In his welcome address to the conference held on August 24 titled
“Improving Road Traffic Safety in Thailand: A Common Challenge for
European and Thai Universities”, which is supported by the Commission
of the European Communities, the AIT President commended researchers
attending from Asia and Europe for tackling what is a very serious
problem worldwide.
“Reports from both developed and developing countries make us realize
that traffic accidents generate a significant loss to a country’s
welfare,” the AIT president said.
The one-day final Conference of the Thai-EC-Project was organized to
present research outcomes of the 18-month project that brought together
five partners including the AIT, Thailand’s Thammasat University and
Prince of Songkla University, Germany’s Bauhaus University Weimar, and
Szechenyi Istvan University in Hungary.
The partnership forged between European and Thai Universities aimed to
develop sustainable guidelines for the design of roundabouts and
signalized intersections to be adapted to the Thai situation. The
international researchers will test a new methodology for
design-guideline implementation in Thailand, based on an exchange of
knowledge and which could be adapted for conditions in Thailand.
According to President Irandoust, the carnage on Thai roads is
impacting the financial bottom line of the country. The economic loss
resulting from traffic accidents has been estimated at about 200,000
million Baht, corresponding to approximately 3.1 percent of the
country’s annual gross national product, he said.
Official statistics from the Royal Thai Police indicate that the
period 2000 to 2009 witnessed some 124,561 deaths in Thailand caused by
road traffic, or an average of 35 deaths per day or 1.5 deaths per
hour. Millions of people were reported to have been injured in road
accidents.
Dr. Kunnawee Kanitpong, Coordinator of the Transportation Engineering
Field of Study, who organized the event for AIT, said that once the
project ends, the final proven and tested methodology could be used by
the expanded EU-Asia network and others in order to prepare and
implement additional much needed design guidelines. Project officials
expect that the two newly developed guidelines will have a direct and
positive impact on road traffic safety in Thailand.
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