New Year Holiday Road Toll Less Than Last Year

[Jai Dee]

THE NEW YEAR’S DEATH TOLL REACHED 342 PEOPLE WITH ALMOST 4,000 INJURIES, A SIGNIFICANT DECLINE FROM LAST YEAR’S FIGURE

The New Year’s death toll has now reached 342 people with almost 4,000 injuries, which is considered a significant decline from last year’s figure.

January 2nd made the day with peak accident rate for the seven dangerous days period, with 503 accidents that contributed to 59 deaths and 572 injuries. Since December 29th up until end January 2nd, a total of 3,418 accidents occurred resulting in 342 deaths and 3,880 injuries. The number of deaths declined by 30 and the number of injuries by 3,000 compared with last year’s figures.

The main cause of accidents were drunk driving, and the vehicle prominently involved in accidents, at 86%, remain motorcycles. Nakornratchasima (นครราชสีมา) province still tops the list of the number of fatalities.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 04 January 2006

[sierra01]

Are these figures real or 'massaged'?

I drove to Korat on the 31st and home on the 1st, and didn't see much in the way of active policing, just the usual idiots on the road. I did see the aftermath of a few accidents though, including a white sheet covered body lying in the road at one of them.

The figures indicate either quite a big change in the Thai attitude towords DD, or plod actually doing their job. Maybe I'm being to cynical.

[Jai Dee]

RAYONG GOVERNOR SATISFIED WITH SCALE-DOWN OF OF ACCIDENTS DURING NEW YEAR HOLS

Rayong(ระยอง) provincial Governor SANOE CHANTHRA(เสนอ จันทรา) and Deputy Governor SUNTHORN RATANAWARAHA(สุนทร รัตนวราหะ) inspected officials at the road safety center at Rayong province last night.

Mr. SANOE said the numbers of death during the 7 days in the New Year’s festival this year has reduced. The province has expected numbers of death to remain under 12.

He said he is pleased with the officers for their hard work which contributed to very little deaths during the high season.

So far,the province has reported 8 deaths and 57 injuries. The main causes of the accidents were speed driving and drunk driving. Most of the cases were caused by motorcycles.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 04 January 2006

[Jai Dee]

ROAD FATALITIES FROM NEW YEAR'S AT 393, LOWER THAN EXPECTED BY 90

Fatalities from road accidents over the New Year's period has reached 393, which is lower than the expected number by 90.

The road safety center set up by the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department yesterday reported on the accident figures during December 29th and January 3rd. In total 3,818 road accidents occured, with 393 deaths and 3,336 injuries. Srisaket province moved past the others on the list of fatalities, surpassing Nakhon Ratchasima, the long-reigning topper for previous years. This came in result of a single accident that caused 7 deaths, which pushed up Srisaket's toll to 19 fatalities. Nakhon Ratchasima followed at 17 deaths, and Nongkhai is 2nd runner-up at 14. Phatthalung, Yala, Ranong, and Samutsongkhram are the 4 provinces that have not yielded any fatalities.

Deputy Interior Minister Sermsak Phongphanit (เสริมศักดิ์ พงษ์พานิช) said the number of deaths was lower than that expected by 19%. Despite the success in reducing the number of casualties, road safety fallies will be continually pursued especially during Songkran (สงกรานต์).

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 05 January 2006

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MORE THAN 1,200 DRUNK DRIVERS NABBED DURING NEW YEAR'S

The Metropolitan Police have been able to arrest more than 1,200 drunk drivers over the new year, while a total of 8 people died from road accidents in Bangkok.

Metropolitan Police Spokesperson Phinij Maneerat (พินิจ มณีรัตน์) said that from the 176 checkpoints set up throughout the capital, 1,238 people were arrested for exceeding the alcohol level. This number is 50% higher than that of the previous year. However the most prominent cases of traffic rule violation were from motorcyclists not wearing helmets and drivers who did not wear safety belts. 4,824 people were arrested for the former case and 4,381 for the latter.

70 accidents were reported over the New Year's period, with 8 deaths comprising 7 men and 1 woman.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 05 January 2006

[Jai Dee]

A TOTAL OF 434 PEOPLE DIED FROM ROAD ACCIDENTS DURING THE NEW YEAR'S PERIOD

The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department's road safety center has reported the total road accident figures for the "Seven Dangerous Days" of this New Year's period. A total of 4,164 accidents occurred during December 29th to January 4th, which resulted in 434 deaths and 4,772 injuries.

Srisaket Province tops the list of most fatalities, at 20, followed by Nakhon Ratchasima at 17 and Chiang Mai at 15. This New Year's casualties are smaller than the target set by the government, which aimed to cap the number of deaths at 456. It is a significant decline from previous years' figures.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 05 January 2006

[Jai Dee]

NO. OF DEATHS LOWER THAN ESTIMATED

Interior Minister Kongsak Wantana (คงศักดิ์ วันทนา) expressed satisfaction with the reduced number of deaths during the 7-day New Year celebration period, as it fell below the estimates.

Air Chief Marshall Kongsak said that during December 29 to January 4, there were 434 deaths, which is 19.03% lower than the estimated figure, while the casualty tolls were 4,772, more than 50% lower than the government’s approximation. He said that the province with the highest number of deaths is Si Sa Ket (ศรีสะเกษ), with 20 people killed in road accidents. He said that he is satisfied with the numbers as they are much lower than expected.

In addition, the Interior Minister said that the government sector will campaign for the 1 Tambon 1 Rescue team project, to set up rescue team centers in important locations. He said that the teams will monitor events on Children’s Day, Chinese New Year day and Song Kran festival. He said that the teams will particularly pay more attention to fire-prevention measures during the Chinese New Year festival, to prepare for possible incidents.

He also said that campaigns will be launched to promote road safety awareness in youths. He said that if the campaign is successful, the number of accidents will be reduced permanently.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 06 January 2006