Soldiers will be brought in to help enforce traffic laws during the Songkran festival next month, which will again see drunk drivers having their vehicles temporarily impounded, according to defence spokesman Kongcheep Tantravanich.
Lt Gen Kongcheep said a Defence Council meeting Monday decided to have military units support provincial road safety centres during the festival.
The soldiers will help enforce road rules in order to reduce road accidents during the Songkran period from April 11 to 17.
The spokesman said the council meeting, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, also instructed soldiers to set an example by strictly obeying traffic laws.
Like last year's Songkran festival, authorities will seize vehicles from drivers caught over the legal alcohol limit. The vehicles will be impounded for the duration of the holiday or until the drivers have sobered up, depending on what other traffic offences they may have committed, Lt Gen Kongcheep said.
Drink driving and speeding are the most common causes of fatal road accidents. Statistics show most traffic accidents during the holidays involve motorcycles.
"What the government tries to do each year during festive periods is to prevent or reduce road accidents," he said, adding the consequences of which can be catastrophic.
The spokesman added that intelligence sources were monitoring security in the lead up to and during Songkran.
In Bangkok, water throwing on the road alongside Klong Thawi Watthana will be banned this year, given the chaos that ensued during last year's festival, deputy Bangkok governor Chakkaphan Phewngam said.
The deputy governor said the popular Songkran celebration location in Thawi Wattana district will be off limits to revellers this year.
The ban was imposed at a meeting of district office and local police station chiefs.
They were told that Songkran celebrations along the canal over the past few years had witnessed many rowdy scenes, violence and other criminal activity.
Many revellers from outside the district would head to the area in trucks, resulting in fights breaking out.
Body searches also turned up revellers carrying weapons.
The fights often spun out of control, causing problems for people living nearby and motorists, according to Mr Chakkaphan.
Meanwhile, Phuket airport expects a 16% surge in passengers passing through the airport during Songkran.
Petch Pancharoen, its director, said the airport estimates it will handle about 56,720 passengers per day on average during the Songkran period. The number represents a 16% increase on last year.
Also, the airport is expected to handle 337 flights per day on average, a hike of 15% year on year, with April 15 predicted to be busiest day of the holiday period.