3 dead, 424 hurt on Songkran roads

PHUKET: Three people died in accidents on Phuket roads during the official Songkran period, which began on April 9 and ended at midnight on Sunday. Metha Mekarat, Chief of the Phuket Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, yesterday announced that the latest two victims were Visanu Chulap and Kajornkiat Sae-iew, both 20 and from Mai Khao. The two men were speeding along the main road to the Sarasin Bridge on a motorbike at 6:30 am on Sunday when Visanu, the driver, lost control and smashed into a pile supporting a roadside coffee shop. Kajornkiat died instantly. Visanu died on the way to hospital. Neither man was wearing a helmet. Sarawuth Kohavee was the first to die in Songkran Week when his motorbike rammed the back of a truck in Chalong on April 11. K. Metha said that Songkran Day – April 13 – was the worst day on Phuket’s roads during the period, with 74 reported accidents in which 87 people were injured. He added that the number of people injured during Songkran Week was 424, marginally less than the 426 recorded in the same period last year. The number of accidents fell from 397 last year to 363. Over the nine days, a blitz on road safety saw police officers stop 229,631 vehicles at 50 checkpoints on the island. Some 3,837 people were charged with breaking traffic regulations. Of these, 2,181 were charged with driving without a license, 1,176 with not wearing helmets, 258 with not wearing seatbelts, 155 with drunk driving, 65 with driving illegally modified vehicles, and two people with speeding.