37 People Killed In Road Accidents During Lao New Year

Ministry of Public Security reported yesterday 37 people were killed in road accidents nationwide during the six day celebration of Lao New Year from April 11-16.

The Traffic Police department of the ministry displayed this year’s records to media yesterday highlighting that 303 road accidents occurred nationwide during the period killing over 30 people and resulting in 544 injuries.

The department also reported drink driving and the breaking of traffic rules as the major causes of road accidents. Vientiane recorded the highest number with 47 road accidents which killed six people, while Savannakhet province was second worst with 46 road accidents killing six people and Champassak province was third ranked for road accidents with 32 which resulted in the deaths of three people.

The first day of the official celebration of Lao New Year was April 14 and it recorded the highest number of road accidents at 78 resulting in 16 deaths and 138 injuries. The department also compared last year’s and this year’s three day April 14-16 Lao New Year road accident record.

They found this year road accidents increased from 181 to 188, with injuries up from 330 to 339 but the number of people killed decreased slightly from 23 to 22 people.

The traffic police department also reported in the first three months of 2014 nationally 1,541 road accidents had occurred killing 276 people, causing 2,584 injuries and resulting in damage of over 18 billion kip. Thailand also celebrated the New Year at a similar time to Laos, where it is normally known as Songkran.

Bangkok Post website reported the number of people killed in the six days April 11-16 was 277, down by nine from the same period last year, but there were 2,926 injured (up by 143) and 2,754 accidents (up by 173 cases). Lao authorities asked motorists to drive safely, wear a helmet and to follow traffic regulations at all times to prevent further accidents.

Source: Vientiane Times