Police Recruit Monks to Help Promote Road Safety
By Khaosod English


Monks gather for a meeting with police in Nakhon Si Thammarat about promoting road safety, 28 July 2015.

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT — Police in southern Thailand have asked Buddhist monks to help promote road safety by explaining to temple-goers that accidents are caused by recklessness, not bad karma.

Pol.Col. Wanchai Ekpornpitch, deputy commander of Nakhon Si Thammarat police force, told over local 90 monks in an auditorium today that police are looking to cut traffic accident fatalities by half by the year 2020.

"We want to encourage 100 percent of motorcyclists and their passengers to wear motorcycle helmets, so we invited the monks to listen to accident statistics and other measures, because religious institutions are very important in spreading information, through sermons, discussions, and other public relations efforts with people who make merit at temples," Pol.Col. Wanchai told reporters.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1438065837


-- Khaosod English 2015-07-28

It's a start. A bit of a deterrent in the way of enforcement of existing traffic safety laws would be even better. In other words, real police doing real police work.

Looking at the picture they look really interested... (look like a bunch of speeding motorist at a speed aware lecture).

What ever happened to the police enforcing driving standards???

I see from the image that at least three monks are taking a nap while the rest look highly interested and alert. And how about that young chap in the lower left corner? Is he involved, too?

On the other hand I find this a rather good initiative - if it works. If people believe in the lottery numbers given out to them by monks, chances are they also might take heed about the dangers of reckless driving when the advice comes from the mouth of a saffron-clad holy man.

Question is if the monks really want to enlighten their flock that karma is nothing but a myth, thus chipping away at all the hocus pocus that goes for Buddhism in this country.

Looking at the picture they look really interested... (look like a bunch of speeding motorist at a speed aware lecture).

What ever happened to the police enforcing driving standards???

Kid in the lower left is differently interested. NOT. Two in the top right are asleep.

LOS gets more bizarre by the day.

How about the monk on the far right doing the face palm? He must be thinking, there goes my fake amulet business.

Amazing Thailand!

Did they arrive at the briefing in a fleet of pickups with the monks crammed in the back as is usual where I live ?

Road safety ?

Haha when all else fails.. Wheel in the monks.. It's fair to say that Thailand really doesn't have a police force to speak of. Even by the diabolically low standards of the BIB here this is uncharted territory. Good for a laugh though :/

Poor misguided fools. They will just never get it.

Please sort out the drunks and drug addicted before.

It is a start, and a reasonable approach.....except for two things; 1. How many of the monks, especially senior monks, will like the idea of undercutting the karma business, and 2. If this is a trial, wouldn't it be better to do it in an area that has not got such a large Muslim population who will not be getting the message and thus will skew any results.

The police should not have mentioned karma. They should have asked the monks to get the message across simply from a humanitarian POV to lower the death toll.

And helmets are the same as ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.....accident prevention is the key, not injury mitigation.

they want to "encourage" people to use helmets? I would like to encourage the BIB to do their jobs and "enforce" laws. Lazy, useless, stupid and corrupt. The perfect storm of incompetence. Fire them all and start over without the culture of paying for your positions.

Why can't they just enforce the damned law???

Please sort out the drunks and drug addicted before.

Why sort them out?

they will fit right in with their hosts

I believe they were picked mostly for their high visibility values.

Put a monk on every high risk hotspot, everyone will take notice

The lad on the left looks like he has wandered outside the 300m zone and had a drop of Sangsom.

I read it as "Monkeys" rather than "Monks", but then looking at the picture maybe I was right first time.

They need to start with media education on driving safely. It is education that is required then when you have that in place it is enforcement.

The driving test is absolutely useless, making applicants watch a video that is nearly 2 hours long just sends them to sleep. It requires some on road driving with examiner sat next to them.

They need to start with media education on driving safely. It is education that is required then when you have that in place it is enforcement.

The driving test is absolutely useless, making applicants watch a video that is nearly 2 hours long just sends them to sleep. It requires some on road driving with examiner sat next to them.

They need to start with media education on driving safely. It is education that is required then when you have that in place it is enforcement.

The driving test is absolutely useless, making applicants watch a video that is nearly 2 hours long just sends them to sleep. It requires some on road driving with examiner sat next to them.

They need to start with media education on driving safely. It is education that is required then when you have that in place it is enforcement.

The driving test is absolutely useless, making applicants watch a video that is nearly 2 hours long just sends them to sleep. It requires some on road driving with examiner sat next to them.

Now how do you make saffron, florescent?

LOL...............

When I'm feeling blue...I just read Thai Visa....and have a chuckle.

Don't stop yet make up rank chevrons with velco backing to give to the monks . Start at private and go up to sergeant major rank for the older more obese ones and you will get the attention of some folks.

use them as traffic cones on roads where there are accident blackspots??

As other posters have pointed out, the monks cannot now explain to their gullible flock that wearing a motorcycle helmet every time they ride will be more effective than carrying a lucky charm, and will also change the odds of Karma taking effect.....

I think this group was just glad to get away from a day of boring chores.

It's a start. A bit of a deterrent in the way of enforcement of existing traffic safety laws would be even better. In other words, real police doing real police work.

Why would they do something when they can get someone else to do it for them

Maybe if the monks manned the road checkpoints leaving the police free to do some policing, we would get somewhere. They wear the right colour clothes for it and I for one would be more up for making merit with a donation to a monk if I get caught out than to pay an un-reciepted "fine" to a police officer.

could we just have decent driving schools, make sure that everyone is properly trained to drive, and that drivers actually have licenses?