Government to step up road safety measures

August 30, 2017

U Henry Van Thio, Vice-President and Chairman of National Road Safety Council (NRSC) addressed the third meeting of the council at the Ministry of Transport and Communications in Nay Pyi Taw and spoke about basic steps toward improving road safety such as the use of seat belts, abstaining from use of mobile phones and driving more slowly.

“The tasks of implementation of road safety are of great importance for the nation, being the tasks to be carried out specifically for safety of people’s lives. Today’s meeting was being held with a view to upgrading road safety, presenting situations on accomplishments of decisions laid down by the 2nd meeting and presenting processes to be carried out further, submitting restrictions and difficulties encountered by regions and states. Four quick-win preparations for national road safety — wearing helmets (for motorcyclists) and seat-belts, abstention from using mobile phones while driving, abstention from drinking while driving and taking care not to commit over-speed driving are required to be obeyed”, U Henry Van Thio said.

“In building new roads, special care needs to be taken for road safety and it needs to abide by road designs and standards. In repairing roads as well, responsible departments and organisations need to take care of security matters. Road signs and installation of signal lights are required to follow existing rules and laws. Deep-rooted and wrong road habits on expressways for vehicles to overpass preceding ones need to be corrected to rightfulness. In upgrading the reduction of road accidents, establishment of an organisation for raising funds for road safety needs to be carried out. Here, I would like to urge the members of NRSC to cooperate after studying carefully the suggestions acquired from workshop on all-inclusive road safety. The NRSC needs to give out accurate figures on accidents so that the public will be convinced of actual situations to keep road discipline.

In schools, lessons on road safety should be started to be included in the syllabus. Common sense should be indoctrinated at younger ages that road safety knowledge is needed for all of us. Provided that every individual keeps road safety disciplines, roads and vehicles are in better conditions, accident will surely decrease.”

Afterward, Union Ministers Lt Gen Kyaw Swe and U Thant Sin Maung, vice-chairpersons also spoke about road safety.—Myanmar News Agency

Ref; The Global New Light of Myanmar