AYUTTHAYA: About two tonnes of broken glass and bottles being delivered to a recycling factory spilled off a truck, littering about 2 kilometres of highway 32 in Bang Pahan district and reducing traffic to a crawl in the early hours of Tuesday.
The spill occurred about 3.20am in tambon Pho Sam Ton, Pol Col Anek Pongsawas, chief of Bang Pahan district police station, said.
Three of the four lanes were closed for about 2km while it was being cleaned up and traffic quickly built up as vehicles waited their turn to pass the glass littered section of the highway.
Police examined the lorry and discovered the latches on the back door had broken, which allowed about two of the 16 tonnes of broken glass and bottles to spill on the road without the driver being aware of it at first.
The cleanup was completed about 5.30am. Emergency workers and police swept the glass off the road and hosed the surface down to ensure it was safe for cars to use.
Pol Col Anek said the truck driver, Sumet Samathimongkol, 29, from Nakhon Sawan, had been fined 500 baht for reckless driving and ordered to pay the entire cost of the clean up.
Highway authorities would make a thorough inspection of that stretch of the road to determine whether the surface had been damaged and needed repair, he said.
The driver may later face an additional charge of dumping waste on a highway in violation of Section 45 of the 1992 Highways Law. That carries a maximum penalty of 3 years in prison and/or a fine of 60,000 baht, Pol Col Anek said.
