49 people killed in road accidents on Thursday as Songkran death toll surges
Most of the accidents during Songkran holidays were caused by speeding and drunk driving with motorbikes accounting for 80% of all accidents,
Forty-nine people were killed in road accidents on Thursday and another 448 were injured, raising the Songkran death toll to 114 so far, the Road Safety Directing Centre said on Friday.
It is reporting data on road accidents, including deaths and injuries, for what are described in Thailand as the “seven deadly days”. They began on Tuesday and end on Monday.
The number of road accidents in Thailand totaled 437 on Thursday, the Road Safety Centre said.
Most accidents were caused by speeding or drunk driving, said Boontham Lertsukheekasem, director general of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.
Motorbike accidents accounted for about four-fifths of all accidents, Boontham said.
Top causes of accidents
• Speeding: 37.30%
• Drunk driving: 29.29%
Vehicle type in most accidents
• Motorcycles: 79.51%
Location of most accidents
• Village roads: 37.76%
• Highways: 35.24%
Time with highest number of accidents
• 5pm to 6pm (9%)
Age-range with highest rate of casualties
• 30 - 39: 16%
The province with the highest number of accidents was Nakhon Si Thammarat (19). It also had the highest number of injuries (19 people) and deaths (three people).
From April 11 to 13 the number of road accidents in Thailand totaled 1,055 accidents. These accidents claimed 114 lives and injured another 1,064 people. So far, Bangkok has had the highest number of deaths (nine people).
Chiang Mai and Nakhon Si Thammarat have the highest number of injuries so far (40 people each), while 19 provinces have reported no fatalities during the first three days of Songkran.
