抄録
Traffic accidents are a leading cause of deaths in Thailand. Over the last three years, some 13,000 human lives have been lost annually as a result of road accidents. Losses in terms of economic, social and public health costs have risen over 100 billion baht (US$2,500) during the period (Police Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra Thai Prime Minister, WHO 2004). Traffic accidents can be viewed as a chain of events involving the failure of one or more of the following factors: the road user, the vehicle and the road. Research on traffic accidents in the USA and United Kingdom has shown that one of the significant factors causing road crashes was vehicle defects; this factor contributes 12% and 8% respectively to motor accidents in the two countries (Ogden 1996). The statistics for Thailand showed that vehicle defects accounted for some 27.54% of road accidents (OCMLT 2002). In view of the foregoing findings, inspecting vehicles to guard against vehicle defects can be an effective and proactive measure to help prevent road crashes. This study describes the result of an evaluation of vehicle inspection effectiveness in Thailand. The study aims to identify ways of improving the vehicle inspection process currently in use in the country.
