On the third day of the Seven Dangerous Days campaign, 54 more people died, with a total of 798 accidents, 769 injured, and 145 fatalities overall.
At 10:15 on 2 Jan 2026, at the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), Mr. Jirapong Theppitak, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport and chair of the press briefing, summarized the results of the Road Accident Prevention and Reduction Command Center for the 2026 New Year Festival. He revealed that the center, in cooperation with partner networks, compiled road accident statistics for 2 January 2026, the third day of the “Drive Safely, Reduce Speed, Reduce Accidents” campaign. On this day, 326 accidents occurred, resulting in 317 injuries and 54 deaths.
The leading causes of accidents were speeding at 40.18% and drunk driving at 29.45%. Motorcycles accounted for the highest number of accidents at 76.92%, mostly occurring on straight roads (78.22%). Accidents happened predominantly on Department of Highways roads (36.81%) and roads within subdistrict administrative organizations or villages (29.75%). The peak accident time was between 00:01 and 03:00 hours, representing 25.15% of incidents.
The highest numbers of injuries and deaths occurred among people aged 20–29 years, accounting for 22.91%. Phuket province recorded the highest number of accidents (16), the highest number of injured (18), while Bangkok had the highest number of deaths (7).
The cumulative road accident summary over three days (30 Dec 2025 – 1 Jan 2026) reported 798 accidents, 769 injured, and 145 deaths. Phuket had the highest cumulative accidents (34) and injured (38), while Bangkok had the highest cumulative deaths (12).
However, 2 Jan 2026 remains a continuous long holiday with significant inter-district and inter-provincial travel. The public is urged to drive cautiously, maintain safe distances, avoid sudden braking, always wear seat belts and helmets. Some citizens have begun planning early return trips to Bangkok and other work areas to avoid heavy traffic, especially those traveling on the Northeastern and Northern routes. The Road Safety Center has emphasized that provinces, districts, local administrative organizations, and relevant agencies, especially the Ministry of Transport, prepare to accommodate returning travelers and facilitate public transport. It is estimated that over 700,000 vehicles, including public buses and private cars, remain in the area and will gradually return over the next one to two days.
Measures include setting up checkpoints and service points, opening separate and special lanes, and strict law enforcement following the '10 Bitter Measures.' Public awareness campaigns stress safety precautions, including seat belt and helmet use and maintaining safe distances. On highways and interprovincial routes, speed and drowsiness controls are being enforced to prevent serious accidents.
Mr. Sarawut Wongsakulwiwat, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation and chair of the New Year Road Safety Command Center meeting on 2 Jan 2026, stated that some people have started returning to Bangkok and other areas. Traffic is expected to peak on 4 Jan 2026. The center has coordinated with provinces, districts, and local administrations to intensify checkpoints and community roadblocks to curb risky behaviors such as drunk driving. Service points will be set up in suitable locations to prevent accidents caused by drowsiness and rear-end collisions.
In tourist provinces with many foreigners, recent statistics show tourists and foreigners involved in road accidents. Authorities have stressed checking driving licenses, enforcing traffic discipline, controlling speeding and drunk driving, alcohol testing of drivers, inspecting traffic signals and signs, and raising traffic awareness among both Thai and foreign drivers and pedestrians to ensure a safe and happy start to 2026.
Finally, the public who experience or witness accidents can report incidents 24/7 via the hotline 1784 or the LINE account “DDPM Incident Reporting 1784” by adding the Line ID @1784DDPM for prompt assistance coordination.