New Year road toll hits 171 in four days; Phuket tops crashes, Bangkok records most deaths
Thailand logged 991 road crashes and 171 deaths over the first four days of the New Year safety campaign, with Phuket recording the most incidents and Bangkok the highest death toll, authorities said.
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) reported that on January 3, 2026—the fourth day of the New Year road safety campaign—Thailand recorded 187 road accidents, 185 injuries, and 21 deaths.
The leading causes were speeding (35.29%) and drink-driving (21.39%). Motorcycles accounted for the largest share of crashes at 72.94%. Most accidents occurred on straight roads (86.10%), with the highest proportion on Highways Department roads (47.06%), followed by sub-district/village roads (10.16%).
The peak accident period was 3.01pm-6.00pm (26.20%). The age group with the highest number of injuries and deaths was 20-29 (15.53%). The provinces with the most accidents on the day were Prachin Buri and Phatthalung (10 each). Phatthalung recorded the most injuries (12), while Bueng Kan recorded the most deaths (three).
Cumulative figures for the four-day period (December 30, 2025 to January 2, 2026) showed 991 accidents, 956 injuries, and 171 deaths.
- Highest number of accidents: Phuket (39)
- Highest number of injuries: Phuket (43)
- Highest number of deaths: Bangkok (14)
Justice Minister Pol Lt Gen Rutthapon Naowarat said drink-driving remains a leading cause of loss during the holiday period. He cited probation statistics for January 2, 2026 (the fourth day of strict enforcement), showing 1,401 cases entering the probation system, including 1,349 drink-driving cases. The province with the highest number of drink-driving cases was Nonthaburi (290).
From December 30, 2025 to January 2, 2026, a total of 2,793 cases entered the probation process, with 2,793 involving drink-driving—94.39%, the largest share by offence.
Rutthapon said large numbers of people were expected to travel back to Bangkok and other areas on January 3, increasing traffic on main routes and inter-provincial connections. He urged provinces, districts, local administrations and relevant agencies to adjust plans to focus on main routes, set up service points to monitor driver fatigue, and intensify checks on public transport vehicles and drivers—covering both alcohol levels and drug use—before duty. He also called on the public to cooperate with the message “don’t drink and drive”, urging those who have consumed alcohol to use public transport or have a sober driver take the wheel.
The Office of Insurance Commission (OIC), which oversees compensation for road accident victims during the holiday period, said it is accelerating claim payments and implementing insurance-based road safety measures.
OIC data for December 30, 2025 to January 2, 2026 showed 186 road-death cases, of which 112 had insurance and 74 did not. The Road Accident Victims Protection Company Limited and other insurers had paid compensation for 27 insured cases during the period.
For motorcycles—the vehicle type most frequently involved—2,330 were insured while 2,473 were uninsured, meaning more than half lacked insurance coverage.
