The ‘Seven Days’ campaign will be from Apr 11-17, thus commencing at midnight tomorrow night, Governor Sophon confirmed.
The ceremony, now an annual event, was held in front of Phuket Provincial Hall, namely to mark the opening of the ‘Operations Center for Preventing and Reducing Road and Marine Accidents during the Songkran Festival 2024’.
More than 200 government officials and members from local road and marine safety network organisations joined the event.
Among them were Vice Governor Sattha Thongkham; Sophon Thongsai, head of the Phuket Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office (DDPM-Phuket); Adcha Buachan, Chief of the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO); and Natchapong Pranit, Chief of the Phuket Marine Office.
While the annual campaign goes through constant rebranding, this year the slogan for the Songkran ‘Seven Days’ campaign is, “Drive safely. Thailand without Accidents”.
The event today included the now traditional convoy of police and road safety vehicles.
Nationwide last year the Songkran holidays saw 264 people killed in accidents on Thailand’s roads.
For Phuket, the tally for Songkran 2023 was five dead and 51 people hospitalised for injuries sustained in accidents on Phuket’s roads.
Governor Sophon said today that the aim oif the campaign was launch intensive operations “to prevent and reduce road and marine accidents in order to create safety for citizens and tourists, especially by reducing accidents, reducing the number of people injured, reducing the number of deaths, and reducing the risk factors in every aspect, including risk factors such as those inherent in people, the roads, the vehicles, and the environment that cause accidents and lead to loss of life and property”.
“Keep it to a minimum,” he said.
Governor Sophon pointed out that many people will be travelling on the roads back to their hometowns to celebrate Songkran. “That makes accidents on both land and sea much more common,” he said.
Speeding, drunk driving, cutting in front of another vehicle too closely, driving without a licence and not wearing a helmet were all key factors involved in road accidents, Governor Sophon noted.
The top three types of vehicles involved in road accidents are motorcycles, pickups and sedans, he said.
Throughout the Seven Days campaign there will be 11 main checkpoints set up across the island, anda further 19 ‘community checkpoints’ to help enforce the law, and make the roads safer, Governor Sophon said.
Safety checkpoints/centres will also be set up at Phuket’s three main piers (Ratsada Pier, Chalong Pier, Ao Po Pier), he added.
“All sectors must work together to drive together and emphasise enforcement of comprehensive measures because the Songkran festival this year is the year of promoting Thailand’s ‘Soft Power’.
“Activities will be held in many areas over several days. Therefore, we ask for cooperation from citizens and tourists during the Songkran festival to use the roads with caution, and we request that all safety measures be followed so that the Songkran holiday is a day of happiness for everyone,” Governor Sophon said.
“And please always remember: ‘Drive safely. Thailand without accidents’ and ‘Don’t drink and drive’,” he added.
“Let’s work together to be good hosts and welcome guests to be impressed and feel safe in both life and property throughout their travels in Phuket,” he said.