ID :
312152
Fri, 12/27/2013 - 13:17
Auther :

New Year road safety center opened

BANGKOK, December 27 (TNA) - Thailand's caretaker government, through the Ministry of Interior, has opened the official Road Safety Directing Center (RSDC), as people nationwide have started traveling for their New Year celebrations. Caretaker Interior Minister Charupong Ruangsuwan inaugurated the ad-hoc RSDC in Bangkok on Friday, with its operation, themed “safe New Year travels, reduced accidents", set from December 27, 2013-January 3, 2014. Charupong, in his capacity as the RSDC chief, told journalists that the RSDC's main objectives are to prevent and reduce the number of road accidents nationwide during the New Year festival to a lower rate than last year. According to the caretaker interior minister, the RSDC's measures to achieve the goal include strict laws enforcement and control of access to alcohol and of drunk driving through checkpoints by security authorities, integrated traffic problems solutions and rest areas set up for motorists. The caretaker interior minister announced that an award will also be presented to provinces where road accident is zero during the eight-day RSDC operation for New Year travelers across the country. Just hours before the RSDC was launched, there was a tragic road accident in the Lower Thai North, killing 33 travelers and seriously injuring three others. The accident took place on late Thursday night, when a tour bus carrying 33 people on board, three of them are driver and staffs, was heading from Khon Kaen Province in the Thai Northeast to Phetchabun Province in the Lower Thai North crashed a high bridge and plunged into a 50-meter ravine in Phetchabun's Lom Sak area. Updated reports stated that at least 30 people were killed in the fatal accident, caused by speeding and reckless driving as initially assumed by local police. Meanwhile, the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), Region 4, announced that it is also implementing supplentary security measures to create confidence among Thai and international travelers visiting the Thai far South during the New Year festival. (TNA)

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