January 4th, 2006, 07:26
Road toll beats forecast
The Nation, Published on January 04, 2006
With two days left, the number of road deaths around the Kingdom during the New Year week stood at 342, lower than the governmentтАЩs forecast of 456 deaths. The 59 deaths on January 2 was considerably lower than the forecast of 75 deaths. The majority of those who died were males between 30 and 39.
Most accidents involved motorcycles, which accounted for 86.07 per cent, while pickup truck accidents came second at 6.3 per cent. Taxi and private cars came third at 3.05 per cent.
Some 3,880 people have been injured so far as the government tightened check points for drunk driving, drivers without licences, and motorcyclists not wearing helmets. Inadequate traffic and road lights also played a role in causing accidents in some areas, especially when drivers were not used to the route. The number of roadside checkpoints has been beefed up to 3,144 or an average of 3.4 spots for each district in the Kingdom.
The number of injured people on January 2 stood at 572 - a significantly lower figure than the 1,378 estimated by the government.
The most accident-prone period of the day is between 4pm and 8pm. Motorists are advised to take adequate rest before driving long distances. Six provinces that have managed to stay death-free so far are Patthalung, Ranong, Yala, Samut Songkhram, Samut Sakhon, and Nong Bua Lamphu. Seven provinces have recorded higher deaths than expected, however. These are Nong Khai, Si Sa Ket, Nakhon Pathom, Krabi, Nakhon Phanom, Sing Buri and Loei provinces. The two provinces with the highest death tolls so far are Si Sa Ket at 25, followed by Nakhon Ratchasima at 22. In Phetchaburi province, the death toll has reached five, which is higher than the governmentтАЩs forecast target of four. In Phichit province, the figure has already reached the target which was set at five. Phinit Pichayakal, governor of Phichit, vowed to keep the death toll at five. '
The Nation, Published on January 04, 2006
With two days left, the number of road deaths around the Kingdom during the New Year week stood at 342, lower than the governmentтАЩs forecast of 456 deaths. The 59 deaths on January 2 was considerably lower than the forecast of 75 deaths. The majority of those who died were males between 30 and 39.
Most accidents involved motorcycles, which accounted for 86.07 per cent, while pickup truck accidents came second at 6.3 per cent. Taxi and private cars came third at 3.05 per cent.
Some 3,880 people have been injured so far as the government tightened check points for drunk driving, drivers without licences, and motorcyclists not wearing helmets. Inadequate traffic and road lights also played a role in causing accidents in some areas, especially when drivers were not used to the route. The number of roadside checkpoints has been beefed up to 3,144 or an average of 3.4 spots for each district in the Kingdom.
The number of injured people on January 2 stood at 572 - a significantly lower figure than the 1,378 estimated by the government.
The most accident-prone period of the day is between 4pm and 8pm. Motorists are advised to take adequate rest before driving long distances. Six provinces that have managed to stay death-free so far are Patthalung, Ranong, Yala, Samut Songkhram, Samut Sakhon, and Nong Bua Lamphu. Seven provinces have recorded higher deaths than expected, however. These are Nong Khai, Si Sa Ket, Nakhon Pathom, Krabi, Nakhon Phanom, Sing Buri and Loei provinces. The two provinces with the highest death tolls so far are Si Sa Ket at 25, followed by Nakhon Ratchasima at 22. In Phetchaburi province, the death toll has reached five, which is higher than the governmentтАЩs forecast target of four. In Phichit province, the figure has already reached the target which was set at five. Phinit Pichayakal, governor of Phichit, vowed to keep the death toll at five. '