BANGKOK, Apr 13 (TNA) - At least 232 people have been killed and 6,100 injured in road accidents during the first
five days of the Songkran holiday, according to official figures released Wednesday.
Deputy Interior Minister Sermsak Pongpanit told a press conference
that police reported 1,441 road accidents on Tuesday alone -- in which 62 people died while another 1,805 were injured.
''It was the highest level of
casualties for a single day," he said, "because so many people were traveling upcountry to their homes by road yesterday.''
However, he
said there have been many less road accidents overall than last year.
Most accidents involved motorcycles and pickup trucks, he said.
Mr Sermsak
blamed a widespread lack of driver awareness regarding road safety as the main factor behind most accidents, followed by drunken driving, and
speeding.
Highway police were out in force to deal with the holiday travel demand. More than 3,000 police checkpoints have been set up on roads across
the country to control road safety, according to Pol. Maj. Gen. Montri Chamroon, deputy chief of Bangkok Metropolitan Police.
The checkpoints were set
up to control speeding, drunken driving and other anti-social behaviors on the highways, he said. More than 2.32 million cars nationwide were inspected and
least 41,916 persons -- or one of every 55 drivers -- were ticketed for not carrying driving licenses, he said.
According to Gen. Montri, the
checkpoints and inspections have reduced the levels of disrespect, danger and death that travellers are encountering on Thailand's holiday highways.
(TNA) --E110
Travel Centre
