Four people were killed and 42 people injured from 40 accidents in Prachuap Khiri Khan during the so-called ‘7 Dangerous Days’ period on the roads during Songkran.
The seven-day campaign began on Saturday (10 April) and as of midnight on Friday (16 April) reported a lower than average number of accidents and fatalities.
On Friday, the province reported 10 injuries from 7 road accidents but recorded no deaths.
The Songkran holidays, along with New Year, are notorious for the spike in accidents, injuries and deaths on Thailand’s roads as millions of people return to their home provinces to celebrate the holidays.
However, this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and with many people choosing to stay home, the number of deaths and injuries on Thailand’s roads, thankfully, have been far fewer than in pre-pandemic years.
With that being said, this year still saw a shocking number of people killed on Thailand’s roads over Songkran.
According to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, 238 people were killed, and 2,116 injured from 2,113 accidents from 10-16 April.
By comparison, the same period in 2019 saw 463 deaths, 3,892 injured from 3,791 accidents.
In 2018, 423 people died, 4,005 injured and 3,841 accidents.
Speeding (31.66%), drunk driving (29.01 %) and cutting across lanes (18.17%) were the cause of most accidents.
Almost 88 percent of accidents involved motorcycles, while trucks and cars accounted for 6.23% and 2.86% of accidents, respectively.
Chiang Mai recorded the highest number of deaths with 9, while Nakhon Si Thammarat recorded the highest number of accidents with 91.
Incredibly, police stopped an average of 17,000 people per day for not wearing a helmet, while an average of 18,000 people were found not to have a driving license.
