OPINION

Net the big crooks

Re: "Cop course for Chinese investigated", (BP, Jan 4).

The media and public should sustain pressure on PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra to target the big crooks and not get distracted by small fry like those accused of teaching Chinese to be police volunteers.

Jailing a shark is 1,000 times more rewarding than netting a small minnow.

For example, focus on those behind: (a) the transfer of ex-head of the Department of Special Investigation, Pol Maj Suriya Singhakamol, right after he searched Makro headquarters for evidence of smuggling 161 containers worth 460 million baht into Thailand or (b) ex-top cop Big Tor's assets of 209 million baht, equal to at least 217.7 years of salary. Go for sharks, not minnows.

Odd road figures

Re: "New Year road toll", (BP, Jan 6).

In your table of road deaths during this period, you give 359 total road deaths for this year and 257 for last year. The figure for this year covers the period Dec 27 to Jan 4, while last year only covers Dec 29 to Jan 4. Presumably, you give the total for people to judge year-on-year performance, but you are totalling two different periods; you should be comparing like with like.

Endless danger zone

Re: "New Year road toll", (BP, Jan 6).

Seven, 10 dangerous days? Why not 365? For the last 12 years, I have lived 50km north of Nakhon Ratchasima province, about 100m to the west of the Mitraparp Road (Route 2). From my patio, I have an excellent view of the road.

Over these 12 years, the two greatest changes have been the speed at which almost all vehicles travel and the sheer volume of traffic. On long weekends, traffic heading north is heavy for a day before and two days after the holiday; at New Year and Songkran, add another day or two at each end. Ambulances and rescue vehicles are frequently seen; police patrol vehicles are never seen unless escorting a VIP.

The sheer diversity of illegal vehicles is mind-blowing: lorries with extensions almost half the length of the vehicle so their front wheels barely touch the road surface, pickups loaded so high that they sway from side to side, cars with their rear number plates sprayed white to foil the speed and traffic light cameras -- to list just a few.

But the dangerous vehicles are nothing besides the dangerous drivers of all vehicles; excessive speed, fishtailing, undertaking, and lane changing without signalling are just a few of the faults. Dangerous vehicles and dangerous drivers will remain features of Thai roads until the police get out of their "boxes" and checkpoints, get into police cars, patrol the roads and stop offenders. It isn't rocket science. Thailand will remain among the top-tier countries with the highest road deaths until this happens.