The number of road accidents and injuries has passed 1,000 in the first four days of the Songkran holiday travel period, with some holidaymakers beginning their trips back to Bangkok on Tuesday.
The Road Safety Operation Centre said that 241 accidents occurred on Monday, leaving 34 people dead and 249 injured.
The latest update on Tuesday showed accident reports had reached 1,000, with injuries at 1,002 since the seven-day safe driving campaign began on Friday. Monday’s fatalities brought the four-day tally to 138, a decrease of 18% from the same period a year ago.
In the first four days of the 2024 Songkran holiday, the country recorded 1,266 accidents with 1,244 injuries and 169 deaths.
The pattern of driving behaviours leading to accidents remained the same, dominated by exceeding the speed limit, which accounted for 44% of accidents, followed by drunk driving at 25%, while 77% of all accidents involved motorcycles.
The southern province of Phatthalung has recorded the most accidents since Friday with 36, while the most injuries, 40, were in Lampang. Bangkok had the most fatalities at 13.
More travellers were seen at bus and train stations in the provinces on Tuesday, including a terminal in Nakhon Ratchasima, as many revellers in the northeastern province opted to leave early for Bangkok and eastern provinces where they worked. Long lines at ticket counters were seen for bus lines serving the capital and eastern region.
More trains and buses will transport people back to work until Thursday, which is the first working day after the five-day holiday.
Acting Transport Co managing director Chatchawal Promtham said he expected at least 100,000 people to travel by interprovincial buses on 4,800 trips from Tuesday to Thursday.
Songkran is officially celebrated on April 13, 14 and 15 every year, but substitution days created a five-day weekend that runs until Wednesday. The government each year tracks accident statistics for a seven-day travel period that accounts for travel before and after the holiday.
