Picture courtesy of Daily News

The Department of Probation has reported a cumulative total of 2,957 drink-driving cases over five days during the New Year holiday period, with Nonthaburi province recording the highest number nationwide. The figures highlight the immediate impact of intensified road safety enforcement measures aimed at reducing accidents during one of the country’s busiest travel seasons.

The data was released on 4 January 2026 by Pol Col Piya Raksakul, Director-General of the Department of Probation, covering cases processed up to 3 January 2026. On that fifth day alone, 164 cases entered the probation system, all related to driving under the influence of alcohol, as courts were closed and no other case types were recorded.

The enforcement campaign forms part of annual New Year road safety measures, typically implemented between late December and early January when traffic volumes surge. For the five-day period from 30 December 2025 to 3 January 2026, a total of 3,123 traffic-related cases were recorded nationwide, reflecting the breadth of offences monitored during the holiday crackdown.

Of the cumulative cases, drink-driving accounted for 2,957 cases, representing 94.68 per cent of the total. Other offences included careless driving with 4 cases, driving under the influence of drugs with 160 cases and illegal street racing with 2 cases, accounting collectively for just over five per cent of offences.

Provincial data showed that Nonthaburi recorded the highest number of drink-driving cases with 290, followed by Bangkok with 241 and Samut Prakan with 178. These figures underline the concentration of offences in densely populated urban and suburban areas surrounding the capital.

Pol Col Piya said strict control measures would continue throughout the intensive enforcement period to enhance public safety. Probation offices nationwide have been instructed to work with relevant agencies and volunteer probation officers to organise community service activities for offenders.

Key Takeaways

• A total of 2,957 drink-driving cases were recorded nationwide over five days during the New Year period.

• Nonthaburi, Bangkok and Samut Prakan had the highest numbers of drink-driving cases.

Related Story

https://aseannow.com/topic/1383332-drink-driving-dominates-new-year-cases-as-bangkok-tops-list/

  

Adapted by ASEAN Now from Thaitabloid 2026-01-04

 

 

Reckless driving many more as i have seen during my trips on the roads, but the police don't see them do they are not vounted. Msybe install permanent a lot if cameras on the roads in my opinion the numbers are too low to call it a succes

Every one of the 2,957 drink-driving cases should have a minimum 1 year driving ban (scaled up dependent on the blood/alcohol level) and more when an accident is involved. PLUS of course a hefty fine, with imprisonment warranted in some cases.

Careless Driving, 4 cases ?

I have experienced more than that in 2 hours on the highway today... Check stops allowing free flow to avoid congestion is one thought of lack of incidents.

Dang , the river road has check points every 2 kilometers, b7 none on the major roads . Interesting..

Just wait for the report next week that says 60k drivers failed to be able to produce a valid licence or anything at all when asked at checkpoints.

... Over 5 years, is the trend up or down?

I don't know the answer.

Good payday for local " Law " enforcement, nothing will change, it never does, a lot of people, Farang or Thai dont have licences or insurance, when a slap on the wrist and a fine is all you have to worry about, why would they care ?

All those who were DUI should be jailed for a period of one year and fined

Too many times it is a slap on the wrists and a brown envelope

16 hours ago, prakhonchai nick said:

Every one of the 2,957 drink-driving cases should have a minimum 1 year driving ban (scaled up dependent on the blood/alcohol level) and more when an accident is involved. PLUS of course a hefty fine, with imprisonment warranted in some cases.

Take away their license and they will continue to drive, so this is no deterrent for most

16 hours ago, prakhonchai nick said:

Every one of the 2,957 drink-driving cases should have a minimum 1 year driving ban (scaled up dependent on the blood/alcohol level) and more when an accident is involved. PLUS of course a hefty fine, with imprisonment warranted in some cases.

And back in the village somchai is back as a truck driver or on his motorbike

17 minutes ago, cookie1974 said:

Good payday for local " Law " enforcement, nothing will change, it never does, a lot of people, Farang or Thai dont have licences or insurance, when a slap on the wrist and a fine is all you have to worry about, why would they care ?

I had a rental car many years ago. 2002 or so.

Being the naive Dummy I was, and not being able read Thai, I did not see that the insurance sticker expired about 2 days after I rented it...I had paid for 3 weeks and I cannot read Thai.

Checkpoint. Expired insurance. "You must to pay 10,000 baht".

"OK, now you go"....with no insurance.

Some clown was speeding, in the wrong lane once and hit my wife's car. The cops told her, "You have Farang name. Farangs have big money. 10,000 baht or BIG TROUBLE for you".

