Thai government campaign sees drop in road deaths during Songkran festival

Tourists and local splash water to each others as they kick start of the celebrating of the Songkran Festival in Pattaya , near Bangkok in Thailand. AFP filepic

BANGKOK (AFP) - The number of people killed on Thailand's roads during the country's traditional new year week dropped by more than ten per cent following a government campaign to end the annual carnage.

The kingdom has some of the world's most lethal roads, with accidents spiking over Songkran - the Thai new year festival in April - as millions of city workers return to their country homes.