Thailand to tackle illegal motorway racers and child road death toll

Illegal motorway car racers in Thailand are to be targeted with additional radio frequency identification (RFID) systems and surveillance cameras. The move comes after Thai authorities have been tackling high-speed motorcycle racing involving youth gangs, mainly from low-income households. Meanwhile, a new seatbelt law for children is set to be introduced in a bid to reduce the country’s number of child accident deaths. It will make it compulsory for children aged below 15 to use a seatbelt when a passenger
May 9, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Illegal motorway car racers in Thailand are to be targeted with additional radio frequency identification (RFID) systems and surveillance cameras.

The move comes after Thai authorities have been tackling high-speed motorcycle racing involving youth gangs, mainly from low-income households.

Meanwhile, a new seatbelt law for children is set to be introduced in a bid to reduce the country’s number of child accident deaths. It will make it compulsory for children aged below 15 to use a seatbelt when a passenger in a vehicle. The move has been welcomed by Adisak Plitponkarnpim, paediatrician in the 5469 Faculty of Medicine at Ramathibodi Hospital, who has also called for safety seats for younger children in vehicles to be made compulsory. 

According to a report by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, 614 children aged 15 years and below died in motor vehicle accidents in Thailand in 2011. Out of the total, 126 had not fastened their safety belts.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Research shows male drivers more likely to overtake rashly
    April 12, 2013
    A new survey carried out in the UK reveals that male drivers are more likely to risk lives by overtaking blind and speeding on rural roads. As a result male drivers are being urged to be more careful. The survey was carried out jointly by safety body Brake and insurance firm Direct Line. The data reveals that 24% risk catastrophic head-on crashes by overtaking blind, while 44% admit speeding at over the national speed limit of 96km/h (60mph) on rural roads. Men are much more likely to take these deadly risk
    Read More
  • Bitumen additives raise environmental questions
    February 14, 2012
    New products, including additives, are coming onto the market to help reduce the cost of producing bitumen. Patrick smith reports. According to Eng. Paolo Visconti of Iterchimica, environmental issues and the health and safety of operators of manufacturing plants and workers laying bituminous mixes have raised long debates on the possible harmfulness of fumes which are emitted when heating these mixes at the temperatures (160-180°C) required for their production. "If, on the one hand, the effects on operato
    Read More
  • Poor pedestrian safety in the US
    October 5, 2018
    The US road network features poor pedestrian safety, a problem the authorities are struggling to tackle. According to data from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), 5,977 pedestrians died on US roads in 2017. Of concern is that this is the second highest figure since 1990, with 2016 having seen the peak with a figure 2% higher. Worryingly, pedestrian deaths are some 46% higher than they were in 2009. Of note too is that road deaths increased by 3% for occupants of SUVs and by
    Read More
  • Road savvy WIM prolongs highways and saves nations vital cash
    May 28, 2013
    A leading WIM system manufacturer is playing a key role in efforts to reduce the number of overloaded trucks costing developing economies around the world billions of dollars in accidents and damage to roads, while another company has won a major contract in South America. Guy Woodford reports. The prevalence of overloaded trucks on the road networks of developing countries and the accidents and structural damage they cause wastes valuable, limited resources in some of the world’s poorest economies, diverti
    Read More

Highlighted Content