In the first two days of the Songkran travel week, 1,026 road accidents killed 99 people and injured 1,085, with about 1,500 motorbikes and cars impounded from drunk drivers.
The good news is - highway traffic was less congested on the third day, Friday.
Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith on Friday released details of the road toll on the first two of the "seven deadly days" of the Songkran festival, Wednesday and Thursday.
He said 43% of the accidents were attributed to drink driving and 24% to speeding. Motorcycles were involved in 79% of the accidents, and most accidents happened on straight roads, he said.
Chiang Rai province reported the highest number of accidents (38) and injured people (41). Provinces with the highest death toll were Buri Ram, Nakhon Ratchasima and Phetchabun, with five each.
On Thursday, there were 579 accidents which killed 60 people and injured 624 others.
Col Sirichan Ngathong, deputy spokesperson of the National Council for Peace and Order, said that on Wednesday and Thursday, police and soldiers prosecuted 38,546 traffic violators, seized 4,628 driving licences and impounded 940 motorcycles and 535 other vehicles from drunk drivers.
Pol Maj Gen Chat Supakaewnarong, highway police commander, said traffic on main roads from Bangkok and the East to the North and the Northeast remained high on Friday, but was less congested than Thursday.
North-bound traffic was slow until it reached Ayutthaya, and the bottleneck eased from there on. He said many people stopped in Ayutthaya.
On north-bound Bangkok's eastern ring road, traffic congestion stretched about eight kilometres, but was moving, he said.
