Between Thursday and Saturday, 1,961 road accidents were reported nationwide, as millions of people travelled upcountry during the long New Year holidays, according to Royal Thai Police deputy spokesman Pol Colonel Krisana Pattanacharoen.

He said the number of fatalities was 270 – 15.9 per cent, higher than in the same period in the previous year.

The number of deaths caused by road accidents totalled 199 on the first three days of the “seven dangerous days” of the police watch period, 21 deaths more than last |year, or 11.8 per cent higher, according to Krisana.

Also, the number of people injured in road accidents during the New Year festive period totalled 2,099 on the last three days of 2016, 344 people – or 19.6 per cent – higher than in the same period the previous year, he said.

This time, the police have been more stringent with those involved in severe traffic offences such as drunk driving, driving without a licence, and wearing no helmets while riding motorcycles, according to the spokesman. He said more than 6,400 arrests have been made.

Chiang Mai, a popular tourist destination, has seen the highest number of road accidents – 84 in the first three days of the holiday – the government’s Road Safety Centre disclosed yesterday.

Over 1,000 vehicles confiscated

However, Udon Thani reported the highest number of road deaths, 12, and the |highest number of casualties, 91, over the period.

Education Ministry permanent secretary Chaipreuk Sereerak disclosed the numbers in his capacity as the rotating chairman of the centre, at yesterday’s press conference.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 vehicles have been confiscated between Thursday until Saturday from drunk drivers as part of a government policy to tackle the problem of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Colonel Sirichan Ngathong, deputy spokeswoman for the National Council for Peace and Order, said yesterday that 1,011 vehicles had been seized during that period – 810 motorcycles and 201 cars.

The vehicles would be returned to the owners after the New Year holidays.