All trucks in Thailand legally required to be equipped with GPS by 2019

BANGKOK, July 4 (TNA) - The Thai Ministry of Transport has imposed a new regulation requiring all trucks to be equipped with the Global Positioning System (GPS) by 2019, or their licenses will not be extended. Thai Deputy Transport Minister Omsin Cheevapruek told journalists of the update on July 3, saying that the new regulation is aimed to ensure the highest safety for public and truck drivers, as well as to reduce road accidents to the lowest-possible level. Under the new regulation, the deputy minister noted, at least one million trucks registered with his ministry's Department of Land Transport must have GPS installed by 2019, from 60,000 trucks currently. The deputy minister vowed that there will be no extension of truck licenses for operators who fail to have their trucks installed with GPS within the required timeframe. Besides, trucks with GPS found to violate legal speed limits or drive in dangerous manners will be first issued a warning, but their licenses will be temporarily suspended or permanently revoked if the drivers continue to violate the laws again. The deputy minister revealed that the new regulation also required all drivers to get at least a 30-minute rest for every 4-hour long drive to ensure their driving efficiency and prevent road accidents more efficiently, while the Department of Land Transport has been ordered to set up a control room to monitor and oversee the situation. (TNA)