Thailand motorists to get massages

Bangkok - A massage a day keeps the Thai death toll at bay.

That's the message from Thailand's health ministry, which said on Monday it planned to set up traditional massage services at petrol stations to help motorists relieve stress and, hopefully, cut the road toll.

The ministry, in a statement, said it was working with a Thai fuel company to provide the services in 21 petrol stations on major inter-city highways and around the capital Bangkok from next month.

"The more hours people continue to drive on roads, the less concentration motorists tend to have and the more accidents are likely to occur," Vichai Chokevivat, head of the ministry's department of Thai traditional medicine, said in the statement.

"A 15-minute pause for stretching or massage will help relieve their stress," Vichai said.

On average, two people die in road accidents every hour in Thailand -- one of the world's worst accident rates, the ministry said. -- CNN News

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