New Year drunk drivers face Thai jail

[Admin]

New Year drunk drivers face Thai jail 
Bangkok Post: 3 Dec 2009
New Year drunk drivers face jail term
Cops pledge crackdown during festival period


Motorists caught driving while drunk over the New Year period face being jailed with no chance of a suspended sentence, law enforcement officials say.

Representatives of the police, the courts and the high profile Don't Drive Drunk Foundation agreed yesterday at a meeting that enforcement would be tougher than ever this year and warned that prison sentences would be strictly enforced.

Foundation manager Surasit Silapa-ngarm said road accidents caused by drunk drivers had increased every year for the past three years with the average annual toll of 12,067 deaths resulting in economic losses of 240 billion baht.

Road accidents over the New Year period tend to be more than double normal times, Mr Surasit said.

Over the past two years, there were 280 road accidents and 35 deaths a day on average in Thailand.

The number of road accidents last year rose to 607 a day during the New Year festival. About 84% of the accidents involved motorcycles while drink driving was responsible for 41% of crashes, Mr Surasit said.

He said launching campaigns alone could not halt the New Year carnage. As had been found in some areas, it required the courts to impose harsher penalties on drunk motorists.

Courts in Region 2, which covers Chon Buri and other eastern provinces, were the first to hand out jail terms with no suspension of the sentence to drivers found guilty of drinking while driving, he said. A total of 155 drunk motorists had been put behind bars from July 2008 to September this year, he said.

Prasong Mahaleetrakul, a lower court judge attached to the Office of the Supreme Court, said motorists found with an alcohol reading of 0.05 would appear in court within 48 hours.

They would face a jail term and a fine of 5,000 to 20,000 baht and would have their driving licences suspended for at least six months or even completely revoked.

He said more courts in other regions were starting to send drink-driving offenders to jail without the possibility of a suspended sentence.

The tough measure was launched by Thung Mahamek police station in Bangkok which has recorded the highest number of drunk driving arrests since it began a serious approach to enforcing the law.

The station regularly sets up checkpoints on main roads and minor sois to catch people driving under the influence of alcohol, said Pol Maj-Gen Anuchai Lekbamrung, chief of the Metropolitan Police Bureau's Division 5.

Writer: Theerawut Sathitphattrakul

[nookiebear]

It will be good if they do enforce it,perhaps,just perhaps the 'penny may drop' amongst the Thais

[wildoates]

Does that mean the driver has to be more drunk than the man in charge

[Prakhonchai Nick]

It will be good if they do enforce it,perhaps,just perhaps the 'penny may drop' amongst the Thais

It's not just the Thais. We farangs often drive under the influence too.

I was stopped at 11pm one Friday night 4 months ago in the centre of Buriram - routine check -police said all drivers stopped were being breathalysed. Oops I had had a few, and was taking my son to hospital with suspected swine flu.        Luckily my wife was with me, and with my son sprawled out on the back seat, we were sent hurriedly on our way.

My advice - BE VERY CAREFUL!

[Starman]

Last week a farang was caught and arrested in Buriram. 3am travelling home from Speed. Seems that the Police seem to think that drunk people only drive after midnight.

Anyway he was taken to the police station and an interpreter was called. The original police threat was 4 months inside.In the end the penalty was reduced to 5000baht, a night in the cell and 30 hours comunity service. Being a native speaker of English he will probably end up teaching in a school for a week.

I would imagine that is was the effort that would be involved to imprison a farang that made the Police back down rather than money as I also know of a Thai that was caught, opposite the swimming pool, and he paid the same penalty.

It seems that there is no prejudice when it comes to who the police are stopping. Only in a matter of if you are pie eyed and get home before you turn into a pumpkin then you should be OK.

[Lourens]

Only in a matter of if you are pie eyed and get home before you turn into a pumpkin then you should be OK.

So, what you're saying here is that it is OK to drive drunk! As long as you get home by midnight! It is actions such as these that puts MY and MY FAMILY's life at risk!

And to Nick: Sure, take your kid to hospital for a suspected flu incident - BUT DO IT WHILE YOU'RE SOBER!!! You could have had an accident and killed yourself, your kid and your wife and some innocent bystanders (including me).

I can not believe the nerve of some people...

[Starman]

Only in a matter of if you are pie eyed and get home before you turn into a pumpkin then you should be OK.

So, what you're saying here is that it is OK to drive drunk! As long as you get home by midnight! It is actions such as these that puts MY and MY FAMILY's life at risk!

And to Nick: Sure, take your kid to hospital for a suspected flu incident - BUT DO IT WHILE YOU'RE SOBER!!! You could have had an accident and killed yourself, your kid and your wife and some innocent bystanders (including me).

I can not believe the nerve of some people...

I actual fact I was aiming the comment at the Thai system.

A couple of the previous posts had hints of sarcasm in them and you didn't mention them.

At this time of year most of the Thais that are drinking and driving are doing so in the day. It may have escaped your notice but the rice has been harvested so a large percentage of Issan folk are going to be cash rich for a couple of weeks and will be out on the P@%s. The local constabulary know this and yet decide to start stopping people late in the evening when most of the forementioned people are asleep.

In a country where not having a license only results in a 200 baht fine and then on your way they are never going to stop people breaking the law on the roads.

[Prakhonchai Nick]

And to Nick: Sure, take your kid to hospital for a suspected flu incident - BUT DO IT WHILE YOU'RE SOBER!!! You could have had an accident and killed yourself, your kid and your wife and some innocent bystanders (including me).

Given the opportunity I would not have driven my son to hospital having consumed beer. However I was not drunk, was quite capable of driving AND it was a situation that required immediate attention.

Are you telling us that YOU have NEVER driven after having consumed alcohol?

[Admin]

Last night in Buriram city:
Midnight after Disco.

Traffic police stopped my bike and asked me to blow into their 'ALCO-SENSOR' machine.

It goes like this:
1st police stop you and check with his machine, if HIS machine show red light he direct you to the other police officer with another machine (Alco-Sensor) to recheck/confirm.
In my case it show Red in the first machine and 30-34~ (I think) in the 'Alco Sensor' with the letters 'Pass' so they let me go home sleep.
 

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[nookiebear]

Beware of Korat ...its a real hotspot for breathalisers .....AND you do get locked up prior to a court appearance the next day,,,10,000baht fine for 1st offence

[boloa]

Beware of Korat ...its a real hotspot for breathalisers .....AND you do get locked up prior to a court appearance the next day,,,10,000baht fine for 1st offence

I think the Police are on to a winner here