Drivers and traffic cops, an uneasy relationship

Witnessing a traffic accident caused Bangkok Post feature writer Napamon Roongwitoo to start thinking seriously about Bangkok traffic and those who are supposed to keep it safe.

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Here is the main part of a column in today’s Bangkok Post by feature writer Napamon Roongwitoo. A bad experience during the Songkran holiday caused her to realise that people need to rethink about their own habits and their attitudes towards the police.

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Nothing to fear but traffic police

Napamon Roongwitoo

The death toll during the Songkran holidays this year was 320, with 3,320 reported injuries. I’ve seen these numbers for decades, but it wasn’t until this year that I had a close encounter with an accident that put an eye-opening spin on these statistics. They are not just numbers. They are people with faces. In fact, I have seen two of those 3,320 unfortunate people.

Driving in Bangkok during the Songkran holidays is never easy, with troops of pick-up trucks loaded with red-haired teenagers (I still have no idea where the hairdyeing tradition for Songkran days stemmed from) hurling water at passers-by, and armies of motorcycles manned by underaged kids roaming the roads. It has always been like this year in and year out. Traffic rules seem to take a vacation along with most Bangkokians.

I was driving home with my one-year-old in his car seat. We came to a stop when a group of kids on motorcycles wanted to cut through, although the light was still green. I decided to stop and let them pass, and so did the taxi next to me. Just seconds later, another motorcycle came out of nowhere and rammed into the stationary taxi.

There were two men on that motorcycle, both wearing a helmet. No, actually, they were not wearing their helmets — they had reluctantly placed them on their heads without buckling them, just to keep the traffic police away. Right in front of my and my son’s eyes, the man in front flew head-first through the taxi’s rear window, smashing it into pieces.

Somewhere during the process his helmet had decided to abandon his head. The other man did a somersault and came back to the ground with an audible thud. Let’s just say there was a lot of blood. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

The first thought that crossed my mind was, why is it that many people put on a helmet just to avoid being stopped by traffic police? Why is getting fined scarier than losing one’s life? The same goes with wearing a seatbelt.

Traffic police arrest a taxi driver after he had attempted to flee from the officers who had stopped him. APICHIT JINAKUL

For some reason, Thai drivers are afraid of traffic police. That reason might be the rumours that sometimes they get ungrounded accusations shoved upon them, particularly so for motorcyclists. I’ve seen a parade of motorcycles riding the wrong way across a bridge on which motorcycles are prohibited.

They could’ve crashed into oncoming cars, but they didn’t care, because for the love of God, there were traffic policemen at the other end of the bridge! Run for your lives!

Ironically, the point of putting traffic policemen on the road is to ensure safety, but instead they scare people into doing even more dangerous things, while the fact that thousands of people lose their lives each year on the road scares none.

death toll – the number of people killed ยอดผู้เสียชีวิต
injury – physical damage done to a person or a part of their body อาการบาดเจ็บ
decade – a period of ten years  ทศวรรษ
encounter – a meeting or experience, especially one that happens by chance การเผชิญ
spin – a way of presenting information or a situation in a particular way, a way of thinking about something
statistics – a collection of information shown in numbers สถิติ
unfortunate – unlucky โชคร้าย, เคราะห์ไม่ดี
troop – a group กลุ่ม
tradition – a very old custom, belief, or story ประเพณี, ขนบธรรมเนียม
stem from – to be caused by; to come from เกิดจาก
hurl – to throw something using a lot of force  เขวี้ยง ขว้างปา
passers-by – people who who going past somebody  ผู้คนผ่านไปมาตามถนน
manned – (in this case) ridden or controlled
roam – to move or travel around in no particular direction เดินโดยปราศจากจุดหมาย
vacation – holiday; a period of time spent travelling or resting away from home   ลาพักผ่อน, ลาพักร้อน
come out of nowhere – to suddenly appear ปรากฏโดยไม่เห็นมาก่อน
ram – to hit or push something with force กระแทก
stationary – not moving ซึ่งหยุดนิ่ง
helmet – a strong hard hat that covers and protects the head หมวกกันน็อก
reluctant - not very willing to do something and therefore slow to do it ไม่เต็มใจ
buckle – to fasten something or be fastened with a buckle (หัวเข็มขัด) รัด
smash – to break something noisily into many pieces by dropping or hitting it with a lot of force ทำให้แตกเป็นเสี่ยงๆ, ทำให้แตกเป็นชิ้นๆ
abandon – to leave ละทิ้ง
somersault – a rolling movement or jump, either forwards or backwards, in which you turn over completely, with your body above your head, and finish with your head on top again การตีลังกา
audible – able to be heard ซึ่งดังพอที่จะได้ยินได้
thud – a sound like the one which is made when a heavy object hits something else เสียงดังตุ้บ
fine – to be required to pay an amount of money because you have broken the law ปรับเป็นเงิน
scary – frightening น่าตกใจ, น่ากลัว
arrest – (of the police) taking someone to a police station because they are believed to have committed a crime การจับกุม
flee – to leave a place or person quickly because you are afraid of possible danger หนี อพยพ
rumour – a piece of information, or a story, that people talk about, but that may not be true ข่าวลือ
ungrounded – not based on reason or fact ไม่มีมูลเหตุ,ไร้เหตุผล
accusation –a statement that someone has done something wrong or illegal even though this has not been proved ข้อกล่าวหา
shove – to push with force  ผลัก ดัน
particularly – especially, or more than usual โดยเฉพาะ
parade – a series or line of people or things ขบวนยาว
prohibit – to not allow; to ban ห้าม
oncoming – coming towards you ที่กำลังมา
ironically – strange or amusing because it is very different from what you expect; showing that you really mean the opposite of what you are saying ประหลาดและน่าขัน, กระแทกแดกดัน
ensure – to make certain that something happens or is done  ให้การยืนยัน, รับรอง, ให้ความมั่นใจ