Traffic fatalities continued to surge on Tuesday, bringing the six-day total of the New Year's road safety campaign to 426, up 25% from the same period last year.
The number of accidents and injuries over the past six days also significantly increased.
On Tuesday, 59 people were killed and 419 hurt in 422 accidents, said Lt Gen Teerawat Boonyawat, head of civil affairs of the National Council for Peace and Order.
Speeding swapped places with drink driving to become the top cause of Tuesday's accidents, at 27.7% and 26.3%. Over the past five days, drink driving was the main cause.
Motorcycles continued to be the most dangerous type of vehicles (79.2%) while the time of the day most prone to accidents was 4pm-8pm (33.4%). Most of the dead and injured were of the working age (44.8%).
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Authorities set up 2,047 checkpoints manned by 64,522 officials who stopped 683,929 vehicles for checks. A total of 110,704 people were charged. The major offences were driving without a licence (30,958) and driving without a crash helmet (30,366). (continued below)
Chachoengsao in the Central region saw the most deaths (6) while the province which saw the most accidents and injuries was Nakhon Ratchasima (20 and 21 respectively).
Over the past six days of the campaign, five provinces saw no deaths related to road accidents -- Phangnga, Mae Hong Son, Yala, Ranong and Satun.
Chon Buri in the East led in terms of accumulated deaths (33) while Udon Thani in the Northeast saw the most accumulated accidents (146) and injuries (156).
Authorities pledged to step up actions to solve the problem both by strictly enforcing laws and promoting conscience and road safety awareness among motorists.
"The prime minister is concerned about travel safety and ordered the Road Safety Directing Center and responsible agencies to enforce traffic laws strictly and continually. They were told to be strict about speeding and drink driving and to promote use of safety equipment. Vehicles and drivers would also be checked to ensure their readiness," said Lt Gen Teerawat.
As well, provincial authorities were told to use the data to find solutions to reduce accidents not only during long holidays but also on regular days. At the same time, they were asked to promote conscience and responsibility among motorists, he added.
Chatchai Promlert, director-general of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, said data analysis showed most of the dead and the injured over the past six days were local people, who were prone to drinking and taking for granted the use of safety equipment.
"We have coordinated with provincial authorities to closely monitor risk behaviours," he said.