The commitment ‒ made every year ‒ was made again during a provincial road safety review meeting chaired by Phuket Vice Governor Teeraphong Chuaychoo at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday (May 19).
Officials from the Phuket Provincial Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office, road safety programme representatives, local authorities and district officials attended the meeting to assess current accident reduction measures and discuss strategies for improving road safety operations across the province. said an official report of the meeting.
At the meeting, officials reportedly stressed the importance of integrated cooperation between government agencies, local administrative organisations, the private sector and the public in tackling Phuket’s ongoing road safety challenges.
Officials also reviewed accident reduction initiatives already implemented in high-risk areas, including investigations into recurring crash sites and the use of statistical data to identify problem areas and improve planning, said the report.
Provincial officials aim to reduce the road fatality rate to below 87.45 deaths per 100,000 population this year, with a longer-term target of reducing the rate to no more than 44.88 deaths per 100,000 population by 2027, the report added.
Measures discussed included traffic discipline campaigns, improved training for operational teams and continued accident investigations to identify and address dangerous locations.
Officials also highlighted several key risk factors contributing to accidents in Phuket, including the increasing number of motorcycles on the roads, speeding behaviour and hazardous road layouts, particularly at intersections and known accident blackspots.
Examples of mitigation measures already introduced in some areas included the installation of speed bumps, road surface improvements and changes to the management of high-risk traffic areas.
The meeting also reviewed the operational model used by district-level road safety centres, which combines data from police, public health officials, administrative offices and local authorities to analyse accident causes and monitor the effectiveness of safety measures through regular monthly meetings.
Road safety network representatives additionally proposed expanding campaigns aimed at improving traffic discipline and increasing public awareness, particularly among young people, through training programmes and safe driving activities, the official report of the meeting noted.
District representatives later broke into working groups to review local road safety operations, discuss obstacles and share solutions aimed at strengthening Phuket’s long-term accident reduction strategy.
Meanwhile, according to national road safety agency ThaiRSC, Phuket has suffered 64 road deaths and 11,843 people injured in road accidents already so far this year.