BANGKOK – The Department of Land Transport (DLT) is calling on firms and associations to refrain from using freight trucks during the New Year season as part of a road safety campaign.
Deputy DLT Director General Kamol Buranapong said the department had called on the logistics and transport associations and companies, to refrain from operating freight trucks, especially those laden with dangerous cargoes, from 29th December 2016 to 4th January 2017 in order to fully meet the road safety measures during the New Year season.
He said those who might find it necessary to transport goods during the festive period are obliged to avoid routes and rush hours and prevent any items from falling out of the truck onto the road surface in order to prevent accidents.
Truck operators will have to find ways and means to keep their vehicles, if ever broken down, from disrupting road traffic as quickly as possible and to provide obvious signs such as flashlights to warn other vehicles of the stationary trucks.
The measure is aimed at helping reduce traffic congestion and accidents in all provinces.
The deputy DLT director general added that the department will monitor all 55,000 ten-wheel trucks and other heavy-duty trucks equipped with GPS tracking systems regarding their real-time speeds.
Logistics operators are encouraged to make sure drivers are not driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics and observe a 30-minutes break after every four hours of driving. Truck drivers must be changed after one has driven for a period of four hours.
Violations of these regulations which might possibly result in injuries or deaths will lead to the legal punishment of both drivers and the responsible company which will have to pay for all the accrued damage, while the driver’s license or the operating license of the firm which has hired the culpable driver, might be suspended as well.
