Global General

358 Thais killed in traffic accidents around New Year

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-01-05 15:36

BANGKOK - The total casualties from road accidents during the "seven dangerous days" (Dec 29-Jan 4) of the New Year festival were 358 deaths, 11 more compared to last year, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban announced on Wednesday.

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Suthep, director of the road safety center, said the road accident prevention and reduction campaign resulted in a slight drop in the number of accidents from 3,534 last year to 3,497 this year.

But, the number of people killed went up from 347 to 358. The number of injured dropped from 3,827 to 3,750.

Provinces with the highest number of accidents were Phitsanulok and Chiang Rai in the North. The province with the highest number of deaths, 13, was Lop Buri in the central province.

Drunk driving and speeding were the first two major causes of the road accidents.

Most of the accidents involved motorcycles and pick-up trucks.

One-fourth of those killed and injured were under 20.