Of note, while Phuket officials marked the world remembrance day yesterday, World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims will be internationally recognised this Sunday (Nov 19).
The event, held at Phuket Wittayalai School, was attended by representatives from a host of government agencies, businesses and community organisations to mark their participation as ‘network partners’ in Phuket’s strategy to reduce the number of people injured and killed on Phuket’s roads.
Among those present were representatives from the Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation (PPAO, Phuket Provincial Police, the Phuket Provincial Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office (DDPM-Phuket) along with members of all 10 Rotary clubs in Phuket.
Governor Sophon, who arrived on the island only last month, said that statistics each year show that, especially during festivals, Phuket was the province with the “number 1 death rate from motorcycle accidents”, with drunk driving and not wearing a helmet the main factors.
“We therefore invite citizens and tourists to pay attention to preventing and reducing road accidents by driving according to traffic rules, wearing a helmet and not drinking and driving to help reduce loss of life and property,” he said.
Dr Chuchat Nijawattana, Director of Chlong Hospital and Chairman of the Rotary Club of Sino Phuket’s Road Safety Project Committee, noted that the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims was to “acknowledge the loss, the suffering of the bereaved family and to raise awareness know the severity and the impact of road accidents.”.
“This includes the need for better care and assistance after an accident to the bereaved and injured people and to emphasise the potential to prevent accidents, giving importance to following traffic rules and allowing everyone to consider their participation in preventing and reducing road accidents,” he said.
The event was held at Phuket Wittayalai School as students were the highest group at risk of dying in accidents on Phuket’s roads, he noted.
As part of the event, motorbike safety helmets were handed out to students from several main Phuket Schools, including Satree Phuket School and Plookpanya School, as well as older age students attending Phuket Vocational College. Governor Sophon himself demonstrated how to wear a motorbike helmet properly.
“Phuket Province saw on average 135 deaths per year from road accidents in 2017-2022, an average of 11 people per month, but the situation is likely to become more serious,” Dr Chuchat said.
“From January to present [Nov 13], there have been 141 deaths [on Phuket roads], representing a rate of 33.41 per 100,000 population. During the same period in 2022, there were 115 deaths, an increase of 26, with an average of 12 deaths per month and more than 18,600 injuries, which is considered a huge loss of life and property for families, society and the nation,” he added.
ANOTHER PLAN
Following the event at Phuket Wittayalai School, Governor Sophon led a meeting of the Phuket Provincial Road Safety Administration Committee at Phuket Provincial Hall to discuss the drafting of the Phuket Provincial Road Safety Action Plan B.E. 2024.
Present for the meeting was DDPM-Phuket Chief Udomporn Kan along with representatives for dpzens of local government offices.
“The aim is to drive the urgent agenda of Phuket Province according to the vision ‘Phuket Province aiming for safe road travel for everyone’, and set a goal to reduce the death rate from road accidents to less than 110 people by 2024,” Governor Sophon said.
The meeting heard that a working group had set guidelines for rental car and motorbike operators to follow, a move which is hoped to reduce the number of people, namely tourists, are killed or injured in road accidents while on holiday in Phuket.
Rental vehicle operators must rent cars and motorbikes only to people who have a valid driver’s licence for the vehicle they are renting, and motorbike renters must wear a safety helmet “100%”, meaning that the chin strap must also be used properly while wearing the helmet.
Rental operators are prohibited from seizing the renter’s passport, the officials noted plainly.
Rental operators have been asked for cooperation to “check the readiness of the renter’s physical condition” before renting a vehicle to them, and rental vehicles must be properly registered with road tax fully paid up. People renting vehicles must be covered “victims of car accidents protection law”, and the vehicle’s condition must be “complete and with the correct equipment”, officials noted.
According to an official report, the meeting also “followed up on the analysis of the causes of major accidents”, including the car ploughing into parked cars and motorbikes in front of Jui Tui Shrine during the Phuket Vegetarian Festival.
The car struck and killed a father. The man, 49 years old, had pushed his wife and child to safety before he was struck. Seven other people were reported as injured in the incident.
Of note, since the harrowing accident, neither police nor any other Phuket officials have made any public comment about man killed or the charges brought against the woman deemed to have been driving the hybrid Mercedes-Benz at the time of the accident. Police and officials gave no recognition to claims online that another, younger, woman was driving the car at the time.
To solve the problem, officials yesterday were told to make sure to propose measures to solve spatial problems”. “Please notify the police to facilitate traffic during the Vegetarian Festival,” was the order given.
Meanwhile, officials were instructed to draw up a plan to be called the Phuket Provincial Road Safety Action Plan B.E. 2024 to reduce the number of deaths in road accidents in Phuket to less than 110 people, or 22.57 people per 100,000 population, by 2024.
The plan aims to reduce the number of road accidents and the number of people injured in road accidents throughout the year, “which is an urgent agenda of Phuket province”, the official report concluded.