MEMO REPORT

To: The Governor of Phuket

From: Stephen Hawking, Consultant
Date: January 23, 2007
Subject: Road Accidents in Phuket

In response to your request, I have examined the road accident conditions in Phuket. The
province has one of the highest road accident rates in Thailand, with 240 deaths per year. This is
due to some unfavorable conditions, including careless driving and poor road conditons. The
following includes my findings and recommendations based on personal observation,
investigation, interviews with local traffic police, provincial municipal officials and records from
the Phuket Provincial Authority.

Findings and Analyses

The number of vehicles on the island, 220,000 at present, is larger than the existing road
capacity can handle and 170,000 of which are motorcycles. That worsens the traffic conditions.
Substandard road conditions and careless driving habits of the drivers are the primary
causes of road accidents, which sometimes claim human lives.
Most of the buildings, institutions and entertainment places are clustered in the town,
which requires people to drive to and from town any time of the day. This also compounds the
problem.
Another factor is the insufficient budget for traffic control: there are only 100 traffic
police and they are unable to cope with the problem of reckless driving.
Despite traffic congestion, people prefer to use private cars because the public
transportation system -- which includes modified trucks, motorcycle taxis and tuk tuks -- is
inefficient and slow.
Another problem is the uncontrolled development. With construction sites everywhere,
trucks carry building materials anywhere at any time, which damages the roads. That in turn
contributes to more road accidents.

Recommendations
I suggest that the following measures be taken to decrease the number of road accidents.
1. More roads are needed to be built to be in line with the increasing number of
vehicles.
2. Heavy fines of at least 2,000 Baht should be imposed for traffic rule violations.
3. Satellite towns should be built outside of the city to ease the congested city.
4. The government should double the existing budget for traffic control.
5. Modern buses should be introduced to the public transport system.
6. Trucks carrying construction materials should be allowed only if they are
properly covered and only on certain roads within a certain time limit.

Conclusions
I am convinced that if the above recommendations are implemented, the number of road
accidents in Phuket will decline. Heavy fines will discourage people from driving carelessly. With
an adequate budget, traffic police will be able to enforce the traffic rules more vigorously. Also,
the introduction of an efficient mass transit system will encourage people to use private cars and
motorcycles less and, with other measures in place, there will be fewer cases of road accidents.