The Thai insurance regulator Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC) in collaboration with the insurance industry, Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) and four provinces of Prachinburi, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Sawan, Suphan Buri will develop a project on "Safe Road Model Community" using the concept of data and knowledge to drive the project.
OIC Secretary General Chuchat Pramoolpol recently addressed a press conference organised to launch the project on "Road Safety, a Model Province for Safe Roads" under the 2026 Road Safety and Vehicle Accident Victim Protection Initiative.
In his opening address, Mr Chuchat said road accidents are still a structural problem that severely affects the country. In 2025, Thailand had a cumulative number of accidents of 875,199 accidents, with more than 12,508 deaths, and more than 80% of them were motorcycle users, most of whom were in the age range of 15-29 years.
He said that in 2026, in less than four months, there have been more than 4,315 deaths, or an average of two cases per hour. Therefore, insurance is pushed to be an important mechanism for risk management in the country. It not only serves to mitigate losses but also plays a proactive role in preventing accidents through creating awareness. Behaviour adjustment and the use of empirical data in determining appropriate measures.
Based on the performance in the pilot area in Prachinburi province in the past year. It has been found that cooperation among all sectors, along with the use of spatial data, can concretely improve road safety.
It has developed the "4 Strategies, 7 Measures to Reduce Accidents" model, which covers public communication, knowledge building, development of role models, industrial sector participation, and improvement of physical risk points. As a result, awareness of compulsory car insurance has increased, especially among young people, which has increased by more than 39%, and the number of injuries and deaths tends to decrease.
The success of the project, however, depends on the cooperation of all sectors, especially the province as the landowner, government agencies, the private sector, and the public. It is expected that this project will lead to the development of a spatial database. Operating models and policies that support the role of the insurance system in preventing and remedying disasters sustainably.
Dr Sumet Ongkittikul, Director of Research on Transport and Logistics Policy, spoke on the topic "The Importance of Road Safety Operations Aiming to Reduce Injuries and Deaths to Zero Nationwide", reflecting the overall picture of Thailand's road accident situation, which is still at a worrying level and needs to be addressed systematically.
Dr Sumet said road accidents cause economic losses of more than THB500bn ($15.50bn) per year, or about 3% of the gross domestic product (GDP), while in 2025, the death rate from road accidents will still exceed the target at 8.39 people per 100,000 population, especially during important festivals such as New Year and Songkran, where there is a large number of travel. As a result, the number of deaths has increased significantly, reflecting that the measures taken during normal times are not enough to control risks during the festive season.
The factors of accidents continue to recur in the three main dimensions, namely "people, vehicles, roads", especially the human factor, which found that more than 89% of injuries and deaths from motorcycle driving did not have a driving license, while the vehicle side experienced a lack of registration and inspection, resulting in more than 16m motorcycles being unregistered and more than 15m motorcycles in the high-risk group, including only 12% of roads that are safe enough for road users.
In addition, law enforcement is not comprehensive and continuous enough to change driver behaviour, and the operation has been expanded to five areas in four provinces to develop a "model community of safe roads" that reflects the different risk contexts in each area. It was found that the elderly is a major risk group in many provinces.