Three die in New Year’s Day road accidents

PHUKET: Between the end of the new year countdown and sunrise on New Year’s Day, three people were killed on Phuket roads.

The first fatality of the year on the island’s roads came at 2:30 am when Suripong Jitsamut, 30, was killed when his motorbike crashed into an electricity pylon.

At 3:35 am, Prakarn Keawdee, 20, and Thanachart Rungsrisuk, 18, were killed after their motorbike was involved in a collision with another bike.

From December 28 to the end of January 1, 26 people had been injured in road accidents.

The Governor had earlier set a target of limiting road deaths to three injuries on the road below 40 over the December 28 to January 3 holiday period.

Police reported that they had stopped 39,286 drivers and handed out 2,119 tickets between December 28 and January 1.

The most common offense was driving without a license, for which 1,134 tickets were issued. Not wearing a helmet on a motorbike was the second with 586 tickets, while 247 drivers and passengers were ticketed for not wearing a seat belt and 85 people were caught with illegally-modified motorbikes.

Another 67 tickets were issued for drunk driving, but no drivers were cited for speeding.