Car owners, and presumably motorbike owners, will be unable to renew their vehicle registration or licenses if they fail to pay traffic fines after July 1. Much discussed over the past year and now on the horizon, the Land Transport Department and Royal Thai Police intend to clamp down on people avoiding or disregarding their traffic fines.
A Dutch tourist is the first official Songkran fatality when his car hit the rear of a trailer truck in Kanchanaburi, in Thailand’s far west, early today.
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PHOTO: Daily News Bangkok’s Dusit Court has fined a Honda City sedan driver 8,500 baht for four offences related to an incident caught on video last week. The video showed Pol Lance Corporal Thanakit Wiboonphan trying to clamp a car parked illegally in a no standing zone. Not happy about the situation, the driver argued and wrestled with the traffic policeman
PHOTO: Bangkok skyline this morning – FM91 Traffic Pro Greater Bangkok’s air pollution was bad this morning, with 36 locations reporting the amount of PM2.5 micron pollutants rising beyond the safety limit of 50 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic metre of air, with one area reaching as high as 113 micrograms. The Pollution Control Department say the breeze is too low to blow the dust away today, but just enough to stir up the dust and make things worse this afternoon. The PCD is urging people to refrain from using vehicles emitting dark exhaust, avoid outdoor burning, and reduce their use of personal cars and take public transport.
Daily News reports that police in Ayutthaya are baffled after a ladyboy was found dead in a car accident yesterday. The driver’s Honda City had plunged into a canal on the Sena to Lat Bua Luang Road. A rescue worker from Ruam Katanyu Foundation, Anuchart Wuthitham, was first on the scene
MONTAGE IMAGE: Coconuts Once again it seems that even the gods must succumb to one of life’s most dreaded challenges, traffic. Even worse, Bangkok traffic.
PHOTO/VIDEO: Nicky phukettour / Newshawk Phuket The drunk driver’s behaviour was bad enough.
Thailand could gain significant long-term economic benefit by making the roads safer and saving its mainly young and capable population from premature death in accidents, according to a World Bank report. The report entitled “The High Toll of Traffic Injuries: Unacceptable and Preventable”, concludes that, if road traffic injuries could be reduced in Thailand by 50 per cent and satisfactory road safety sustained for 24 years, the economy would enjoy a 22 percent boost. Dipan Bose, one of the researchers involved, says the key to earning that substantial benefit was ensuring that productive young people live long enough to contribute to the country’s prosperity. Instead, they’re dying or being maimed in road crashes while still young.
Acute self indulgence today as we announce our first major milestone for thethaiger.com. We’re one year old.