The high traffic-related death toll during the New Year celebrations should make the Prayut Chan-o-cha government realise that a plan to increase speed limits may not really be a good idea.
The plan has been pushed by Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob together with other traffic initiatives since he took office last July. Under the plan, the far right lane on certain roads will allow drivers to go at 120 kilometres per hour, while the central and left lane will see vehicles moving at 100kph and 80kph respectively. The minister has proposed the new speed limit, which is aimed at improving mobility, be applied to a 150km-long stretch of Highway 32 between Bang Pa-in in Ayutthaya and Nakhon Sawan, as a pilot project, and also some sections of the Mitraphap Highway in the Northeast and Vibhavadi Rangsit Road in Bangkok.
The regulation on new speed limits was to be submitted to Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon at the end of last month. But the New Year's death tolls should make Mr Saksayam and the government think again. As of yesterday, the fifth day of the so-called "seven dangerous days", the death toll well surpassed 200, with more than 2,000 injuries. The number is down slightly from that of last year but the decrease was insignificant given heavy efforts by authorities to promote safety during the festive period.
On Monday alone, there were 485 road accidents in which 48 people were killed and 484 others were injured. Drink driving remains the most common cause, resulting in 33.2% of the accidents, followed by speeding at 28.7%.
In Bangkok where many streets are free of traffic congestion during the holiday period which enables drivers to drive fast, 11 deaths were reported on the first four days of the campaign, with speeding as a main cause.
While many road deaths during the festive season are to be expected, it is important to note a study that reveals the fact that Thailand experiences high traffic fatalities all year round. The issue comes to prominence in this period only because the government carries out the seven-day safety campaign.
The government, in particular Mr Saksayam, should be aware that to make driving at 120kph safe requires discipline and maturity on the part of motorists, something that is glaringly lacking in the country's road culture. Every day, the media reports road mishaps that result from driver recklessness, the kind of crashes that could be avoided if drivers paid more attention to safety and respect traffic rules and regulations.
Such silly accidents demonstrate a big flaw in the driving licence issuing system which allows too many incapable drivers to receive important documents too easily. Once on the road, they are a potential danger to other people's lives.
In addition, it is indisputable that Thailand's road layout and engineering, with too many blind spots, may not be suitable for fast driving. Poor signage is another problem that attributes to road mishaps.
Instead of being obsessed with speed, the transport minister should reset his priority, paying attention to the goal of making roads safe.
That requires staunch year-round efforts, not just a shoddy campaign during the festive period which has proved to be a failure.