Poll Confirms Perceptions Of Local Driving

PHUKET TOWN: In the Gazette Poll for the week ended at noon today, 71.8% of the 662 participants responded “Yes, absolutely” to the question, “Do you feel that driving in Phuket is too risky?” 21.4% voted “No, not really,” and 6.8% said they didn’t know. The perception that driving here is excessively risky was strongest among local foreign residents, 85% of whom clicked on the affirmative response in the Internet poll. Among those who classified themselves as “overseas tourists/visitors,” 64% felt the island’s roads were too dangerous. And in the third (and final) voter category, Thai nationals,” 61% indicated agreement with the notion that the province does have a road safety problem, “absolutely.” In the newspaper’s second poll, launched today and expiring at noon on Friday, November 27, readers are asked: “Overall, how do you rate noise pollution in Phukt?” The question was the first of several received as suggestions from participants in last week’s poll. Other issues to arise included the quality of local Internet service, the future of Phuket’s “sex industry,” and the street-level sales tactics of timeshare operators. The Gazette Poll appears on both the Phuket Residents’ Page (www.phket.loxinfo.co.th/~gazette) and on the Phuket Gazette Online at thethaiger.com.