A total of 116 deaths due to road accidents were recorded during the three days of the Songkran festival in Thailand. The death toll on Saturday alone reached 48 cases, while 411 injuries were reported. The number of those injured reached 968 in the same period.
A total of 936 road accident cases were reported. 40.05 percent of them were caused by speeding, 27.81 percent were due to drunk driving, and another 16.85 percent were due to overtaking other vehicles.
A total of 85.5 percent of accidents involved motorcycles. The majority of accidents were not due to winding roads or bad conditions, instead 81.63 percent occured on straight roads.
Nakhon Si Thammarat and Songkhla provinces recorded the highest number of road accidents in three days with 19 cases each.
The city of Bangkok recorded the highest number of deaths in the same period which was 8 deaths, while Songkhla recorded 45 cases of injuries.
The Director General of the Civil Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, Chaiwat Chuntirapong, said officials are adjusting prevention measures to suit the reality on the ground.
The focus is on secondary roads and communities, where motorcyclists tend to speed without helmets and after consuming alcohol.
We know many motorcyclists and drivers from Malaysia who like to go to Thailand for the Songkran festival and for recreation, but do hope that you ride and carefully when there. Also, the report mentioned the consumption of alcohol but did not include the consumption of the legalised marijuana. There may be cases involving it but not reported. Regardless, the Thai government will withdraw the legalization of cannabis at the end of this year.
