Songkran Holiday Kicks Off With 538 Road Accidents, 530 Injured, 73 Killed
On Tuesday, the second of the “seven dangerous days” preceding the Songkran Festival, 301 road accidents occurred nationwide, causing 47 deaths and 292 injuries. Government data, however, likely understates the true death toll.
According to Nirat Pongsithithavorn, deputy permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry, speeding and of course drunk driving remain the main causes of accidents.
In his capacity as chairman of the center for the prevention and reduction of traffic accidents during the 2022 Songkran Festival, Mr. Nirat said the figures were compiled daily from reports by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation and concerned agencies.
There were 301 road accidents on Tuesday, the second of the “seven dangerous days” (April 11-17), with 47 people killed and 292 injured.
On the other hand, the daily death tolls do not appear to include those who succumbed to their injuries on subsequent days. Thailand Development Research Institute and the World Health Organization report that an average of 56 people die in road accidents every day in the kingdom.
According to government data, speeding accounted for the most accidents (36.88%), followed by drunk driving (25.25%).
Motorcycle Accidents Top Songkran List
Motorcycles were involved in 79.94% of the accidents, and pick-up trucks in 9.97%. The majority (40.20%) occurred on Highway Department roads, while 34.8% occurred on roads under the jurisdiction of Tambon administration organizations. A large proportion (83.72%) of accidents occurred on straight roads.
The most accidents were reported in Khon Kaen (14).
Most Songkran injuries were reported in Khon Kaen and Nakhon Si Thammarat (12 each). It was Nakhon Ratchasima (4) that had the most road fatalities.
A total of 1,902 main safety checkpoints were in operation throughout the country, manned by 56,343 officials.
During safety checks, 400,646 vehicles were inspected and 72,886 drivers were cited – 20,731 for driving without a license and 20,136 for riding a motorcycle without a helmet.
Over the past few of Songkran (April 11-12), there have been 538 accidents with 73 people killed and 530 injured.
