Prachuap Khiri Khan Province has stepped up New Year road safety planning ahead of the 2026 holiday period, holding a coordination meeting to prepare measures aimed at reducing accidents and supporting public travel.
The meeting took place on 15 December at the Ko Lak Meeting Room on the fifth floor of Prachuap Khiri Khan Provincial Hall. It was chaired by Deputy Governor Preeda Sukjai and brought together the Provincial Road Safety Directing Centre Committee and the Road Accident Prevention and Reduction Operations Centre committee for festivals and public holidays in 2026.
Also attending were Thanawat Rueangdet, head of the Provincial Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office, along with senior officials from government agencies and representatives from the public and private sectors, rescue foundations and volunteer groups. The discussion focused on readiness plans to manage traffic flow and improve safety during the New Year holiday period.
Before formal discussions began, the deputy governor read a message from the prime minister marking the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, observed this year on 16 November. Participants then observed one minute of silence in memory of those who lost their lives in road accidents.
Integrated measures for the New Year travel period
The meeting reviewed accident prevention and reduction plans submitted by each agency for the New Year 2026 holiday. The intensive safety control period has been set from 30 December 2025 to 5 January 2026 under the campaign slogan “Drive safely, reduce speed, reduce accidents”.
The plan centres on five areas: overall management, reducing road and environmental risk factors, reducing vehicle-related risks, promoting safer behaviour among road users and improving post-accident assistance.
Police units, highway authorities and local administrative organisations will coordinate operations by setting up two inspection and service points per district along Phetkasem Road. Rapid response vehicles equipped with flashing warning lights will be stationed at major intersections during both daytime and night-time hours to help prevent collisions.
U-turns in high-risk accident locations will be temporarily closed throughout the holiday period. Officers will also be deployed at railway crossings without barriers, while community checkpoints will be established to enforce traffic laws, with particular attention given to drink-driving and speeding offences.
The Provincial Transport Office will carry out inspections of public transport vehicles from 26 December 2025 to 5 January 2026 at checkpoints along Phetkasem Road, in front of Highway Police Station Division 3, Sub-Division 2, in Mueang Prachuap Khiri Khan district. Drivers will undergo alcohol testing, checks on working hours, GPS speed monitoring and inspections of vehicle condition and safety equipment.
Additional inspections will take place at the minivan terminal near the Prachuap intersection in Mueang Prachuap Khiri Khan district and at the bus stop area in front of Market Village Hua Hin shopping centre in Hua Hin district.
Deputy Governor Preeda also instructed agencies to widely publicise emergency assistance and towing service telephone numbers. Warning signs and lighting are to be installed at ongoing road construction sites, while in Bang Saphan district’s Ban Thammarat area, where bridge works on Phetkasem Road remain incomplete, alternative routes and clear information signs will be prepared to ease congestion.
Prachuap Khiri Khan Province will officially open its Road Accident Prevention and Reduction Operations Centre for the New Year road safety campaign on 25 December at 9.30am in front of the new Provincial Hall building. Authorities have set targets of no more than 54 road accidents, 54 injuries and seven fatalities during the holiday period.