Chiang Mai cops' cunning Christmas plan - breath tests in the pubs!

[watgate]

Hopefully as the police are making their rounds to check the bars for intoxicated patrons they will also visit some of the well known places in chiang mai where the tuk-tuk and songtaew drivers like to congregate to have some pops. I have witnessed on many occasions the drivers sitting around at night drinking round after round so they should be checked also to ensure public safety.

[wakeupplease]

I thought this was a Buddhist country and no Christmas, do they mean new year or have they got fed up with the corruption found in the local region and turned Christian?

[Get Real]

5 hours ago, overherebc said:

Yep, take the bus home and leave the benz outside the pub ???????

Nah, You drive your Harley D. to the pub. Here we only find real men! ?????? 

[overherebc]

1 hour ago, Get Real said:

Nah, You drive your Harley D. to the pub. Here we only find real men! ?????? 

That's true. A good few of my mates ride HD's and only a couple of them are gay.

[overherebc]

Here's an idea.

Why not on nights out don't people have one designated driver who doesn't drink. Everyone takes their turn at staying sober.

 

Thinking about it I've just seen the flaw.   

It's too simple.

[connda]

What Thai law is on the books that legally allows cops to force non-drivers sitting off-road in a commercial establishment to take a breathalyzer test?  My guess is they have no legal standing.  
The cops should have their butts in the seats of patrol car and be pulling over suspected drunks on the road instead of trolling pubs.  What utter nonsense.  

Edited December 1, 2017 by connda

[wgdanson]

On 11/30/2017 at 8:05 AM, British Bulldog said:

There's one small problem to this 'great' idea ... if thy are literally in the Pub, or standing at the doorway, and a person gets tested a few moments after having a drink, sure the meter will show that they are over the limit because the tester is measuring the amount of alcohol in the breath ... not the blood, where it counts. If a person ran up the bar, and asked for a shot of whisky, drank it paid and left, then was immediately tested, he'd be well over the limit ... but in reality, its not in his blood (yet) and he'd be more than capable of driving under the limit .... that's why in places like Australia, if you are caught 'near' the limit, your asked to sit down for a while and they go back and test you in 20 mins time ... the level of alcohol in the blood could be on the way up ... or on the way down !

A BREATHALYSER only measures alcohol in the breath, not in the blood. It is merely an indicator as to whether it requires a doctor to take a blood sample at the station, test it and then charge the driver if over the limit which, in Thailand, is 50mg/litre. In UK it is 80.

[Belzybob]

On 12/1/2017 at 11:53 AM, wgdanson said:

A BREATHALYSER only measures alcohol in the breath, not in the blood. It is merely an indicator as to whether it requires a doctor to take a blood sample at the station, test it and then charge the driver if over the limit which, in Thailand, is 50mg/litre. In UK it is 80.

Not quite true. When the alcohol circulating in your blood reaches the lungs, it diffuses out of the blood. You thus exhale alcohol from the blood, so its not just the alcohol that might remain in the inlet tract that is detected.  Generally (real) police will ask when you last had a drink as a recent one will give a false high reading.

Edited December 3, 2017 by Belzybob

[Sir Dude]

I went to renew my 5 year driving license the other day and I couldn't believe the circus that these places are and issuing licenses willy-nilly to all sort of totally unsuitable people. Until they stop issuing licenses to any moron that shows up, then you can forget changing the carnage on the roads. A little bit of zealous enforcement wouldn't go a miss either. The penalties need to much heavier like impounding their transport and then auctioning it off and the money goes to local hospital rescue services etc. or the local orphanage. That would make people think if you hit them in the pocket, as it's the only thing these people understand. 

Edited December 3, 2017 by Sir Dude

[01322521959]

On 11/30/2017 at 6:57 AM, sanemax said:

Take away all the Thai bashing, this is a good idea

Trying to stop the people driving drunk 

But for it to be truly effective you'd have to cover all drinking establishments. Also what about Somchai jumping on his Wave after drinking at his mates mom and pop shop. Great idea but it will have more leaks than the proverbial sieve.   

[sanemax]

16 minutes ago, 01322521959 said:

But for it to be truly effective you'd have to cover all drinking establishments. Also what about Somchai jumping on his Wave after drinking at his mates mom and pop shop. Great idea but it will have more leaks than the proverbial sieve.   

The Police have stated that there will be many checkpoints on the road, checking for drink drivers .

[hobz]

2 hours ago, sanemax said:

The Police have stated that there will be many checkpoints on the road, checking for drink drivers .

it's better than nothing but everyone will see where the checkpoints are when they drive to the pub and will avoid them when driving home.

 

what thailand needs is traffic police patroling.

[HaleySabai]

"Chiang Mai - DRINK Don't Drive, Get Home Safely"

....Love the positive affirmation within their slogan.

[observer90210]

How about a sweep down on the Thai taxi cheats who scam passengers on refusing to turn on the meter and thus encourage people to use other means of transport....

[tifino]

 

I'm thinking deterrent factor: (see OP photo)

- Stapling that sign onto their backs, and invade everyone's privacy. 

 - When pulled over, and you Test Over the Limit...

they see the Ghetto sign on your back, and you go down...

because  the sign on there, means: 'you had already been warned'

[sharktooth]

Thais don’t need to be drunk to drive like maniacs and cause accidents. 

[wgdanson]

On 11/30/2017 at 8:05 AM, British Bulldog said:

There's one small problem to this 'great' idea ... if thy are literally in the Pub, or standing at the doorway, and a person gets tested a few moments after having a drink, sure the meter will show that they are over the limit because the tester is measuring the amount of alcohol in the breath ... not the blood, where it counts. If a person ran up the bar, and asked for a shot of whisky, drank it paid and left, then was immediately tested, he'd be well over the limit ... but in reality, its not in his blood (yet) and he'd be more than capable of driving under the limit .... that's why in places like Australia, if you are caught 'near' the limit, your asked to sit down for a while and they go back and test you in 20 mins time ... the level of alcohol in the blood could be on the way up ... or on the way down !

I was under the impression that a BREATHALYSER measured alcohol in the BREATH. If over the prescribed limit, 80 in UK, 50 in Thailand, then you are taken to the cop shop for a BLOOD test, by a doctor.

[Rhys]

....so be it....the Thai way...

[animalmagic]

There are machines currently used in some jurisdictions where the law enforcement agencies are happy with using them rather than blood testing back at the station.  Basic procedure is a 'screening breath test' at the roadside followed by an 'evidential breath test' at the station for prosecution purposes.  There are still many forces that do not trust the 'evidential breath test' as empirical proof of blood alcohol levels and get blood samples taken by medical personnel on return to the station.

The accuracy of breath testing is still being questioned in some courts in terms of its reliability and accuracy, especially as it picks up all alcohol in the breath.  Surreptitiously washing your mouth out with some breath freshening liquids may actually increase the amount of alcohol in the breath due to the alcohol it contains.  Beware the kind policeman who offers Listerine and mints!  This type of alcohol is not taken into the blood and does not affect a blood test.

[taotoo]

On 12/30/2017 at 7:48 AM, wgdanson said:

80 in UK, 50 in Thailand

50 in Scotland too.