Authorities are happy with their campaign for safety during the "seven dangerous days" of the New Year holiday period which they say reduced the number of road accidents by 1.5% and cut death rates by 11.5%.
Deputy Interior Minister Sutee Markboon said yesterday he felt "satisfied and really appreciated" the efforts of officials, media crews and community members who helped the government alert motorists to the risk of casualties from Dec 28 to Jan 3.
Compared with last year's figures, "the number of accidents, injuries and death decreased, even though more people travelled," he said, adding this reflected better outcomes of state measures to reduce road accidents which are usually high during long holidays.
There were 3,841 accidents, 423 deaths and 4,005 injuries over the past seven days, considered the "dangerous" period amid the festive mood.
Last year the statistics stood at 3,899, 478 and 4,068 for accidents, deaths and injuries, according to the Road Safety Directing Centre.
Drink-driving still accounted for 43.66% of the accidents while speeding came second at 25.23%, the Interior Ministry said.
Mr Sutee insisted strict legal measures must be enforced along with attempts to instill into people's minds a strong sense of safe travel and better respect for traffic rules.
Motorcycle riders must be given particular scrutiny because they involved in most accidents. During the seven dangerous days, they caused 78.9% of accidents, well ahead of pickup trucks which led to 6.8% of the incidents.
Police officers found many riders did not wear crash helmets while other motorists failed to wear seat belts as required by law.
They also found "several thousands of chances of accidents" caused by dangerous driving, said Col Sirichan Ngathong, deputy spokeswoman of the National Council for Peace and Order, which has worked with traffic police to curb the number of accidents.
Officers confiscated 6,326 vehicles -- 4,823 motorcycles and 1,503 cars -- for violating traffic laws, she said, adding their operation also led to the seizure of 38,190 driving licences of wrongdoers.
Their cars have been well kept and drivers can claim them back by showing ownership documents. However, Col Sirichan said, if the cars were involved in serious law violations and their owners faced criminal charges, they will be returned to the owners after the cases are settled.
Officers were also satisfied with the "leave-home-with-police project" in which people had police take care of their houses while travelling elsewhere.
More people left their homes under police care, deputy national police chief Pol Gen Chaloemkiat Siworakhan said yesterday, pointing to 9,007 houses. The number increased by about 2,000 from last year's figures.
