CHACHOENGSAO– A couple and their four-year-old daughter lost their lives after a pickup truck ran a red light and struck their motorcycle at a crossroads on Thursday. Police said the Honda Wave motorcycle was split in half.
Rescue workers found a little girl close to the wreck. She had weak signs of life, her 27-year-old mother had died instantly, and her 35-year-old father was critically hurt. Paramedics rushed all three to Phanom Sarakham Hospital, but the father and daughter passed away soon after.
A grey Toyota Revo pickup with heavy damage to its front was found stopped down the road from the intersection.
Footage from CCTV cameras showed the family crossing during a green light while the pickup sped through the red light, hitting the motorcycle and sending sparks as the victims were thrown onto the tarmac. Police started an investigation and prepared to proceed with criminal charges against the driver.
According to police, running red lights remains one of the top reasons for serious road accidents in Thailand, highlighting the country’s ongoing struggle with road safety.
Data from the World Health Organization showed that in 2021, Thailand had a road traffic death rate of 25.4 per 100,000 people, with around 18,218 deaths. Many of these are linked to drivers ignoring basic traffic rules.
Motorcycles play a large part in these figures, making up 83.8% of traffic deaths. Ignoring red lights on bikes often leads to huge collisions, especially at busy junctions where traffic signal problems or weak enforcement make crashes more likely.
Thailand’s Road Accidents Data Centre recorded 939,713 crashes in 2022, causing 14,737 deaths. Many of these deadly crashes happened during rush hours, when drivers are most likely to take risks like running red lights.
Efforts such as the Thailand Road Safety Master Plan 2022-2027 are in place, but slow progress is due to poor law enforcement and road layouts. Only 19% of roads are rated three stars or better for pedestrian safety, a sign that there is still a lot to improve to stop avoidable road deaths.
