Saturday...85 killed on the roads

[landofsmiles]

85 in 1 DAY! Take care out there people.

BANGKOK, Dec 30 (TNA) -- A total of 707 road accidents took place in Thailand on Saturday, resulting in 85 deaths and 776 injuries.

It was the second day of the "seven high risk travel days" of the New Year holiday, with most revelers having left Bangkok for upcountry to join their family members or for touring, said a senior Interior Ministry official.

Niran Jongwutiwes, deputy permanent secretary for Interior, said so far 1,147 road accidents had been recorded over the past two days, bringing the total death toll to 118 - up nine people from the corresponding two days of last year. 1,254 people were injured, 46 less than last year.

Most road accidents over the two days took place in the northern capital of Chiang Mai and in Nakhon Pathom, near Bangkok, said Mr. Niran.

Drunk driving was the reason most given for the accidents at 38.19 per cent of causes, followed by speed driving at 21.07 per cent, according to Mr. Niran. Most accidents on Saturday were caused by motorcycles at 82.52 per cent, followed by pickup trucks at 6.01 per cent.

In an attempt to reduce road accidents and casualties during the New Year celebrations by at least 10 per cent from last year's figures, the government initiated a Road Safety Center (RSC).

In operation until January 3, the centre aimed to reduce road accidents to a maximum of 4,133 and the death toll to 413 at most, while the number of injuries was estimated to reach 4,568 nationwide during the seven day holiday period.

Director-General of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Anucha Mokhaves, said in his capacity as secretary-general of the RSC announcements urging motorists to refrain from reckless driving and statistics of motor vehicle accidents would be announced daily from December 29 through January 4. (TNA)-E111