Nearly 100,000 policemen will set up round-the-clock checkpoints nationwide to nab drunk drivers, traffic violators and "violent revellers", said acting national police chief General Seripisut Temiyavej.

The Interior Ministry's Road Safety Centre is aiming for a 15-per-cent reduction from last year's road toll. This means 3,997 accidents, 4,517 injuries and 354 deaths between April 11 to April 17.

ThaiHealth vice chairman Prof Udomsil Srisangnam said road accidents were a major national problem that each year claimed 14,000 lives, maimed 65,000 people and injured about one million, and caused Bt100 billion in social and economic damage.

Noting that the toll doubled over a long holiday period, Udomsil said 75 per cent of the victims were males aged between 15 to 24; one third of the accidents were caused by drunk driving, followed by speeding and suddenly cutting in front of other vehicles.

He cited last year's toll of 476 dead, 598 maimed and 5,985 injured during the dangerous "seven-day Songkran period", and Bt4.3 billion in economic damage.

Predicting 417 deaths, 5,314 injured and 531 maimed and economic damage of Bt3.8 billion this Songkran, Udomsil urged all sides to join forces in reducing accidents by 15 per cent so as to save the country nearly Bt600 million.

ThaiHealth would also campaign to boost "road safety consciousness" at various locations, and urge people to use the occasion to join the "Yudlao Yodkrapuk Tawai Porluang" project [Stop drinking and save money for His Majesty the King] at all 7-Eleven convenience stores.

Meanwhile, Consumer Protection Board (CPB) secretary-general Rassamee Wisawathawet warned that high-pressure water guns made with PVC pipes or plastic were harmful to revellers and might cause injuries and accidents.