During the Songkran Festival in Thailand, which took place from April 11 to 17, a total of 2,203 road accidents resulted in 264 deaths and 2,208 injuries, according to the official statistics released on Tuesday. The last day of the seven-day safe driving campaign witnessed 183 accidents, resulting in 16 deaths and 202 injuries. Among these accidents, speeding contributed to 45%, followed by sudden lane switching, which accounted for about 17%.
Approximately 80% of the accidents during the festival involved motorcycles, and about 46% of these incidents occurred on highways, while around 30% took place on local tambon and village roads. The vast majority of accidents, approximately 83.6%, happened on straight roads. The period with the highest frequency of accidents was between 3 and 4 pm, which saw 9.3% of all accidents.
Kanchanaburi had the highest number of accidents and injuries, with 11 accidents and 13 injuries. Chanthaburi, Nakhon Pathom, Nan, Ratchaburi, and Lamphun recorded the highest number of deaths, with two each. There were 1,869 main road checkpoints manned by 54,274 officials throughout the country. As a result, 279,873 vehicles were stopped for examination, and action was taken against 39,611 traffic offenders, including 11,013 for driving without a license and 10,530 for not wearing a safety helmet.
Chotenarin Kerdson, chairman of the road accidents prevention and reduction committee, reported that during the seven-day campaign for safe driving, Chiang Rai witnessed the highest number of accidents at 68, while Bangkok recorded the most accumulated deaths at 22. Nakhon Si Thammarat had the most accumulated injuries, with 70 people.
Phatthalung and Phangnga provinces in the South remained free of fatal accidents. Boontham Lertsukhikasemsuk, director-general of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, mentioned that the number of accidents and injuries during the seven-day campaign was slightly higher than last year, but the number of road deaths dropped by 5%. The number of accidents resulting from speeding declined by 1.5%, and drink-driving incidents decreased by 3.26%.
Compared to the past three-year average, the number of injured individuals was down by 13%, and road fatalities were down 15%. The primary causes of accidents continued to be speeding and drink-driving, with most accidents involving motorcycles. Most of the deaths and injuries were caused by people riding motorcycles without crash helmets.
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