The road death toll during the New Year holidays rose 9.5% year-on-year to 463, even as the numbers of accidents and injuries fell.
The fatalities were 40 more than last year and 15 short of the all-time record of two years ago.
From Dec 27 last year to Wednesday, 3,791 road accidents took place, down 1.3% from last year’s levels while 3,892 were hospitalised, down 2.8%, according to data from the Road Safety Directing Centre on Thursday.
The period, also known as the seven dangerous days, was designated to promote road safety for travel during New Year holidays.
Nakhon Ratchasima, the gateway to the Northeast, saw the highest number of road fatalities (25) while Nakhon Si Thammarat of the South saw the highest numbers of accidents (118) and injuries (137).
Four provinces reported no road fatalities -- Tak, Phrae, Satun and Samut Songkhram.
Drink driving remained the major cause (40.4%), followed by speeding (28.3%).
Motorcycles were most prone to accidents (80%), followed by pickup trucks (7%) and cars (4.1%).
The time of the day when most accidents occurred was 4pm to 8pm (27.8%), followed by noon to 2pm (17.8%).
By age group, those aged 50 or more led (24.5%), followed by those between 30-39.
Some 1.2 million were prosecuted, up 34.3% from the previous year. The main charges were not wearing helmets, up 27.6% year-on-year to 321,800 cases, followed by driving without a licence, up 21.5% to 290,000.