I went to Koh Chang once from Pattaya, and had a buddy with his wife and my wife in the truck with me. I told him we'd get stopped by the cops at least once.

Sure enough some Kamikaze Cop ran out in front of me in Rayong. Claiming I was going 51 KPH instead of 50 KPH....or something....I never figured it out.

I asked my wife what I was guilty of????

She just said "GIVE HIM SOME MONEY!" 200 baht later I was on my way.

My friend and his wife (she is half Thai) were on their Honeymoon, recently married. They were APALLED. "Just give him some money????"

=================

I was late for a meeting with a Colonel in the Royal Thai Air Force once, and GUILTY as they get in the Viphavdi Expressway, going 140 KPH, near Don Muang airport. The cop thought I was late for my flight, so he said "You must to pay 2,000 baht"

I had a 500 baht note in my lap. I was sober. He said "if you drinking 10,000 baht".

I was nice to him and said "No Problem. We go police station" He took the 500 baht and let me go.

Stop me when I'm doing nothing wrong...Stop me when AM gulty of a traffic violation. Never got a ticket...just a couple hundred baht in my International Driver's License, which always came back light.

I have been stopped by police, maybe half a dozen times in the USA over 42 years. I have been stopped by police HUNDREDS of times in Thailand, and they still cannot catch drunk drivers????

54 minutes ago, Grumpy one said:

Take away their license and they will continue to drive, so this is no deterrent for most

If found driving when banned 3 months in jail thst will stop them.

Yeah, when they see this, they can easily assume 1000 drink-driving cases each Saturday/Sunday. Maybe time to check that as well, or do we assume that deaths and accidents are of higher value during New Year than during the rest of the year?

No other country that I'm aware of uses the term "drink driving". I'm wondering is this a way of avoiding the social stigma associated with drunk driving or is it just simply that the nature of the Thais to always do things differently?

the detected lol

pretty much 80% of people operating a motor vehicle after 12 in the morning are DUI, and that is 365 days a year - the fact that they actually do something about it during holiday periods is a joke, drink driving kills people ........ seemingly more people in Thailand than anywhere else in the world...................yes, Thailand you actually have a genuine HUB you can claim........ deaths on your roads due to drinking, yes the deaths go up slightly during holiday periods, but why ? because you are actually trying to do something - drink driving is a huge problem - not just thais - everyone, the joke about it is that tourists from the west wouldn'tdare do it in their home countries and yet ..............

why is this happening ? - simple, because those tasked with enforcement both in goverment and on the ground are some of the biggest perpetrators, they ignore the fact that 1000's are being killed on the roads because of drunk driving

18 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Reckless driving many more as i have seen during my trips on the roads, but the police don't see them do they are not vounted. Msybe install permanent a lot if cameras on the roads in my opinion the numbers are too low to call it a succes

Well having cameras is a good idea, but they need to be monitored 24/7 by a dedicated team, that liase with traffic cops like the UK cops do, not sleep as soon as the sun sets.

The figures highlight the immediate impact of intensified road safety enforcement measures

No it doesn't - it just means the BIB are actually doing their job - which they should be doing 365 not just 7!

2 hours ago, Grumpy one said:

Take away their license and they will continue to drive, so this is no deterrent for most

Better to take away their car/motorbike!!

So 3000 were unable to pay off the police on the spot. Anyway so what. The chain has many broken links. They can only focus on one link for a short time at a time.

I wonder how many thousands of DUI were not caught

...And Yet No Driving Permits Revoked...(?)

...No Vehicles Seized...(?)

19 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Msybe install permanent a lot if cameras on the roads in my opinion the numbers are too low to

Are you from a nanny state country. You don't need more cameras, you need enforcement of existing laws and deliver sever penalties - like taking cars , trucks, and MOTORBIKES away from the drivers.

Were any vehicles confiscated, or were the drunk drivers allowed to continue driving?

???????

42 minutes ago, 10baht said:

Are you from a nanny state country. You don't need more cameras, you need enforcement of existing laws and deliver sever penalties - like taking cars , trucks, and MOTORBIKES away from the drivers.

Indeed alack of everything in Thailand... no camera's, no enforcement of any law and no severe penalties... I am happy you agree with me.. and more cameras is a tool to help to make the roads safer.. Now there is nothing everywhere or maybe only around Bangkok, but Thailand is more than Bangkok

They quite recently installed cameras on the traffic light gantry at a major junction on the by pass in Chiang Rai. Some pisshead in a pick up hit the gantry and knocked it down.

Coincidentally it was about 100 metres from a checkpoint whiuch had been set up for the dangerous days!

