34 killed in road accidents on first day
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The first of the so-called seven dangerous New Year holidays saw 34 people killed and 501 others injured in road accidents around the country.
Deputy Interior Minister Thanis Thienthong told a press conference Friday that 427 road accidents occurred on Thursday, which is counted as the first of seven-day New Year holiday period.
The authorities monitor road accidents during the long New Year holidays to try to minimise the toll. This year, the authorities are monitoring road accidents from December 29 to January 4, the dates on which people leave Bangkok and return to the capital after the long holidays.
Thanis said the first day of this year’s holiday had seen 34 more accidents than the same period last year, an increase of 8.65 per cent, while the death toll increased by ten or 41.67 per cent. The number of injured people increased by 76 or 17.88 per cent
Thanis said the Road Safety Centre found that drunk driving, riding bikes without helmets and violation of speed limits were the common causes of the road accidents this year.
He said many people were expected to leave Bangkok for their home provinces on Friday so the authorities had been instructed to check motorists and motorcyclists regularly to prevent them from breaking traffic laws.
Wibul Sanguanpong, director-general of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, who is the secretary of the Road Safety Centre, warned motorists to be careful when driving in northern provinces because of fog and poor visibility.
