New Year road accident death toll rises to 407

Drunk driving caused more than one third of road accidents on January 2, according to the Road Safety War Room.

January 2 is the sixth of the "Seven Most Dangerous Days".

Speaking in his capacity as the war room's executive, Interior Ministry's permanent secretary Pongphayom Wasaputi Wednesday said there were 509 road accidents on Tuesday in which 56 victims were killed and 576 others were injured.

Pongphayom blamed drunk driving for about 39.95 per cent of these accidents.

He added that speeding was responsible for 19.45 of the accidents while the fact that motorists abruptly cut in front of other vehicles accounted for 13.95 per cent other.

Of the accidents on Tuesday, 86.04 per cent involved motorcycles. Most accidents took place on secondary roads, which linked villages to other villages.

Between December 28 and January 2, there were 4,078 road accidents. The death toll was at 407 and the number of injured victims was at 4,546 during the period, which was higher than a similar period a year earlier.

The Nation

Quote:Pongphayom blamed drunk driving for about 39.95 per cent of these accidents.

Wow, that`s very high! :sad:

Yeah drink driving is a big problem here, unfortunately it just a part of the life style / culture here. It will take a long time to change the thinking.