TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS during the New Year weekend dropped compared to the previous year with police this evening (Jan. 1) focusing on the exodus back to Bangkok from the provinces, INN News said.
National Police Chief Pol. Gen. Damrongsak Kittiprapas thanked policemen for having taken good care of road safety during the New Year festival as statistics for Dec. 30-31 showed that the total of 715 accidents, 85 fatalities and 714 injuries was lower than that recorded last year.
Traffic police units were ordered to focus on drink-driving and motorcyclists not wearing crash helmets on secondary roads and speeding on main roads.
They were also told facilitate the heavy flow of traffic as people start returning to Bangkok after the long New Year holiday with today being this first day they are doing so by monitoring the traffic lights and opening special routes to ease bottlenecks.
Pol. Gen. Damrongsak was also pleased that large countdown events, such as the extravaganzas at Central World, Mega Bangna and Icon Siam, as well as prayer meetings across the country had proceeded in an orderly manner with no serious incidents whatsoever.
He also revealed that the nationwide “leave homes in police care” campaign for travellers heading elsewhere to celebrate New Year had attracted 7,695 residences. Of these 1,157 were filed at various police stations and 6,538 through the OBS app.
CAPTIONS:
Top and Front Page: Heavy traffic on key roads from Nakhon Sawan province to Bangkok as the exodus back to the metropolis from the north gets under way today, Jan. 1, 2023. Photos: Thai Rath
Insert: National Police Chief Pol. Gen. Damrongsak Kittiprapas. Photo: INN News
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