The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) plans to install pedestrian operated traffic lights at about 100 dangerous zebra crossings in the city to provide better safety, Deputy Bangkok Governor Pol Lt-Gen Sophon Pisutthiwong said today (Thursday).
He said the work will be completed in two weeks, adding that AI surveillance cameras will also be installed, with the work expected to be completed in a month, to catch motorists or motorcyclists who do not stop at the red light to allow pedestrians to cross.
One crossing to be equipped with such devices is the one in Phaya Thai district, where an eye specialist at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine was struck and killed by a large motorcycle being ridden by a non-commissioned police officer on January 21st. The incident caused a public uproar and calls for increased safety for pedestrians on zebra crossings.
The deputy governor also said that workers have been improving several zebra crossings by extending the crossing space and painting them for high visibility.
There are 3,280 zebra crossings in Bangkok, but only 1,277 of them were equipped with flashing lights to warn drivers to slow down when approaching. 226 of them are equipped with push to walk buttons and only 430 were painted in red.
Deputy Commissioner of Metropolitan Police Bureau Pol Maj-Gen Jirasant Kaewsang-ek said that the fine for drivers caught by surveillance cameras breaking road traffic laws is currently set at a maximum of 1,000 baht, but it will be increased to 4,000 baht in the near future.
He also urged the public to take pictures of drivers who fail to stop at zebra crossings to allow pedestrians to walk and to send them to the Royal Thai Police headquarters so they can claim a reward from the fines imposed on the violators.
