Seven days of carnage claim 373 lives, down 19%
The annual “seven dangerous days” of the New Year holidays have ended with 373 deaths and more than 3,000 injuries on roads across the country, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation announced on Friday (January 3).
Deputy police spokesman Pol Col Kritsana Pattanacharoen again blamed the spike in road accidents from December 27-January 2 on the huge number of people travelling to and from family gatherings.
“There were 3,421 accidents reported, 370 fewer that the same period last year, a decline of or 9.76 per cent,” he said.
“The 373 deaths represented a decrease of 19.4 per cent, and 3,499 injuries, lower by 10.1 per cent. The No 1 cause was drunk driving, at 32.7 per cent, followed by speeding, at 29 per cent. Motorcycles accounted for 79.8 per cent of the vehicles involved in the accidents and pickup trucks 6.8 per cent.”
More than 64,000 highway officials and police officers manned 2,000 checkpoints countrywide during the seven days.
Almost a million vehicles were stopped for inspection and 230,306 persons ticketed, most for not wearing a helmet or having no valid driver’s licence.
More than 26 per cent of the accidents occurred between 4pm and 8pm, with 63.7 per cent taking place on highways and 39 per cent on district and local roads.
“Songkhla saw the most accidents – 116 – while Bangkok witnessed the most deaths – 15 persons,” Kritsana said. “Songkhla also had the most injuries, with 121. Six provinces saw no fatal accidents – Trat, Phayao, Mae Hong Son, Yala, Lamphun and Satun.”
