Phuket Vice Governor Anupap Rodkwan Yodrabam passed on the order at a meeting of the Phuket Road Safety Committee held at the Phuket Provincial office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) yesterday (Oct 10).
Vice Governor Anupap explained that the directive came from the national Road Safety Administration Center, instructing provincial road safety committees to implement measures in order to achieve target values for road accident fatalities at the provincial level.
Official reports of the meeting did not explain what the target values for Phuket were.
However, according to the national Thailand Road Safety Committee (ThaiRSC) Phuket already so far this year has recorded 78 deaths and 12,897 people admitted to hospitals for injuries sustained in road accidents.
For all of last year, Phuket marked 71 deaths and 13,076 people injured in road accidents on the island.
Phuket recorded one death and 53 people injured in road accidents yesterday alone (Oct 10).
Officials are to enforce road safety measures throughout the long weekend from Oct 13-16 and report their effectiveness to the national road safety database, Vice Governor Anupap explained.
The practice has already been followed during previous long weekends this year from July 13-17 and July 28-31, he noted.
Vice Governor Anupap gave special mention to enforcing road safety regulations regarding crosswalks.
People found breaking traffic regulations regarding crosswalks are to face the full extent of the law, he said.
“Officials are to prosecute violators not complying with the law to receive the maximum penalty. Drivers are to strictly comply with the law so that crossing areas are safe, such as reducing speed before reaching the crosswalk,” he said.
Vice Governor Anupap also ordered officials to ensure that clear traffic markings on the road surface were provided and that warning signs were clearly visible to drivers and pedestrians.
“Officials are also to raise awareness of the loss that may arise from undisciplined driving and not obeying traffic rules,” he said.
The reports of the road safety measures deployed this weekend , and their results, will be used in helping to formulate road safety policies in the future, he added.
All reports must be submitted by Nov 4, he said.