Road safety boosted for Songkran

Road safety boosted for Songkran

Help on the way
Immigration police chief Nathathorn Prousoontorn informs a visitor of the assistance available at a passenger help centre at Suvarnabhumi airport ahead of the busy Songkran festival next week. Jiraporn Kuhakan
Help on the way Immigration police chief Nathathorn Prousoontorn informs a visitor of the assistance available at a passenger help centre at Suvarnabhumi airport ahead of the busy Songkran festival next week. Jiraporn Kuhakan

Transport authorities will intensify road safety measures at nearly 50 dangerous spots and more than 100 steep hills nationwide during the Songkran holiday exodus next week.

Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said heavy vehicles such as buses and trucks should exercise extra caution going up and down slopes.

Each incline on the list of 101 involves steep climbs and dangerous curves that can extend more than three kilometres.

The 47 spots to watch are situated on Highway 1 and 32, which lead to the North; Highway 2, heading to the Northeast; Highway 304 and 348, going to the lower Northeast; Highway 3 and 344, heading to the East; and Highway 35 and 4, leading to the South.

More than 20,000 volunteers will be deployed by the Department of Highways (DOH) and the Department of Rural Roads (DRR) to help ensure safe passage for motorists, Mr Arkhom said. They will also work with local police.

Motorists will be advised about routes to avoid due to high levels of traffic.

People can seek road congestion information from the DOH's free hotline (1586) and the traffic police hotline (1193).

Work is under way to improve signboards and traffic light signals, Mr Arkhom said. More signboards indicating bypass routes and warnings at railroad crossings will be installed.

Officers will be sent to 2,500 permanent railroad crossings and 574 makeshift ones nationwide.

"Safety vigilance will be more intense than in previous years due to the higher traffic volume expected between 4pm and 8pm on April 13, when frequent accidents were recorded in the past," Mr Arkhom said.

April 13 marks the first day of the Songkran long weekend. Mr Arkhom said more than 22 million people are expected to use mass public transport to go home and return to the cities to work between April 8-18.

The number of people travelling during the Songkran holiday is predicted to rise by more than one million as a result of the government's tourism tax deduction measures.

In Nakhon Ratchasima, Kiattibhoom Vongrachit, inspector-general for Public Health Region 9, yesterday met local officials to discuss road safety issues during the festival. Region 9 covers Nakhon Ratchasima, Chaiyaphum, Surin and Buri Ram provinces.

People caught drink-driving will be confined to a rest area until they are sober enough to drive again. During the Songkran holidays last year, the Northeast topped the country's road fatality rate with 146 deaths, followed by 86 in the Central Plains and 46 in the South, Dr Kiattibhoom said.

Meanwhile, Provincial Police Region 1, in charge of the Central Plains, will mobilise more than 5,000 officers to ensure safety during the festivities.

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