Phuket authorities met on January 3 to discuss the number of motorcycle accidents involving foreigners on holiday on their roads.
Thailand is coming to the end of the "seven days of danger," when road accidents and deaths tend to increase during the New Year holidays.
See: Thailand's roads under control during 7 days of New Year celebrations
At a daily briefing on January 3 at Phuket Provincial Hall, officials said that foreigners on vacation renting motorbikes and driving badly or dangerously are a common denominator in the number of accidents reported on the island.
The head of the Phuket of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation presented the daily figures and discussed the problem with foreign motorbike drivers.
The Deputy Director of the Phuket Branch of the Internal Security Operations Command led the meeting to brief traffic safety officials on the latest updates regarding the seven-day hazard.
They proposed creating new rules or measures to control foreigners renting motorcycles to prevent them from driving recklessly on the road.
They did not specify whether they plan to tighten traffic laws for foreigners or regulate who can rent a motorcycle, such as by checking a driver's license or motorcycle riding ability and experience before being allowed to rent a motorcycle.
On December 2, six accidents were officially reported on Phuket roads.
Four men and two women were admitted to hospital and treated for injuries; there were no deaths.
Since the start of the "Seven Days of Danger" campaign, from December 29 to January 2, there have been 24 road accidents with 24 injuries and one death in Phuket.
Among those hospitalized for injuries, 14 were men and 11 were women.
Motorcycles are involved in more accidents than any other type of vehicle.
And the causes of most accidents are risky driving, drunk driving and speeding.
It is interesting to note that the nationalities of those involved in road accidents in the report were not mentioned.
Source: The Thaiger
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1 comment
After 20 years in Thailand and long journeys on a big-engine motorcycle, I have never had any accidents, I have a French and Thai motorcycle license.
I respect other road users and pay attention to my driving…
But, indeed, I see too often tourists with rental scooters acting crazy.
Of course, rental companies want to rent their vehicles, but no attention is paid to the customers' international driving licences...
And many have no experience with 2 wheels...
Thai driving is special... safe... but never fast...
And we must not forget the insurance which will not cover anything in the event of a bug if you do not have a 2-wheel license... everyone decides their own destiny, but that of others...
A major reform of all this is expected...