Bangkok – Thai Government on Monday said 442 lives were lost, while 3,657 others got injured during the country’s traditional New Year period.
The country’s Road Safety Centre said that the number of deaths represented a sharp increase over the 364 people who died over the same seven-day period in 2015.
The Centre noted that “the Songkran New Year festival ran this year from April 11 to 17.
“Around 80 per cent of accidents were due to drink-driving or speeding.”
The increase came in spite of prominent government campaign to promote road safety.
A World Health Organisation (WHO) Report in 2015 found that Thailand was second only to Libya in road deaths per capita.
The UN agency estimated that as many as 36.2 people per 100,000 die on Thai roads, or around 24,237 people per year. (dpa/NAN)
