FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

The traffic policeman on your dashboard 

The traffic policeman on your dashboard 

Re: “Thailand has world’s most congested roads: Survey”, National, February 22.

Thailand richly deserves the infamy of having the world’s second-most-congested and its deadliest traffic. A key reason for both is that, despite having excellent traffic laws, we don’t follow them. 
I suggest that dashboard cameras, which are becoming increasingly popular, should play a major part in enforcing the law. We could thus harness market forces to hold lawbreakers accountable and encourage compliance, thereby yielding faster-flowing and safer traffic. 
Whenever any driver sees the law being broken, he should send the clip from his dash-cam to the police, who can then track down and fine the violator. The fine payments should be shared between the whistle-blower, the police unit processing the case, and the Police Department. If a whistle-blower gets, say, B100 from each conviction, drivers will be encouraged to keep an eagle eye on their fellow drivers, while they themselves make sure that they are observing the law.
Let’s use technology to save lives and time on the road.
Burin Kantabutra

nationthailand