Phuket holiday road toll: 6 dead, 85 injured

PHUKET CITY: Going into the last day of the ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety campaign there were six dead and 85 injuries from 79 reported accidents in Phuket. One of the dead was an Australian.

Statistics from the Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) show Muang District had the highest numbers, with four dead and 49 suffering injuries requiring in-patient hospital treatment.

Drunk driving was given as the cause of 26 of the accidents island-wide and fully 85% of the mishaps involved motorbikes.

There were 78,852 people inspected for traffic violations at police checkpoints, with 6,315 people arrested or fined.

Thus far 745 suspects have been arrested on drunk driving charges.

Mr Sun Chuntarawong, head of DDPM-Phuket, said the dead included 55-year-old Australian national Roger Quinn, who died from injuries suffered during a minivan crash on Phra Phuketkaew Rd in Kathu at 6:45 last night. Two others were injured, including another Australian.

On Wednesday, 42-year-old Abhichart Limpipatsuwan died at Vachira Phuket Hospital from injuries sustained in a motorbike crash at 3:30pm.

On Thursday, 30-year-old Prasobporn Archeewara-ngubroak succumbed to injuries sustained in a motorbike crash on Chao Fah East Rd on New Year’s Day.

Although the fatality figures for Phuket are up, the latest nationwide statistics from DDPM-Thailand show a total of 3,289 accidents over the first six days, down 7.3 from last year. The total number of deaths (309) and injuries (3,563) were also down, 7.8% and 6.5%, respectively.

Chiang Mai and Chanthaburi have the highest fatality figures, with eleven dead.

Nakhon Sri Thammarat had the highest number of injured, 128.

At the other end of the scale, Yasothorn province has yet to report even a single accident for the period.

— Sitthipong Nongkaew