Holiday Highway Accidents Kill 407 Nationwide

[Jai Dee]

Holiday highway accidents kill 407 nationwide

More than 4,000 accidents across the country killed 407 and injured 4,546 persons in the dangerous six-day New Year travel period from December 28 through January 2.

In his capacity as director of the nation's Road Safety Centre, Interior Ministry permanent secretary Pongpayom Wasaputi said that on Tuesday January 2, the curtain fell of the holiday casualty toll with 509 road accidents, resulting in 56 fatalities, and 576 injured persons.

Most accidents--36 per cent--involved drunken driving, followed by speeding at nearly 20 per cent. Motorcycles were involved in 86 per cent of all road accidents, followed by pick-up trucks at nearly 6 per cent and passenger sedans 3 per cent.

Most accidents occurred from 4pm-8pm. The northeastern province of Chaiyaphum recorded most deaths at five and the northeastern province of Khon Kaen reported most accidents at 23.

The Interior Ministry permanent secretary said the total death toll from December 28 to January 2 was recorded at 407, seven deaths more than last year's total -- an increase of 1.75 per cent. The total number of accidents was 4,078, an increase of 6 per cent over last year. The number of injured persons totalled 4,546, an increase of almost 5 per cent compared to last year.

The greatest number of accidents was recorded at 132 in the northern province of Chiang Rai, 126 in Khon Kaen and 125 in Chiang Mai respectively.

The northern province of Chiang Rai and the northeastern province of Buri Ram both reported the highest death toll at 17 victims in each province, while the greatest number of injury victim stood at 143 in Chiang Rai.

Source: TNA - 4 January 2007

[CymruAmByth]

Tragic, and avoidable (to an extent).

36% of the accidents drink driving related, I despair at those statistics.

The whole topic of driving safety has been a Hot Topic in my household recently; brought to a head during a discussion I had with the girlfriend regarding the Accidents and Deaths statistics quoted daily in the BKK Post.

She is a highly erudite, intelligent type with a very good Government post and a NON SEAT BELT WEARER!

It took me a full 3 days to drum into her how she has a much higher probability of being in the "Accidents" column by wearing the seat belt versus enhancing her chances greatly of appearing in the "Deaths" column by ignoring this vital piece of safety equipment.

Her answer to the annoying flashing red icon and the accompanying repetitive bleeping? Turn the radio up!

I love her to bits, and she finally realizes I am not nagging or making her out to be stupid for not understanding the mess a steering wheel and windscreen (windshield for our USA readers) will make of her delicate features should she visit them abrubtly at 70kph.

3 days of constantly changing my approach until an intelligent person understood this basic fact...get ready for Songkran, we will be reading the same same thing again I fear.

[Jai Dee]

Alcohol to blame for one-third of accidents

Drunk driving caused more than one-third of all road accidents on January 2, according to the Road Safety War Room.

January 2 was the sixth of the "Seven Most Dangerous Days".

Speaking in his capacity as the war room's executive, Interior Ministry's permanent secretary Pongphayom Wasaputi yesterday said there were 509 road accidents on Tuesday, with 56 people killed and 576 others injured.

Pongphayom blamed drunk driving for 40 per cent of these accidents.

He said that speeding was responsible for 20 per cent of the accidents while motorists abruptly cutting in front of other vehicles accounted for 14 per cent.

Of the accidents on Tuesday, 86 per cent involved motorcycles and most accidents took place on secondary roads that linked villages to other villages.

Between December 28 and January 2, there were 4,078 road accidents. The death toll was 407 and the number of injured victims was at 4,546, which was higher than the similar period a year earlier.

Pongphayom said Chai Nat, Narathiwat, Mae Hong Son, Yasothon, Lamphun, Samut Songkhram and Angthong were the only seven provinces free of any road deaths between last Thursday and Tuesday.

There are 76 provinces across the coundtry.

Pongphayom said 3,165 checkpoints had been concentrated on Bangkok-bound roads since Tuesday night as thousands of people travelled back to the capital to work.

During the New Year holidays, hundreds of thousands of people travelled out of Bangkok for either leisure trips or visits to their hometown.

Source: The Nation - 4 January 2007

[Robski]

40% under the influence of alcohol and 86% involving motorbikes on secondary roads.

We've all seen it, probably some of us have done it.

I wonder how many foreign tourists we're killed, drunk in charge of a motorbike. I know of one very bad accident whilst in koh chang where a foriegn holidaymaker went head on in to a Thai and they were both killed and I heard that there were several other accidents and fatlities of foreigners.

[pumpuiman]

It's awful to read these reports so often. Is it just me...and I dont mean to sound prejudicial here..But I have witnessed on several occasions that a lot of Thai men drink themselves into a stupor beyond what most falang would.

