During the “seven deadly days” of the Songkran Holiday, between April 11 to 17, traffic Police indicates nearly 8,000 drivers who were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, according to the Road Safety Operations Centre (RSOC) on Tuesday. The courts have already sentenced them to probation, according to director-general Witthawal Sunthornkachit of the Department of Probation.
Drink driving has increased by over 1,000 cases this year compared to over 6,000 arrests in 2021 during Songkran (albeit there were greater freedoms for travel this year, compared with last year).
According to Witthawal Sunthornkachi, director-general of the Department of Probation, a total of 7,141 people were charged with drunk driving, 765 with driving under the influence of illegal drugs, and 19 with reckless driving. Thirteen drivers were also ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device and stay at home from 7 PM to 5 AM for seven days.
Witthawal said the number of drivers charged with driving under the influence was up by 1,080 from 6,061 during the same period last year.
Boontham Lertsukhee, director-general of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department and secretary of Road Safety Thailand, said the number of road accidents during this year’s Songkran monitoring period was lower than figures reported in 2021, but the death toll was slightly higher.
From April 10-16 of last year, Thailand reported 2,365 road accidents and 277 deaths, with 2,357 people injured.
Bangkok had the highest death toll with 13. Chiang Rai had the most accidents, with 66. Chiang Mai had 63 injuries.
