The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has proposed a new speed limit law of 50kph in the capital to ensure road safety.
BMA's Traffic and Transportation Department director Suthon Anakul said yesterday the proposed amendment for the 1992 Land Traffic Act has been submitted to the Metropolitan Police Bureau for consideration.
He said there have been 17,619 car accidents in Bangkok this year and that speeding was a prime factor.
A study shows that having an accident driving at 30kph will result in a 10% chance of death, driving at 50kph will result in an 80% chance of death, and driving at 80kph will increase the chance to almost 100%.
Meanwhile, a survey conducted by Johns Hopkins university between July 2015 until October 2016 shows that speeding and drink driving are main factors in road accidents in Bangkok.
The survey was done with the cooperation of City Hall and Bloomberg Philanthropies under the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) campaign.
About 20% of drivers in Bangkok were found to have violated traffic laws including speeding and drink driving.
The same survey also found only half of motorcyclists wear helmets while only about 70% of drivers use seat belts.
And only about 20% of drivers encourage children to buckle up, the survey found.
Bangkok was among 10 cities around the world chosen to take in the BIGRS campaign. According to the World Health Organisation, Thailand ranks No.2 in the world for road fatalities.