Here we go again. Another long weekend and
another long trail of ambulances and rescue vehicles bringing
the maimed and wounded from the accident sites. And it is all
so needless!
I have said it before, but let’s do it
again, so forgive me if you remember parts of my last year’s
ranting. Thailand’s road toll is disgraceful, ten times that
of Japan for example. Last year after New Year there were
queues at the pearly gates asking for entry or reincarnation.
There had been an increase over the previous year’s total,
despite a well publicized, government backed, police
‘blitz’ on drink driving, speeding and other driving
infringements. The results caused the government to admit last
year that the preventive measures had not worked.
This year, the government is already saying
that it does not think the road toll will be less, because
there will be more cars on the roads as we are all becoming so
affluent that we can afford to buy cars. Can we find another
scapegoat?
So what will they do this year? The
government is again jumping on the western model bandwagon
with threats of breathalysers for bus drivers and speed guns
on motorways. Why not? After all, the slogan “Speed Kills”
has been waved as the call to the faithful for many years.
I am not going to debate the case for and
against breathalysers and speed cameras, being quite
conversant with the problems associated with the alcohol
impaired driver, and I also know that the concept “Speed
Kills” is an oversimplification - speed by itself does not
kill, it is the sudden stop that does it.
Where I would take the slavish following of
this western model to task is in the appropriateness for the
local situation in Thailand. The traffic itself is quite
distinctly different in Thailand vis-เ-vis America,
Europe, UK or Australia, all countries using the
aforementioned breathalyser/speed gun approach to lower the
road toll. Cause and effect being the raison d’etre behind
it all. Back to Booze and Speed Kills.
The reason that following this line of
approach will not work in Thailand can be quickly seen by
looking at the analysis of road traffic and deaths. By far the
majority of vehicles on the roads are motorcycles, not cars as
in the west. Subsequently the majority of road deaths comes
from motorcycle accidents, not cars. This is not applied
rocket science!
Motorcycles are banned from the motorways,
so the fatalities are not on motorways - they are in the
cities. These motorcycle accidents are also not caused by
mechanical failure of the machine, brakes, tyres etc., so all
the good intentions of those running charity motorcycle
clinics will come to naught. The vast majority of these fatal
accidents are also not caused by excessive speeding -
inappropriate perhaps, but not excessive. And of course
alcohol plays a major part in the inappropriate road
behaviour, no-one would deny that.
What also comes out of the analysis is the
fact that the impact that kills these motorcyclists and
pillion passengers is the unprotected skull bouncing down the
bitumen. And speeds from around 20 kph is enough. Speed Kills?
No, as I said before, it is the sudden stop that does it. (By
the way, for all those people who think that I am
exaggerating, try jumping out of your car at 20 kays on to
your head. Get your relatives to tell me how right I was.)
So how do we stop this (probably alcohol
induced) carnage? Speed guns and breathalysers on the
motorways will obviously not catch motorcycles. So perhaps the
answer is to ban motorcyclists drinking alcohol? Stop alcohol
sales at the pumps? For these to have even the slightest
impact on drunken riding is wishful thinking. The rider can
buy his or her booze at the 7-Eleven, and to change a societal
way of thought takes at least three generations. We do not
have the luxury of time.
Back to breathalysers - this time in the
cities? Now is the time to be realistic. Can any police force
check every motorcyclist in town on any one night or day? Of
course not. Certainly picking off one in every ten
motorcyclists might net a few and scare some others, but it
will hardly put a dent in the figures.
There is only one, well documented way to
stop motorcycle fatalities. Compulsory wearing of crash
helmets. It has overnight lowered the road toll in countries
that have adopted the helmet rule. Neurological wards have
shrunk in size after 90 percent of their patients are no
longer coming up from ER after falling off their motorcycles.
Thailand does have statutes requiring
motorcycle riders to wear a helmet. Why has this not worked?
Am I wrong with my first premise? No, I am not. The helmet
rule has not produced the lowering of the road toll because,
quite simply, the rule-makers are not the rule-enforcers. The
riders are not wearing them.
