Thirty-four people were killed and 335 injured in road accidents nationwide on Friday, the first day of the government’s road safety campaign.
A total of 339 road accidents were reported on Friday, said Chotenarin Kerdsom, deputy permanent secretary for the Ministry of Interior, citing figures from the Road Safety Directing Centre.
Speeding was still the major cause, accounting for 39.2% of the crashes, followed by drink driving at 23%, he said.
Motorcycles accounted for 86% of all accidents. Most of the accidents, 86.4%, happened on main roads, 41% on Department of Highways roads and 32.45% on local or village roads. The peak time for accidents was between 6pm and 7pm. Those aged 20 to 29 accounted for the highest number of injuries or deaths by age group.
Khon Kaen in the Northeast registered the highest number of road accidents at 24 and the highest number of injuries at 23. Prachin Buri in the East had the most deaths at 4.
A total of 1,775 safety checkpoints manned by 51,636 officials were in place across the country, said Mr Chotenarin.
During the “seven dangerous days” between Dec 29, 2022 and Jan 4, 2023, a total of 2,440 road accidents were reported, with 317 dead and 2,437 injured. Drunk driving was the second biggest cause of accidents, accounting for 25.5% of the total, according to the Ministry of Public Health.