The holiday season road death toll rose to 423 on Wednesday, the final day of the "seven dangerous days" of New Year travel, with Nakhon Ratchasima the province with the most deaths.
A total of 423 people died on the roads during the seven days and 4,005 others were injured in 3,841 crashes across the country from Dec 28 to Jan 3, according to the latest report from the Road Safety Directing Centre released on Wednesday.
The death toll was up from 375 for the six days Dec 28 to Jan 2.
On Wednesday, a total of 40 people were killed and 402 injured in 386 road accidents nationwide.
The most common cause of fatal crashes was drink-driving (28.24%), followed by speeding (25.91%). Most accidents involved motorcycles (77.83%), followed by pickup trucks (5.29%).
The highest number of road accidents over the seven days was reported in Udon Thani, with 139.
Nakhon Ratchasima had the highest number of deaths at 17, while Udon Thani also had the highest number of injuries at 145.
Seven provinces -- Chai Nat, Nakhon Nayok, Narathiwat, Nan, Yala, Ranong and Nong Bua Lam Phu -- reported no deaths, according to the road safety centre.
The highest number of road accidents over the six days -- 120 -- was reported in Udon Thani.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday stressed the need to enforce traffic laws strictly to help reduce the number of road accidents.
The prime minister said traffic laws must be obeyed all the time, not only during holidays. Gen Prayut also said he hoped that there would be no deaths or injuries caused by road accidents during the Songkran holidays in April.
