CityNews – December 1st, due to several reports of accidents causing a large number of injuries, deaths and damages on the Chiang Mai – Chiang Rai road, authorities have now painted the road red with ‘anti-skid’ paint to help highlight the dangers of the road and prevent accidents in wet weather.
The road which is famous for its steep curves in the Doi Saket district stretch, has had various projects from municipalities and institutes in a bid to reduce accidents by setting up warning signs to prevent further accidents. However, it hasn’t worked as well as planned.
This week, Chiang Mai District 2 used ‘Anti-Skid’ Paint on the mentioned road to help reduce the road becoming slippery when wet.
Two at-risk spots were painted – at kilometre 20 on Chiang Rai – Chiang Mai road, right before the Chao Pho Phalad shrine and in front of the Chao Mae Doi Nang Kaew shrine.
According to Uthai Ponhan, 38, rescue officer of Pa Miang Subdistrict Municipality, one day there was 19 accidents on the road on the same day. However, so far after the ‘Anti-Skid’ paint has been used, the number of accidents has decreased. As a result, he asked institutes involved to use ‘Anti-Skid’ paint in other at-risk areas to reduce further accidents.
However, he himself thought that the road surface is only 20 percent of the factors causing road accidents. Most factors are careless driving, he says. He warned drivers to be more careful while driving on the road, especially when it rains.
The first road that used ‘Anti-Skid’ paint was the second ring road behind Payap University.