Thailand’s poor road safety standards are once more being highighted, following a spate of road deaths during the recent holiday period. By the fourth day of Thailand’s one-week New Year’s holiday travel period, the country had already seen 239 road deaths from 2,308 crashes. There were also around 2,500 people injured in crashes in this time. The highest road death tolls during the period were seen in Ubon Ratchathani and Si Sa Ket.
Meanwhile Chiang Mai experienced 86 crashes, the highest level of incidents during this time. Thailand’s Road Safety Directing Centre report said that 6.39% of road crashes involved pickup trucks, while 80.26% involved motorcycles. The report highlights drunk driving as a primary factor in crashes, with 48.6% of impacts involving DUI. Meanwhile speeding was the second highest factor, contributing to 26.4% of crashes. The 31st December alone saw 678 crashes, 714 injuries and 65 road deaths. One slightly positive note is that road safety for the 28th December to 31st December 2017 period improved in comparison with the same time period in 2016. For this timeframe crashes were 11.1% lower than for the previous year while injuries dropped 11.7% and road deaths were 14.6% lower.
