Road toll soars to record 442 killed over Songkran

18 เมษายน 2559

Most accidents involved motorcycles (81%), drink-driving (34%), speeding (33%) & main roads (64%). Chiang Mai had most accidents.

ROAD SAFETY

Road toll soars to record 442 killed over Songkran

18/04/2016
Online Reporters

A total of 442 people were killed in road accidents across the country during the "seven dangerous days" of Songkran which ended on Sunday (364 deaths in 2015).

This was a huge 21.4% increase from last year despite the government's intense road safety campaign under the slogan "Songkran Safety, Thai Culture Promotion and Traffic Discipline".

There were 3,447 road crashes (3,373 in 2014), from which 3,656 people were admitted to hospital for treatment of serious injuries during April 11-17.

Four out of every five accidents involved motorcycles.

On Sunday alone, 45 people were killed and 385 injured in 343 road accidents nationwide.

Too many people on motorcycle makes driving it dangerous.

CHIANG MAI HAD MOST ACCIDENTS

Chiang Mai had the most accidents over the seven days, with 168 crashes, and recorded the most serious injuries with 175 people admitted to hospital.

Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima had the highest number of deaths at 19 each.

Four provinces had no reported road deaths: Trat, Yala, Ranong and Nong Bua Lam Phu.

Water thrown in eyes of motorcyclist, makes him into a temporarily blind and dangerous motorcyclist. Patipat Janthong

DRINK-DRIVING, SPEEDING, MOTORCYCLES TOP ACCIDENT STATS

According to government statistics (stats), drink-driving remained the biggest single cause of road crashes, blamed for 34.09%, followed by speeding at 32.93%.

Most crashes involved motorcycles (80.67%), followed by pickup trucks (8.85%).

Most accidents occurred on main roads (64.49%).

The peak time for crashes was between 4pm and 8pm.