July 5 – ‘Dr. Manoon’ emphasizes that it is time for Thailand to give importance to drowsy driving because the problem of drowsy driving is a major factor causing accidents.
Dr. Manoon Leechawengwong, President of the Don’t Drive Drowsy Fund, Ramathibodi Foundation, said about the accidents that occurred in several locations on Sukhapiban 5 Road, Sai Mai District, Bangkok that accidents can occur from many causes. However, in our country, we will focus on drunk driving, speeding, and recklessness. In other countries, we will focus on driving while drowsy. In the United States, research clearly shows that 20% of major accidents are caused by drowsy driving. In our country, it is said that only 3-4% of accidents are caused by drowsy driving, which is low and less than the truth. This is because Thais work very hard, especially in the transportation sector, who work day and night. They do not get enough sleep, do not get enough sleep, and have accumulated sleep deprivation, which leads to falling asleep. There
are two times when drowsy driving is most common: during the day, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and after midnight to 6:00 a.m. Therefore, the most accidents caused by drowsy driving are during these two periods.
In our country, we often blame major accidents on drunk driving. In fact, the real problem of accidents in our country is caused by drowsiness while driving, which happens every day. But we, the government, society, and the general public, do not give any importance to this issue because we believe the World Health Organization. The World Health Organization does not give importance to this issue, which can be seen from the research reports and accident statistics from last year by the World Health Organization. There was no mention of accidents caused by drowsiness while driving, not even a single case.
Dr. Manoon also said that he did not blame the driver for the accident that happened last night because accidents can happen to anyone. If he were to blame society for not giving importance to this
issue, he had tried for the past 20 years to ask the government to amend and add messages to the campaign from drunk driving to drunk, drowsy, don’t drive, but no one was interested or bothered to fix it.
Therefore, it is time for all sectors of Thailand, whether it is the government, the Ministry of Public Health, the Royal Thai Police, and all Thai people, to turn to focus on creating discipline for society. Don’t drive when you are sleepy. For drivers, they must have self-discipline. While driving, they must check themselves to see if they are sleepy or not and if they can still drive. If they feel sleepy, they must find a way to solve the problem, such as turning on the radio, listening to music, singing along, chewing gum, or drinking an energy drink. If they can’t handle it, they must stop the car immediately to rest their eyes for at least 15 minutes.
Source: Thai News Agency