Throughout the 24 period from midnight to midnight of Day 4 of the campaign (Monday, Dec 30), there were only six accidents in Phuket V/Gov Phichet said, citing statistics compiled by the Phuket Provincial office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket).
There were four accidents in Muang District and two in Thalang District, resulting in nine people sustaining injuries requiring hospital treatment, V/Gov Phichet explained.
Since the Seven Days campaign began last Friday (Dec 27), Phuket had suffered just 24 accidents, resulting in 28 people requiring hospital treatment, but no deaths, he added.
However, the live road accident statistics provided by the Thai Road Safety Committee (ThaiRSC) has again reported a death in Phuket that has not been recognised by officials in Phuket. The ThaiRSC website reports one dead in Phuket from a road accident yesterday. (See website here.)
Last Friday ThaiRSC reported one death in Phuket on the first day of the campaign (see story here), but that death was explained away as occurring too early to be counted in the official Seven Days tally (see story here.)
The Phuket News has yet to learn how the report of the death in Phuket yesterday came to be reported by ThaiRSC, but not by Phuket officials.
Vice Governor Phichet this morning noted that the main cause of injuries in road accidents so far during the campaign were people not wearing a helmet while riding a motorbike, still the most common form of transport that people were using when injured in a road accident.
Among those injured in accidents yesterday was Chinese tourist Gao Linjun, 29, who is one of the three tourists injured when the airport passenger van they were being taken to Patong in slammed into a roadside sign pylon after their driver fell asleep at the wheel. (See story here.)
Ms Gao has now been confirmed as suffering a fractured vertebrae and her right leg is broken. Doctors at Bangkok Hospital Siriroj, where she is receiving treatment, are now considering surgery to be undertaken, said the DDPM report.
Also injured yesterday was Canadian man Guillaume Goyette, 29, who suffered injuries after the motorbike he was riding collided with another motorbike near the Wang Thalang store on on Chao Fa West Rd in Wichit at 4pm. Mr Goyette was not wearing a helmet, but was not drunk, and was taken to Dibuk Hospital for treatment of a head wound, noted the report.
The other accidents marked as a “red case” was that of Worachit Jaebai, 18, who suffered serious head injuries when the motorbike he was riding collided with a car near the airport at 10:40pm. He was not wearing a helmet and was unconscious at the scene, and was rushed to Thalang Hospital but later transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town.
Meanwhile, the Department of Highways had conducted safety inspections on 5,910 vehicles since the campaign began, Vice Governor Phichet noted today.
Vice Governor Phichet also reported that police in Phuket issued 1,359 fines for moving violations during the 24 hours of Dec 30, as follows:
• 36 fined for operating an unsafe/illegally modified motorcycle
• 110 fined for not wearing seatbelts
• 363 fined for driving without a licence
• 68 fined speeding
• 56 fined for ignoring traffic signals
• 57 fined for ghost driving (driving opposite traffic flow)
• 38 fined for dangerously cutting off other motorists in traffic
• 50 fined for using mobile phones while driving
• 20 people were arrested for drunk driving during the period
• 561 people fined for not wearing helmets
As for safety on the water, Vice Governor Phichet reported that there had been no boating incidents resulting in injuries during the campaign, with a recorded 694 boats carrying 20,552 outbound passengers leaving ports and piers in Phuket during the 24-hour period yesterday, and with 686 boats registering their arrival Phuket, bringing with them 20,380 passengers arriving on the island.
Of note, those figures will include simple day tours launched from Phuket.
Vice Governor Phichet also noted that 64,161 travellers passed through Phuket International Airport yesterday, an increase of 0.25% on Dec 30 last year.
The airport accommodated 343 flights within the 24-hour period, he added, marking a 4.99% increase in air traffic at the critical tourism portal compared with Dec 30 last year.
Vice Governor Phichet also ordered the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) officials to assist interprovincial bus operators in making sure there are enough buses running for people to travel home and back safely during the holidays.
“The operators also must comply with operating conditions They are not to charge excess fares and must transport passengers to their destinations conveniently and safely,” he said.
“Drivers must test zero for alcohol, and they must not drive more than the maximum hours stipulated by law. A driver driving continuously for four hours must rest for no less than 30 minutes before being able to drive for another period of no more than four consecutive hours,” Vice Governor Phichet made clear.
“Once a driver has driven for the maximum hours, the driver must be changed immediately. If a driver is found to be in violation of the law, penalties must be carried out, from a fine to even suspension or revocation of his driving license,” he said.
“The results of this part of the campaign must be reported to the Phuket Governor,” he added.