Highway Police Launch Thailand's First Japanese-Model Traffic Learning Center for Volunteers in Ubon
Thailand's Highway Police opened the country's first Japanese-model traffic learning center at a school in Ubon Ratchathani, featuring interactive stations where students learn traffic safety through simulations, demonstrations, and practic
Highway Police have launched Thailand's first volunteer traffic learning center modeled after Japan's traffic discipline programs at Ban Kaeng Srikhot Border Patrol Police School in Sirindhorn District, Ubon Ratchathani. Led by Police General Phorsak Leorujiralay, Highway Police Commander, along with provincial officials and over 200 volunteers from various sectors, the initiative—dubbed "Coming Together to Build Dreams for Our Young Border Residents"—aims to rehabilitate and improve the quality of life for youth in border areas.
The project encompasses 15 activities including educational scholarships, school supplies, sports equipment, essential necessities, facility repairs, free health checkups and haircuts, and lunch programs. The centerpiece is the traffic learning center, adapted from Japan's traffic discipline model, where students cycle through real traffic signs, signals, and lights to learn practical skills and identify hazards such as pedestrian crossings and railway safety.
Educational stations include a safety demonstration base featuring seatbelt safety simulations and helmet impact tests using watermelons to show the consequences of neglecting safety gear. A "reckless rider endpoint" station uses actors dressed as paramedics with injured and deceased mannequins to warn youth of dangerous driving consequences. A mini-traffic theory station allows students to take mini-driver's license tests and practice hand signals to train them as school traffic volunteers.
School officials report that students now have greater understanding and awareness of traffic rules and are prepared to share this knowledge with their parents. Ubon Ratchathani province plans to encourage other schools in Sirindhorn District to study the center as a model for safety development, while the Highway Police intend to expand the program to multiple locations nationwide.
