Thailand’s Roads Remain Some Of The Deadliest In The World

Source: Thaivisa

A new report by the World Health Organisation paints a grim picture regarding road safety in Thailand.

According to WHO’s Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018, Thailand’s roads remain  some of the deadliest in the world.

The report found that the death rate per 100,000 population in Thailand was 32.7, which ranked the kingdom’s roads as the deadliest in ASEAN and among the deadliest globally.

Only seven other nations fared worse than Thailand, while the countries with the highest road traffic death rate per 100,000 population were found to be Liberia, Saint Lucia, Burundi and Chad.

The report, which was compiled using data from 2016 from 175 countries, estimated that an average of 22,491 people are killed on Thailand’s roads each year, while that figure could exceed 24,717 deaths.

Regionally, Africa with 26.6 had the most deaths per 100,000.

Southeast Asia, where motorcyclist and passengers account for 43 percent of all road deaths, had 20.7 deaths per 100,000.

Europe was found to have the safest roads with 9.3 deaths per 100,000 population.

Globally, the report found that the situation regarding road traffic deaths is worsening, with someone killed in a road accident every 24 seconds.

1.25 million people die in traffic deaths each year and road accidents are now the leading killer of children and people aged between 5 and 29, WHO said in its report.

“These deaths are an unacceptable price to pay for mobility,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.

“There is no excuse for inaction. This is a problem with proven solutions,” he said.

Estimated road traffic death rate per 100,000 population:

1. Liberia – 35.9

2. Saint Lucia – 35.4

3. Burundi 34.7

3. Zimbabwe – 34.7

4. Democratic Republic of Congo – 33.7

4. Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) – 33.7

5. Central African Republic – 33.6

6. Thailand – 32.7

7. Burkina Faso – 30.5

8. Namibia – 30.4

9. Cameroon – 30.1

10. Mozambique – 30.1