THE HIDDEN TOLLS OF NEW YEAR

Re: “7 deadly days”, (BP, Jan 3) and “Road safety campaign curbs deaths to 333”, (BP, Jan 5).

The annual stats for accidents and deaths during the “seven deadly days” of the New Year holiday always make for interesting if depressing reading.

Somewhat strangely, this year the figures were issued by the Department of Probation after five days, with the final tally from the Department for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation!?

As usual, motorcycle riders comprised the vast majority of fatalities; hardly surprising when roadside checks found 23,000 without helmets and only a slightly lesser number unlicensed.

Most worrying for me is that for all the self-congratulation from the RTP about their enforcement efforts, there is no mention of how many of the roadside checks resulted in charges for driving under the influence (DUI) and how many speeding drivers were detected by roadside radars.

As one would expect, there is also no mention of the revenue generated by the 78,000 charges laid.

If one assumes a modest average of 250 baht, the total is close to 20 million.

Ray Ban