401 killed in road accidents during New Year

401 killed in road accidents during New Year

The overall death toll from road accidents throughout Thailand reached 401 on Thursday, the last day of the ‘seven high risk travel days’ of the New Year's holiday, a senior official said Friday.

Deputy Interior Minister Bunyat Junsena, in his capacity as deputy director of the government-initiated Road Safety Centre (RSC) said that 354 road accidents took place nationwide on Thursday, causing 32 deaths and 389 injuries.

Drunken driving was a factor in most accidents and most accidents involved motorcycles, he said.

Total road accidents during the so-called ‘seven high risk travel days’ from December 28 through January 3 reached 4,475, up 19 from last year, while the number of people killed was 401, 48 victims less than 2006, while the total number injured was 4,903, down 40 from last year.

The northern province of Chiang Rai had the most accidents (157) and most injured (169), while Bangkok had 24 fatalities, highest among the country's 76 provinces.

The northeastern province of Yasothorn recorded the fewest accidents (3).

Provinces with no fatalities were Mae Hong Son, Pattani, and Narathiwat.

In an attempt to reduce both road accidents and the number of casualties during the New Year celebrations by at least 10 per cent from last year, the government established the RSC.

In operation through January 3, the centre aimed to reduce road accidents to 4,133 at most and the death toll to not more than 413, while the number of injuries was projected to reach 4,568 nationwide by the end of the seven-day holiday period.

After the press conference, Mr Banyat officially closed the RSC. Thanking all those involved in ensuring the safety of the public during the holiday, the deputy minister said he would apply the lessons learned from operating the centre this year to make more effective measures in the future.(TNA)

13:41 Jan 04, 2008