PUBLISHED: 28 Dec 2024 at 06: 15
According to Deputy Prime Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong and Digital Economy and Society Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong, officials will increase road safety initiatives and inter-agency assistance to reduce road accidents in the new year.
He was speaking as the president of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation ( ThaiHealth ), which runs various state-run initiatives to reduce traffic accidents.
Mr. Prasert made a point during a ThaiHealth meeting on Thursday that stricter measures must be taken to prevent road injuries during the upcoming vacation.
He said that during the New Year breaks from 2022 to 2024, Thailand recorded a mixed 7, 435 highway accidents, resulting in 7, 416 wounds and 934 mortality.
Younger people aged 20–29 were disproportionately affected, with those aged 24 years and under making up 29 % of the total deaths.
According to Mr. Prasert, reducing injuries is essential to achieving the Road Safety Master Plan 2022-2027, which aims to reduce street mortality to 12 per 100, 000 individuals.
He emphasized that ThaiHealth is looking to collaborate with various organizations to carry out effective accident-prevention efforts and that it is pushing for more stricter regulation of the law that forbids liquor sales to young people under the age of 20.
In order to strengthen law enforcement, Mr. Prasert has instructed the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society and other organizations under its control, including Thailand Post and CAT Telecom, to create an online traffic solution tracking system that is connected to the police and the Department of Land Transport.
Within six weeks, he predicted, law enforcement may be better protected against criminals through this integration.
Thailand’s Health Manager Pongthep Wongwatcharapaiboon laid out plans for the new year, including a national media plan in collaboration with road safety organizations.
He urged the general public to review careless drivers using social media to assist law enforcement efforts.
Surapong Piyachote, the lieutenant transport minister, claimed Morchit 2, Bangkok’s major bus terminal, was fully equipped to handle the holiday rush, which had actually begun yesterday.
Between yesterday and today, an average of 120 000 people were expected to board provincial buses that leave Bangkok each day.
At least 4, 500 vehicle trips per day will be made from Bangkok, supplemented by 1, 000 more trucks, he said.
The assistant secretary placed top focus on passengers ‘ health, emphasising that vehicle drivers must sleep properly, and all vehicles must undergo rigorous inspections. People are urged to examine their cards for departure times and arrive early.