Thailand's Songkran Travel Rush Sees Spike in Speeding, Drunk Driving Accidents; 50 Lives Lost in a Single Day
On the first day of the Songkran (Water Festival) holiday, Thailand's traditional New Year, 50 people were killed in traffic accidents. The main causes were speeding and drunk driving. This period is known as the 'dangerous 7 days,' and sees a sharp increase in traffic casualties annually.
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- 📰 Published: April 12, 2026 at 20:47
- 🔍 Collected: April 12, 2026 at 21:00 (13 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 13, 2026 at 09:20 (12h 20m after Collected)
The Buddhist New Year, Songkran, commonly known as the Water Festival, is from April 13th to 15th every year. It is one of Thailand's important festivals and a time for Thais to return home for the holidays and travel. This year, the two days before Songkran fell on a weekend, so the holiday started on the 11th, for a total of 5 days.
Media outlets such as The Nation reported today that the Road Safety Operation Center (RSOC) reported that on the 11th, the first day of the Songkran long weekend, 50 people died in traffic accidents and another 185 were injured.
According to statistics, if the day before the holiday is included, in the two days of the 10th and 11th, there were 344 traffic accidents nationwide, resulting in 71 deaths and 317 injuries.
The center pointed out that speeding and drunk driving are still the main causes of accidents. Statistics show that speeding accounted for 45.71%, followed by drunk driving at 24.76%.
The two long holidays of the New Year and Songkran are called the 'dangerous 7 days' by local media. During this period, the number of traffic accident deaths usually skyrockets. Therefore, the authorities also strengthen the promotion of traffic safety during the 'dangerous 7 days'.
During the four-day New Year holiday at the beginning of this year, hundreds of car accidents occurred in Thailand, resulting in 171 deaths and 956 injuries, with drunk driving and speeding being the main causes. Official data released at the time showed that the number of traffic accident deaths increased by 6% compared to the same period last year. (Editor: Wei Shu) 1150412
Media outlets such as The Nation reported today that the Road Safety Operation Center (RSOC) reported that on the 11th, the first day of the Songkran long weekend, 50 people died in traffic accidents and another 185 were injured.
According to statistics, if the day before the holiday is included, in the two days of the 10th and 11th, there were 344 traffic accidents nationwide, resulting in 71 deaths and 317 injuries.
The center pointed out that speeding and drunk driving are still the main causes of accidents. Statistics show that speeding accounted for 45.71%, followed by drunk driving at 24.76%.
The two long holidays of the New Year and Songkran are called the 'dangerous 7 days' by local media. During this period, the number of traffic accident deaths usually skyrockets. Therefore, the authorities also strengthen the promotion of traffic safety during the 'dangerous 7 days'.
During the four-day New Year holiday at the beginning of this year, hundreds of car accidents occurred in Thailand, resulting in 171 deaths and 956 injuries, with drunk driving and speeding being the main causes. Official data released at the time showed that the number of traffic accident deaths increased by 6% compared to the same period last year. (Editor: Wei Shu) 1150412