Drunk driving claims most traffic accidents over holiday season

Drunk driving is being blamed for most of the road accidents over the 7 deadly days of driving during the New Year season. So far, there have been 2,748 road accidents with 316 deaths and 2,741 injuries reported on the 5th day of the weeklong stretch.

Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation says there were about 383 accidents with 44 deaths and 384 injuries on January 2, with about 30% of those accidents attributed to drinking and driving.

About 29% of road accidents reported were attributed to excessive speeding, while almost 80% of accidents involved motorcycles. 67% of road accidents occurred mostly on a straight part of the roads, 40% were reported in provincial sub-districts and local vilages while about 32% were reported as having occurred on national highways.

Most of those accidents, about 34%, occurred between 4 to 8pm with about 31% of injuries and deaths involving victims of 50 years or older. Chiang Mai held the highest accumulative accidents and injuries, at 97 times and 99 times respectively, while Nakhon Ratchasima held the highest accumulative fatalities.

Chayathon Promsorn, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Transport, says today marks the 5th day of the safety road campaign, “A new way of life, Safe driving without accidents.” Now as New Year’s celebrations wind down, many are using major routes to return to Bangkok. He says traffic jams may occur and may cause drowsy driving for those who stayed late for New Year’s celebrations.

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, therefore, is urging provincial authorities to increase checkpoints with strict law enforcement to help curb road accidents nationwide. The department also says that public transportation will be provided to help those who wish to return to the capital after the holiday season.

Despite the numbers of traffic accidents under the new campaign, it is unclear if this year’s accidents are an improvement over last year’s.

SOURCE: The Pattaya News