3 hours ago, jaywalker said:

I had a rental car many years ago. 2002 or so.

Being the naive Dummy I was, and not being able read Thai, I did not see that the insurance sticker expired about 2 days after I rented it...I had paid for 3 weeks and I cannot read Thai.

Checkpoint. Expired insurance. "You must to pay 10,000 baht".

"OK, now you go"....with no insurance.

Some clown was speeding, in the wrong lane once and hit my wife's car. The cops told her, "You have Farang name. Farangs have big money. 10,000 baht or BIG TROUBLE for you".

I went to Koh Chang once from Pattaya, and had a buddy with his wife and my wife in the truck with me. I told him we'd get stopped by the cops at least once.

Sure enough some Kamikaze Cop ran out in front of me in Rayong. Claiming I was going 51 KPH instead of 50 KPH....or something....I never figured it out.

I asked my wife what I was guilty of????

She just said "GIVE HIM SOME MONEY!" 200 baht later I was on my way.

My friend and his wife (she is half Thai) were on their Honeymoon, recently married. They were APALLED. "Just give him some money????"

=================

I was late for a meeting with a Colonel in the Royal Thai Air Force once, and GUILTY as they get in the Viphavdi Expressway, going 140 KPH, near Don Muang airport. The cop thought I was late for my flight, so he said "You must to pay 2,000 baht"

I had a 500 baht note in my lap. I was sober. He said "if you drinking 10,000 baht".

I was nice to him and said "No Problem. We go police station" He took the 500 baht and let me go.

Stop me when I'm doing nothing wrong...Stop me when AM gulty of a traffic violation. Never got a ticket...just a couple hundred baht in my International Driver's License, which always came back light.

I have been stopped by police, maybe half a dozen times in the USA over 42 years. I have been stopped by police HUNDREDS of times in Thailand, and they still cannot catch drunk drivers????

Drunks usually drive at night Thai cops go home then. Then the few that don't stay in the station if possible.

These figures were just over the five day holiday period. Multiply that over the rest of the year only emphasises the scale of the problem and the complete failure by the highway police to treat drunk driving diligently. No wonder their reputation is crap.

Nearly 3,000 Drink-Driving Cases Logged Over New Year Period

The only way to get some headway is to uphold the traffic laws 24/7 /365

We all know that this isn't going to happen so why worry what they don't do just adhere to the traffic laws as much as you can.

If they caught less than 3,000 drunk drivers in all of Thailand, it just means that their crackdown wasn't effective. Any 3rd tier provincial town would have had more than 3,000 drunk drivers!

21 hours ago, jaywalker said:

I had a rental car many years ago. 2002 or so.

Being the naive Dummy I was, and not being able read Thai, I did not see that the insurance sticker expired about 2 days after I rented it...I had paid for 3 weeks and I cannot read Thai.

Checkpoint. Expired insurance. "You must to pay 10,000 baht".

"OK, now you go"....with no insurance.

Some clown was speeding, in the wrong lane once and hit my wife's car. The cops told her, "You have Farang name. Farangs have big money. 10,000 baht or BIG TROUBLE for you".

I went to Koh Chang once from Pattaya, and had a buddy with his wife and my wife in the truck with me. I told him we'd get stopped by the cops at least once.

Sure enough some Kamikaze Cop ran out in front of me in Rayong. Claiming I was going 51 KPH instead of 50 KPH....or something....I never figured it out.

I asked my wife what I was guilty of????

She just said "GIVE HIM SOME MONEY!" 200 baht later I was on my way.

My friend and his wife (she is half Thai) were on their Honeymoon, recently married. They were APALLED. "Just give him some money????"

=================

I was late for a meeting with a Colonel in the Royal Thai Air Force once, and GUILTY as they get in the Viphavdi Expressway, going 140 KPH, near Don Muang airport. The cop thought I was late for my flight, so he said "You must to pay 2,000 baht"

I had a 500 baht note in my lap. I was sober. He said "if you drinking 10,000 baht".

I was nice to him and said "No Problem. We go police station" He took the 500 baht and let me go.

Stop me when I'm doing nothing wrong...Stop me when AM gulty of a traffic violation. Never got a ticket...just a couple hundred baht in my International Driver's License, which always came back light.

I have been stopped by police, maybe half a dozen times in the USA over 42 years. I have been stopped by police HUNDREDS of times in Thailand, and they still cannot catch drunk drivers????

I 've only had my licence checked once as far as I can remember, and that was years ago and never been fined. That's around 17 years, although in the early days I wasn't here as much.