There were seven accidents in Muang District and three accidents in Thalang District, reports the Phuket Provincial Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office (DDPM Phuket).
The 10 accidents resulted in 11 people being admitted to hospital for treatment. Eight people were admitted to hospital for accidents in Muang District, while three people were admitted to hospital for accidents in Thalang.
DDPM Phuket recorded no accidents occurring anywhere in Kathu District yesterday. Kathu District includes Patong and Kamala.
DDPM Phuket posted its daily report for Jan 1 online this morning while DDPM Phuket Chief Sopon Thongsai and other officials joined the daily briefing at the DDPM Phuket offices, with Phuket Vice Governor Adul Chuthong chairing the meeting.
The daily report is part of the 10-day campaign to reduce road accidents, injuries and fatalities during the New Year holidays ‒ over 10 days, from Dec 27 to Jan 5.
According to the report, in addition to the one death, 54 people have been admitted to hospital for road accident injuries since the campaign began.
Of those 40 people were Thais and a further seven were Myanmar nationals.
The remainder comprised two Chinese nationals, one American, one Russian, one Pakistan national, one Saudi Arabia national and one Swiss national.
According to an official report of the meeting, Vice Governor Adul highlighted the proactive steps taken to enhance public safety, including the establishment of checkpoints, inspection points and roadblocks at strategic locations.
He also stressed the importance of enforcing traffic laws, particularly the “10 main charges”, which include speed limits, prevention of drunk driving and mandatory use of helmets and seat belts.
Authorities are also to ramp up public awareness campaigns, urging both residents and tourists to strictly adhere to safety regulations, said the report.
Vice Governor Adul extended his gratitude and New Year’s greetings to officers from all agencies for their dedication, recognising their efforts in ensuring public safety during the busy holiday period, the report added,
However, Phuket officials still have yet to explain why the death of 35-year-old Atchima Sittirak, 35, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat following a motorbike accident in Ratsada on Dec 28 remains not included in the “officials” statistics for the national road safety campaign.
Also yet to be explained is why national road safety agency ThaiRSC reported one road accident death in Phuket yesterday (with 117 people injured) and already another road death in Phuket today (Jan 2), with a further 34 people injured.
According to ThaiRSC, already two people have died and a further 151 people have been injured in road accidents in Phuket since the year began.