Holiday road death toll 367, but down on last year

Interior Minister Chaovarat Chanweerakul, deputy director of the centre, said these figures - 4,475 road accidents with 401 deaths and 4,903 injuries - were lower than for the same period last year.

Chiang Rai had the most accidents, 118,and the highest number of deaths, 21, while Phetchabun had the highest injuries with 136 cases.

Yasothon, Sakhon Nakhon, Nakhon Panom, Mae Hong Son, Uthai Thani, Krabi and Ranong recorded no deaths from road accidents.

Overall, drunk driving remained the top cause at 41.06 per cent; 84.23 per cent involved motorcycles; 57.74 per cent occurred on straight stretches; and 67.34 per cent took place at night. Victims under 25 were the largest age group at 43.88 per cent.

On Monday alone, 275 road accidents occurred, killing 32 people and injuring 297 others. Speeding was the major cause of accidents at 27.64 per cent followed by drunk driving at 23.27 per cent, he said.

Most Monday accidents involved motorcycles, 84.89 per cent, and more than half of the accidents, 54.91 per cent, took place on straight stretches of highway. Most accidents-65.45 per cent- occurred at night and 48.94 per cent of those killed were in the working age of 25 to 49.

Chaovarat expressed satisfaction at the 10-15 per cent decease in road accidents and casualties, saying it was close to the projected drop. Related agencies would use the statistics to formulate better campaigns and traffic law reinforcement, he said.

Meanwhile, Secretary to the Don't Drink Drive Foundation Taejing Siripanich, urged the Road Safety Centre to continue its road accident watch and announce its findings to the public on a weekly basis, to raise awareness.