43 killed in first of 7 dangerous days

DRINK DRIVING TOP CAUSE OF ACCIDENTS AGAIN

>>Forty-three people were killed and 466 injured in road accidents nationwide on Friday, the first day of the so-called “seven dangerous days’’ of the New Year holidays. Drink-driving remained the major cause.

A total of 464 road accidents were reported on Dec 27, according to the Road Safety Directing Centre.

Last year, there were 45 deaths and 428 injuries in 419 road accidents on the first day of the seven dangerous days across the country.

Drink driving was the major cause, accounting for 30.4% of the crashes so far this year, followed by speeding at 24.78%. Most of the vehicles involved in the accidents were motorcycles, same as in previous years.

Surat Thani recorded the highest number of accidents with 20, and the highest number of injuries at 22. Chiang Rai and Prachuap Khiri Khan had the highest number of deaths, at four each.

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the authorities had focused on stricter rules and law enforcement as most accidents were caused by drink driving.

The Courts of Justice also said 1,865 traffic offence cases, mostly drinkdriving, were sent to court on Friday, spokesman Suriyan Hongwilai said yesterday.

Of the total, the court have already ruled on 1,528 or 81.9% of the cases.

Bangkok saw the highest number of cases (159) going to court, followed by Chon Buri (158), Chiang Mai (112), Rayong (111) and Nakhon Ratchasima (86), the spokesman said.

The top three offences involved drink driving by 1,369 people, driving under the influence of drugs (257) and driving without a licence (224).

The Department of Probation, meanwhile, revealed the number of people put under probation in drink-driving cases recorded on Friday alone was 215 more than the figure recorded on the first day of last year’s New Year period, marking a 61.08% rise.

Bangkok recorded the highest number of drink-driving probation cases at 83, followed by Rayong and Ubon Ratchathanai which recorded 46 and 41 such cases respectively, said Witthawan Sunthonkhachit, directorgeneral of the department.

Aside from enforcing a probation order on drink-driving offenders, the department also helps screen drunk drivers who may have a drinking problem and refer them to the Public Health Ministry for treatment, he said.

Of the 1,865 cases, 1,369 people were charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, another 257 people with driving under the influence of drugs and 224 with driving without a driving licence, he said.

The number of people registering under the police’s house watch programme nationwide during this New Year period had dropped by 66.64%, he said.