Thailand Songkran updates – Road accidents caused by alcohol have increased in the past few days since Songkran began. The tally of road accidents, injuries, and deaths increases daily and most are due to drunk driving and speeding.
The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department reported 237 accidents on Monday, 301 on Tuesday, and 331 on Wednesday. On Monday there were 26 deaths associated with these accidents and 47 on Tuesday. The number dropped to 40 by Wednesday.
The so-called Seven Dangerous days began on Monday, marking the week of the Songkran Festival where many people will be traveling back to their provinces to be with their families to celebrate. The massive exodus has seen a huge number of accidents for the past years and it has formed the perception of these deadly days.
Police said earlier that those 1,937 checkpoints were set up for strict traffic law enforcement and 1,430 for alcohol checks, with about 80,000 officers on duty across all departments.
In the first three days, there were 869 accidents, 113 accident-related deaths, and 835 injuries reported.
Khon Kaen and Nakon Si Thammarat had reported the most accidents, at 33 each, while the southern province also led in total injuries, at 36. Samut Sakhon had the most road deaths from Monday-Wednesday, with six.
Department director-general Boontham Lertsukheekasem said on Thursday that attention was being shifted to bringing down road accidents on secondary routes, as most travelers had now reached home or tourist destinations.
He expected small roads would see more accidents until people were heading back at the end of the holiday.
Stay tuned for daily updates on the Thailand Songkran updates.