Road safety campaign spells disaster for Chiang Mai rescue services | Thailand News Today
Road safety campaign spells disaster for Chiang Mai rescue services
A rescue service in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, is receiving the same “false alarm” phone call over and over again thanks to a controversial road safety campaign.
Thailand sees a surge in road accidents and road deaths every year between December 29 – January 4, gaining the nickname “Seven Days of Danger.”
Road safety campaigns aim to remind motorists to take extra care on the roads during the holidays.
However, one campaign at a busy intersection in Chiang Mai’s Mueang district has been misunderstood by motorists and is stressing out rescue services.
A fake crash featuring two motorbikes and three scarecrows has been set up on the side of the road on the Chiang Mai – Phrao Road in between Ruam Chok and Fa Ham intersections.
At first glance, the lifeless scarecrows – two tangled in the motorbike wreckage and one strewn across the grass – could easily be mistaken for badly injured or dead bodies.
Chiang Mai’s Maejo’s Rescue Service posted photos of the crash on Facebook with the caption…
Quote “Public announcement. This is not an accident. We have been notified about it countless times by phone.” End quote
The shock-factor campaign aims to remind motorists to keep vigilant and drive safely. But it seems more of a distraction than anything, with concerned motorists scrambling to call the rescue services to the scene to help the “victims.”
Although well-intended, the campaign is wasting the precious time of rescue services who are already under a mountain of pressure with the Seven Days of Danger.
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Thailand encourages coffee farming to meet growing demand in Asia
Palm and rubber farmers in Krabi are being encouraged to grow coffee, as demand rises faster in Asia than in other parts of the world.
On a visit to a community coffee enterprise in Krabi’s คลองตมเหนือ, Deputy Commerce Minister Sinit Lertkrai said on Tuesday….
Quote “Krabi’s coffee is gaining international attention thanks to its certification as a GI product.” End quote
GI identifies a product as originating in a particular country, region or locality where its quality, reputation or other characteristics are linked to its geographical origin.
Coffee consumption in Asia has risen 1.5% over the past five years, beating Europe’s 0.5% rise and the 1.2% rise in the US.
The largest consumer of coffee in Asia is currently Japan.
Thailand traditionally produced mainly Robusta for industrial use but has become an exciting hotspot for speciality Arabica and fine Robusta coffees. Thailand exports very little coffee so most of the consumption is in the country.
The value of Thai coffee is expected to hit 60 billion baht (US$1.7 billion) soon.
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110,000 traffic tickets issued to speeding drivers ahead of road safety campaign
The Highway Police Division revealed that 110,000 speeding tickets were issued ahead of Thailand’s seven-day road safety campaign.
The Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Damronsak Kittiprapas, launched the road safety campaign named Seven-day Dangerous yesterday, December 29.
The campaign aims to reduce the number of road accidents during the traditional holiday season when many Thais will travel out of Bangkok to spend time with their families in their home provinces. The campaign will run for seven days from now until January 4 next year.
About 50,000 police officers will be on duty at more than 3,700 checkpoints on almost every road in Thailand. They will facilitate commuters and monitor drivers who violate traffic laws. Some checkpoints will require drivers to undergo alcohol tests.
Highway Police Division revealed yesterday that they had already issued 110,000 traffic tickets to drivers in the six days leading up to the campaign.
The division also stated that nearly 10,000 drivers were also arrested and fined for drunk driving, failure to wear a helmet on motorcycles, and failure to wear a seat belt.
The Royal Thai Police expects that there will be about 7.3 million trips or journeys in and out of Bangkok during the holiday season this year. The busiest period is predicted to be between December 29–30 and return on January 2–3 next year.
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