Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt presided over the opening of a new campaign to encourage motorcyclists to follow road safety laws and wear helmets on Thursday.

The event featured a motorcycle convoy riding around City Hall and Lan Khon Mueang town square in Phra Nakhon district to raise awareness about the importance of wearing helmets.

The city has given helmets to over 120,000 students in the Bangkok area since last year.

“A lot of children travel to school on motorcycles, putting them at risk of death from road accidents,” said the governor. “Around 20,000 people die on the roads each year, and 90% of them were on a bike and not wearing a helmet,” he added, referring to national figures.

The new road-safety campaign – “Wear helmets for a zero-accident Bangkok and a safer Thailand” – aims to lower the number of fatalities by at least 4,000 per year, Chadchart said.

His administration has been improving the city’s infrastructure to promote traffic safety, including adding more crosswalks, installing street lamps, and repaving roads, he said, adding: “All parties still need to work together and obey traffic laws to reduce traffic deaths.”

The campaign will also feature exhibitions and musical performances across the city to raise awareness about the importance of wearing helmets. The events will be co-sponsored by partners, including the Rotary International Foundation, the Parliament, the World Health Organisation, the Thai Health Foundation, and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. They worked with the city on its “Safe Roads, Safe Lives” campaign.

Chadchart also told participants at Thursday’s event that the city is working with other agencies to reduce traffic emissions, and with local administrative organisations to reduce the practice of using fires to get rid of garbage and clear long grass, bushes and trees from open spaces.

“All agencies already have action plans for the air pollution problem,” Chadchart said. “All parties must do their duty and collaborate with each other to achieve the target.”

Three factors that determine the level of air pollution in Bangkok are traffic, the burning of vegetation, and the weather.

“To effectively deal with air pollution, we need to promote the use of public transport, reduce the use of personal vehicles, and urge motorists to keep their vehicles in good condition to cut emissions,” Chadchart said.

Measures that will be implemented by other agencies include raising taxes on old vehicles, he said.

“We are also studying ways to use new innovations to increase the city’s capacity to absorb fine dust and other types of air pollution,” Chadchart added.

The city decided against telling its staff they could work from home because it was forecast that the PM2.5 level would improve in the next two days, following a forecast by the Thai Meteorological Department that southeasterly winds would blow through the city and carry the dust away.

Chadchart also invited city residents to join the 1 million trees campaign, which so far has resulted in more than 200,000 trees being planted in the city to help absorb air pollution.

More information about the campaign can be found at its website: https://www.bkk1milliontrees.com.