612 vehicles impounded in crackdown

Colonel Sirichan Ngathong, deputy spokeswoman of the National Council for Peace and Order, said yesterday that on Wednesday alone, Army officers manning checkpoints nationwide found 3,055 violations of the drunk-driving ban by motorcyclists, sent 3,395 of them to be cited for traffic offences and impounded 334 motorbikes.

They caught 1,654 car or public-transport drivers violating the ban, took custody of the driver’s licences from 176 of them, passed 1,555 of them for booking and confiscated nine cars.

From December 25-30, officers detained 547 motorcycles and 65 cars and passed 4,375 motorcyclists and 2,219 car and public-transport drivers for legal action, she said.

The Road Safety Centre reported that besides the 104 deaths, the first two days of the New Year accident-monitoring period saw 1,080 injuries from 1,029 road accidents. All three statistics were down from last year.

At the Road Safety Centre, Tourism Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul said that on Wednesday alone, 65 persons were killed and 624 wounded in 590 road accidents.

Driving under the influence and speeding – at 20.2 per cent and 16.9 per cent – remained the major causes of accidents. Two-wheel vehicles accounted for 84.7 per cent of all accidents, she said.

Only Samut Prakan and Nong Khai provinces were accident-free. Ratchaburi had the most accidents at 32, while Chon Buri and Phetchaburi witnessed the most deaths at five each. Suphan Buri reported the most injuries at 45.

The 65,466 officials manning 2,103 checkpoints on Wednesday arrested 96,635 alleged lawbreakers – mostly for not carrying a driver’s licence at 28,324 cases and not wearing a safety helmet at 26,820 cases, Kobkarn said.

Holidaymakers continued streaming upcountry to welcome the new year with their families and loved ones. Transport hubs were crammed and highways, particularly those leading to the North and Northeast, were jammed. 

Pol Maj-General Somchai Kaosamran, commander of Highway Police, said traffic at Khao Chong Tako in Sa Kaew’s Ta Phraya district was very dense, so officials set up a refreshment stand and put on musical shows to entertain those stuck in traffic.

Special lanes were opened from Mittrapap Highway in Saraburi’s Muak Lek district to Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district.

As 100,000 people were expected to travel by train, Railway Police dispatched 681 officers to provide security on 280 trains as well as at stations, said Pol Maj-General Jirasan Kaewsaeng-ek, commander of the division.

Public Health Minister Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn visited Phra Na Khon Sri Ayutthaya Hospital to boost the spirits of medical staff working over New Year’s. 

He said the ministry had prepared 14,441 emergency response teams with 160,000 medics nationwide to administer first aid to those injured in road accidents or struck with a sudden illness. 

Pol Lt-General Sanit Mahathavorn, acting Metropolitan Police chief, presided over a ceremony at Phayathai Police Station to return stolen vehicles, which had been held as crime evidence, to their owners, as a New Year gift to the public. 

All 88 precincts in the capital had stored some 10,000 vehicles. For 800 of them, their registered owners had been identified, and 1,000 were in the process of checking, Sanit said. 

The project would see a large batch of vehicles returned to their owners from January 5-9 at the parking lot of the Royal Thai Police Sports Club in Bangkok’s Lak Si district, he said.