PM hopes to call Songkran period "Seven Happy Days"

BANGKOK, 10 April 2014 (NNT) - Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra stressed that road safety remains a priority this year during the Songkran Festival, adding that she hopes the period will be called “Seven Happy Days” instead of “Seven Dangerous Days”.

The premier said she has instructed each province to launch campaigns and implement measures to reduce the number of road fatalities. Figures from this year will be compared with those from the year before.

Security agencies will also be alert during the festive period and will monitor the situation in case political violence flares up.

The Metropolitan Police Bureau will also survey areas to crackdown on crimes and to manage traffic flows during April 11-17. Officers will be sent to 30 water-splashing sites across the capital to keep an eye on the situation.


-- NNT 2014-04-10

A good positive statement by yingluck.

Let's hope the road tolls much lower than previous years.

The last couple of weeks have been horrendous.

Good Ms. Yingluck has instructed again. Now if only she would also follow up on those instructions, check something gets done and so.

Well, at least no protests for seven days and hopefully also no grenade attacks.

May all have seven happy days coming week

Let's hope this year is better then previous years. But I have my doubts because what exactly has anyone in authority done to correct this carnage which happens every holiday here in Thailand? By observing their behavior on the highways, very little or nothing. Keeps the undertakers in business.

How about 7 years of happiness Yingluck by disappearing.

Fonzy is coming?

That's dangerous

Actually, great idea, renaming it the 7 happy days will surely have a great effect on road accidents...

Is this a clue that she's planning to hang up the big shoe, park the wheelchair for the last time and tell BB he can find another relative to mind the shop?

'The premier said she has instructed each province to launch campaigns and implement measures to reduce the number of road fatalities. Figures from this year will be compared with those from the year before.'

Erm..... Yingluck darling.

The traveling has already begun today, and now you come out asking relevant agencies to bring in campaigns and implement measures???

You are an embarrassment to Thailand. First of all... this is just rhetoric and secondly way too late... As usual, you appear to be like the little girl at the back of the queue when you are meant to be stood at the head of the line directing the queue.

Pathetic.

im going for the big 1,000 casualties..would be fantastic if its 0 but i doubt it..the music is going to be horrendous happy holiday everyone be safe out there...hill street blues

Great to see at least a few positive comments on TV.

It's always a good thing to have robust debate from all sides of politics but how about we leave the negatives aside on this particular thread.

There's more than ample opportunities to let fly on the many threads on TVF.

To all the posters and the moderators and families a very safe and happy songran!

The figures that will be released everyday over Songkran are absolutely meaningless and will bear no relation to the true death and injury toll.

Considering yinglucks predicament I would not be calling it the "Seven Happy Days".

It should be called "The Last Supper"

I've actually never really understood what the ruckus is about these so-called "7 dangerous days". Apparently, Thailand clocks up an enormously high number of road deaths every single day of the year - i.e. not only during Songkran.

After all, and depending on which study one consults, Thailand globally ranks second to fourth in terms of total road fatalities per annum.

One source (http://global.umich.edu/2014/02/thai-roads-ranked-no-2-for-traffic-deaths/) puts annual road deaths at almost 30,000 people per year.

Statistically, that's a daily average of roughly 80 fatalities. Multiply that by 7 and you get 560 fatalities in a week. That is MORE dead people than were reported over the entire Songkran people last year.

So what exactly makes these "7 dangerous days" so much different from any other given 7-day period in the LOS? Why this obsession with daily reporting of road fatalities during Songkran, when it is apparent that the road carnage persists EVERY day?

"...were reported over the entire Songkran people last year."

I meant to write "period", of course.

I've actually never really understood what the ruckus is about these so-called "7 dangerous days". Apparently, Thailand clocks up an enormously high number of road deaths every single day of the year - i.e. not only during Songkran.

After all, and depending on which study one consults, Thailand globally ranks second to fourth in terms of total road fatalities per annum.

One source (http://global.umich.edu/2014/02/thai-roads-ranked-no-2-for-traffic-deaths/) puts annual road deaths at almost 30,000 people per year.

Statistically, that's a daily average of roughly 80 fatalities. Multiply that by 7 and you get 560 fatalities in a week. That is MORE dead people than were reported over the entire Songkran people last year.

So what exactly makes these "7 dangerous days" so much different from any other given 7-day period in the LOS? Why this obsession with daily reporting of road fatalities during Songkran, when it is apparent that the road carnage persists EVERY day?

I like the logic here. In fact she could say that during Songkran, Road deaths and injuries actually go down compared to normal weeks. And if one was really serious about reducing the carnage, let's make it year round

Would love to see Yingluck cruise down any soi in CM on her Honda Dream and not get slammed in the face by a bucket of polluted klong water. Make my day..............

Carnage as usual on the highways.

Happy Endings would be more appropriate given the carnage.

farangs nip off to neighboring countries to get away from the mayhem ,not everybody is happy with the water throwing

Why are they calling her the pemier? She is only the catetaker. Also i dont seem to recall her taking any stand on reducing accidents last yeat when she wad a premier. Is she trying to make people believe she really cares or trying to boost support for the upcoming elections?

Sent from my GT-S5310 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Just the Thai Government pretending to care when they will fudge the numbers like they do every year.

Are the monks out blessing the roads again yet?That seemed to help a lot over the new year.

farangs nip off to neighboring countries to get away from the mayhem ,not everybody is happy with the water throwing

True. One year I went to Kathmandu just before the mayhem began and hid out in the Himalayas in Nepal and then Tibet and China and got back a week after it was over. Best Songkran ever.

I share her wish. Health and happiness for everyone.

And I also wish that her brother's omen will not become true. He predicted a Black Songkran for this year. I wish he was wrong.

we'll see how much notice the provinces take of her 'instructions'. let me take a wild guess... they'll ignore them.

How on earth can Thailand expect to be taken seriously when for a week they resort to throwing water at everyone and do nothing about the carnage on the roads.

Thailand ha and always will be a 'joke' country.

.............Nero's got nothing on her............

.......scary psycho sh*t................