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Published on December 31, 2007

The "seven dangerous days" of the period started this past Friday. Interior deputy permanent secretary Nirand Jongwut said 1,147 road accidents were reported on Friday and Saturday.

Road safety officials have stepped up measures to reduce the carnage over the break.

On Saturday, 85 people were killed and 776 were injured. Khon Kaen saw the greatest number of fatalities with eight, followed by Nakhon Pathom where six died and Sa Kaew, where five perished. So far, 38 provinces have reported zero fatalities.

Nirand said drunk driving remained the main cause of accidents, with 38.19 attributed to intoxication.

Nirand said surveillance centres and checkpoints were testing drivers for alcohol levels and were arresting those over the limit, or breaking road-safety laws - including speeding and those not wearing safety belts, or motorcyclists without helmets.

"Traffic officers are stopping offenders," he said.

According to the Road Safety Centre, 82.5 per cent of accidents have involved motorcycles. Just 6 per cent involved pickup vehicles.

And 39.4 per cent of accidents occurred between 4pm and 8pm.

The centre wants to see accidents reduced to around 4,000 this year, and fatalities to 413. Injuries sustained in accidents are expected to fall to about 4,570 over the seven-day danger period this year.

Public Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr Prat Boonyawongvirot said staff were prepared for holiday road accidents.

He said on Thursday, the ministry's Narenthorn Centre received 2,200 emergency calls, a three-fold increase from last year. About 1,080 calls were handled within 15 minutes by rescue teams and victims taken to hospitals or clinics.

He said rapid response would see fatalities reduced. Prat encouraged people to use the 1669 emergency hotline in the event of accidents.