New road safety shock

A new report on deaths among footpath users is shocking and unacceptable.

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On Monday, the Department of Disease Control released its safety report, saying 5,066 pedestrians were killed in accidents from 2015 to 2024, or 506 deaths annually.

The report says 58,705 pedestrians, or 5,870 footpath users, were admitted to hospitals. Major causes of death and injuries vary, led by reckless drivers, substandard footpaths, and obstacles posed by street furniture.

Some pedestrians also fail to use zebra crossings or are absorbed in their mobile phones instead of focusing on the road.

What is more worrying is the fatality rate is increasing. In 2020, the percentage of pedestrian deaths compared to total accidents that occurred in footpath areas was 0.57% and dropped to 0.56% in 2021-22.

In 2023, a year after the death of Dr Waraluck “Kratai” Supawatjariyakul, a young optician killed while walking on a pedestrian crossing in front of the Bhumiraj Nagarindra Kidney Institute on Phaya Thai Road, the percentage rose to 0.62% and 0.63% last year.