Purchase of ‘overpriced’ speed detectors still in process
The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department planned to buy laser-equipped speed detectors to enforce speed limits but the procurement process had not begun, department director-general Chayapol Thitisak said.
Chayapol’s remarks followed widespread criticism of the department’s reported plan to purchase 849 handheld speed detectors at the price of Bt675,000 each, for a total of Bt573 million.
The money is supposed to come from the central fund of the 2017 budget.
Critics have said the quoted cost for the speed guns was overpriced.
Chayapol said it was a median price quoted by sales representatives based on the department’s specifications for the detectors.
Although the purchase plan had been approved by the Cabinet on October 10, no sale had been concluded, he said, adding that the department had not set up a committee to finalise specifications for the speed guns.
Chayapol said the detectors were necessary for officials to effectively enforce the law against speeders and inculcate traffic discipline. The devices would mainly be used on secondary roads connecting districts, tambons and villages.
The department plan was in response to requests from organisations running campaigns to reduce road accidents, he said.
Interior Minister General Anupong Paochinda said the handheld speed detectors would be given to provincial disaster prevention and mitigation offices and would be used by police, Land Transport Department officials and local administration officials responsible for road safety.