Ceremony launches “Seven Days of Danger” for Phuket roads

The yearly road safety campaign for the holiday week called “Seven Days of Danger” was officially launched in Phuket yesterday. The week is from December 29 to January 4, when each year the rush of holiday travellers on the roads leads to an increase in accidents and road deaths. A ceremony hosted at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday, led by Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew officially launched the campaign.

Officially titled the “Joint Operations Center for Road and Marine Accident Prevention and Reduction during the New Year 2023,” the campaign aims to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on the roads of Phuket. There are various prevention measures in place as part of the campaign. Local communities and officers will help in setting up checkpoints around the island, and traffic law violators will be prosecuted with maximum penalties, to pressure drivers to obey laws.

Officials will also work to make sure traffic markings on the road are clear and add additional marking lines on Phuket roads for drivers to slow down while approaching crosswalks. Warning signs and symbols will be visible to drivers and pedestrians to reduce speed in “tight situations” where there is busy traffic or obstructions.

The Phuket News reported the opening ceremony was attended by many prominent officials including Phuket Vice Governor Amnuay Pinsuwan and Anupap Rodkwan Yodrambam, Phuket Provincial Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office (DDPM-Phuket) Chief Udomporn Kan, and DDPM Region 18 Chief Chaovalit Nitrarat.

Vehicles paraded dozens of officers whose duty it is to carry out safety checks. Volunteers and students also joined in the ceremony. Insurance companies donated drinking water to all the checkpoints that will be operating around the island.

The Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation has begun releasing a daily report called the Summary of Operations of Phuket Tourist Assistance Centre. While its goal is to report on various emergencies in the province, the majority of items in the report are regarding motorbike accidents. This year, Phuket reported 103 fatalities on the roads, a 45% rise since last year.

PM Prayut Chan-o-cha vowed earlier this year to lower road deaths to 12 per 100,000 people over the next five years and, using a model inspired by Sweden, eliminate fatalities on the streets of Thailand by 2050.