Chonburi officials failed in their attempt to cut the number of New Year’s holiday road accidents by 5 percent, with crashes and fatalities instead jumping by double-digit percentages.
The province’s much-ballyhooed road-safety campaign, which featured the establishment 28 command centers, resulted in a 50 percent increase in traffic deaths and 16 percent rise in overall accidents. Province-wide six people died and 30 were injured in 36 reported accidents.
Surachai Saengutithum, chief of the Chonburi Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, announced the results of the holiday traffic campaign Jan. 3, acknowledging that officials had begun the week with hopes of seeing accidents drop 5 percent from 2012.
Surachai Saengutithum, chief of the Chonburi Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, announces the results of this year’s holiday traffic campaign.
The department had set up 28 command posts in Chonburi’s 11 districts, with police working to educate drivers on the perils of drunk driving and not wearing motorcycle helmets.
Officials in Chonburi stopped 68,621 vehicles, of which 32,196 were motorcycles. Of the total, 20,356 had violated at least one traffic law, with the majority of motorcyclists not wearing helmets and cars breaking the speed limit.
Surachai attributed the accidents, deaths and injuries to drunk driving and non-use of motorcycle helmets. All six fatalities and 21 of the injuries involved male drivers.
Of Chonburi’s 11 districts, Pattaya’s Banglamung District ranked second worst, with 11 accidents, one death and 10 injuries. Muang Chonburi, for the second consecutive year, topped the dangerous list with 15 accidents, a single death and 14 injuries.
Four districts – Ban Bung, Koh Sichang, Sriracha and Phanthong – reported no accidents, deaths or injuries.
Nationwide, accidents increased 2.6 percent to 3,176 with reported road fatalities jumping 8.6 percent to 365. Injuries fell 1.4 percent, however, to 3,329.
Deputy Interior Minister Chat Kuldilok said Trat remained the only province with no record of any accidents during the “Seven Dangerous Days”, while there were no deaths from road accidents in six provinces including Trat, Nakhon Nayok, Phangnga, Ranong, Nong Khai and Uttaradit.
On New Year’s Day alone, 34 persons reportedly died in road accidents, while 293 persons were injured. The highest daily death toll was recorded at eight in the central province of Angthong.
The highest cumulative death toll was recorded at 18 deaths in Nakhon Pathom, while the highest accumulated injured was at 147 cases in Chiang Mai.
