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Pipat Promotes Rubber for Safe Roads & Local Economy

Pipat Promotes Rubber for Safe Roads & Local Economy

Prachachat•General•17d ago

Reader Briefing

Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Pipat is championing the use of natural rubber in road construction to enhance safety and boost the local economy.

  • •Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, is promoting the use of rubber innovations in road safety.
  • •Research indicates these rubber products can significantly reduce injury and fatality rates in road accidents.
  • •The initiative aims to create demand for domestic rubber, supporting rubber farmers and the local economy.
  • •The Department of Highways and the Department of Rural Roads will pilot the testing and implementation of these rubber-based safety features.

Overview

  • •Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, stated that the ministry is driving policies to enhance road safety nationwide while supporting the grassroots economy, particularly rubber farmers.
  • •Pipat Ratchakitprakarn is pushing for the adoption of innovative rubber products and research findings into standard testing systems for actual road use.
  • •Research from Prince of Songkla University shows that rubber innovations like concrete barrier covers (RFB), natural guide posts (RGP), and steel railing covers (RGC) can absorb impact by 25-45% and reduce injury severity by 35-40%.
  • •These rubber products can reduce injury severity by 35-40% and increase impact absorption by 25-45%.
  • •The use of rubber in road safety features is expected to significantly boost domestic rubber demand, positively affecting rubber prices and improving the livelihoods of Thai rubber processing agricultural cooperatives.
  • •The Department of Highways (DOH) and the Department of Rural Roads (DRR) are urged to collaborate on pilot testing these rubber innovations in designated areas.
  • •The initiative aims to create a new standard for preventing and reducing road accident losses and to support the grassroots economy.
  • •Consideration will be given to expanding the use of other rubber products such as rubber speed bumps and anti-slip rubber sheets for comprehensive application.

Full article content is available on the original source.

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Source: Prachachat (Original)

Key Quotes

Pipat Ratchakitprakarn
"Seeing the potential of innovations from natural rubber, clearly supported by research from leading institutions like Prince of Songkla University, can concretely enhance safety."
เล็งเห็นถึงศักยภาพของนวัตกรรมจากยางพาราธรรมชาติ ซึ่งมีผลการศึกษาวิจัยรองรับอย่างชัดเจนจากสถาบันชั้นนำ ม.สงขลานครินทร์ ว่าสามารถเพิ่มประสิทธิภาพความปลอดภัยได้อย่างเป็นรูปธรรม
Pipat Ratchakitprakarn
"Effectively helping to reduce roadside accident fatalities."
ช่วยลดอัตราการเสียชีวิตจากอุบัติเหตุข้างทางได้อย่างมีประสิทธิภาพ

Key Entities

Person

Pipat Ratchakitprakarn(พิพัฒน์ รัชกิจประการ)ℹ️
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport of Thailand, who is pushing for the use of rubber in road safety.

Organization

Department of Highways(กรมทางหลวง)ℹ️
Thai government agency responsible for national highways, tasked with piloting rubber-based road safety innovations.
Department of Rural Roads(กรมทางหลวงชนบท)ℹ️
Thai government agency responsible for rural roads, tasked with piloting rubber-based road safety innovations.
Prince of Songkla University(ม.สงขลานครินทร์)ℹ️
Leading Thai university whose research on rubber innovations for road safety is cited in the article.

Policy

Rubber Covers for Concrete Barriers (RFB)(แผ่นยางครอบกำแพงคอนกรีต (RFB))
A specific rubber innovation designed to enhance road safety by covering concrete barriers.
Natural Rubber Guide Posts (RGP)(หลักนำทางยางธรรมชาติ (RGP))
A rubber innovation used as guide posts on roads to improve visibility and safety.
Rubber Covers for Steel Railings (RGC)(แผ่นยางหุ้มราวเหล็ก (RGC))
A rubber innovation designed to cover steel railings, likely to mitigate impact in accidents.

Context

Grassroots Economy(เศรษฐกิจฐานราก)
The local or basic economic structure, which the promotion of rubber in roads aims to support.