Thailand Adopts Japanese Road Safety Measures to Reduce Country’s Shameful Road Death Tolls

BANGKOK – In an effort to reduce the country’s shameful road death tolls, the Ministry of Transport says it has started to implement some of Japan’s road safety measures in Thailand.

The Transport Minister, Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, said the Seventh Thailand-Japanese Joint Working Group meeting was held yesterday (August 8) at Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport.

“It was found that Japan had placed importance on measures related to public transport which focus on the standard of transport and equipment and the safety of drivers and passengers,” the Department of Land Transport said when applying them to the Thai public transport system.

The meeting discussed road safety measures in line with the memorandum of understanding between Thailand’s Ministry of Transport and Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Arkhom said his ministry initially applied Japan’s measures to address road accidents to four pilot routes in Suphan Buri, Phetchabun, Uttaradit and Khon Kaen provinces. If successful, the measures will be expanded to eight additional routes that are prone to road accidents.

According to the World Health Organization’s Thailand has the second highest road traffic fatality rate in the world at 36.2 per 100 000 with an annual estimate of over 24 000 deaths or 66 deaths every day. While globally 49% of road traffic deaths are among vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists), it is 83% in Thailand including 73% among motorcyclists or 48 per day.

Source: The Thaiger WHO