36 killed in road accidents on 6th of Songkran's '7 dangerous days', total toll rises to 236
The sixth of the so-called “7 dangerous days” of Songkran saw the accumulated number of road accidents rise to 2,008 and total death toll to 236, the Road Safety Centre announced on Monday.
Chotenarin Kerdsom, deputy permanent secretary for Interior Ministry, told the press that on Sunday as many as 263 road accidents took place, resulting in 36 deaths and 268 injuries.
The “7 dangerous days” end on Monday, the last day of the Songkran break.
The biggest cause of the accidents on Sunday was speeding (39.16%), followed by drunk driving (23.95%).
Most accidents involved motorcycles (78.39%) and the highest number of crashes took place on highways (42.21%).
Kanchanaburi saw the most accidents (13), Chumphon had the highest number of injured people (15) and Bangkok had the highest number of road deaths (five) on Sunday.
On Sunday, when people were returning back to Bangkok or other provinces, 54,238 officials were deployed to man 1,857 road checkpoints, Chotenarin said.
They stopped 322,570 vehicles for safety checks and 48,067 motorists and motorcyclists were booked for violating traffic laws. He said 14,177 were fined for driving without a licence and 13,127 for riding motorbikes without a helmet.
Sunday saw 22 more road accidents compared to April 16 last year, when 241 accidents took place.
However, the death toll dropped to 236 from 247 during the same period last year.
Chotenarin said, so far, Bangkok has had the highest death toll at 20, while Nan has seen the highest number of accidents at 62 and injuries at 63.
He said many people were still travelling on Monday, so police have been instructed to ensure smooth traffic and keep an eye out for violators of traffic laws and safety measures.
