Thailand's traditional Tet holiday is globally known as "the biggest country battle in the world", but the dark side of the festival is the number of casualties from traffic accidents, driving after drinking alcohol and unsafe behaviors.
Thailand recorded 216 deaths and 1,108 traffic accidents in the first 6 days of the Songkran travel peak period (April 10-15, 2026), along with 1,073 injuries, according to the country's Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.
On April 15 alone, the 6th day of the Songkran festival, Thailand recorded 156 accidents, 161 injuries and 23 deaths.
The main causes are speeding (43.59%) and driving after drinking alcohol (25.64%), while motorbikes continue to account for the largest proportion, related to about 69% of the total number of cases.
On April 15, Chiang Rai was the locality recording the most accidents, injuries and deaths, and in the first 6 days, Phrae led in the number of cases and injuries, while Bangkok had the highest number of deaths with 19 cases.
On average, about 38 people die from traffic accidents every day of the year, showing a significant increase during Songkran.
The peak season of the Songkran festival is also known as "7 dangerous days", when the number of deaths increases due to speeding and risky behaviors such as not wearing helmets. The time when the most accidents occur is from 3:01 PM to 6:00 PM.
However, this is still an important cultural event, expected to attract about 500,000 international tourists.
Fun water throwing activities still take place on all streets when people and tourists, along with friends and family, participate to "wash away" bad luck.
This holiday is expected to bring in nearly 30.4 billion baht (about 931 million USD) in revenue for the economy of the Land of the Golden Temple.
