Phuket governor Narong plans road safety campaign ahead of Songrkan

Phuket governor Narong is planning a road safety campaign ahead of Sonkran with a goal of zero casualties during the holiday. The dates for the campaign, called Seven Days of Danger, have yet to be announced. Last year, the campaign focused on ending drunk driving, and inspecting “risk points” where accidents had happened. 21 people were injured, and one person was killed, in road accidents during Songkran last year. Across Thailand, 277 people were killed, and 2,357 were injured in almost 2,400 road accidents. Drunk driving was involved in over one third of the accidents.

Ever since a motorcycle hit and killed an eye doctor at a zebra crossing in Bangkok in January, a public debate has emerged on Thailand’s problems with pedestrian safety. A Thai health foundation found that two people were killed in road accidents every hour in Thailand in 2020. The total number of people killed in road accidents throughout that year was 17,831. The foundation, Thai Health Promotion Foundation, said motorcycle drivers and riders made up the 74% of fatalities.

Another health organisation and a road safety organisation teamed up to study how many cars, motorbikes, and public vehicles stop for pedestrians at 12 zebra crossings in Bangkok. They found that altogether, 89% wouldn’t stop. For motorcycles, the rate was 92% of 6,449 motorcycles that wouldn’t stop. For cars, the rate was 86% of 7,619. For public vehicles it was 80% of 285.

Now, several road safety initiatives have been launched for Songkran. The Department of Rural Roads set up a national safety centre hotline at the telephone number 1164 for people to report any roads, bridges, traffic signals or street lights that need to be repaired immediately. Phuket governor Narong said even one loss was considered a lot.

“What we don’t want to happen is loss. Even one person is considered a lot. Therefore, everyone is asked to be careful regarding road safety”.

SOURCE: The Phuket News | The Phuket News