Twenty-five people were killed and 356 injured in 348 road accidents which occurred throughout the country on Saturday, the first day of the government’s campaign for Songkran road safety, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department director-general Boontham Lertsukhikasem said on Sunday.
If the number is accurate, that is considerably lower than the average daily death toll on Thailand’s roads throughout the year.
According to Mr Boontham, speeding was to blame for 31.61% of the accidents, followed by drink-driving (22.99%) and sudden lane-switching (20.40%).
Most — 82.91% — of the accidents involved motorcycles, while 7.56% were pick-ups and 3.92% cars.
Regarding the time of day of the accidents, 27.87% occurred during 4.01pm-8.00pm; 19.83% during 8.01am-12.00pm; and 16.95% during 12.01pm-4.00pm.
Phatthalung province in the South recorded the highest number of accidents, 20, with 22 people injured.
Bangkok, Chon Buri and Chiang Mai each registered two deaths from road accidents.
Throughout the country, there are 1,913 main checkpoints manned by a total of 60,201 officials.
A total of 342,028 vehicles were stopped for a check and 58,347 of drivers cited for various offences, including 14,852 for not wearing safety helmets and 16,125 for driving without a licence.
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