The disaster prevention center in Thailand has revealed the statistics for the number of road accidents that happened during 11-17 April, also known as the “seven deadly days” of the New Year.
Chotinrin Kerdsom, Interior Ministry Deputy Secretary, informed that the country saw 2,203 accidents during Songkran celebrations, which claimed the lives of 264 people, and injured 2,208 people.
Bangkok saw the highest number of deaths at 22, while the region with the most recorded injuries was Nakhon Si Thamarat at 70.
Pathhalung and Phang Nga were the two provinces in Thailand that reported no fatalities during the holiday period.
Speeding was the top reason leading to 38.22% of the accidents, followed by drunk driving at 23.97% and overtaking at 17.57%, Coconuts Bangkok reports.
A whopping 80.46% of vehicles involved in accidents were motorcycles, followed by pickup trucks at 7.43% and cars at 3.85%.
Compared to the same period of festivities in 2022, this year saw an increase of 14% in road accidents (up from 1,917 in 2022), and a decrease of 4.9% in fatalities (down from 278 in 2022). However, the total number of injuries did go up by 18%, from last year’s figures of 1,869 injuries.
Laos has not yet released the total number of accidents that happened during the week of New Year celebrations, although during the first two days of the holiday, Laos recorded 70 accidents across the country, resulting in 8 deaths, 122 injuries, and 116 damaged vehicles.
