The service was part of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, a global initiative that promotes road safety while paying respects to those killed in road accidents throughout the world.
The service at Way Kuan this morning had a specific focus on making Phuket a ‘safe travel city’ by promoting the wearing of helmets on motorcycles at all times.
More than 300 helmets were distributed to educational institutions at the event which will be passed onto pupils in due course.
The service also highlighted general road safety measures within the community, urging cooperation and support by families to prevent and reduce losses from road accidents in Phuket.
This morning’s ceremony was overseen by Phra Khru Pariyatyanuyut, Advisor to the Abbot of Talat Yai Subdistrict, who was joined by: Phuket Governor Sophon Suwannarat and his wife Busadee Suwanarat, President of the Phuket Red Cross Society and President of the Phuket Provincial Interior Housewives Association; Phuket Vice Governor Adul Chuthong; Worasit Phutjib, Mueang District Chief; Sophon Thongsai, Head of the Phuket Provincial Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office; as well as representatives from the Phuket Provincial Road Safety Center Committee, Rotary Clubs, and network agencies from the public and private sectors.
Governor Sophon outlined how the government of Phuket Province has prioritised the prevention and reduction of road accidents by striving to integrate cooperation from all sectors to implement the goals of the Road Safety Master Plan 2022-2027, which aims to reduce the number of deaths from road accidents in Phuket Province to no more than 94 per year and reduce serious injuries to no more than 1,314 within the same timeframe.
However, Mr Sophon also emphasised that the issue of road accidents in Phuket is still a significantly negative onet, especially among children and youngsters, a demoraphic that has been specifically targeted with the importance helmet wearing safety campaign.
Mr Sophon, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office, said that Phuket is an important tourist destination where road accidents are still the leading cause of death.
In 2023, there were 168 deaths and so far this year (from Jan 1 to Nov 15) there have been 159 deaths, of which 37 were foreigners, he explained.
This is why this morning’s ceremony is so important, he added, in not only commemorating those who lost their lives on Phuket roads but by stressing the importance of adhering to strict road safety measures to reduce and ultimately prevent further losses.
World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is a United Nations led initiative held on the third Sunday of November each year with the goal of providing a platform for road traffic victims and their families to:
- Remember all people killed and seriously injured on the roads
- Acknowledge the crucial work of the emergency services
- Draw attention to the generally trivial legal response to culpable road deaths and injuries and advocate for an appropriately serious response
- Advocate for better support for road traffic victims and victim families
- Promote evidence-based actions to prevent and eventually stop further road traffic deaths and injuries
Its website further explains that “Every year, millions more road victims are added to the current toll of over 50 million killed and hundreds of millions injured since the first road death. It is an actual pandemic, affecting primarily our vulnerable and our young, which in addition to the trauma of injury and bereavement has also a devastating economic impact for countries, communities and families.”