The news came at the fifth meeting of the Phuket Road Safety Committee to be held this year, this time held yesterday (Aug 22) at the offices of Patong Municipality.
Phuket Vice Governor Anupap Rodkwan Yodrambam chaired the meeting, which was attended by DDPM-Phuket Chief Udomporn Kan, police and representatives from a host of government agencies on the island, including the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO).
The committee agreed to move ahead with its plan to create a standard rental contract for car and motorbike rental operators to use when renting vehicles out to tourists.
The PLTO is to work in consultation with the Phuket Public Prosecutor’s Office to draft the standard contract, which is also to be made available in three languages, said an official report of the meeting.
The committee affirmed its guidelines for car and motorbike rental operators to comply with, as follows:
- The person renting the vehicle must have a valid, appropriate driver’s licence
- People who rent motorbikes must wear a helmet at all times when riding the motorbike
- Car and motorbike rental operators must not hold tourists’ passports as a requirement of renting out the vehicle
- Car and motorbike rental operators must check the readiness of the renter’s physical condition before renting the vehicle to them
- The vehicle being rented out must be fully registered with its road tax up to date, and must be covered under the Road Accident Victims Protection. Act, B.E. 2535
- Car and motorbike rental operators must ensure the vehicle and all accessories are “correct”
Following the accident on June 19 which saw two men in a pickup killed by a runaway six-wheeled truck descending Patong Hill, the committee resolved to have signs posted in Thai and English warning motorists "Use low gear intermittently" or "Use low gear only".
Also, a sign clearly marking the times large vehicles may be driven over Patong Hill is to be installed in front of Wat Patong.
Following an accident on Aug 11 in front of the Hua Saphan Market on Sri Suthat Rd (westbound) in Ratsada, officials on the committee agreed to have the following action taken: 1) Have the road surface repaired where there are holes in the road; 2) Mark traffic lines to be clearly visible; and 3) have three speed bumps installed, marked by poles with yellow flashing warning lamps.
Two ‘rumble strips’ are also to be installed on the bridge to Koh Siray, one in the middle of the bridge, the other at the far end of the bridge.
Vice Governor Anupap said the measures were aimed at “increasing the effectiveness of road accident prevention”.
“All sectors must work together to prevent accidents in Phuket, and to produce tangible results,” he said.
Officials are to implement the road safety plan set out in July, with special focus on preventing more tourist deaths on Phuket’s roads, and ensuring that people on motorbikes wear helmets “100%”, he said.
Doing so would help to result in a “reduction of overall losses at the national level”, he said.
When launching the road-safety campaign in July, Phuket officials recognised that on average 135 people a year, an average of 11 people a month, are killed in road accidents in Phuket.
“But the situation is becoming increasingly worse,” officials admitted.
From January through April this year, 64 people died in road accidents in Phuket, compared with 41 deaths during the same period last year.
On average 16 people were killed each month over the first four months of this year, with most of those killed on motorbikes. Of the total number of people killed, 93% were people riding motorcycles, while motorbike riders accounted for 89% of the people injured in road accidents.
At the current rate, Phuket was likely to see more than 200 people die on the island’s roads within the coming year, officials at the campaign launch, including Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew, were told.
According to national road safety agency ThaiRSC, as of today (Aug 23) 97 people have been killed and 13,897 people have been hospitalised for injuries sustained in road accidents in Phuket so far this year.
Three people have died on Phuket’s roads since Wednesday last week.