Analysis of Roadside Safety of Highways in South Thailand

Every year, the number of road crashes in Thailand, which result in about 12,000 deaths, has been around 1 million. About 12% of these crashes occur on national highways under the jurisdiction of the Department of Highways (DOH). For the past four years, 2007- 2010, roadside crashes have constituted between 42.2 - 47.9 % of the total crashes on the DOHA's highways. On average there is about 12000 crashes on Thai national highways and roadside crash accounts 5900 cases or 44%. This paper describes the roadside crash situation on Thai highways by using DOH records of 949 crashes that occurred during 2007-2010 on 270 km. section in Southern Thailand. The results show that speeding vehicles are more likely to be involved in roadside crashes accounting for about 70% of the crashes. Among all passenger vehicles (passenger cars, vans, pickups, and songtaews (converted passenger pickup), pickups are more likely to be involved in roadside crashes as compared to other passenger vehicle types. Detailed investigation of in-depth roadside crashes is also described. The DOH has started actions the roadside tree problem, a description of the action is described the DOH Roadside Safety Strategic Plan 2009-2013.