Where the rule also falls down is that
there appears to be no standards set down covering the
capacity of the helmet to do its job - protecting the skull
from impact. Some of the thin plastic ‘helmets’ are not as
sturdy as ice cream containers for sale in the same
supermarkets where you can buy the 199 baht plastic scalp
warmer (I refuse to call it a helmet).
So what should be done? Promulgation of a
road rule that designates the minimum standard needed for
helmets is a start. Follow this with the requirement that the
helmet must be done up, and every person on the motorcycle
must wear one. It is a simple rule to police. Bare heads are
readily visible, as opposed to trying to pinpoint a rider with
a belly full of booze.
The ability to lower the road toll in Thailand is in the
hands of the legislators and the law enforcement agencies (the
police). Will we see progressive, preventive thinking and the
laws enforced, or will we see breathalysers and speed guns?
One course of action will work, but the other gets more kudos
for the legislators and doesn’t stir up the compulsion and
civil rights debate. Put your money on expensive speed guns.
And I hope none of your relatives will be lying in a hospital
bed with brain damage. Happy New Year!
The Holden Monaro two door muscle car is
apparently a big hit in the UK, having been named Best Muscle
Car by British magazine Top Gear. It even impressed the
hard-bitten Jeremy Clarkson who awarded the title to the
Australian V8 coupe.
Pontiac
GTO
With Vauxhall name badges, it sold out
within three months of going on sale in the United Kingdom (it
would have Chevrolet on it if they brought it out here, as it
is the ‘ultimate’ Chevrolet (Holden) Lumina). Mind you,
with the total number of the vehicles going to the UK being
only 350, it represents a very small percentage in the
Vauxhall sales line-up, but an important one as it is an
“image” vehicle.
However, the popularity in the UK is not
mirrored by the situation on the other side of the Atlantic.
In the US, the Holden Monaro gets yet another name badge,
being marketed as the Pontiac GTO, reviving the name of one of
my favorite muscle cars. The GTO has been criticized in the US
for not having a ‘wild’ appearance, though the face-lifted
model to be released in 2005 has a couple of nostrils let into
the bonnet to make it look more aggressive. Powerwise, the car
is more than adequate with its 6 litre LS2 V8 engine that it
shares with the Chevrolet Corvette. The orders for the GTO
have fallen from this year’s 18,000 that came out of
Australia, to 12,000.
Vauxhall
Monaro
The new engine for 2005 has 50 extra
horses, bringing it up to 400 bhp, while the torque is also up
to 546 Nm which should be enough to bring the 0-100 kays in
less than 5 seconds. It also comes in six speed manual
configuration or a four speed slushbox. It also comes with
traction control and an LSD as standard.
I certainly wouldn’t kick one out of my garage.
Spotted this Smart Cabrio the other day.
Bright red in colour, with the Swiss flags on the doors, so
you’d probably be correct in thinking that the owner was
Swiss.
Smart
Cabrio
The Smarts are built by Mercedes Benz and
they are supposed to be town cars, little runabouts, and not
designed for the wide open highways. They are certainly small,
but better equipped, I believe, than the small Japanese cars
that are built to conform with their K car specifications.
The ‘fortwo’ (that’s what they call
it) cabrio comes with a suprex turbo 500 cc engine (50 and 61
bhp) and softip 6 speed transmission. It comes with a good
level of standard equipment, including the tritop folding
roof, electric windows and remote control central locking.
Safety features include the tridion safety cell (just in case
it falls on its head), driver and passenger airbags, ABS,
electronic stability programme, brake assist and acceleration
skid control. Optional extras include the softouch automatic
gear change programme and air-conditioning.
Overseas reports would indicate that they
are a great gimmick, and best left to being around town. On
motorways the wind noise will kill you apparently!
In the UK they retail at around (at current exchange rates)
700,000 baht, but you’ll pay probably three times that to
wrest this mobile Swiss flag from its owner! That’s the
price you pay if you want to be an individual. Me? I’d
rather have two Mazda3’s.
