Road safety concerns rise as upcountry travel surges for Songkran

[webfact]

 

Amid the forthcoming Songkran holiday, a surge in upcountry travel has sparked apprehension among road safety champions, who fear a rise in road mishaps outside the designated seven dangerous days of travelling. The seven dangerous days were initiated today and will conclude on April 17, and it is during these days that the highest incidents of road accidents are expected.

 

Assistant National Police Chief Kornchai Klayklueng revealed that the Royal Thai Police (RTP) aims to reduce road accidents by 5% during these seven days. The RTP is preparing for a 3.1% surge in travellers compared to the previous year’s holiday. They forecast the peak travel days to be today and tomorrow, with most departures from Bangkok and the busiest return dates being April 16-1

7.

In a bid to manage the situation, the RTP has established an Accident Control Operation Centre for this year’s Songkran. This will enhance law enforcement and introduce additional safety measures for drivers.

Kornchai also advised those using electric vehicles to arrange for a charging station stopover before their battery depletes due to potential traffic delays. To assist electric vehicle users, the Highway Police has mapped out a network of charging stations, he added.

However, Nikorn Jamnong, the director of the Chartthaipattana Party and president of the People’s Safety Foundation, expressed concern about an uptick in accidents before and after the seven dangerous days. He revealed that 60 fatalities were reported on Wednesday, a stark increase from last year’s 30 deaths during the same period. Out of these, 50 were motorcycle fatalities, including four expats.

 

Considering the 4,207 road fatalities reported in the first quarter of the year, Jamnong stressed the need for authorities to extend their road safety efforts beyond just the Songkran holiday dates.

 

Echoing similar sentiments, Prommin Kantiya, director of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation’s Accident Prevention Network, noted that some people have prolonged their holiday until April 21. This could potentially lead to a longer period of heavy road usage in the country, thereby intensifying the risk of accidents, reported Bangkok Post.

 

by Mitch Connor

Picture courtesy of Stay in Thailand

 

Source: The Thaiger 2024-04-12

 

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[ikke1959]

1. It is no news... Every year the same and after Songkran nobody cares anymore about road safety or decent driving education... It should be otherwise... 360 days of worried about road safety....But this is Thailand, the country that is not willing to change

[HappyExpat57]

Groundhog day.

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Amid the forthcoming Songkran holiday, a surge in upcountry travel has sparked apprehension among road safety champions, who fear a rise in road mishaps outside the designated seven dangerous days of travelling. The seven dangerous days were initiated today and will conclude on April 17, and it is during these days that the highest incidents of road accidents are expected.

I wonder how many won't even get to splash water....

[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

1. It is no news... Every year the same and after Songkran nobody cares anymore about road safety or decent driving education... It should be otherwise... 360 days of worried about road safety....But this is Thailand, the country that is not willing to change

Get used to it, this is Thailand, the land where people are not oppressed by safety... they are allowed to exercise freedom even if it means death.

If you want to survive best go live somewhere else like Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom

[connda]

Just made a trip up to Chiang Mai for my wife's dentist appointment and then returned to the rice fields of rural Lamphun and home just after lunch.  The roads were actually not bad in the least, especially the highways.  It was one of the more relaxing drives I've made recently. Made a quick stop at Lamphun Big C which was nuts.  Just needed to buy a few essential to get us through the next five days and then headed for the exit.

So now - staying home and staying off the roads until after the 16th.  Sawatdee Bpii Mai ya'll. 

[connda]

If you put "Wishes" in one hand...
 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Assistant National Police Chief Kornchai Klayklueng revealed that the Royal Thai Police (RTP) aims to reduce road accidents by 5% during these seven days

...and Buffalo Poo in the other 💩 ...
 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

However, Nikorn Jamnong, the director of the Chartthaipattana Party and president of the People’s Safety Foundation, expressed concern about an uptick in accidents before and after the seven dangerous days. He revealed that 60 fatalities were reported on Wednesday, a stark increase from last year’s 30 deaths during the same period.

...guess which hand will fill up first.    "Right!"

Suggestion to the RPT leadership:  Until you adopt first-world traffic enforcement standards - like using patrol cars to pull drivers over to moving violations and suspected drunk driving (as opposed to escorting VIPS) - then the carnage will never end...... nor will the baseless predictions that "this year will be different" (we hear the same thing every year) - and you'll have your poo-hand always filled with kee kwai as well as egg on your face for claiming that your old, tired road-block paradigm is going to have any more of an affect than it's had in the past.  Heck, it's a celebration when the RPT catches a few hundred drunk drivers out of the few hundred thousand weaving down the road.

[peter zwart]

Then stop being concerned and start acting. 

[mikebell]

On 4/12/2024 at 9:36 AM, webfact said:

Considering the 4,207 road fatalities reported in the first quarter of the year,

That's about 47 a day!  So far.  Hard to tell the 7 dangerous days from the 'safe' ones.

[sammieuk1]

On the laughable side my inlaws drove from the wrong side of Bangkok to Chiang Mai had a massive fall out with relations within minutes and drove back all within 21 hours  🤔