Road accidents claimed 27 lives and injured 201 people on the first day of the seven-day Songkran holiday travel period, officials said on Saturday.
A total of 211 accidents were reported on Friday, the Road Safety Operation Centre said, as people began travelling for the Thai new year holiday.
All of the figures for Friday were below those from a year ago, said Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, permanent secretary for the Ministry of Public Health. There were 241 accidents that caused 29 deaths and 253 injuries on the first Songkran travel day in 2024.
Driving over the speed limit was the main cause of the accidents, accounting for 41%. A quarter of the accidents involved cutting in front of another vehicle and 23% were related to drunk driving.
Mukdahan recorded the highest number of accidents at 11 and injuries at 12, while Bangkok had the most deaths at five.
Motorcycles were involved in 84% of all accidents, with pickup trucks and sedan cars at 5% each.
Main roads accounted for about half of all accidents, and the period between 3pm and 6pm was the peak for accidents.
Figures released by the Probation Department showed more cases of drunk driving on Friday than on the corresponding day last year.
The numbers were based on the outcome of court cases in which offenders were placed on probation on Friday and sent to the department.
Suriya Singhakamo, the department’s director-general, said 276 drivers were arrested on Friday for driving under the influence of alcohol, or about 85% of all arrests, a slight increase from 258 on the first day of the safety campaign last year.
Driving under the influence of narcotic drugs came second with 47 cases, followed by three careless driving cases, he said.
Nonthaburi had the most drunk drivers at 40 cases, followed by Samut Prakan with 35 and Kamphaeng Phet with 27, according to the department, overseen by the Ministry of Justice.
Songkran is officially celebrated on April 13, 14 and 15 every year, but substitution days create a five-day weekend that runs until Wednesday. The government each year tracks accident statistics for a seven-day travel period that accounts for travel before and after the holiday.