341 killed over 'dangerous' New Year, slightly less than last year
PRIME MINISTER GENERAL Prayut Chan-o-cha's administration isn't satisfied with the New Year road toll being slightly less than last year because every life is important. So all agencies must perform their duties to the fullest, deputy government spokesman
During yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, Prayut instructed related agencies to gather more detailed information over the coming month on accident statistics than what they presented to the media to determine solutions to better reduce road casualties during the Songkran Festival in April, he said.
These comments were made after the Road Safety Centre said yesterday that 341 people were killed and 3,117 injured in 2,997 accidents over the New Year holidays.
This was slightly down from last year’s tally of 367 killed and 3,344 others injured in 3,174 accidents.
Chiang Mai province topped the road toll figures with 18 people killed and 129 injured in 133 accidents over the seven days, while only two provinces – Sing Buri and Nakhon Phanom – reported no road deaths.
Interior Ministry permanent secretary Wibul Sanguanpong said 265 accidents on Monday claimed 40 lives and left 274 other people injured.
Major contributing factors to road crashes over the week were drunk driving at 37 per cent, while 82 per cent of accidents involved motorcycles.
Most accidents occurred on highways (38.5 per cent) and village roads (35.30 per cent), Wibul said. Two thirds took place on a straight stretch of road (65 per cent), with many occurring between 4pm and 8pm in the evening (30 per cent). Slightly over half (52.5 per cent) of victims were of working age.
Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department chief Chatchai Phromlert thanked all officials and volunteers who spent the holiday period working for road safety. He said state agencies would analyse the information about accident causes and contributing factors to draw up strategies and recommendations for Cabinet to consider to try to lower the toll further.
