Deaths, injuries up in first three 'dangerous days' from a year ago
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With the New Year break coming to an end in a few days, many holiday-makers started returning to Bangkok yesterday, causing more traffic and prompting the authorities to adjust road-safety measures accordingly.
The Road Safety Centre reported, meanwhile, that 190 people were killed and 1,782 injured in 1,737 road accidents over first three days of the seven-day accident-monitoring period. These figures were higher across the board than the previous New Year, when there were 1,322 accidents which caused 161 deaths and 1,390 injuries over the same period.
Chiang Mai had the highest number of accidents in the first three days at 71, while Phetchabun and Buri Ram had the most fatalities – nine each, and Nakhon Sawan had the most injuries at 75.
No fatalities in 12 provinces
Only 12 provinces have so far reported no fatalities.
On January 1 alone, a total of 604 accidents claimed 60 lives and left 625 others injured, Public Health Minister Rajata Rajatanavin announced on the centre’s behalf. Major contributing factors remained drunk driving at 49 per cent and speeding at 24 per cent.
Most accidents involved motorcycles (85 per cent), and most took place on straight stretches of road (64 per cent). About one-quarter occurred between midnight to 4am. Slightly over half of the victims were of working age.
Officials at 2,270 main checkpoints arrested 90,624 people for traffic violations, about 27,300 of whom did not wear a motorcycle helmet and some 26,100 others failed to show a driver’s licence, Rajata said.
In related news, deputy national police chief Pol General Pongsapat Pongcharoen yesterday inspected the project under which holidaymakers list their homes to be monitored by police from December 20 to January 4 while they are away.
He checked out Chokchai Police Station in Bangkok, which has 59 houses in the project, the most in one jurisdiction.
The project, aimed at preventing theft and other crimes, has seen a total of 3,289 houses monitored nationwide.
Some of 1,044 of these were in the capital, with 1,311 in adjacent provinces and 924 upcountry.
Pongsapat said 109 homeowners had already returned while about 3,000 others were still away, so police would continue to patrol until everyone is back by Monday.
