Picture courtesy of Daily News

Police have urged motorists to drive with care after more than 157,000 traffic offences were recorded during the first two days of the New Year road safety campaign, highlighting ongoing risks as holiday travel continues nationwide. The enforcement forms part of the annual “seven days of intensive control” aimed at reducing accidents during the New Year period, when traffic volumes are high and crash risks increase.

The warning was issued on 1 January 2026 at the Royal Thai Police headquarters by Pol Gen Samran Nualma, Deputy National Police Chief, who is also Director of the Road Accident Prevention and Reduction Centre for the 2026 New Year festival. He said many people were still travelling back to their home provinces or heading to tourist destinations, causing intermittent congestion on major routes. Police have therefore deployed officers in full force to manage traffic and ensure journeys are orderly and safe.

According to enforcement data from 31 December 2025, the second day of the campaign, police recorded 79,726 cases involving the 10 main traffic offences. This brought the cumulative total for the first two days to 157,624 cases, underscoring persistent risky driving behaviour that requires close monitoring. Officers are continuing to track accident trends and have strengthened preventive measures at high-risk locations, junctions, and main highways with heavy traffic.

Pol Gen Samran said the Royal Thai Police have instructed all units to intensify traffic management and public safety measures throughout the holiday period. Lt Gen Somprasong Yenthum, Assistant National Police Chief and Deputy Director of the centre, has been tasked with overseeing and directing local units to closely monitor accident-prone areas, intersections, and key routes. The aim is to prevent and reduce road accidents during the extended public holiday.

Separately, Lt Gen Nithithorn Jintakanon, Commissioner for Education and head of the image-building working group for the Traffic Management Centre, called on all road users to exercise caution and show courtesy to others. He urged drivers to strictly follow officers’ instructions, check vehicle conditions before travelling, and ensure they are well rested to reduce accident risks. These measures, he said, are essential for safe travel during the New Year celebrations.

Daily News reported that marking the start of 2026, Pol Gen Samran also extended New Year wishes to the public, expressing hopes that all travellers would reach their destinations safely, enjoy good health and find success throughout the year. He encouraged cooperation in building stronger traffic discipline so that the new year can be one of improved road safety for Thai society.

Key Takeaways

• Police recorded 157,624 traffic offences during the first two days of the New Year safety campaign.

• Enforcement focused on 10 main offences, with congestion reported on several major routes.

• Authorities have pledged stricter monitoring of high-risk roads and accident-prone areas.

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 Adapted by Asean Now from Dailynews 2026-01-02

 

A young man aged 22 was killed in an RTC just 500 metres from our home.

Driving past yesterday morning, the family was there & saw his mum: Heartbroken.

Drop in the bucket I'm afraid.

This is probably the normal everyday rate only thing is this time of year they're looking. Of course this would be a tiny % of occurrences (let's say 5%). Taking the above number and assuming this is probably around the daily norm (obviously more cars on the road NY period) this represents 28,766,380 traffic offences annually. Times this by the number not detected (let's say 95%) and you end up with 10,499,728,700 traffic offences annually that go undetected.

p.s. Just some fun with the numbers but maybe not too far off the mark.

They could sit outside of Tukcom in Pattaya Tai Road and sit in comfort and even hit Starbucks when they desire., as very few vehicles stop for pedestrians on the crossing there. It must be horrendous at night there.

1 hour ago, NONG CHOK said:

as very few vehicles stop for pedestrians on the crossing there

Unfortunately true of most of the marked crossings

I could report a 1000 violations per hour in my area. There is zero enforcement out there on a daily basis, thus pure chaos and mounting injuries and deaths. It has been getting worse, mainly because of that very lack of enforcement. Drivers fear no one, and feel they can, and are entitled to do, whatever they want.

2 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Police have urged motorists to drive with care after more than 157,000 traffic offences were recorded during the first two days of the New Year road safety campaign, highlighting ongoing risks as holiday travel continues nationwide

I haven't got the figures , but I bet if Plod were out in force nation wide all year you would have roughly the same figures.

I drove about 8 hours on the Northern #1 & #11 on the 31st & 1st. I do this weekly . Traffic speed was Quite a bit Faster compared to normal drives. Big City license plates and red plates or no plates were in the lead. Congestion was high. I was astounded to see no accidents or enforcement.. Noted irradic, maybe inebriated or phone use technics , but they kept their vehicles on the road, just cutting off other drivers.

I made the trip safely, and noted , a if enforcement was present , they would be so busy with offenses, Not including Speeding, that 95% of violations would pass by any vehicles stopped for offenses. Luckily, there were no official presence noted. DRIVE ON..

Police have urged motorists to drive with care after more than 157,000 traffic offences were recorded during the first two days of the New Year road safety campaign, highlighting ongoing risks as holiday travel continues nationwide

That's impressive.

Why would they drive more carefully now the blitz is over? It's all back to normal now.

Dear RTP...of course there were 150,000+ offences that you counted, in fact there were probably 100X this number, as you will find as you venture tentatively into the world of moving traffic that we motorists/pedestrians have to negotiate each and every day!

Once you do get the hang of it you will find peace and safety will spread throughout the Kingdom and people will begin to put their trust back in you and appreciate you.

Happy New Year everyone.

On 1/2/2026 at 7:32 AM, lordgrinz said:

I could report a 1000 violations per hour in my area. There is zero enforcement out there on a daily basis, thus pure chaos and mounting injuries and deaths. It has been getting worse, mainly because of that very lack of enforcement. Drivers fear no one, and feel they can, and are entitled to do, whatever they want.

(The majority of Thais regard The Land Traffic Act as purely guidelines).

When the standard of plod policing traffic is so ridiculously pathetic, mainly focused on two holiday periods, instead of everyday, why should anyone take this spiel seriously? Thai’s don’t, they’ll continue doing the same thing day in day out because they know nothing’s gonna happen to them because they never see any plod doing their job on a daily basis.

On 1/2/2026 at 7:21 AM, topt said:

Unfortunately true of most of the marked crossings

they will mow you down regardless of the broad white stripes!

I think the police should follow TAT articles. "Police said there were 157,000 offences generating 1.57 billion baht over the holidays."

On 1/2/2026 at 5:50 AM, NONG CHOK said:

They could sit outside of Tukcom in Pattaya Tai Road and sit in comfort and even hit Starbucks when they desire., as very few vehicles stop for pedestrians on the crossing there. It must be horrendous at night there.

They don't stop for pedestrian crossings even outside of schools and don't give way on roundabouts even if clearly signed.

These questions are in the driver licence tests, so do they know the rules or just don't obey them.??

Flashing lights at you to get out of my way or I will smash into you is a clue

1 minute ago, kiwikeith said:

They don't stop for pedestrian crossings even outside of schools and don't give way on roundabouts even if clearly signed.

These questions are in the driver licence tests, so do they know the rules or just don't obey them.??

Flashing lights at you to get out of my way or I will smash into you is a clue

Thai culture, Me-First is ingrained in their DNA, other people mean nothing to them, especially the safety of other people.