Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam will hold a meeting tomorrow with the Royal Thai Police (RTP) and the Department of Land Transport (DLT) to tackle unclear regulations involving restrictions on people riding in the rear space or trays of pickup trucks.
The meeting will discuss the enforcement of certain regulations which are still unclear, particularly the 14/2017 order issued by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) that ushered in a ban on people riding in the back of pickups, Mr Wissanu said yesterday.
Existing laws related to this may need to be amended to ensure they follow the same direction, he said.
New measures meanwhile could also be sought along with the order that was imposed under Section 44 of the interim charter which has been carried over to the new constitution, the deputy premier noted.
Authorities will also assess information gathered on the number of road accidents during the Songkran festival, Mr Wissanu said.
It has been found the number of accidents involving public vehicles fell but motorcycle accidents increased, he said, admitting the government failed to ramp up public relations campaigns on road safety among motorcyclists and this issue would need to be discussed in the meeting.
Referring to an earlier meeting between representatives from the DLT and the RTP on how to ease the new restrictions involving pickup trucks, Deputy Transport Minister Pichit Akrathit said no conclusions had been reached as there were still legal implications regarding the matter.
The laws concerned include the 1979 Motor Vehicle Act, which requires automobile safety to be enforced by the DLT; the 1979 Land Traffic Act, which concerns traffic safety regulated by the RTP; and the NCPO's 14/2017 order, which bans travel in trays and rear spaces of pickup trucks and requires passengers to buckle up, he said.
The laws as well as the NCPO order must provide a clear direction for the enforcement of the rules, he said.