386 people were killed during the so called ‘Seven Dangerous Days’ during the Songkran holidays from April 11 to 17. The number of fatalities this year marked a slight decrease (down 7.7%) compared to the same period last year, according to the Road Safety Directing Centre. Udon Thani and Lopburi recorded the most deaths, with 15 each, while Chiang Mai and Nakhon Si Thammarat had the highest number of accidents at 128 each. Some areas such as Krabi, Sukothai and Phangnga did not report any fatalities. During the seven day period, a total of 3,338 accidents were reported, (down 10% from last year) resulting in 3,442 people injured.
However, despite the decrease in accidents and fatalities, the number of people found to be driving under the influence of alcohol soared to 12,192, with Bangkok having the highest number of inebriated drivers at 727. According to Probation Department chief Prasarn Mahaleetrakul drunk driving accounted for 97 per cent of the 12,597 traffic law violations during the period, while 386 were cases of driving under the influence of drugs and 19 were related to reckless driving.
In one day alone – Wednesday 17 April – there were 55,805 incidents of people caught riding motorbikes without wearing helmets and 48,183 incidents of drivers failing to present a driving licence. A total of 480 people found to be drunk driving were ordered to wear electronic tracking bracelets and were not permitted to leave their homes between 10pm and 4am for between 7 and 15 days.
