Thai New Year road accidents kill 138 people

As Thais nationwide celebrate the New Year, drunk drivers and speed demons have marred the revelry, causing hundreds of accidents that have left 138 people dead and 1,751 injured, the government said Tuesday. There have been 1,544 road accidents so far in the first four days of the New Year holiday. More than a quarter of the accidents involved drunken drivers, and more than four out of five were motorcycle accidents, the Road Safety Center said in a statement.

Photo: Thai New Year road accidents kill 138 people

Officially, the New Year, known as Songkran, falls on April 13-15, but it is the country's major holiday, with many people taking more than a week off and returning to visit their families in the countryside. Despite the government's public awareness campaigns, there has been a high death toll from road accidents as millions of people travel to their hometowns and drive drunk. Last year, a total of 522 people died and 16,395 were injured during the 10-day holiday period, reports the AP.

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