Drink drivers in Thailand to face jail
Bangkok Post: 30 Dec 2009
Police warn drink drivers they face jail Tough stance to reduce horror holiday road toll
Motorists caught drink driving over the New Year's holiday will be jailed immediately in a bid to reduce road accidents.
The crackdown has already begun and will run until Jan 4.
Police, public prosecutors and the courts agreed tougher measures were needed over the festive break, which typically sees a surge in road accidents, said Thanapong Jinwong, manager of the National Health Foundation's Road Safety Academic Project.
Motorists found with more than 50 milligrams of alcohol in their blood (.05) would be arrested and jailed immediately, Dr Thanapong said.
Drivers whose blood-alcohol level exceeds the legal limit are now arrested and sent to court within 48 hours.
They face up to a year in jail, a 5,000 to 20,000 baht fine and a ban from driving from six months to life.
Under the new measures drunk motorcyclists will be jailed for three days. Drivers of other vehicles will be imprisoned for seven to 10 days.
The jail term will vary depending on whether they were involved in an accidents, Dr Thanapong said.
"Arresting and immediately sending them [drunk motorists] to jail is considered the toughest measure. This will deter them from drinking while driving," he said.
"Earlier, drunk drivers were put on probation and ordered to do community service in a bid to make them review their habits. However, public figures who were among those drunk drivers were painted as good persons or heroes when news spread that they were ordered to do community service."
Most offenders preferred to pay fines rather than be jailed, he said. Although statistics show road accidents in Thailand have gradually fallen since 2004, the number of deaths is still worrying, he said.
Last year, 11,267 people were killed in road accidents - 31 a day on average. The number of deaths jumped to between 50 and 60 a day during the New Year and Songkran festivals.
Dr Thanapong cited a Transport Ministry report which said road accidents cost the economy about 232.85 million baht a year, or 2.8% of gross domestic product.
A World Health Organisation report published this year showed road accidents claimed more than 1.3 million lives in all countries and injure 50 million people a year.
The WHO predicted that road accidents would be a leading cause of deaths in the next decade.
The UN held a ministerial conference on road safety in Moscow, Russia, in November. Delegations from 140 countries attended the conference, which adopted the "Moscow Declaration" on global road safety with the aim of halving road accidents within 10 years, from 2011 to 2020.
The cabinet officially put road accidents on the national agenda on Sept 29, Dr Thanapong said.
www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/30212/police-warn-drink-drivers-they-face-jail
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