All motorists and motorcyclists involved in road accidents during the New Year’s festival from December 27 to January 2 will be subjected to blood tests at hospitals for alcohol as Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha today ordered all government agencies to ensure safety for the people during the upcoming celebrations
He said he wanted to see a strict law enforcement to reduce road accidents and called on members of the public to cooperate with officials for their own safety.
Public Health Minister Piyasakol Sakolsattayathorn said today that police will have blood tests conducted by medical personnel at hospitals on motorists involved in road accidents during the festival in case they are unable to undergo breathalyzer test at the scenes of the accidents.
According to official statistics, altogether 27,158 people were injured in road accidents or an average of 3,880 people a day during the past new year’s festival. Of these, 17.91 percent were youths under 20 using motorcycles without wearing crash helmets. They also tested positive for alcohol.
In anticipation of high number of road accidents in the upcoming festival, Dr Piyasakol said the ministry will put on standby 8,583 emergency medical units with over 20,000 emergency vehicles as part of the “Drive Safely Without Alcohol” campaign jointly launched by the ministry and its network.
To ensure safe driving during the period, the Department of Public Disasters Mitigation and Prevention has adopted a set of measures which include strict enforcement of traffic laws, strict control of safety standards of all vehicles, deployment of emergency medical units on standby and advance checks of transport routes to ensure their safety.
On top of that, the department has launched a campaign to increase road safety awareness among motorists and motorcyclists with emphasis on no drink driving, no speeding and wearing crash helmets for motorcyclists and pillion riders.
