Minister says less accidents and increased awareness

Minister of Public Health Doctor Mongkol Na Songkhla traveled to visit the road accidents response headquarters yesterday where he met with personnel and received updates on the nation’s general situation. The center was established for the specific purpose of reducing and dealing with incidents caused by holiday travel.

A total of 118 people were killed and 1,254 others were injured in road accidents across Thailand in the first two days of the weeklong New Year holidays, the Interior Ministry announced Sunday.

Nirand Jongwut, deputy permanent secretary for Interior, said that 1,147 road accidents happened on Friday and Saturday, the first two days of the 'seven dangerous days' when authorities step up security measures to try to reduce the number of road accidents.

On Saturday, 85 people were killed and 776 others were injured, Nirand said. Drunk driving remained to be the first cause of the accidents, constituting 38.19 percent of all the road accidents.

Doctor Mongkol stated that statistics have shown a marked reduction in major accidents. The statistics were extrapolated from the entry of patients to provincial hospitals. The Public Health Minister expressed his contentment with the increased awareness of citizens and their caution in travel.

Doctor Mongkol stated that there were still many accidents occurring in back-roads and also along main roads with high levels of traffic. He asked that the public still be cautious of accidents and work to travel safely during the holiday period.