New Year deaths down 23%
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New Year deaths down 23%

Police officers inspect a pickup truck involved in an accident. (File photo)
Police officers inspect a pickup truck involved in an accident. (File photo)

Road accidents over the New Year holiday killed 212 people and injured 1,860 others, with both figures substantially down on those from last year, according to official statistics.

Chakree Bamrungwong, an adviser to the Department of Land Transport, said on Wednesday that the death and injury toll came from 1,839 traffic accidents from Dec 29 to Jan 2.

Bangkok had the most fatalities at 15, while Kanchanaburi province had the most accidents at 69 and the most injured at 73.

The Royal Thai Police said the road toll was down from last year. Fatalities dropped by 23.19%, injuries by 3.43% and the number of accidents by 6.17%.

The most common cause of road accidents during the holiday period was speeding, a major factor in 40.60% of all such incidents, followed by drivers cutting in front of other motorists (23.31%) and drunk driving (14.29%).

Police said 68.85% of those killed or injured were not wearing crash helmets or safety belts.

Motorcycles were involved in 87% of all traffic accidents during the period.

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