BANGKOK, April 18 (TNA) – According to this year’s figures, there were 1,917 traffic accidents, 1,869 injured people and 278 dead victims during the government’s seven-day road safety campaign during the Songkran holiday, five per cent down from the figures reported annually in the past three year on average, said Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittprapat, a deputy police chief.
The five-per cent decline was satisfactory and met the target of the Royal Thai Police Bureau. The same measures will be adopted to reduce road accidents effectively during the long holidays, he said.
The major cause of the accidents was speeding (36%), followed by drunk driving (27%). Motorcycles accounted for most accidents, followed by pick-up trucks.
More than 80,000 police officers were deployed to direct traffic nationwide during the seven-day campaign. There were about 6.8 million vehicles travelling in and out of Bangkok. (TNA)
