237 road deaths recorded in first 6 days of Songkran
The first six of Songkran’s “seven dangerous days” have seen a total of 1,720 road accidents and 237 deaths, the Road Safety Thailand committee said on Sunday.
Road Safety Thailand, which oversees road safety, has been recording accidents since April 11, when thousands of people began making their way upcountry for their Songkran break. The holiday wrapped up on Sunday.
At a Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department press conference on Sunday, the committee said that on Saturday – the sixth of seven dangerous days – 241 road accidents occurred killing 28 people and injuring 246 others.
As of Saturday, a total of 1,696 people have been injured in road accidents, the committee said.
Motorcycle crashes accounted for 81.96 per cent of the accidents, followed by pickups (7.06 per cent) and cars (2.79 per cent).
Road Safety Thailand said the main cause was speeding (35.93 per cent), drunk driving (27.79 per cent) and sudden shifting of lanes (17.62 per cent).
Chiang Mai recorded the highest number of accidents at 62 and the highest number of injuries with 60 people. The highest number of deaths, meanwhile, was recorded in Bangkok with 11, the committee said.
The 10 provinces with no Songkran road tolls so far are Nakhon Phanom, Bueng Kan, Pattani, Yala, Ranong, Lamphun, Samut Songkhram, Singburi, Nong Bua Lamphu and Amnat Charoen.
On Saturday, 56,324 officials were manning 1,900 checkpoints across the country and stopped 410,818 vehicles for safety checks. So far, 70,180 motorists and motorcyclists face legal action for breaking traffic rules, including 19,264 motorcyclists who were caught without a helmet and 8,388 drivers who failed to show their licence.