Highway Police Division commander Pol Maj Gen Somchai Kaosamran said yesterday (Nov 5) driver behaviour was responsible for 73 per cent of road accidents. He did not cite the source of the statistic.
Most road crashes resulted due to speeding and driving in the left lane, not bad roads or weather. Motorists involved in crashes broke traffic rules and ignored warning signs and signals, he said.
“If drivers see police, they often drive normally. If officers aren’t around, they often travel at the speed they want. This is the behaviour of Thai motorists which is a common scene on highways,” said Pol Maj Gen Somchai.
During the most recent New Year and Songkran holidays, road accidents declined sharply due to strict traffic enforcement. Highway police focused on motorists violating 10 offences, including speeding, drunk driving, helmet use, and seat belts, said Pol Maj Gen Somchai. However, those crackdown operations on violating motorists were launched only a short period, he added.
He said there were problems regarding enforcement, as the Land Transport Department had no authority to revoke driving licences of motorists who repeat their offences. Amendments to relevant laws were needed, he said.
He said complaints often were lodged against highway police who strictly enforced the law and arrested offenders.
“As kilometre 27 on Mittaparb Road is a dangerous curve where road crashes often occur, highway police tackled the problem by putting warning signs and arresting speeding motorists in a bid to reduce road accidents. However, the officers received more complaints by doing so,” said the traffic chief.
Most road accidents did not take place on highways, but on secondary roads or local streets, and mostly involved motorcycles, he said. Local residents did not wear safely helmets when travelling on local roads.
To efficiently reduce road accidents, campaigns had to be intensively launched to urge motorists to strictly abide by the traffic law, he said.
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