The Road Safety Centre (RSC) has ordered stricter community checkpoints nationwide after road accidents during the New Year holiday left 54 people dead and 317 injured on 1 January 2026 alone. Authorities are also preparing measures to manage heavy return travel to Bangkok and other urban centres, with tighter speed enforcement on main highways to reduce further loss of life.

The announcement was made at 10.15am on 1 January 2026 at the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), where officials presented daily and cumulative accident statistics from the New Year road safety campaign. The figures underline the immediate impact of risky driving behaviours during the extended public holiday period, particularly speeding and drink-driving.

The current campaign, running from 30 December 2025 to 5 January 2026, is held under the theme “Drive Safely, Reduce Speed, Reduce Accidents”. On 1 January alone, 326 accidents were recorded, with motorcycles involved in 76.92% of cases, while the leading causes were speeding at 40.18% and drink-driving at 29.45%.

Most accidents occurred on straight roads, accounting for 78.22%, with highways under the Department of Highways responsible for 36.81% and local subdistrict and village roads for 29.75%. The highest-risk time period was between 12.01am and 3.00am, representing 25.15% of incidents and the most affected age group was 20–29 years at 22.91%.

Picture courtesy of DDPM

Phuket recorded the highest number of accidents and injuries on 1 January, with 16 accidents and 18 injured, while Bangkok recorded the highest number of deaths at seven. Over the first three days of the campaign, there were 798 accidents nationwide, leaving 769 injured and 145 dead, with Phuket and Bangkok remaining the worst-affected areas.

Mr Jirapong Theppitak, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Transport, said authorities are urging road users to drive with caution, maintain safe distances, avoid sudden braking and always wear seatbelts and helmets. He added that transport agencies expect more than 700,000 vehicles, including public transport and private cars, to return to Bangkok and other regions over the next one to two days.

Mr Saharat Wongsakulwiwat, Deputy Director-General of the DDPM, warned that traffic volumes are expected to peak on 4 January 2026. He confirmed that provinces have been instructed to intensify checkpoints, enforce community-level controls against drink-driving, and provide rest and service points to prevent fatigue-related crashes, particularly in tourist areas with foreign visitors.

Authorities will continue strict enforcement of speed limits, alcohol checks, licence inspections, and traffic discipline, alongside public awareness campaigns for both Thai and foreign road users. Members of the public can report accidents or request assistance via the 1784 emergency hotline or the Line account “ปภ.รับแจ้งเหตุ1784”.

Picture courtesy of DDPM

Key Takeaways

• Road accidents on 1 January 2026 resulted in 54 deaths and 317 injuries nationwide.

• Speeding, drink-driving, and motorcycle use remain the leading risk factors.

• Authorities expect peak return travel and have intensified checkpoints and enforcement.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now from DDPM 2026-01-02

 

 

Rules are rules, laws are laws. Truly hefty punishments needed for EVERYBODY breaking the law, whether it be speeding. no helmets, under the influence of drink and drugs or whatever. Imprisonment, 1 year, 5 year or lifetime driving bans come to mind.

Thailand has a tendency not to interrupt, disrupt or slow down peoples daily lives, instead road-side fines prevail to keep the courts clear of otherwise thousands of offenders.

For the more serious negotiations for injuries or death are worked out between RTP or courts.

Same same every year same same every year they sit in their tents drinking coffee smoking and watching TV playing cards I don’t know how that’s supposed to help they don’t really give you the real numbers that’s no surprise they did people would be shocked TIT

54 people died in one day !!!!!!

Omg please do something!!

How many of those were farang I'm wondering?

Solid effort, the safety campaigns are working a treat!

2 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

Solid effort, the safety campaigns are working a treat!

Yes no one is telling people,they don't know

I was waiting for the bus to go to work recently a indian guy was standing on the edge of the footpath where the bus comes in,one leg hanging over the footpath

I said to him you probably could get hit by a passing car or even the bus ..he thanked me and said he didn't know .

33 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

I was waiting for the bus to go to work recently

You catch a bus to go mop floors, colour me surprised!

On 1/2/2026 at 1:15 PM, Georgealbert said:

motorcycles involved in 76.92% of cases

Would it be beneficial to ban motorcycles after late evening such as after 11pm?

But aggressive police monitoring would be required.

This figure equates to 18 per day. Not sure what all the hype is about. More effort needed on the other 358 days.

5 minutes ago, Zack61 said:

This figure equates to 18 per day. Not sure what all the hype is about. More effort needed on the other 358 days.

How do you figure 18 per day ?

Day 1 - 29 dead.

Day 2 - 51 dead.

Day 3 - 54 dead.

Day 4 - 21 dead.

10 minutes ago, Zack61 said:

This figure equates to 18 per day. Not sure what all the hype is about. More effort needed on the other 358 days.

No, that was 54 on Day 3 alone. Day 2 was 53 and Day 1 only 29, but you're right the other days are just as bad.