Local administration organisations should play a greater role in road and railway safety efforts, the Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT) has recommended.
According to EIT president Suchatvee Suwansawat, provincial and tambon authorities can help set risk-reducing measures and regulate their usage.
At a media conference yesterday Mr Suchatvee called for local administration organisations to address the problem of illegal railway crossings.
There are many illegal and accident-prone crossings nationwide, he said.
The State Railway of Thailand, responsible for legal ones, cannot solve the problem all by itself, Mr Suchatvee argued.
He suggested local authorities set up proper signals to warn cars of approaching trains, provide people with knowledge on the location and times at which trains pass, and report illegal routes to the Interior Ministry to have them closed.
"One does not have the right to establish a crossing wherever one pleases. By doing so, one potentially puts others in danger. It could be the train conductor, passengers, vehicle drivers or passersby," he said.
Recent collisions between trains and private vehicles have prompted more examination of crossings' safety conditions.
In response, the Transport Ministry plans to install security barriers at 130 spots or more with its 403-million-baht budget for the current fiscal year.
Anaek Siripanichgorn, responsible for the EIT Civil Engineering Department, would like to see a model road built in one local administration organisation and encourage others to imitate it through a contest for the "safest road".
"We would advise authorities on improving road conditions and reducing safety risks. Then we would give rewards to the provinces and tambons which implement our measures best," he said.
Mr Suchatvee called for the formation of a central body to oversee engineering safety. It would probe safety measures and ensure standards are met, he said.