Police to tighten traffic law to ensure travel safety during Songkran festival
BANGKOK: With Songkran just less than a week ahead, police and military forces with the public and private sector groups have put together a unified nationwide campaign in a bid to cut Songkran fatalities and accidents.
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Authorities will enforce stricter traffic laws and will set up more check points to crack down drunk and speeding drivers during the entire Songkran holidays period, also considered as the “7 dangerous days”.
According to Pol. Col. Weerawit Wachanapukka, deputy head of the Traffic Police Division, police would conduct regular traffic points all over the kingdom during the holidays.
“Police will set up more than 120 checkpoints in Bangkok and even more in other provinces to boost traffic discipline among road users, to check for drunk drivers, and facilitate transport vehicles during the rush period, when a large amount of people will return home and come back to Bangkok,” Weerawit told The Nation.
“The police will also work with the local authorities and let them set up local traffic checkpoints on local roads to increase road safety in local areas,” he added.
Last year, the Road Safety Directing Centre has recorded a total of 478 Songkran fatalities and at least 3,919 road accidents.
Statistics also revealed that drunk drivers, speeding, and improper driving manners were the top three reasons behind most accidents during the last New Year and Songkran Festival.
Authorities are targeting zero Songkran fatalities this year and are encouraging people to follow traffic rules and drive safely.
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