34 deaths on first of seven dangerous days
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Speeding, drunk driving and not wearing helmet key reasons
More road casualties and accidents were reported in the first of the sevenday New Year period compared to the same period last year.
Up to 34 people have been killed and 501 injured in 427 road accidents on Thursday – the first of the seven dangerous days for the holiday period, Deputy Interior Minister Thanis Thienthong told the press yesterday at the Road Safety Centre.
He said the number of fatalities had risen from 24 and injuries were up from 425 in 393 accidents on December 29 last year.
The authorities will monitor traffic and all roads until January 4 to help minimise the toll. People have been driving out of the capital since Thursday, and officials have been instructed to look out for violators of traffic rules.
Thanis said the Road Safety Centre had found that drunk driving, riding motorbikes without helmets and breaking the speed limit were the common causes of the accidents.
Wiboon Sanguanpong, directorgeneral of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, who is also secretary of the Road Safety Centre, warned motorists to be careful when heading to the North and Northeast due to fog and poor visibility.
He urged motorists to stop frequently to rest as well as have their vehicles regularly checked at the hundreds of service stations located along highways and main roads.
Meanwhile, Provincial Police Region 3 Commander Pol LtGeneral Panu Kerdlapphol surveyed the situation of roads heading toward the eight Northeast provinces from a helicopter.
He said more police officers would be deployed to ease congestion and keep an eye out at risky areas.
In related news, tragedy struck in Lampang’s Sop Prap district when a car with four passengers crashed into a tree before bursting into flames. Police say the passengers were relatives travelling from Bangkok to the North to celebrate the New Year.
