Road toll hits 85 on Day 2 of break

Speeding has emerged as one of the major causes of road accidents during the first two of the “seven dangerous days”.

Out of 85 lives lost due to traffic accidents, 33% or 39 people died because of speeding, followed by drink-driving (30%) or 34 people. About 83% of the reports involved motorcycles.

As of Thursday, 422 accidents were reported, with 44 dead and 426 people injured, said Nirat Pongsitthithaworn, deputy permanent secretary at the Interior Ministry, who is also a chairman of the special sub-committee of he Road Safety Directing Centre.

On Thursday, Chiang Mai racked up the most accidents of the day at 21 while Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Roi Et reported three fatalities in each province. The total toll for the first two days of the campaign (Dec 29-30) was 784 accidents resulting in 85 fatalities and 786 injuries.

Chiang Mai also recorded the most accidents over the two-day period at 31, while Nakhon Ratchasima had the most deaths at seven and Loei reported the most injuries at 32. Of 77 provinces, 46 were free of traffic accident-related fatalities.

At 1,911 police checkpoints, records showed that 46,796 people had violated the traffic law, including 14,484 motorcycle drivers who had failed to wear a helmet and 11,866 people who drove without a driving licence.

Vittawan Sunthornkajit, directorgeneral of the Department of Probation, said 769 people were put on probation for traffic-related offences — 575 for drunk driving, 190 for driving under the influence of narcotics, and four for reckless driving.

Meanwhile, authorities are tightening road checkpoints to ensure motorists comply with traffic regulations.