THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

418 die in Songkran road carnage

418 die in Songkran road carnage

This Songkran's casualties of 418 deaths and 3,897 injuries in 3,724 road accidents compared with last year’s figures of 390 deaths and 3,808 injuries in 3,690 road crashes, the Road Safety Centre said on Wednesday.

Most road carnage this Songkran stemmed from drink-driving (40 per cent) and speeding (26 per cent) and 80 per cent of accidents involved motorcycles and 65 per cent took place on straight roads, Deputy Interior Minister Suthee Makboon told the media.
During the seven-day monitoring period for Songkran (April 11-17), Nakhon Ratchasima, the “gateway to the northeast”, reported the highest accumulated death toll (20) while the northern province of Chiang Mai had the highest total injuries (142) and crashes (133), he said. Only four provinces of Ranong, Samut Songkhram, Nong Khai and Nong Bua Lamphu reported no road accident deaths during Songkran, he added.
On Tuesday, the last day of the crash-monitoring period, 307 accidents took place killing 26 people and wounding 336 others and with speeding blamed for 28 per cent of accidents, drink-driving for 26 per cent and suddenly cutting in front of other vehicle for 19 per cent. On Tuesday, officers manning 2,029 checkpoints nationwide arrested 146,589 motorists, most of whom were motorcyclists and their passengers not wearing crash helmets (39,572 cases) and those not in possession of their driver’s licence (37,779).

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