Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Col Santat Layangkul recently transferred from the Institute of Police Forensic Science Training and Research in Bangkok.
He explained to The Phuket News this week that his battle plans for the “intensive control” phase of the annual “Seven Days of Danger” road-safety campaign for the New Year – this year from Dec 27 to Jan 2 – include moving checkpoints and the efforts of some 675 police officers, officials and volunteers.
“I have set the target of zero deaths from road accidents over the Christmas and New Year holidays,” Col Santat said.
The campaign during the seven days will see 11 major checkpoints set up across the island, along with three “minor” checkpoints and 10 “service” points, he explained.
“The major checkpoints will remain at the same place where they are set up for the full seven days, but the minor checkpoints and the service points might be moved during the campaign, depending on where more accidents happen and where these checkpoints might be more effective,” Col Santat said.
“Traffic Police and officials from the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) will analyse the road accident data each day to determine where our efforts should be directed,” he added.
In order to carry out the campaign, Col Santat has enlisted help from a variety of departments and government agencies, as well as volunteers.
“Police will be co-ordinating 675 people in total, including police officers, DDPM officials and volunteers,” he said.
“They will be assigned to four types of teams: 11 public relation teams totaling 22 people; 22 traffic management team totalling 198 people; 14 accident prevention teams totalling 315 people; and 14 law enforcement teams totalling 140 people,” he said.
Col Santat also confirmed that during the campaign officers will be entering any fines into the national database so that drivers will have demerit points accredited against their driver’s licences for traffic violations.
“The demerit point penalties for traffic violations will start on Dec 19,” Col Santat warned.
“Phuket police will follow national policy, and points will be attributed automatically when traffic police enter the charge into the database. Police can enter the charge and fine on their smart devices from anywhere, even by the side of the road,” Col Santat said.
Col Santat explained that he drew up his plans for the New Year road-safety campaign on Tuesday (Dec 17), one day after Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan held a video conference with provincial governors around the country to make clear what is to be done to reduce the number of deaths and injuries during the New Year holidays, one of the most dangerous periods on Thai roads throughout the year.
At the meeting, Phuket Vice Governor Wongsakorn Nunchukan ordered all rescue teams to be on standby at all times during the seven days. He also called for all road construction projects to be suspended and equipment at the worksites stowed in order to help traffic flow during the holidays.
TOUGH TARGET
Col Santat has his work cut out in aiming for zero deaths over the New Year holidays. Phuket concluded the Seven Days of Danger road-safety campaign last New Year with six dead and 53 injured in 55 accidents from Dec 27, 2018 to Jan 2, 2019 – averaging one dead every 28 hours throughout the campaign.
As of Wednesday (Dec 18), the official website of Thailand’s Road Safety Committee listed Phuket as suffering 89 people killed and 9,025 requiring hospital treatment for injuries from road accidents so far this year – giving an average of one dead nearly every four days.
In short, the New Year holidays are nearly four times as dangerous for motorists in Phuket than any other “average” day of the year.
The plans for the New Year campaign also came after Phuket suffered a slew of serious accidents. About 4:30am last Saturday (Dec 14) a semi-trailer fully loaded with 36 tons of particle boards being delivered from Surat Thani overturned on Thepkrasattri Rd in Muang Mai and slammed – and heavily damaged – a pedestrian footbridge. The driver, Thanaphon Somnuan, escaped with only minor injuries.
Last Thursday (Dec 12), shortly before 1:30am, Canadian tourist Sean Cundell, 35, died after the motorbike he was riding hit the back of a tuk-tuk on Chao Fa East Rd in Chalong. The force of the impact had flipped the tuk-tuk onto its side.
Mr Cundell, whose family is well known in Ottawa for their long-standing horse stable business that his great-grandfather established in 1890, was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, said police.
That accident came hours after two young boys sustained serious head injuries when the motorbike they were riding struck a parked pickup truck on Wichit Songkram Rd about 8:30pm last Thursday night (Dec 12).
“The boys are approximately 10 years old,” said Capt Surapong Puangprom of the Kathu Police.
“Neither boy was wearing a helmet when the collision occurred,” he noted.
As of Wednesday, one of the boys remained in the ICU at Vachira Phuket Hospital, while the other boy remained in hospital but with less serious injuries, police confirmed.
Even on Wednesday, when Col Santat spoke with The Phuket News, a van driver heading home after delivering tourists across the island escaped with minor injuries after his van slammed into a roadside power pole just north of the Heroines Monument at about 2:20am.
Chaiyan Buppha, 35, told police tired and fell asleep at the wheel. No tourists were in the van when the accident happened and Mr Chaiyan was not subjected to an alcohol test, but he was fined B500 for reckless driving.
Regardless, Col Santat remains confident efforts over the New Year will be effective.
“The measures we will have in place will reduce the number of accidents, because we will be able to check more drivers and hold them more responsible for their driving on the roads,” he said.
So far this year more than 16,000 people have been killed in accidents on Thailand's roads, with more than 883,600 people suffering injuries requiring hospital treatment.