Safe Songkran travel campaign to begin

[webfact]

Safe Songkran travel campaign to begin

BANGKOK: -- Motorists traveling on highways and roads are warned of tough enforcement of laws under a campaign to be launched by transport and road safety officials on the Songkran festival.

Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation director-general Chatchai Phromlert said road safety measures will be strictly implemented during the long Songkran holiday from April 11 to 17 when millions of Songkran revelers are expected to leave the capital to celebrate Songkran water festivals in their home towns and other famous tourist destinations in the North.

Under the road safety campaign, cooperation between central and local road accident response centers and road maintenance units are to be enhanced, along with strict control of passenger buses and vans.

He said roadside checkpoints will be set up to promote road safety as well as rapid deployment of medical and rescue personnel in the event of accidents.

Moreover traffic rules, strict control on the sale of alcoholic beverages and an alcohol ban at water festival venues will be strictly enforced during the Songkran festival.

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry’s permanent secretary Panadda Diskul said the majority of road accidents involved motorcycles with almost half of motorists involving in accidents were drunk

Stop Drink Network, said authorities have launched a campaign against alcoholic drinks being consumed at water festival venues nationwide

According to the Stop Drink Network, a survey conducted on 6,700 people nationwide last year found that 85% of respondents supported an alcohol ban at Songkran festival venues and 79% did not want festival organizers to be sponsored by alcoholic beverage firms.

This year several leading shopping center in the capital will ban participants to bring alcoholic beverages into the water festival held at their premises.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/safe-songkran-travel-campaign-begin/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=safe-songkran-travel-campaign-begin

-- Thai PBS 2014-04-04

[webfact]

Songkran road safety measures to be launched

BANGKOK, 4 April 2014 (NNT) - The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) has implemented various measures to help promote road safety for the upcoming Songkran holiday.

Chatchai Phromlert, the DDPM Director-General, revealed that his department has come up with several road safety measures for the Songkran Festival. He has requested everybody to join hands in order to reduce road accidents during the week of Songkran, which will take place from April 11th to 17th.

The DDPM has come up with three measures for the Songkran holiday, which are to enforce strict traffic regulations to minimize accidents, applying effective methods to manage the vehicular traffic, and providing convenience for commuters. Towards the goals, transport officials are instructed to ensure safety on public transports while ‘zoning areas’ for water splashing activities will be arranged so that they don’t obstruct traffic.

The director-general further said that he will establish an ad hoc Accident Prevention and Reduction Center to reduce risks of road accidents, and if possible, to make every road free from accidents during the Songkran Holiday.


-- NNT 2014-04-04

[Basil B]

My advice don't travel.

Stock up with 5 days provisions (10 days for Pattaya).

Lock all your doors and hibernate until the stupidity dies down.

[uty6543]

My advice don't travel.

Stock up with 5 days provisions (10 days for Pattaya).

Lock all your doors and hibernate until the stupidity dies down.

The stupidity on the roads last all year.

[orchidlady]

How about outlawing double decker buses from trying to overtake other vehicles? Another crash just reported in heavy rain while bus failed to overtake car and crashed into a truck!

[Jonmarleesco]

'... traffic rules, strict control on the sale of alcoholic beverages and an alcohol ban at water festival venues will be strictly enforced during the Songkran festival.' AGAIN??? What's the phrase? Oh, yes: deja vu.

[patayayaya]

My advice don't travel.

Stock up with 5 days provisions (10 days for Pattaya).

Lock all your doors and hibernate until the stupidity dies down.

how about just buy a blow up doll and stay in your country oh , and use a rubber to be on the safe side.

[belg]

safe here means, hopefully 1 less death than last year...

[AryanicAristocrat]

Seriously? Every year is the same so called campaigns but then look at the eventual statistics.

[Jeremy50]

Here we go again. Make a big fuss about road safety during Sonkran, then concerns about road safety during the rest of the year can be swept under the carpet. 25000 road deaths a year. Absolutely shocking.

[DLP]

Lets ban alcoholic beverages.

Lets ban double decker buses

Whatever you ban wont stop people getting drunk, throwing water at traffic, causing accidents, drink driving,

same, same, every year.

Lets just ban Songkran and be done with it.

[harleyd61]

ahhhh........Songkran is coming....again........

[Tokay]

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results."

Edited April 4, 2014 by Tokay

[kickstart]

Their will 300 deaths on the roads this year like every year ,same as new year, stop selling alcohol ,good idea,

Your 7-11 etc. might stop selling ,you tell that to the shop end of our soi or the end of any soi in the LOS, 2 hopes ,no hope and Bob Hope.

Thai's will not listen to any one, just carry on as usually ,it is a sad fact what the government does/says ,it will always end in the same results, a lot of deaths. and misery.

[hawker9000]

My advice don't travel.

Stock up with 5 days provisions (10 days for Pattaya).

Lock all your doors and hibernate until the stupidity dies down.

...or, just hop on a plane and take a "vacation" from Thailand. Whatever you do, the roads are probably a bad idea.

[BillyBobThai]

Their will 300 deaths on the roads this year like every year ,same as new year, stop selling alcohol ,good idea,

Your 7-11 etc. might stop selling ,you tell that to the shop end of our soi or the end of any soi in the LOS, 2 hopes ,no hope and Bob Hope.

Thai's will not listen to any one, just carry on as usually ,it is a sad fact what the government does/says ,it will always end in the same results, a lot of deaths. and misery.

Why should the Thai people listen to what the government says? The government here in Thailand from top to bottom are corrupt and do what they like without regard to the welfare of the people. Get drunk and run over as many gov officials as you can.

[selftaopath]

Between checkpoints is "no man's land" where anything goes i.e. act out your aggression etc.

[bbbbooboo]

How does it go.Stupid....stupider.......stupidest?

[marko kok prong]

why do they even bother making these announcements,i will be staying indoors for the whole thing,have already told the wife the car will be staying parked for the duration,she is a good and careful driver but it the other idiots i am worried about.