Responsibility for roads falls under the [[Ministry of Transport (Thailand)|Ministry of Transport]].<ref name="BBC-20170119"/>

Thailand had no laws requiring child safety features or a rear seating position in vehicles,<ref name="WHO-2018" />{{RP|43, 245}} but, the government has announced that the use of [[Child safety seat|child seat]] is mandatory and the violators will be fined since Sep 2022.<ref>{{cite web|title=ราชกิจจาฯประกาศแล้ว นั่งรถด้านหลังไม่คาดเข็มขัดนิรภัย โดนปรับ 2 พันบาท|url=https://www.prachachat.net/general/news-926958|publisher=[[Manager Daily]] | language=th | date=9 May 2022 |access-date=12 May 2022}}</ref>

====National speed limits====
The maximum rural speed limit is 90 [[kilometres per hour|km/h]]. For motorways it is 120&nbsp;km/h. The maximum urban speed limit is 80&nbsp;km/h, far above the best practice limit of 50&nbsp;km/h recommended by the WHO.<ref name="WHO-2018" />{{RP|30, 245}}