'seven Days Of Danger': 3 Dead, 56 Injured In Phuket

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'Seven Days of Danger': 3 dead, 56 injured in Phuket

PHUKET CITY: Three people died and 56 more suffered injuries requiring hospital admittance in Phuket during the first four days of the 'Seven Days of Danger' road safety campaign that began December 29.

Sun Chuntarawong, who heads the Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket (DDPM-Phuket), said the first fatality was six-year-old Kitikwan Srichai of Phang Nga, killed when the motorcycle he was on was hit by a pick-up truck on Thepkrasattri Rd in Ban Lipon, Tambon Srisoonthorn, at 8:15pm. Two others on the motorbike were sent to Thalang Hospital.

There were two more fatalities yesterday.

The first was near the prawn fishing farm on Patak Rd in Karon, at 5:45 pm. The victim, 86-year-old Jaroern Nawin, was riding without a helmet when he was run over by a car he was trying to overtake illegally, according to the DDPM report.

The third victim was 43-year-old Wissapat Makaadaeng, who lost control of his motorbike at high speed and collided with a power pole on a private road near the Bangkhoo Chinese Shrine in Koh Kaew at 6:20pm. He was pronounced dead at the scene of a broken neck. It was not reported whether he was wearing a helmet.

There were a total of 23 accidents thought to have been caused by drunk driving. Of these, about 80% involved motorcycles, he said.

Statistically, males between the ages of 30-39 riding motorbikes between 8pm and midnight were the most likely to be involved in accidents, Mr Sun said.

At police checkpoints around the island, officers called over 34,474 cars for inspection over the first four days and charged 5,654 people with traffic law violations.

The most common were failure to wear a safety belt (1,084 cases), driving without a license (1,807 cases) and operating a motorbike without a helmet (1,668 cases).

Police tested 8,006 drivers for drunk driving, charging 555 people with this offense.

Nationwide, Nakhon Sri Thammarat had the highest number of recorded accidents, 83, followed by Phetchabun (82) and Chiang Mai (80) over the first four days.

Chantaburi and Ayudhaya have both recorded ten deaths over the first four days, the highest figure in the country, according to the latest DDPM reports.

-- Phuket Gazette 2010/1/2

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UPDATE

Phuket holiday road toll: 6 dead, 85 injured

PHUKET CITY: Going into the last day of the ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety campaign there were six dead and 85 injuries from 79 reported accidents in Phuket. One of the dead was an Australian.

Statistics from the Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) show Muang District had the highest numbers, with four dead and 49 suffering injuries requiring in-patient hospital treatment.

Drunk driving was given as the cause of 26 of the accidents island-wide and fully 85% of the mishaps involved motorbikes.

There were 78,852 people inspected for traffic violations at police checkpoints, with 6,315 people arrested or fined.

Thus far 745 suspects have been arrested on drunk driving charges.

Mr Sun Chuntarawong, head of DDPM-Phuket, said the dead included 55-year-old Australian national Roger Quinn, who died from injuries suffered during a minivan crash on Phra Phuketkaew Rd in Kathu at 6:45 last night. Two others were injured, including another Australian.

On Wednesday, 42-year-old Abhichart Limpipatsuwan died at Vachira Phuket Hospital from injuries sustained in a motorbike crash at 3:30pm.

On Thursday, 30-year-old Prasobporn Archeewara-ngubroak succumbed to injuries sustained in a motorbike crash on Chao Fah East Rd on New Year’s Day.

Although the fatality figures for Phuket are up, the latest nationwide statistics from DDPM-Thailand show a total of 3,289 accidents over the first six days, down 7.3 from last year. The total number of deaths (309) and injuries (3,563) were also down, 7.8% and 6.5%, respectively.

Chiang Mai and Chanthaburi have the highest fatality figures, with eleven dead.

Nakhon Sri Thammarat had the highest number of injured, 128.

At the other end of the scale, Yasothorn province has yet to report even a single accident for the period.

-- Phuket Gazette 2010-01-04

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Phuket holiday road toll: 8 dead, 92 injured

PHUKET CITY: Final figures are in for this year's 'Seven Days of Danger' road safety campaign in Phuket and they are depressing indeed with eight dead - almost triple the number from last year, when three died.

Figures released by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) today showed that 82 reported accidents left 92 people with injuries requiring in-patient hospital treatment.

DDPM-Phuket chief Sun Chuntarawong admitted this year's campaign did not meet its objectives, but said there is little authorities can do to affect change in public views about road safety.

"Change can only come when the people themselves realize the dangers of reckless or drunk driving, speeding…whatever. We will continue to promote road safety for the next campaign [songkran 2010], but will seek more cooperation from the public and invite them to help lay out the strategy together," he said.

The final two victims of the holiday period were a pair of teenagers.

They were in a car that crashed into a power pole during rainy conditions at about 6pm last night on Thepkrasattri Rd in tambon Mai Khao's Baan Makprok, home to the infamous 'curve of death' that has claimed the lives of many motorists over the years.

Mr Sun identified the deceased as Wassana Maneesom, 16, and Alongkorn Sirichampa, 17.

Miss Wassana died at the accident scene and Mr Alongkorn was rushed to Vachira Phuket Hospital, where he later died of his injuries.

The DDPM-Phuket reported that a total of 49,939 cars were inspected at checkpoints during the seven-day period, with 6,503 people arrested or fined.

The most common infractions were driving without a license (2,412 cases), riding a motorbike without a helmet (2,037) and failure to wear a seat belt (1,250).

Motorcycles were involved in 82% of the accidents, which most commonly occurred between the hours of 8pm and midnight.

Drunk driving was given as the cause of 26 accidents with speeding attributed to another 13 accidents.

As in previous years Muang District had the most carnage: four dead, 55 injured.

Muang District comprises Phuket City, tambons Koh Kaew and Chalong, and Rasada, Rawai, Wichit and Karon municipalities.

Nationwide there were 3,534 reported accidents resulting in 347 deaths and 3,827 accidents, all down by about 5% year-on-year.

Nakhon Sri Thammarat had the highest number of reported accidents (128) and injuries (146) of any province.

Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Nakhon Ratchasima tied for the most fatalities, with 12 each.

Nationwide 449,673 people were charged with traffic violations throughout the period.

-- Phuket Gazette 2010-01-05

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