Safety First!

I think it's fairly well known that Thailand is in the top ten of the most dangerous places to drive in the World.  Around 24,000 people die on the roads in Thailand every year. Holiday seasons like New Year and Songkran are the most dangerous times as almost everyone seems to be travelling and partying at the same time. But actually, there is constant risky behaviour on the roads.

Working in the Distribution industry in Thailand means I get to hear about some pretty horrific accidents. Hearing news of a fatal accident is quite a regular occurrence. Yet it never seems to get any less shocking for me.

So why is Thailand so unsafe? In my company, we focus on Safety relentlessly. Every accident, no matter how minor, is investigated in great detail with preventive actions outlined.

Looks Can Be Deceiving

Driving through various industrial estates each week, I can see that other businesses also focus on Safety, on the face of it at least. They proudly display their records of days without lost time accidents in front of their buildings. Many also boast compliance with various ISO standards for Safety and Quality. It looks like Safety is the number one priority.

In fact, I don’t remember there being such an outward focus on Safety anywhere I worked in the UK. It was still top of the agenda in any operational meeting but it never felt like anyone had to constantly go on about it. Yet accidents were very rare.

One of my most frequent observations is that Thais like to make things look nice to please important people. It's like when you make a last minute decision to invite people to your house and only have time to shove all your crap in a cupboard and spray some furniture polish around. I’ve lost count of the times when we’ve had an upcoming visit from a senior manager and everyone has spent the day putting up posters!

But as soon as you scratch the surface you see there is likely to be nothing behind it. It really is all for 'show'.

The Missing Link

It seems as though people fail to make a connection between an accident they might have heard about and the risk of it happening to them. Even when they might have had some sort of connection to the person involved the accident it doesn't register. Recently at work, we heard about a very tragic accident with a sad outcome. Everyone sprung into action to brief their teams with the safety alert, of course capturing photos as proof! But on that same day, I got into a car with four Thai colleagues and I was the only one to put my seatbelt on!

And I see it everywhere I go. The builders opposite our house dismantling scaffolding whilst still standing on it. A workman digging a hole in the street with a jackhammer whilst someone else’s hand rests perilously close. Motorcycles driving towards me on the pavement, giving me a look of disbelief that I don’t immediately give way to them.

The Danger on Two Wheels

I could write a whole post on motorcycle safety in Thailand and actually, they tend to be involved in most fatal road accidents. I can see that people have started to wear helmets in Bangkok more, but probably only because they risk a fine from the police. The classic sight is the adult on the bike with the helmet yet the two toddlers they're carrying don't even have shoes on let alone any headgear!

Fatigue and intoxication also play a big part in the level of risk. During the week we walk our dogs at around 6 am and pass many 'local' establishments where people are drinking. They generally stagger out completely intoxicated and ride off on their motorcycles, probably to work.

When we pass the 'cat shop' (a local shophouse that's full of cats) the owner will have at least a bottle of Chang on the go if not something stronger. And he's generally joined by a few motorcycle taxi friends.  We're never sure whether they're just starting or finishing! There doesn't seem to be such a strict distinction between day and night in Thailand. And people don't seem to sleep in a conventional way; they just grab a few hours here and there.

Nothing to Fear?

One theory is that Thai's don't have quite the same fear of death as westerners. For Buddhists death is not the end, it actually signals rebirth. So basically your life continues, just in a different body. So maybe someone being killed in a road traffic accident just isn't a big deal?

There are a lot of Thai cultural traits that I have learned to understand and accept. A lot of quite frustrating ways of working that I’ve adapted to and even started to like. But the lack of acknowledgment of personal safety is not something I can truly explain nor get used to. Even when companies have an apparent focus on Safety, nothing will change until individuals take responsibility.