Per 100,000 people, Japan has 3 road deaths while Thailand🇹🇭 has 32—that’s 10 times more dangerous!
But did you know? 56 years ago, Japan was just like Thailand today. Japanese media called that era the “Second Traffic War”—a “traffic war” that claimed lives non-stop. Japan once had 16,765 deaths. What Thai people feel today is exactly what Japanese people felt back then.
But back then, Japan chose a different path. They collectively said, “Enough!”
Japan launched a serious traffic revolution. They enacted the special ‘Special Traffic Safety Measures Act’, established the ‘White Bike’ motorcycle police unit to enforce discipline, set up traffic safety training centers, implemented consecutive 5-year plans for over 10 cycles, offered ‘Golden Driver’ awards as incentives, increased road investment from 14% to 90%+, implemented a license point deduction system, and got tough on drunk driving and speeding.
The result? Easy to guess. 50 years later, Japan cut deaths by 75%—from 16,765 down to just 3,000. It became one of the world’s safest countries for roads, despite having one of the densest traffic volumes.
The question is… when will Thailand finally tackle this seriously?
Sources: NPA Japan, WHO Global Road Safety