ID :
181467
Wed, 05/11/2011 - 13:10
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Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/181467
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Thailand launches 10-year road safety campaign
BANGKOK, May 11 (TNA) - Thailand's Ministry of Interior has launched a 10-year road safety campaign, with focus on achieving 100% use of crash helmets.
Vichean Chavalit, permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry and deputy chairman of the government’s Road Safety Center, chaired the event at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, announcing the decade-long programme from 2011 to 2020.
Mr Vichean said that the United Nations is calling the period, 2011 to 2020, the Decade of Action for Road Safety and is having member states set road safety as a priority on their national agendas. As a result, the Thai government has announced its own Decade of Action for Road Safety in the same period with a goal of capping the ratio of road accident deaths at 10 per 100,000 people within 2020.
In 2009, road accidents killed as many as 26 people per 100,000 people in Thailand. The ratio rose to 53 during festivals, while in the past five years, road accidents have claimed the lives of 60,022 people with 80% of people killed and injured being those using motorcycles.
The year 2011 is the first year of the road safety campaign and the government has begun by campaigning for all motorcyclists and pillion riders to wear crash helmets for their own safety.
Following this the government will raise awareness on a series of other issues. For example, it will campaign against drunk driving, reduce accident-prone locations on roads, strictly enforce speed limits and ensure safety conditions of vehicles, especially for passenger buses. (TNA)
Vichean Chavalit, permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry and deputy chairman of the government’s Road Safety Center, chaired the event at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, announcing the decade-long programme from 2011 to 2020.
Mr Vichean said that the United Nations is calling the period, 2011 to 2020, the Decade of Action for Road Safety and is having member states set road safety as a priority on their national agendas. As a result, the Thai government has announced its own Decade of Action for Road Safety in the same period with a goal of capping the ratio of road accident deaths at 10 per 100,000 people within 2020.
In 2009, road accidents killed as many as 26 people per 100,000 people in Thailand. The ratio rose to 53 during festivals, while in the past five years, road accidents have claimed the lives of 60,022 people with 80% of people killed and injured being those using motorcycles.
The year 2011 is the first year of the road safety campaign and the government has begun by campaigning for all motorcyclists and pillion riders to wear crash helmets for their own safety.
Following this the government will raise awareness on a series of other issues. For example, it will campaign against drunk driving, reduce accident-prone locations on roads, strictly enforce speed limits and ensure safety conditions of vehicles, especially for passenger buses. (TNA)
