Preventing and Reducing Road Accidents during the New Year Festive Season

The Cabinet, during its meeting on 25 December 2013, acknowledged an integrated plan to prevent and reduce road accidents during the New Year festive season.

The plan was proposed by the Interior Minister, in his capacity as Chairman of the Road Safety Directing Center. It will be carried out from 27 December 2013 to 2 January 2014.

Under the plan, the campaign for road safety will be heightened, and five measures will be implemented during the seven-day period. The measures include management, roads and safe travel, safe vehicles, use of roads for transportation safety, and emergency medical and rescue services in case of road accidents.

The campaign for road safety seeks to promote the use of safety helmets among motorcyclists and safety belts while traveling in cars, to reduce risks from alcohol abuse, and to upgrade the safety standards for vehicles, especially motorcycles, trucks, and public transport. It also focuses on controlling alcohol consumption and stepping up public relations campaigns through all media channels.

The objective of the campaign is to bring down the number of road accidents and the death toll against the figures during the 2013 New Year celebrations. The campaign for road safety is carried out every year during the New Year festive season, between late December and early January, and during Songkran, the traditional Thai New Year in April. These are the periods when a great number of people are on the road.

Accidents kill a large number of people in Thailand each year, and out of these accidents, about 90 percent are caused by road traffic. Drunk driving has been cited as a major cause of road accidents, which result in great economic losses, in addition to loss of lives, injury, and property damage.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transport is joining hands with the StopDrink Network in pushing for law enforcement that would ban alcohol sales and consumption on trains and at train stations nationwide. The StopDrink Network is part of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation.

The State Railway of Thailand earlier issued announcements controlling alcohol consumption and sales on trains and at train stations. The Ministry of Transport and the StopDrink Network deem it necessary to introduce the law in order to reduce crime and accidents.

A survey shows that most passengers, at 85.95 percent, consider alcohol consumption and sales on train a major problem. Passengers who drink alcohol often irritate and disturb fellow passengers and might sexually harass other travelers. They are likely to be the cause of accidents on railways, as well. 

The Ministry of Transport on 25 December began a campaign against alcohol consumption on trains and at train stations in order to reduce risks of accidents during the New Year festive season.

(thailand.prd.go.th)