As Songkran festivities continue, the number of road-accident victims stands at 169 dead and 2,296 injured in the first three days of the holiday, the Road Safety Centre said yesterday.

The road toll to date is down on that of 2006, Public Health Deputy Minister Dr Morakot Kornkasem said.

Once again, drinking drivers are causing most accidents, he said.

Insurance Department director-general Chantra Buranarerk encouraged families of accident victims to seek initial payments from the victims' compensation fund.

The fund pays actual expenses for injuries to a maximum of Bt15,000.

Relatives of those killed in motor accidents receive Bt35,000. Compensation for victims hospitalised but later dying of injuries is a maximum of Bt50,000.

She said once victims' relatives completed documentation they would receive payment within half an hour. More information is available on the department's 1186 hotline.

The fund was set up by the Road Accident Victims Protection Act of 1997 and is paid for with third-party insurance premiums. All accident victims receive compensation.

The volume of prank and hoax calls to the ministry's emergency Narenthorn Centre is on the rise.

Morakot said that since the festival started on Wednesday 2,153 prank calls had been fielded. Almost 900 bogus calls were made on Friday alone. Most come from public telephone booths, he said.

"This shows people do not realise the importance of the emergency call centre. It is there to save the lives of the critically injured. These calls prevent medical teams reaching real victims on time because those in need cannot get through to the centre," he said.

Senior officer at the Ministry of Culture's Cultural Monitoring Centre, Ladda Tangsuphachai, said yesterday the overall situation of traditional Thai cultural activities during the Songkran Festival has been satisfactory. Only three out of 76 provinces have been found in cultural violation: Chiang Mai, Prachin Buri and Angthong. All three cases related to coyote dancing with revealing and improper dress, she said.

In the Chiang Mai case, the improper dancing was staged in the temple in the middle of the town, she added. "All performances were stopped after police were informed," she said.