PHUKET: Authorities have announced a campaign to begin next week aimed at raising awareness of pedestrian safety as part of efforts to improve road safety measures.
The five-day safety campaign, which specifically focuses on the welfare and safety of pedestrians when using designated crossing areas, will run Monday through Friday (February 21-25) and will see stiffer fines and penalties for violators.
Phuket Deputy Governor Anupap Rodkwan Yodrabam formally announced the campaign at a press conference held at the Phuket Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office at 10am yesterday (February 18), after the Interior Ministry’s calls for improvements in road safety nationwide had given.
The main goal of the campaign is to reduce the number of accidents at crosswalks, something that has been in the news lately after a Bangkok police officer killed a doctor on a crosswalk on January 21 while he was carrying was too fast on his Ducati bike.
The incident prompted calls for changes in the law to bring manslaughter charges against those violating pedestrian crossing safety rules. In Phuket, the pedestrian crossing in front of Vachira Phuket Hospital was remodeled on January 25 in hopes of avoiding similar incidents in Phuket Town.
At the meeting yesterday, Mr. Udomporn Kan, head of the Phuket Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office, said next week’s campaign will focus on strict enforcement of the law, with officials going after violators. Violators who violate road signs and road signs are subject to heavy fines and penalties, and penalty points are added to an offender’s driver’s license for such violations.
Mr Udomporn added that another focus of the campaign will be improving traffic signs and the frequency and visibility of warning signs on roads to minimize accidents. This will be particularly relevant near pedestrian crossings in community areas such as schools or hospitals, where lights and signs warning traffic to slow down will be both introduced and improved, he added.
The use of surveillance cameras is also increasing in these areas to deter criminals or to track them down when they have committed a crime. The cameras will be used to detect those who are speeding in areas such as junctions and intersections, while providing an electronic history of data using the driver’s registration information.
In addition, an awareness campaign will be conducted among schools and family members who drive a vehicle to improve their road behavior and thus overall road safety.
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