Forty-four people were killed and 501 injured in 454 accidents on Tuesday, the fifth of the "seven dangerous days" (April 11-17) of the Songkran festival, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department reported on Wednesday.
The greatest number of the accidents on Tuesday were caused by drunk driving (35.46%), followed by speeding (24.89%). The majority (79.4%) of the accidents involved motorcycles.
Tuesday's figures brought the number of people killed and injured in the first five days, April 11-15, to 248, down 3.31% from the same period of last year, and 2,643 (up 8.36%) respectively in 2,481 accidents (up 8.34%).
The five-day figures showed Nakhon Ratchasima had the largest number of fatalities (12).
Chiang Mai saw the highest accumulated number of accidents at 91 and the same province and Nakhon Si Thammarat had the highest accumulated number of injuries at 101 each.