PHUKET: Phuket City Municipality will launch its attempt to reduce road accidents over the New Year holidays with a campaign starting on Friday (Dec 24).
The campaign will start ahead of the official “Seven Days of Danger” nationwide road-safety campaign to be observed this year from Dec 29 to Jan 4.
“This is the period when many people use road vehicles to travel back to their hometowns and just to travel,” Phuket City Mayor Saroj Angkanapilas said at the campaign launch event yesterday (Dec 21).
“As a result, there is a large number of vehicles that cause accidents, much higher than normal,” he added.
“All parties involved should realise the importance of preventing and solving road accidents and to promote and support the integrated plan of Phuket during the New Year’s festival to reduce road accidents to a minimum,” he said.
“By focusing on reducing risk factors from people, vehicles, roads and the environment, along with raising awareness of road safety among motorists and encouraging local government organisations to play a role in preventing and reducing road accidents according to the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Act,” he continued.
“Phuket City Municipality has organized a project to prevent and reduce road accidents during the New Year’s festival, between Dec 24-Jan 4,” he said.
A main headquarters for the Phuket City campaign will be set at the Chalermprakiat Park gate on Wirat Hongyok Uthit Rd, Mayor Saroj explained.
More than 20 officers from the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), Phuket City Municipality and Civil Defense Volunteers will be performing duties to carry out the campaign at locations throughout Phuket City Municipality 24 hours a day, he said.
“As well as providing support according to the integrated plan to prevent and reduce road accidents during the New Year’s festival,” he added.
The aim of the campaign was to help Phuket realise its goal of fewer accidents, injuries and deaths than recorded during the New Year holidays last year, Mayor Saroj noted.
Over the New Year Seven Days campaign last year, DDPM-Phuket reported that Phuket suffered a total of 35 accidents with 36 people and one death for the whole seven-day campaign across the island.
In contrast, ThaiRSC reported that 299 people were injured and one person died in road accidents in Phuket during the whole seven days.
The announcement of the Phuket City road-safety campaign yesterday came as a public hearing led by Phuket Vice Governor Amnuay Pinsuwan aimed to gather feedback on the road safety “master framework” to prevent and reduce all road accidents.
The meeting was attended by officials and interested parties from all 14 provinces of Southern Thailand, said a report by the Phuket office of the Public Relations Department (PR Phuket).
The feedback is to be used in drafting “Road Safety Master Plan No. 5” for the years 2022-2027, said the report.
Vice Governor Amnuay pointed out that road accidents were a concern around the world.
“By 2020, the United Nations has called on member countries to improve road safety solutions. It is an important agenda of every country within the framework of the Stockholm Declaration, and the goal is to reduce road accident deaths by at least 50% between 2020 and 2030,” he added.
“The fourth ‘Master Framework’, developed to be used as a framework for the implementation of all sectors from 2018-2021, is coming to an end,” V/Gov Amnuay said.
“Therefore, in order for Thailand to have a macro plan in continuous action to prevent and reduce road accidents in all dimensions, a new road safety master plan is needed in order to serve as a framework for driving operations and integration from all relevant sectors, opinions from relevant agencies and civil society groups in 14 southern provinces have been arranged for information on organising to make the next master plan,” he explained.
The report by PR Phuket did not detail any recommendations put forward at the meeting.
Source: The Phuket News
