New Years long Weekend and road carnage rises

Monday and Tuesday are public holidays so it's a long weekend of celebrations ahead. Wise ones may stock up with a bit of cash as ATM's will be hard hit and banks closed. Still there seems a lot of ATM's around these days.

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The inevitable road carnage begins:

TNA) - Road accidents 41 people dead and 540 injured on the first day of the seven-day New Year traffic alert period, according to the Road Safety Centre (RSC).

Thailand has designated the week from Dec 28 through Jan 3 as the most dangerous period. People living in Bangkok travel to the provinces to celebrate the New Year holiday and a high number of road accidents normally occur every year during the peak travel period.

full article http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_new ... ?id=115582 (http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=115582)

Highway police acted commendably this week by listing and publicising known accident black spots on major highways throughout the nation. They hope that responsible drivers will now approach these danger zones cautiously over the long New Year weekend. The harsh reality, though, is that seasonal celebrations all too often trigger a degree of carefree irresponsibility which turn our highways into disaster zones. That is why up to 100,000 police and emergency service personnel will not be celebrating New Year's Eve and New Year's Day with their families and friends, but will be deployed across the country to stop those with a subconscious death wish from taking others with them.http://www.bangkokpost.net/News/30Dec2006_news17.php

But police spokesman Lt-Gen Achirawit Supanphesat says that police will be lenient with sober drivers who transgress and the guidelines are only to issue tickets to motorists caught breaking drink-driving laws. There is a danger that this display of seasonal goodwill could turn out to be misplaced. Last year police got tough and managed to reduce the highway death toll over the New Year period from 628 in 2004 to 393, and they should be free to use whatever measures they deem necessary to reduce it further. The best policy is surely one of treating all offenders with zero tolerance.

Remember that even outside holiday periods, an average of 36 people are killed daily on streets and highways, giving us the unwelcome ranking of sixth in the world in road fatalities. The cost of this carnage in purely financial terms is simply staggering _ 12 million baht an hour and rising. But what truly defies measurement is the cost in human suffering. The children who lose their lives or have been orphaned and whole families wiped out because of a moment's thoughtlessness. Rare is the person among us who has not lost a friend or loved one in a tragic road accident.

Research by the Department of Medical Sciences shows that more than 50% of traffic accidents are caused by drunk driving and that figure could be a conservative one. But it would be wrong only to point the finger at irresponsible drivers who drink.

Full article http://www.bangkokpost.net/News/30Dec2006_news17.php

Briton killed in Pattaya road accident

Pattaya - A Briton was killed early Saturday morning when his motorcycle was rammed into by a car allegedly driven by a Norwegian. Police identified the Briton as Jimmy Hassim, 52 and the Norwegian as Hans Bjorger Mobraten, 58.

The accident happened at 20 minutes past midnight on Thappaya Road leading to Jomthien Beach. Police said while Hassim was turning into the road to Jomthien Beach, his motorcycle was hit by the speeding car being driven by the Norwegian. Police said the Norwegian would not stop but continued to head to Pattaya but he was stopped later at a road checkpoint. Police said the Norwegian man appeared drunk.

The Nation

except that the carnage wasn't limited to the roads.....

New Year road accident death toll rises to 407

Drunk driving caused more than one third of road accidents on January 2, according to the Road Safety War Room.

January 2 is the sixth of the "Seven Most Dangerous Days".

Speaking in his capacity as the war room's executive, Interior Ministry's permanent secretary Pongphayom Wasaputi Wednesday said there were 509 road accidents on Tuesday in which 56 victims were killed and 576 others were injured.

Pongphayom blamed drunk driving for about 39.95 per cent of these accidents.

He added that speeding was responsible for 19.45 of the accidents while the fact that motorists abruptly cut in front of other vehicles accounted for 13.95 per cent other.

Of the accidents on Tuesday, 86.04 per cent involved motorcycles. Most accidents took place on secondary roads, which linked villages to other villages.

Between December 28 and January 2, there were 4,078 road accidents. The death toll was at 407 and the number of injured victims was at 4,546 during the period, which was higher than a similar period a year earlier.

The Nation

SF Farang It is sad but true that we accept 400+ deaths on the roads over a few days but have a major panic when 3 die from bombs.

Thank's Wowpow, for all the "deets" on the New Year carnage. I think you are right Wowpow, the government should get rid (END) of holidays like New Year's and Songkran and then there will never be carnages like this again. At least that would be the most sensible way to end this.

Write a letter to the Post ;-)

THX in advance.



New Year road accident death toll rises to 407

Drunk driving caused more than one third of road accidents on January 2, according to the Road Safety War Room.

January 2 is the sixth of the "Seven Most Dangerous Days".

Speaking in his capacity as the war room's executive, Interior Ministry's permanent secretary Pongphayom Wasaputi Wednesday said there were 509 road accidents on Tuesday in which 56 victims were killed and 576 others were injured.

Pongphayom blamed drunk driving for about 39.95 per cent of these accidents.

He added that speeding was responsible for 19.45 of the accidents while the fact that motorists abruptly cut in front of other vehicles accounted for 13.95 per cent other.

Of the accidents on Tuesday, 86.04 per cent involved motorcycles. Most accidents took place on secondary roads, which linked villages to other villages.

Between December 28 and January 2, there were 4,078 road accidents. The death toll was at 407 and the number of injured victims was at 4,546 during the period, which was higher than a similar period a year earlier.

The Nation

SF Farang It is sad but true that we accept 400+ deaths on the roads over a few days but have a major panic when 3 die from bombs.

Road toll breaks last year's record

The road toll over the week-long New Year travel period, which ended on Wednesday, exceeded last year's record levels in all categories, Deputy Prime Minister Kosit Panpiemras said yesterday. This year saw 449 people killed and 4,943 injured in 4,456 accidents, higher than the same period last year by eight deaths, 171 injuries and 262 accidents, he said.

Bangkok and Prachuap Khiri Khan shared the top spot with 18 fatalities each from Thursday to Wednesday, followed by Chiang Rai and Buri Ram with 17 each and Chaiyaphum with 16.

The six fatality-free provinces were Chai Nat, Mae Hong Son, Yasothon, Lamphun, Samut Songkhram and Ang Thong.

The number of accidents was highest in Khon Kaen at 141, trailed closely by Chiang Rai, 139, and Chiang Mai, 129.

Most accidents involved motorcycles, occurred on straight stretches of local roads and at night, Mr Kosit said.

The death toll for Wednesday alone stood at 42, with 397 people injured. A total of 378 road accidents was reported that day.

Public Health Minister Mongkol na Songkhla said the ministry's survey found alcohol was available at prohibited locations _ petrol stations, educational institutions and religious places.

A survey of 1,062 locations in 12 major provinces throughout the country over the seven-day span ending on Wednesday found 164 locations violating the ban on liquor sales, or 15% of the total surveyed.

Nakhon Si Thammarat had the highest number of violations at 72%.

The survey also found 137 out of 708 locations breached the legal sales periods from 11am to 2pm and 5pm to midnight.

Bangkok Post