Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has vowed legal action will be taken against rogue motorists and their companions after the cabinet approved new measures to curb deadly road accidents during the Songkran festival in the middle of next month.
The measures, proposed by the Interior Ministry, are a mix of road safety campaigns and advertisements and "strictly dealing" with rogue drivers who break the law, Col Taksada Sangkachan, an assistant spokesman for the PM's Office, said after the cabinet meeting.
The latter approach will be carried out between April 11 and 17.
The government has all the necessary laws to cut the number of accidents, but "losses continue every year", Gen Prayut said, stressing that authorities will be more strict in enforcing existing laws.
The problem may not lie in the content of the laws but how they are enforced.
"We issue warnings on drunk and impetuous drivers," he said.
"Even those who accompany them may be considered [wrong] due to their failure to stop drivers" from being careless, he added.
So far the government has been trying to keep the number of casualties low, but the results have been disappointing, especially during national holidays.
Despite its "Seven Dangerous Days" campaign over the Thai New Year, the death toll rose 7% to 418 last year, with 86 deaths on April 13, which marked the Thai traditional New Year.
