51 more people died and 416 others were injured in 424 road accidents across the country on the third of the “Seven Dangerous Days” of the New Year holiday period, bring the total death toll to 128 and 1,151 injured, according to the Command Centre for the Prevention and Reduction of Road Accidents.
Speeding and drunk driving are being blamed as the main contributors to the road carnage, involved in 37.26% and 32.78% of the accidents respectively.
Motorcycles were involved in 86.91% of the accidents,80.19% occurred on straight roads and 21.20% of the victims are in the 20-29 age group. Accidents peak between midnight until 1am.
Yesterday, Kanchanaburi topped motorcycle accident the list, with 18. Nakhon Si Thammarat province had the highest number of people injured, at 20, and there were four deaths in both Nakhon Phanom and Udon Thani.
Kanchanaburi also topped the list for total road accidents at 43, and the highest number of people injured, also 43. Bangkok had most fatalities, at eight.
Meanwhile, it is reported that holidaymakers have hit the roads again on their journeys back to Bangkok or their home provinces to resume work tomorrow.
The Highways Department reported at about 10am today that traffic on 12 roads, such as the Asian highway from Nakhon Sawan to Ayutthaya, the Friendship highway from Nakhon Ratchasima to Saraburi, the bypass Nakhon Ratchasima bypass and the motorway from Kanchanaburi to Nakhon Pathom, was flowing smoothly.
