As Monday’s sun rose to illuminate the bustling streets of Thailand, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department buzzed with the fervent energy of an imminent press conference. The agenda? Revelations from a nationwide road monitoring initiative that started on the breathless precipice of the new year, December 29th. It wasn’t just numbers they were declaring; rather, these were stark tales scripted on tarmac across the country.
Enter Deputy national police chief Pol General Surachate Hakparn, a man who reads the stark statistics with the gravity they warrant. “On the Sabbath day alone,” he declaimed, with a solemn nod to the third day of their vigilant surveillance, “our roads were the stage for 424 separate sonnets of misfortune.” Imagine: 51 lives snuffed out in the prime of existence, 416 others ensnared in the web of trauma and injury.
And the villain in this modern-day tragedy? None other than the notorious fiend called Speeding, responsible for a staggering 37.26% of these grim affairs. Nipping at its heels was that deceitful spirit, Drunk Driving, accounting for a disconcerting 32.78%. The majority of these incidents—oh the sorrow—involved the humble motorcycle, tallying up to a heart-wrenching 86.91%, with a grim procession of mishaps taking place upon the deceitful calm of straight roads at 80.19%.
In a herculean effort to tame the chaos, a legion of 51,670 officials stood guard across 1,780 checkpoints that Sunday. One could envision them vigilant, unwavering, the guardians of asphalt and order.
Tragically, it was in the Western confines of Kanchanaburi where the dance of disaster twirled uhindered, marking the land with 18 unfortunate occurrences—the day’s ignoble peak.
As the weekend’s dust settled, a somber tally was drawn: 128 souls lost, 1,151 battered by injury’s cruel hand, across the tragic tapestry of 1,150 accidents. Of all the locales, Kanchanaburi’s lament was loudest with 44 wrecks and 43 wounded. Yet, it was the metropolis of Bangkok that bore the heaviest shroud of loss, with eight lives rendered to echoes. Amidst the sorrow, a glimmer of hope—22 provinces stood vigilant with no lives yielded to the reaper’s call.
In the shadow of these somber melodies, the government’s appointed sentinels at the road safety centre watch over a pilgrimage that occurs every year. As thousands abandon the capital’s embrace for the familiarity of hometowns or the allure of holiday retreats, the roads swell and heave with the weight of myriad voyagers. Theirs is a mission to transform what was once known as the “seven dangerous days” into a time of reflection, awareness, and above all, safety, as they fervently campaign for prudent, life-preserving driving practices.
From the 29th of December through to the 4th of January, their vigil remains unbroken, their message clear. Through crowded avenues and along curving byways, they beckon us all to heed the tale of those numbers and to choose a different ending—a New Year’s resolution worth keeping.
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