Evonik Industries AG, a global specialty chemicals companies and the inventor of methylmethacrylate (MMA) cold plastic road markings, hosted an award ceremony at the residence of the German ambassador to present the “Evonik Road Safety Award” to the Department of Rural Roads, Thailand (DRR), as an acknowledgment and reward for the company’s contributions to road safety in Thailand, especially in rural areas.
Granted this year for the first time, the “Evonik Road Safety Award” is designed to support sustainable road safety initiatives and projects worldwide, as part of the company’s corporate and social responsibility. Evonik advocates good social development in all its global sites and thus, supports charitable undertakings that raises the quality of life. With H.E. Rolf Schulze, German ambassador, Dr. Florian Kirschner, country head of Evonik Thailand, and Jochen Henkels, business director of Evonik Road Marking, bestowing the award to DRR on its infrastructure project, “Increase Children’s Safety – School Zones.” The award represents Evonik’s recognition of the department’s contribution on enhancing road safety in 3,000 school-zones of rural areas in Thailand.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Thailand ranks among the countries with the highest number of traffic fatalities per capita. Many of the roads in Thailand, especially in rural areas, are suffering from poor pedestrian safety conditions. Footpaths have not been built and pedestrians are forced to walk on dirt paths, which can easily cause fatal road accidents. Even in school zones, children are risking their lives daily to reach schools, as reports show that pedestrian accidents mostly involve children under the age of 10, particularly during the school term.
To improve the children’s safety in school-zone areas, DRR began its road safety pilot project at Nonthaburi province in 2013. In addition to implementing speed limitations, visual communication to create awareness was key in DRR’s considerations. Through the installation of edge lines, colored anti-skid rumble stripes and pedestrian crossings based on MMA cold plastic-based road markings, they have successfully raised awareness of traffic participants. Students, as well as pedestrians, are now better guided, vehicle speeds also have been reduced significantly and public transportation runs smoothly and safely.
Since its implementation in 2013, DRR has been monitoring the accident rates, anti-skid performance and the conditions of its road safety materials. Until now, it has accounted zero accidents thus far, and the MMA cold plastic-based road markings remain durable and functional even after three years, with no maintenance required. Surveyed students and parents strongly agree that the installation makes the way to and from school safer. With such a successful outcome of the project, this innovative, sustainable and environmentally-friendly solution has already been applied countrywide across more than 700 schools, and will be extended to 3,000 rural schools in the near future. With €10,000 (approximately $10,621 USD) cash prize associated with the award, DRR has asked Evonik to donate it to the Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health as part of its project’s objective to enhance child and adolescent safety in the country.
“By presenting this award to DRR, we wish to promote sustainable improvements in roadworks even further, while spreading road safety awareness among the public,” said Dr. Kirschner. “Evonik as the creative industrial group, will continue to address the road safety issues with our innovative solutions and build trustful relationships with the local communities.”
The “Evonik Road Safety Award” will be bestowed every year. The organization assessed entries based on a group’s contribution to road safety (60 percent) and sustainability (20 percent), as well as innovative character (10 percent) and potential replicability (10 percent). Every applicant was screened by an independent jury of internationally recognized experts in the field of road safety, transport, and city design.
