New Year road toll exceeds official target
PHUKET:Figures from the Phuket Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DPM) show 75 road accidents between December 29 and January 4, with 80 injured and six killed.
Wednesday 4 January 2012, 12:16PM
Twenty three per cent of accidents were caused by excessive speed, the DPM figures show, while 20 per cent resulted from drunk driving, 21 per cent were caused by drivers' behaviour and 36 per cent by other factors such as porr visibility or debris in the road.
More than 85 per cent of the accidents involved motorbikes and most were reported as happening between 4pm and 4am, with the highest concentration between 4pm and 8pm.
Almost half of all the injured were adults between 25 and 49 years old.
The number of deaths exceeded the target of four set by the authorities for the seven-day period from December 29 to January 4.
Police and other officials were aiming for five per cent fewer road accidents, injuries and deaths than last year, trying to limit the carnage to 64 accidents, 71 injuries and no more than four dead.
Two accidents caused two deaths on Thursday (December 29). Adirake Thongdee, 30, died when his motorbike collided with a stationary six-wheel truck parked nearby Sam Kong Intersection and Manas Sae’ung, 40, died the day later after his bike crashed with a mini bus in Sapan Hin on December 29.
Polish man Pawel Jack Gilman, 37, died on Friday (December 30) when his bike overshot a bend in Kathu.
Three people died on January 1 in road accidents. Surapong Chungsarn, 32, left the road and collided with a power pole on the bypass road close to the Outlet store.
Prachai Kumbun, 44, died after he was hit by a car while crossing Thepkrasattri Road on foot, in Baan Lipon.
And Russian tourist Elena Kireeva, 26, was killed after being hit by a car on Chaofa West Rd while riding on the back of a motorbike. The driver of the bike survived.
Between December 29, 2010, and January 4, 2011, year, a total of 74 people were injured in road crashes and four died.
