Happy New Year Thailand: 102 killed, 893 injured first 2 days of Songkran 2014

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Somgkran1
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Written by Linda Hohnholz

Songkran is a happy time for tourists visiting Thailand and locals alike. The Happy New Year in Thailand was not so happy for almost 1000 people in the land of smiles.

Songkran is a happy time for tourists visiting Thailand and locals alike. The Happy New Year in Thailand was not so happy for almost 1000 people in the land of smiles. 102 were killed, and 893 injured in the first two days of Songkran, the Thai New Year.

Every year a large number of people die in traffic accidents, mostly caused by reckless driving like speeding and drunk driving.

Most of the accidents involved motorcycles (80.75%) and pickup trucks (9.73%) and occurred during 4pm-8pm.

The Songkran Festival, Thailandโ€™s traditional New Year celebrated every April, is popularly associated with water events, family reunions, and various festivities across the country. But it is also the period when road accidents shoot up that it is referred to by the police as the โ€˜Seven Dangerous Daysโ€™ of the New Year.

The government often campaigns for a โ€˜Zero Death Songkranโ€™ but it has never succeeded. This year, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is hoping that the holiday period would be โ€˜Seven Happy Daysโ€™ with minimal road tragedies.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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