200 People Died During The Songkran Festival In Thailand

Thailand's traditional New Year, Songkran (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - At least 200 people died in traffic accidents during the traditional Thai New Year holiday period, Songkran, which took place from April 11 to 16.

"As many as 200 people lost their lives in traffic accidents during the Songkran celebration. In total there were 1,377 accidents that caused 200 deaths and 1,362 injured," said Thailand's Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Kachorn Srichavanothai, quoted from ANTARA, Friday, April 18.

Although the number of victims is relatively high, this figure shows a decline compared to the previous year. In the same period last year, there were 1,811 accidents that killed 243 people and injured 1,837 others.

As in previous years, accidents involving motorbikes dominated, reaching 83.32 percent of the total incidents. According to Kachorn, the two main factors causing the accident were driving drunk and traveling at high speed.

Thailand is known to have two periods referred to as dangerous weeks' in a year, namely during the International New Year holiday (end of December early January) and the celebration of Songkran in April. Both periods are always marked by a spike in traffic accidents due to the very high mobility of citizens.

The tradition of mass homecoming from Bangkok to various provinces is a trigger for the high volume of vehicles on the highway. The wide and dense roads contributed to the increasing risk of accidents.

The Thai government has tried to reduce the number of accidents by tightening traffic surveillance and holding safety campaigns, but major challenges are still being faced, especially in overcoming high-risk driving behavior in society.