CityNews — On Friday, April 18th, Vice Governor Chana Paengpibun and the Chiang Mai Centre of Traffic Accident Prevention and Reduction (CTAPR) committee held a video conference summarising road fatalities, accidents and injuries between April 11th-17th at the City Hall.
CTAPR Video Conference at City Hall.
There were 116 road accidents in Chiang Mai, which is the highest in Thailand. Road accidents were up by 12 from last year (11.54% increase). The number of injuries reported was also highest in the country at 144. The death toll is at 9 (3rd in the country). Most accidents happened in Amphur Hod, Fang, and Chom Thong. The leading causes of accident were drunk driving and speeding. The most common types of vehicles involved in accidents were motorcycles and pick-up trucks, followed by bicycles.
Vice Governor Chana told reporters that Chiang Mai has the second most motorcycles in the country at 1,449,584, just behind Bangkok. This factored into Chiang Mai having the highest number of road accidents. There are 12 main roads at high risk in the province. The future improvement projects such as traffic signs and signals are set in place on those high-risk areas. Vice Governor Chana also mentioned faster response units, more patrolling traffic police and tougher alcohol restrictions.