CityNews – The Land Transport Department has passed new regulations that will revoke driving licenses for public vehicle drivers who repeatedly commit traffic infractions. New reports show that Thailand has overtaken both Iran and Iraq in terms of fatalities on the road, and has moved to second place for highest traffic deaths worldwide from sixth place in 2011.
An infographic by the University of Michigan showing the top 25 deadliest countries for road deaths.
These statistics, along with international criticism of the country’s fatal roads and reckless drivers, have pressured the government into creating new regulations which might curb the frequency of fatalities. Under these new regulations, the first two infractions made by the driver will result in fines. When a third infraction is made within a 12-month period from one of the first two, the driver faces a 15-day licence suspension, followed by a 30-day suspension when a fourth infraction has been made. If the driver commits a fifth infraction, they risks losing their license permanently.
According to department deputy director-general Wattan Patarachon, harsher punishments will make the drivers more vigilant. The Land Transport Department has also organized training courses for drivers of heavy vehicles, such as buses and trucks, due to the large number of deadly road accidents that are caused by these large vehicles.
For now, these new regulations will only apply to drivers of public vehicles, but eventually the transport department hopes to apply them to all motorists.
Some countries which have the lowest rates of road deaths in the world are Switzerland, The Netherlands, Israel, and the Maldives.