New Year accidents lower than last year

The Ministry of Public Health has praised the way that all organisations responsible for road safety worked together during the past New Year’s holidays, after statistics showed a significant drop in both accidents and deaths.

The Minister of Public Health, Mr. Wittaya Buranasiri, said that the efforts by all agencies, which have worked closely to help reduce road accidents in Thailand during the New Year holidays, have achieved ‘satisfactory results’.

During December 29, 2011 to January 4, 2012 – the period dubbed as the “7 Dangerous Days” – the number of road accidents and injured fell by 11.5% and 10%, respectively, compared with the same period of last year.

Mr. Wittaya has particularly credited the work of the 1669 emergency rescue teams. He said 3 out of 4 road accident victims called this emergency number during the holiday period, and 85% of call-outs were reached by emergency services within 10 minutes of the call being made.

Moreover, in 5,410 cases involving victims who needed emergency medical attention, 5,216 cases – approximately 96% – survived. The Minister of Public Health has commended this as a great success.

When asked about the control on alcohol sales – an attempt to tackle drunk-driving during the “7 Dangerous Days” period, Mr. Wittaya said that statistics showed that 99 out of the 379 cases were prosecuted and found guilty.

(NNT)

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