One killed and 67 injured over New Year
PHUKET: One man was killed and 67 people were injured in road accidents in Phuket over the New Year celebrations.
The fatal accident occurred at 4:30 am in Chalong on December 31 when a motorcycle collided with a pickup truck. The motorcyclist, Suwit Mumngen, was killed instantly.
Siriporn Sasu, an officer with the Phuket Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), told the Gazette that most road accidents over the festive season were alcohol-related and occurred largely at night.
According to the ODPM, there were 51 accidents on the island between December 29 and January 1.
Some 1,558 road users were charged with committing traffic violations over the holiday period.
These included 1,046 found to be driving without a valid license; 301 motorcyclists fined for not wearing a crash helmet and 76 drivers charged for not wearing a seat belt. There were 43 drunk driving charges and 27 people were fined for driving illegally modified motorcycles. Thirteen people were charged for breaking the speed limit.