Myself, I stop drinking if I feel impaired to the point of stumbling. I'm embarrased to be seen drunk. Yet I have witnessed groups of Thai men in my wifes village drink way beyond this point. What I would consider bad drunks.

Has anyone witnessed this as well? Or do I just happen to have a particularly thirsty group of guys around?

Again, I really dont want to offend anyone, and I'm certainly not putting all Thai's in this category...just wondering if there may be a cultural difference here.

Are Thai's under any sort of peer pressure we are not accustomed to....to drink more heavily?

[CymruAmByth]

It's awful to read these reports so often. Is it just me...and I dont mean to sound prejudicial here..But I have witnessed on several occasions that a lot of Thai men drink themselves into a stupor beyond what most falang would.

Myself, I stop drinking if I feel impaired to the point of stumbling. I'm embarrased to be seen drunk. Yet I have witnessed groups of Thai men in my wifes village drink way beyond this point. What I would consider bad drunks.

Has anyone witnessed this as well? Or do I just happen to have a particularly thirsty group of guys around?

Again, I really dont want to offend anyone, and I'm certainly not putting all Thai's in this category...just wondering if there may be a cultural difference here.

Are Thai's under any sort of peer pressure we are not accustomed to....to drink more heavily?

I concur with you Mr. Happy Buddha Man.

I was invited out by Thai work colleagues about 3 years ago for a 'pi$$ up.' I had only been here about 6 months and had not really been out with the boys Thai-style.

By 10:30pm ALL of them were slaughtered (by Western standards). Straight into the whiskey, while I sat back and took it all in quietly sipping my Tiger beer.

Fair enough, I thought, this is 'what they must do'.

Then hometime came and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM climbed/fell/stumbled/collapsed behind the wheels of their cars.

I politely declined a lift home - for the obvious reasons - and had to try 3 taxis before I could find one that did not have a driver that was not pi$$ed too!!

Social responsibility is not wonderful here, and dips to disgraceful levels regarding drink driving.

Call it cultural, call it T.I.T, call it peer pressure, whatever. I have many words for it that the naughty-word spellchecker would not allow.

[NukRukDee]

I think the numbers would make more sense if they were reported in relation to total population.

It's likely total population went up last year also, so the perennial appearance of an "increase" in accidents and death is masked by this, possibly resulting in a overall constant rate (or maybe even an actual reduction).

[Tony Clifton]

I wonder how many years it will take them to figure out that they have to slow down speeding drivers between roadblocks. 25 policemen getting bored sitting around at every roadblock isn't the way they're going to solve most of these accidents.

[cdnvic]

25 policemen getting bored sitting around at every roadblock isn't the way they're going to solve most of these accidents.

Somewhere a traffic inspector with the Thai Police is reading this and thinking "Yes, we need at least thirty"

[Tony Clifton]

[bluie]

Holiday highway accidents kill 407 nationwide

More than 4,000 accidents across the country killed 407 and injured 4,546 persons in the dangerous six-day New Year travel period from December 28 through January 2.

In his capacity as director of the nation's Road Safety Centre, Interior Ministry permanent secretary Pongpayom Wasaputi said that on Tuesday January 2, the curtain fell of the holiday casualty toll with 509 road accidents, resulting in 56 fatalities, and 576 injured persons.

Most accidents--36 per cent--involved drunken driving, followed by speeding at nearly 20 per cent. Motorcycles were involved in 86 per cent of all road accidents, followed by pick-up trucks at nearly 6 per cent and passenger sedans 3 per cent.

Most accidents occurred from 4pm-8pm. The northeastern province of Chaiyaphum recorded most deaths at five and the northeastern province of Khon Kaen reported most accidents at 23.

The Interior Ministry permanent secretary said the total death toll from December 28 to January 2 was recorded at 407, seven deaths more than last year's total -- an increase of 1.75 per cent. The total number of accidents was 4,078, an increase of 6 per cent over last year. The number of injured persons totalled 4,546, an increase of almost 5 per cent compared to last year.

The greatest number of accidents was recorded at 132 in the northern province of Chiang Rai, 126 in Khon Kaen and 125 in Chiang Mai respectively.

The northern province of Chiang Rai and the northeastern province of Buri Ram both reported the highest death toll at 17 victims in each province, while the greatest number of injury victim stood at 143 in Chiang Rai.

Source: TNA - 4 January 2007

Very sad to read these statistics, but it would be of interest to hear how many of the dead and injured held a Thai driving licence that had not been aquired by passing a driving test, or in fact held a licence at all, and if any were under age to hold a licence I think that these statistics should also be taken into concideration.