Songkran’s “Seven Dangerous Days” 7th Day Death Toll Tallied at 321 Killed 3,040 people Injured

The last dangerous day for Songkran revelers, there were 247 traffic accidents with 36 deaths and 257 injuries reported

 

CHIANG RAI – The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation has concluded that a total of 321 people were killed during the “seven dangerous days” period of Songkran, narrowly topping last year’s death toll.

On April 17, the last dangerous day for Songkran revelers, there were 247 traffic accidents with 36 deaths and 257 injuries reported. Over the 7-day period, 2,828 accidents occurred, killing 321 people and injuring 3,040 people.

alcohol contributed the most to road accidents during this year’s Songkran holiday

Main causes of the road accidents were drunk driving and speeding. Motorcycles and pickup trucks were involved in most of the accidents.

Chiang Mai experienced the greatest number of accidents and injuries while Prachuap Khiri Khan saw the biggest death toll at 12. There were no reports of road fatalities in 5 provinces, namely Chaiyaphum, Pattani, Trat, Ranong and Phuket.

This year, 2,354 checkpoints were set up by the Road Safety Center throughout the country, with nearly 70,000 officials deployed during the Songkran holiday.

The Road Safety Directing Center reveals that driving under the influence of alcohol contributed the most to road accidents during this year’s Songkran holiday while most cases involved motorcycles.

The Road Safety Directing Center (RSDC) made public that the number of road accidents and injuries during the Songkran Festival 2013 decreased from that of last year; however, the number of deaths slightly increased.

According to the RSDC, the top cause of road accidents during Songkran this year was drunk driving while motorcycles were the type of vehicle most frequently involved in road accidents. The majority of accidents took place on national highways and fatal victims mostly belonged to the working age group.

The RSDC will statistically analyze risk factors to establish guidelines in an attempt to reduce the number of road accidents in the long term. It will also push for more stringent enforcement of traffic laws together with social measures.