On the Effectiveness of Speed Enforcement in Thailand: Current Issues and need for Changes and new Approaches

In Thailand where there has been the existence of rapid growth in motorization and modern road infrastructure over the past decades, speeding that prevails on highways and on roads in built-up areas has been shown to be a key contributory factor in road traffic crashes. Although speed enforcement has been included as an integral part of the speed management policy in Thailand, its effectiveness is bound to be controversial for a range of reasons. This paper identifies some gaps between existing speeding problems and the current practice of speed enforcement in Thailand, which in turn offers important lessons that could be learnt by other developing countries with similar problems and institutional nature. Issues needed to be addressed for more effective speed enforcement as well as the potential of alternative speed management strategies is also discussed.