Third of ‘7 Dangerous Days’ sees lower drunk driving cases year-on-year
Precisely 1,225 traffic violations were reported on Wednesday, the third of the Songkran festival’s “Seven Dangerous Days”, the Department of Probation said on Thursday.
This year, the seven dangerous days are from April 11 to 17.
Of the total, 1,083 cases involved drunk driving, five reckless driving, and 137 “drug-impaired” driving. The court ordered seven drivers to wear electronic monitoring (EM) bracelets on Wednesday.
The past three days saw 2,807 traffic violations – 2,334 drunk driving cases (83.15 per cent), 18 reckless driving (0.64 per cent) and 455 drug-impaired driving (16.2 per cent).
“Surin province reported the highest number of drunk driving cases on Wednesday at 190, followed by Bangkok [131] and Ubon Ratchathani [123],” department director-general Wittawan Soonthornkachit said.
“Compared to the same period last year, the number of drunk driving cases has dropped from 1,398 to 1,083 – a 22.5 per cent decrease.”
Wittawan said drivers who have been ordered to wear EM bracelets must remain in their residences from 7pm to 5am for seven days.
The department’s Electronic Monitoring Control Centre will monitor their movements 24 hours a day and dispatch officers immediately if there is any violation of the court order, Wittawan warned.
“The Department of Probation has set up 78 checkpoints along major roads during the Songkran festival this year. A total 1,485 officers and volunteers are stationed at these checkpoints to provide free drinking water and hand sanitisers to motorists, as well as to ensure that traffic laws are observed,” he added.