Phuket Songkran Seven Days of Danger road toll latest: 3 dead, 32 injured

PHUKET: With the Songkran “Seven Days of Danger” road-safety campaign ending at midnight tonight, the road toll for the Thai New Year stands at three people dead and a further 32 admitted to hospital as a result of road incidents.

Witthaya Piraka, 42, died on April 12 when while under the influence of alcohol he drove his motorbike into a wall.

Pairot Wisetsombat, 55, and Lamyong Dujpayak, 45, both died on April 13 when a pickup truck being driven by a drunk driver collided with their motorbike in Pa Khlok.

Statistics released by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Phuket office for the period April 11-15 report 33 road accidents during the period. Most of the accidents involved motorbikes and 17 reported alcohol as a major contributing factor.

Police manning static checkpoints reported stopping and checking 30,330 vehicles so far throughout the period, with 2,525 motorists being caught committing traffic offenses.

The DDPM breakdown statistics report the number of traffic offenses as follows:
Riding a motorbike without wearing a helmet – 911 people
Driving without [carrying] a valid driving license – 1,172
Riding an unsafe motorbike – 106
Driver and/or passengers failing to use seat belts – 283
Driving under the influence of alcohol – 23
Failing to stop at a red traffic light – 12
Driving against the traffic direction flow (ghost-riding) – 3
Overtaking in a restricted zone – 2
Using a cell phone while driving – 13

Last year during the Songkran “Seven Days of Danger” seven people died and 52 suffered serious injuries in 43 reported accidents.

— Atchaa Khamlo