THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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‘Avert Songkran carnage’

‘Avert Songkran carnage’

Prayut vows to crack down on road traffic offenders before next big festival in wake of Chon Buri tragedy that rocked the country.

PRIME MINISTER Prayut Chan-o-cha has pledged to steer the Songkran Festival away from the bloody road carnage that Thais witnessed over the New Year holiday, including a horrific accident in Chon Buri on Monday that claimed 25 lives.
“Laws must be enforced strictly now before more such accidents occur. I can’t accept such casualties, not even one death,” Prayut said.
In the first six of the “seven dangerous days” of the New Year holiday, road casualties have mounted to 426. 
With Songkran coming up in April, Prayut has vowed to enforce laws strictly against traffic offenders over the next three months.
Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said Prayut is ready to invoke sweeping powers under Article 44 of the interim constitution to toughen penalties for traffic offences.
“We are planning to prescribe harsher punishment against motorists and vehicle owners who fail to comply with safety standards or rules,” Arkhom said. 
Laws would also be enforced strictly against those who caused road accidents.
“We will require all public vehicles to be installed with GPS devices before the end of March.Their drivers must carry a record of their driving hours in a day,” he said. 
“Mobile teams will be set up to check on these drivers as well as their vehicles.”
The prime minister, who also heads the National Council for Peace and Order, made clear he would not allow substandard or overcrowded vehicles to take to the roads anymore. 
“Drivers must not overwork either. If you reach your maximum driving hours in a day, you must get off the vehicle,” he said. 
The driver of the van that crashed into an oncoming pickup truck loaded with passengers on Monday had reportedly been running round-trip routes almost non-stop for 31 hours before the crash. His blood tested negative for alcohol.
Prayut warned transportation firms against complaining about upcoming strict law enforcement, because authorities had been lenient for too long. 
Arkhom said studies showed that vans were not appropriate for public transport. In foreign countries, they are used only for cargo. 
“We aim to remove vans from passenger transportation before the end of 2021,” he said. “We’re going to push existing transport firms to switch from vans to microbuses or 20-seat buses instead.”
The Transport Ministry would discuss with the Finance Ministry how to help the operators financially. “We may waive import tariffs for example,” he said. 
Sanit Promwong, director-general of the Land Transport Department, said Transport Co, a state enterprise, had already cancelled its concession to Ployyok, the operator of the minivan that caused the fireball accident on Monday. 
“We have also instructed all the partners of Transport Co to pick up and drop off their passengers at bus terminals only. It’s a way to ensure that the firm can check the drivers and vehicles before the start of their trips,” he said. 
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said the pickup in Monday’s accident carried more passengers than allowed by law. Twelve people were on board, of whom only one survived. 
“The bed of the pickup was for carrying cargo, not passengers,” he said.
Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda said road casualties would drop if only people were more aware of the dangers that a failure to obey traffic laws would bring. 
The Cabinet yesterday approved the proposed amendment to the Land Traffic Act that seeks to double the fine for motorists found to be repeat offenders in one year. 
Several traffic offences will also come with harsher punishment if this bill passes into law. 

‘Avert Songkran carnage’

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