Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is unhappy with the number of fatal road accidents during the Songkran holiday, even though there were fewer casualties compared to previous years.
The prime minister said today that he was not satisfied with the road accident situation, albeit an improvement over last year. He said those who were killed and injured are all regarded as part of the country’s manpower.
He pleaded with motorists and motorcyclists to obey the law as a normal practice, such as refraining from drinking alcohol before or while driving and wearing crash helmets on motorcycles at all times.
As far as the government is concerned, the Prime Minister claimed it had done its best but that the drivers themselves must take responsibility by strictly following the law and traffic rules.
Meanwhile, the Centre for the Prevention and Reduction of Road Accidents reported today that the total death toll in road accidents during the 6-day Songkran holiday from April 11-16 was registered at 348 with 3,176 injured in a total of 3,068 road accidents.
On the last day of the festival yesterday, 42 people were killed and 381 others injured in 367 road accidents. Drunk driving and speeding were blamed as the main cause.
Only five out of 77 provinces did not report any deaths. They are Trang, Phang-nga, Mae Hong Son, Sukhothai and Ang Thong. The northern province of Chiang Mai had the highest number of road accidents at 119 while the northeastern provinces of Nakhon Ratchasima and Udon Thani recorded the highest death toll at 15 each.
