Vital traffic law amendments likely to be enforced in July: MP
An important bill to amend the traffic law to improve public safety may be enacted in time for enforcement in July, a member of the House committee on transportation said on Thursday.
Chart Thai Pattana party-list MP Nikorn Chamnong was speaking to reporters after a meeting of the committee at Parliament.
The panel conducted the meeting on pedestrian safety at zebra crossings after female doctor Waralak Supawat-Jariyakul was killed by a speeding big bike at a crossing on a Bangkok road on Friday.
The panel invited representatives of the Road Accident Prevention and Mitigation Committee, the Land Transport Department, the Royal Thai Police and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to the meeting.
Nikorn said the House panel had proposed an amendment bill to increase public safety on roads long before the tragic accident.
The bill seeks to have a separate licence for big bike riders and will increase the current Bt1,000 fine to Bt4,000 for violators of traffic signs, Nikorn said.
He said the amendment bill is pending deliberation by the Senate, which is scheduled to review it on January 31. Once the bill is approved, it will be sent back to the House for reaffirmation if major changes are made to it and the bill will subsequently be sent for royal command and enacted, Nikorn said.
He said the House panel proposed that there should be on-demand traffic lights at all zebra crossings so pedestrians could use the red light for motorists to stop.
“It’s not right to have pedestrians run across the crossing and risk their lives,” Nikorn pointed out.
He said the House panel doesn’t want the doctor’s death to be in vain, so it would summarise its proposals and send them to concerned government agencies later for implementation.
