Thai road sweepers get safer new uniform for work

Photo via Van Warit

Thai road sweepers have been given smart new neon yellow uniforms in a bid to keep them safe from traffic accidents.

A man, Van Warit, posted a picture of two road sweepers in their new and old uniforms on Facebook, today. The caption said…

“Keeping this picture before the whole sweepers change their uniforms.”

The old uniform is dark blue with a reflective safety vest while the new uniform is a neon yellow colour with reflective white strips.

Van revealed the uniform was recycled from PET bottles: plastic bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate.

Van added that a taxi driver said…

“Oho! They can be seen from such a long distance. Who can hit them in these clothes?”

Van added…

“The neon uniform is only one way to help solve the problem. Another important thing is ‘Don’t Drive Drunk.’ This is a significant reason for death and disability in road accidents. Every life matters.”

Many Thai netizens agreed that the new uniform looks a lot better than the old one.

Road sweepers put their lives on the line every day and in February there was a fatality reported in Thai media.

A 59 year old woman road sweeper, Naree Chaisena, was killed by a sedan on the Bangkok Western Outer Ring Road.

There were another five incidents reported after Naree’s death. Some workers were injured and some died.

According to the Global Status Report on Road Safety from the World Health Organization in 2016, Thailand had the highest road fatality rate in Southeast Asia and Asia.


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Petch Petpailin

Petpailin, or Petch, is a Thai translator and writer for The Thaiger who focuses on translating breakingThai news stories into English. With a background in field journalism, Petch brings several years of experience to the English News desk at The Thaiger. Before joining The Thaiger, Petch worked as a content writer for several known blogging sites in Bangkok, including Happio and The Smart Local. Her articles have been syndicated by many big publishers in Thailand and internationally, including the Daily Mail, The Sun and the Bangkok Post. She is a news writer who stops reading news on the weekends to spend more time cafe hopping and petting dwarf shrimp! But during office hours, you can find Petch on LinkedIn and you can reach her by email at petch@thethaiger.com.

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