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.
Smart
Cabrio