BANGKOK, THAILAND – Thailand’s Songkran New Year festival began on Saturday with major water and music events in Bangkok, while police tightened traffic controls nationwide for the “Seven Dangerous Days” from 10 to 16 April.
Songkran kicks off: city celebrations, risks on the roads
With the start of Songkran, millions of people travelled back to their home provinces, while others set off on holidays across the country. This sharply increased traffic volumes on the main transport corridors.
At the same time, attention initially focused on water celebrations in Bangkok and other urban centres, before quickly shifting to holiday accident figures. Authorities classified the 10–16 April period as a high‑risk phase because roads were traditionally particularly prone to crashes during these days.
CentralWorld in Bangkok: music festival and ‘beach party’ downtown
On Saturday, large crowds gathered around CentralWorld in the Ratchaprasong area in central Bangkok. Despite the heat, visitor numbers remained high throughout the day.
The venue hosted “Pepsi Presents Thai Lizm 2026”, a mix of music festival and beach‑party event featuring water activities in a controlled environment. These included water‑pistol battles in designated zones.
Water play zones, giant slide and T‑Pop on the main stage
The area was transformed into a large‑scale entertainment zone with several water‑play sections on the site. A giant slide installation became a central attraction for visitors.
On the main stage, a T‑Pop programme with live performances by well‑known artists ran throughout the day, drawing dense rows of spectators. According to the report, the shows kept the energy level consistently high.
Tradition meets event: Buddha water rituals and cultural shows
Despite the modern festival character, traditional elements were also present. Visitors could pour water over Buddha images in specially designated areas.
Nearby, cultural performances took place, linking contemporary entertainment with religious and cultural practices typical of Songkran. Crowds remained dense and movement across the site continued without interruption.
Food, access and safety measures at the venue
A food market offered Thai street food and drinks throughout the event, used by locals and international tourists alike. Organisers pointed out that the location was well served by public transport.
For drivers, parking capacity of more than 6,000 spaces was cited. Visible crowd‑control and safety measures were deployed to manage the large number of visitors.
‘Seven Dangerous Days’: police step up nationwide traffic management
While festivities took place in Bangkok, authorities across the country focused on traffic management. The Royal Thai Police coordinated operations on highways and key urban routes.
With the official start of the holiday phase on Friday, 10 April, traffic volumes rose immediately, especially on routes leading out of Bangkok to the provinces. Congestion built up at junctions and access points, prompting police to order active measures to speed up the flow of vehicles.
Fighting jams and crashes: reversible lanes and roadside support
To ease bottlenecks, reversible traffic lanes were opened and adjusted over the course of the day depending on conditions. Commanders responded continuously to the evolving traffic situation.
In addition, forces were mobilised nationwide to direct traffic and provide roadside assistance. The aim was to shorten travel times and keep traffic as stable as possible.
Targeting risky behaviour: alcohol, speed and missing protection
In parallel, police intensified checks on behaviours most frequently linked to accidents. These included drink‑driving, excessive speed and the failure to use safety equipment.
Helmet and seat‑belt requirements were explicitly monitored strictly, as violations were cited by authorities as among the most important accident factors. In Bangkok, it was also observed that lighter congestion tempted some drivers to increase their speed, bringing speeding more sharply into focus.
10 April figures: 2,617 alcohol cases and tens of thousands of violations
On 10 April, police recorded 2,617 cases of drink‑driving nationwide, including 26 repeat offenders who faced tougher penalties. In total, 67,803 offences were registered across ten categories.
Most cases involved missing helmets (15,994), followed by speeding violations (13,450) and failure to wear seat belts (3,809). Authorities directly linked these patterns to accident risk and described strict enforcement of the rules as a central priority.
Accident balance and comparison: 20 deaths well below past levels
On Friday, 20 people died on Thailand’s roads, while in previous years during Songkran typically 35 to 50 deaths per day were reported. This development was seen as an important test of the effectiveness of the police strategy.
In the previous year, 253 people were killed over the entire period, an 11.4 percent decrease compared with the year before. Police now aimed to push the numbers down further through consistent enforcement and traffic management.
Leadership and strategy: keeping traffic moving and enforcing the law
The Traffic Management Centre issued operational instructions explicitly calling for both strict law enforcement and the smoothest possible traffic flow. This dual strategy was intended to apply nationwide.
Police General Samran Nualma, deputy chief of the Royal Thai Police and head of the centre for accident prevention and reduction during Songkran 2026, confirmed this approach. Additional coordination measures were outlined by Police General Somprasong Yenthuam in his role as deputy director responsible for traffic.