Three days of Songkran now claim 121 deaths, 1,281 injuries

[webfact]

Three days of Songkran now claim 121 deaths, 1,281 injuries



BANGKOK: -- A total of 121 people died and 1,281 injured in three days of the seven-day dangerous period of the Songkran festival starting April 9-15, the Road Safety Directing Centre said.

Only in a single day on April 11, the third day of the period, 62 were killed and 516 injured in nationwide road accidents.

The number one cause of most road accidents or 35.77% remained to be drunk driving, while speeding coming second place of 25%.

The time when most accidents happened was between 4.00pm – 8.00 pm.

Yesterday, Surin was the province with the highest number of accidents (24) with 28 injuries and the highest number of deaths, six, was recorded in Roi-et province.

Surin and Nakhon Ratchasima recorded the highest number of deaths or seven people each, while Surat Thani had the highest accumulated number of injuries of 59 people, and also recorded the highest number of road accidents of 49 cases in three days.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/three-days-of-songkran-now-claim-121-deaths-1281-injuries


-- Thai PBS 2015-04-13

[HeijoshinCool]

The number one cause of most road accidents or 35.77% remained to be drunk driving, while speeding coming second place ...

How can speeding come in second?

[EyesWideOpen]

The standard daily death toll in Thailand is about 70 per day.

25,000 dead per year divided by 365 days.

So normally 210 people would have died. So with only

121 dead in three days, Songkran has saved 89 people !!!!!

[Manbing]

http://www.richardbarrow.com/2015/01/full-road-accident-statistics-for-new-year-2014-2015-in-thailand/

This astonishing number is actually less than last year.

I thought for sure Eyeswideopen was fibbing, in fact he was being quite conservative

[marko kok prong]

If you take into account those who died later and not at the scene,but died from injuries sustained in the accident,the true figure would be much higher,this is the only thing keeping Thailand of the # 1 spot of worldwide traffic fatalities.

[EyesWideOpen]

http://www.richardbarrow.com/2015/01/full-road-accident-statistics-for-new-year-2014-2015-in-thailand/

This astonishing number is actually less than last year.

I thought for sure Eyeswideopen was fibbing, in fact he was being quite conservative

Haha I never fib, too much work to either defend it or try to remember what you said.

For some bizarre Thai reason, they only count people who die at the scene. So if

you are run over, taken to the hospital ,and then die an hour later there, you are

not counted as dying in an accident. Guess they want to keep the numbers down ! :-)

[maidee]

strange on days where people will be even more drunk than on regular days, less people day on those hollidays of booz & speed

than on normal working days

good for them ....

lots of wonderfull life saving amulets sold i guess

[HeijoshinCool]

The standard daily death toll in Thailand is about 70 per day.

25,000 dead per year divided by 365 days.

So normally 210 people would have died. So with only

121 dead in three days, Songkran has saved 89 people !!!!!

.

Drunks are so relaxed they often survive crashes that would kill the sober.

A sad, but true fact.

[nkg]

The standard daily death toll in Thailand is about 70 per day.

25,000 dead per year divided by 365 days.

So normally 210 people would have died. So with only

121 dead in three days, Songkran has saved 89 people !!!!!

That's what I was going to post.

Perhaps Thailand should consider a year-round road safety campaign. As things stand, every year there is lots of publicity for one week, and then everything goes back to normal.

[wiesner]

i think they under state the numbers so they don't look so bad, i believe the death and injury toll is alot higher.

[eliotness]

Saw one guy, about 50+, yesterday, so totally drunk, tried to get on his motorbike, went about 5 metres and fell off. Luckily there was a soldier nearby who picked him up, put him in the sidecar of another motorbike and drove him home, but he still tried to get out of the sidecar even when it was moving. The driver had to stop and make him sit on the floor of the sidecar. It's not just that he may have killed himself but totally innocent road users could/would have been harmed.

[berybert]

Saw one guy, about 50+, yesterday, so totally drunk, tried to get on his motorbike, went about 5 metres and fell off. Luckily there was a soldier nearby who picked him up, put him in the sidecar of another motorbike and drove him home, but he still tried to get out of the sidecar even when it was moving. The driver had to stop and make him sit on the floor of the sidecar. It's not just that he may have killed himself but totally innocent road users could/would have been harmed.

There is the problem. The guy should have been carted off to jail for DD by the soldier. Not allowed to go on his way.

You can bet if there is no soldier standing by today he will do the self same thing. This time killing himself or others.

[lvr181]

Lies, lies and damned statistics again Or maybe it is known as "fudging" the figures?

[robertthebruce]

''Songran'' ''Festival of Death''...

[Brit_Doggie]

Those stats are truly unbelievable, put the drunks in jail for a year maybe that will teach em.

[Neeranam]

The standard daily death toll in Thailand is about 70 per day.

25,000 dead per year divided by 365 days.

So normally 210 people would have died. So with only

121 dead in three days, Songkran has saved 89 people !!!!!

What a stupid and incorrect thing to say.

There are many more deaths that the government tell us.

Do you really think that with all the crazy drunk driving that LESS die?

If you think that then you obviously haven't taken part in Songran festivities around the country.

[webfact]

Songkran death toll in fourth day rises to 191



BANGKOK: -- Death toll from road accidents during the past four days since April 9 rose to 191 dead and 1,808 injured.

Public Health Minister Dr Rachata Ratchatanawin said that in the fourth day of the seven-day dangerous days or on April 12, another 70 people were killed and 527 were injured in 520 road mishaps in a single day nationwide.

This raised total death toll in four days of the dangerous days to 191 deaths and 1,808 injuries in a total of 1,735 accident cases so far.

Drunk driving is still the main cause of road accidents or 41.92% of all the 520 road accident cases on April 12. Surin recorded 22 accidents, the highest on April 12, while Nakhon Sawan and Surin had six deaths each, the highest in a single day, and Nakhon Si Thammarat recorded highest single day injuries of 21, he said.

Meanwhile Roi Et now becomes the province with highest accumulated death toll of nine people in the past four days.

Chiang Mai recorded the highest number of accumulated accident cases of 66, while Surat Thani had the highest accumulated number of injuries of 71 in the past four days.

Motorcycle remains the vehicle that engaged in most accidents or up to 80% of all cases, while drunk driving is also the No 1 cause, followed by speeding.

He added in cases of accidents, people can ring Emergency Call 1669 for help. Ambulance with medical staff will teach the scene in 10 minutes, Dr Ratchata said.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/songkran-death-toll-in-forth-day-rises-to-191


-- Thai PBS 2015-04-13

[HeijoshinCool]

Maybe the stats are lower during Songran because the so-called emergency services in LOS have strict instructions that, upon arriving at any accident scene where victims are hanging by a thread, to scoop up the parts and run.

That way when they die in the ambulance (read: back of the nearest bystander's pickup) on the way to the hospital, they are not technically a traffic fatality.

[Cylon]

Less deaths because there is no one here, Phuket is deserted.