The campaign, for decades called the ‘Seven Days of Danger’, has now been rebranded as the ‘Seven Days of Family Happiness’.
Although the campaign focuses heavily on road safety ‒ as that is where most Thais who die in transport accidents during the New Year fail to survive ‒ the campaign is touted by officials as also encompassing water transport safety. Air transport safety is traditionally considered as provided for.
The ‘Seven Days’ campaign begins at midnight tonight, and will be in effect 24 hours a day from Dec 29 though to Jan 4.
With Phuket Governor Sophon Suwannarat absent, Vice Governor Sattha Thongtkham officiated the event held at Phuket Provincial Hall today.
Also present was Udomphon Kan, chief of the Phuket Provincial branch of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket). DDPM-Phuket is the agency traditionally responsible for overseeing the ‘Seven Days’ safety campaigns held both at the end of each calendar year, and for the Thai New Year Songkran holidays.
For this new year period, officials aim to “increase the intensity of all measures, hoping to reduce losses to a minimum, both in injuries and deaths”.
According to national road accident centre ThaiRSC, after two people died in road accidents in Phuket yesterday (Dec 27), Phuket so far this year has seen 135 people killed and 21,969 people requiring hospital treatment for injuries sustained in road accidents.
In the hope of reducing the deaths and injuries in road accidents over this New Year holidays, scores of officials joined the launch event today, now also an annual tradition.
Vice Governor Sattha today read the prime minister’s message for this year’s National Accident Prevention Day, which is observed on Dec 26 each year, then motioned for a convoy of law enforcement and emergency response vehicles, among others, to proceed past the gathering of officials.
Vice Governor also declared the opening of the ‘Road and Marine Accident Prevention Operations Center during the New Year Festival 2024’, which is to act as the coordination centre for the safety campaign, which carries the slogan,”Drive Safely. Accident-Free Thailand”.
Throughout the ‘Seven Days’ there will police checkpoints set up across the island to help prevent accidents by charging people for traffic violations, such as drunk driving, not wearing a seatbelt, driving without a licence and not wearing a helmet while riding a motorbike.