Road accidents during Thailand's Songkran celebrations rise this year

BANGKOK, April 18 (TNA) - The Ministry of Interior reports that road accidents nationwide during Thailand's seven dangerous days for Songkran celebrations this year, set from April 11-16, totaled 2,992, a 5.8 per cent increase from last year's. Caretaker Interior Minister Charupong Ruangsuwan told journalists of the official statistics on Friday, acknowledging that this year's road accidents during the prime Songkran festivity period rose 164 times from last year's. Charupong said a total of 322 people died from road accidents during the period and 3,225 others were injured, with drunk driving being the main cause of the road accidents, followed by speedy driving exceeding traffic rules. According to the caretaker interior minister, motorcycles were the lion's share of the countrywide road accidents during the seven-day Songkran or Traditional Thai New Year festivity this year, with 21.9 per cent of the motorcyclists found not wearing their helmets. Meanwhile, the Don't Drive Drunk Foundation (DDD) proposed that every April 13 be designated as the Alcohol Sale Ban Day in Thailand, and that more portable breath testers be available at every police stations across the country in order to help reduce road accidents and casualties during the Songkran or Water Splashing Festival. (TNA)