Road accident update: Day 6

PHUKET: The death toll over the first six days of this year’s “7 Days of Danger” road safety campaign is now up to three, following the death early Sunday morning of a worker in the back of a pick-up in Koh Kaew.

The Road Safety Center, set up by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket), identified the deceased as 37-year-old Sompong Huankanueng.

Mr Sompong was killed instantly when the pickup truck he was riding in was hit by another pickup truck at the U-turn near Koh Kaew Yanyont store on Thepkrasattri Rd.

The driver of the pickup, which was packed with workers at the time, was charged with reckless driving resulting in the death of another person.

Thus far the center has recorded a total of 54 road accidents, 42 of which involved motorcycles.

A total of 54 people have been injured, most in Muang District (37), followed by Thalang (12) and Kathu (3).

Over 52,000 people have been inspected at checkpoints set up around the island, with 5,771 found in violation of traffic laws.

The most common offense was driving without a license (2,530 cases), followed by failure to wear a crash helmet while operating a motorbike (1,083), failure to wear a seatbelt in a car (1,017) and driving an improperly modified motorbike (307).

So far police in Phuket have arrested 744 people on charges of drunk driving, which is a criminal offense.

Nationwide, a total of 3,549 road accidents occurred from December 30 to Sunday, killing 335 people and injuring 3,810 others, the National Road Safety Center announced today.

Pirapol Traithasawit, permanent secretary for Interior Ministry, told a press conference that 388 road accidents occurred on Sunday, killing 35 people and injuring 414 others.

Most of the accidents were caused by drunk driving, he said.