Forty people died in road accidents nationwide on Monday, the fifth day of the week-long New Year road safety campaign, raising the holiday death toll to 263.

The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department said on Tuesday that on Monday there were 294 road accidents nationwide, with 295 people injured and 40 killed.

Speeding was the biggest cause of accidents, blamed for 36%, followed by drink-driving, 23%.

Motorcycles were involved in the majority of accidents, at 79%.

The most dangerous time to be on the roads was between midnight and 1am, when  8.5% of accidents  occurred. The age-range 20-29 years suffered the most casualties.

There were 1,880 road checkpoints throughout the country. A total of 397,459 vehicles were stopped and legal action was taken against 57,635 people - 16,738 for driving without a licence, 16,320 for not wearing a safety helmet and 7,394 for speeding.

Nakhon Si Thammarat had the most accidents and most injuries, while Si Sa Ket recorded the most deaths.

Six provinces have reported zero road deaths - Narathiwat, Bung Kan, Phangnga, Yala, Satun and Sukhothai.