DPM Prawit stresses road safety during Songkran Festival

 

  

BANGKOK, 9th April 2018 (NNT) – Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan has instructed security agencies to adopt a heightened sense of alert during the Thai New Year. 

Stressing the need to ensure road safety and public safety during the Songkran Festival, Gen Prawit said all security units including response teams will be on a 24-hour standby in the event of an emergency. 

Road safety centers will operate in every community across Thailand during the “seven dangerous days” of Songkran which is from April 11th to 17th. Statistical data related to road accidents and fatalities in the past three years will be analyzed so as to allow traffic officers to carry out tasks more effectively to bring down the number of accidents, injuries, and deaths. 

He also asked holidaymakers to respect traffic laws and celebrate the occasion respectfully. 

Also known as the water festival, Songkran is rich with symbolic traditions such as merit-making, alms offering, water pouring on Buddha statues, and the famous Rod Nam Dam Hua ceremony where young people pour water onto the hands of their elders as a symbol of respect and to ask for forgiveness. 

 

-- nnt 2018-04-09

3 minutes ago, webfact said:

where young people pour water onto the hands of their elders as a symbol of respect and to ask for forgiveness.

shallow thinking and i don't believe it to be true; today's generation of thai respect little-to-nothing

4 minutes ago, webfact said:

Gen Prawit said

please please, just fade away

Ole fatty has instructed security agencies to be on heightened alert.

Do not spend all day looking at your watches.

mabey,Thailand in a galaxy far far away..here on earth,its ''Thunderdome''..

It was also reported that he will watch this time period closely.

17 minutes ago, webfact said:

where young people pour water onto the hands of their elders as a symbol of respect and to ask for forgiveness. 

Well, you can't do that anymore coz everybody is holding a mobile phone

or some other hi tech devices now days and these thing are not good

if you pour water on them....

Don't you just admire a politician who puts the welfare of his people ahead of his own! 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Songkran is rich with symbolic traditions such as

................................fill in your own fun quotes and ideas. 

Yeah, he is stressed beeing on the watch everyday.

1 hour ago, webfact said:

young people pour water onto the hands of their elders

 

Elders were advised to wear waterproof watches.

Toady boy  is learning

Note...Well covered wrists

22 hours ago, webfact said:

Road safety centers will operate in every community across Thailand during the “seven dangerous days” of Songkran which is from April 11th to 17th

Is that the guys sitting in tents at the entrance to each village, drinking soda water (we think) and playing their phones. Doing absolutely sweet <deleted> to help road safety.

TNN will never get an exclusive with that wrist ware.

1 hour ago, YetAnother said:

shallow thinking and i don't believe it to be true; today's generation of thai respect little-to-nothing

 

I think you might be surprised just how much respect is shown to elder family members still...

Sure, they have no respect for much when they are out prowling in gangs, same as everywhere in the world.

But the Thai culture of respecting the elders has endured much longer than in many Western countries.

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Statistical data related to road accidents and fatalities in the past three years will be analyzed so as to allow traffic officers to carry out tasks more effectively to bring down the number of accidents, injuries, and deaths. 

No more words necessary............................

 

Except perhaps that if the traffic officers were doing their jobs in the first place, there may be little necessity to study statistical data. Get these targeted time periods out of your mindset and start enforcing the traffic laws 365 and you will see a difference.

Prawit stressing road safety, what a joke. He has no idea about what it's like driving on Thai roads. I'll wager it's been more than 20 years since he has driven a car. He will go everywhere by cavalcade or helicopter. Driving oneself is for the plebs, yes of which I'm one...

 

One of the reporters should of asked him what time it was, and have a photographer at the ready to snap his timepiece... 

Just drove to work today 3 hoons in pickups speeding, weaving dangerously with black smoke pouring out the back every time they floored it, & the amount of motorcycles driving in the middle lane frightening,,,,, there must be Songkran in the air,

And not a BIB in sight for the whole 35 km.

Good Luck everybody

14 minutes ago, natway09 said:

there must be Songkran in the air

Just a normal day in Thailand!

As per usual, he's all mouth and no teeth, but he's good at watching.

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan has instructed security agencies to adopt a heightened sense of alert during the Thai New Year.

His actual words were, " Just watch out. Take your time when driving and ensure you strap yourself in. Don't let others wind you up. Do as we do, synchronise your movements, try not to second guess your fellow road users and above all, remember, your timing is most important - make every minute count!"  

Luckily, he is not one of those government hi-sos who hog the overtaking lane and break the speed limit in their chauffeur driven Merc and VW vans, the black ones with illegal black film on the windows. Are they allowed to chase that police car with flashing lights that is always in front of their little motorcade?

9 hours ago, webfact said:

need to ensure road safety and public safety during the Songkran Festival,

that is exactly what I expected....wait and see.

It's only about efforts for 2 weeks, then carnage can continue.

But I understand he's busy in other efforts how to get another watch.

'Prawit Wongsuwan has instructed security agencies to adopt a heightened sense of alert during the Thai New Year.'

Any sense of alert from the Thai authorities would represent new heights. As would any use of logic in dealing with the predictability of Songkran drivers. 

 

The government will present the eventual toll in a wonderfully optimistic light, no matter what. Everyone else will roll their eyes, shrug their shoulders, and look forward to 2019's pronouncements along yet more of the same lines.

 

 

11 hours ago, webfact said:

Road safety centers will operate in every community across Thailand during the “seven dangerous days” of Songkran which is from April 11th to 17th.

"seven dangerous days" are nothing but a photo op  for police and politicians alike.

26.000 are killed on the roads here every year.......71 each day........7x71=497

Normally less than 400 are killed during the "seven dangerous days"

 

Scary as it is....Songkran is actually the safest period on the roads in Thailand....

Oh, is it that TIME again?  Let's WATCH and see what happens