Phuket launches road accident data centre to link agency records
Phuket’s new road accident data centre will combine records from hospitals, police and transport authorities, as official figures show 19,001 people were injured or killed in road accidents between 1 January and 1 September 2026.
Phuket Provincial Public Health Office launched the Provincial Public Health Road Accident Information Center on 31 August 2026 to combine road accident data held by hospitals, police and other agencies.
The project is funded by the Road Safety Fund of the Department of Land Transport for fiscal 2026. No figure for the cost of establishing or operating the centre was disclosed.
Officials said accident information had previously been kept in separate databases. The new system will bring together records from hospitals, police and the Central Company for Protection of Road Accident Victims in a single database. Dashboards will display information through graphs, tables and maps, allowing agencies to examine accident trends, risk factors and high-risk locations.
The need for better coordination comes as Ministry of Public Health figures show that 19,001 people in Phuket were injured or killed in reported road accidents between 1 January and 1 September 2026. The total included 120 deaths, 9,686 people treated as outpatients and 9,195 hospital admissions. The figures represented an average of about 78 people a day involved in reported road accident injuries or deaths.
The ministry figures come from an existing road traffic injury database. The new provincial system is intended to link those health records with information held by police, transport authorities and the Road Accident Victims Protection Company.
Data from Vachira Phuket Hospital, Thalang Hospital, Patong Hospital and Chalong Hospital will be collected and converted into a common format. Officials said the system would also help reduce duplication and discrepancies between agency records.
Information collected will include deaths, suspected crash causes, helmet and seatbelt use, alcohol or drug involvement and road conditions. Police will provide data on crash locations, driver behaviour and environmental conditions. The Phuket Provincial Transport Office will support searches of driver-licence and vehicle-registration databases, which officials said could help identify unlicensed drivers and support enforcement.
Dr Banphot Panakleub, deputy Phuket provincial public health officer, said integrating the records would move agencies from maintaining separate databases towards collaborative analysis. Officials said the findings could guide action by police, highway and rural road authorities and local government agencies, including road improvements, better lighting, vegetation clearance and accident-prevention measures using information from the Phuket Eye system.
A memorandum of understanding was signed by the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office, Phuket Provincial Police, Phuket Provincial Transport Office, Phuket Provincial Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office and the Central Compensation Fund for Victims of Road Accidents. Participating officials were trained to enter data, access and analyse the dashboard, export information and manage user access.
The stated aim is to use accident statistics to identify specific problems, implement measures and monitor whether they work.
