National Alcoholic Beverage Policy Committee to enforce law during New Year festival

supawadee wangsri

 

 

BANGKOK, 22nd December 2018 (NNT) - Deputy Prime Minister Chatchai Sarikalya has chaired this year's second meeting of the National Alcoholic Beverage Policy Committee, with the aim of reducing alcohol-related road accidents during the New Year festival. 

The meeting was also attended by Public Health Minister’s Assistant Thawat Suntharajarn, National Alcoholic Beverage Policy Committee Deputy Chairman Theerakiat Charoensetthasin, and Disease Control Department Director General Suwannachai Watthanayingcharoenchai. 

He said the meeting has instructed concerned agencies to proceed with the strict enforcement of the Alcohol Beverage Control Law to reduce the number of road accidents during New Year celebrations. 

Alcoholic beverages will not be sold to people under 20 years of age or to those who may already be drunk. 

The meeting also approved a campaign for government officials to refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages during government festivities as a good example to other people.

 

 

-- nnt 2018-12-23

Yada Yada Yada

25 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

the aim of reducing alcohol-related road accidents during the New Year festival. 

Every intelligent person out there knows that drink driving is dangerous, and yet the numbers of people doing it here continuously is staggering. While I hope that accidents are down this year, I have no real expectations of it being so. Locals and many farang seem to think that it doesn't matter and that they will be OK. I have just seen two foreigners in Pattaya Soi 9 this morning arrested for drink driving and neither seemed to think they had done anything "really' wrong. The local attitude is the same. The punishment for the offence is paltry. Death doesn't seem to worry the locals, but really heavy fines and time in jail might.

11 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

The meeting also approved a campaign for government officials to refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages during government festivities as a good example to other people.

So what are they going to do with all those bottles of Black Label they get as bribes presents at this time of year?

 

 

"The meeting also approved a campaign for government officials to refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages during government festivities as a good example to other people". 

 

I'll drink to that! 

 

1 minute ago, madmitch said:

So what are they going to do with all those bottles of Black Label they get as bribes presents at this time of year?

Only Blue is approved....Black might be fake:))

To suggest that they will enforce an already existing law suggests that they don't currently do it.... can they really not recognise the root cause failings of partial enforcements and reactionary measures, instead of pro active enforcement on a continual basis....
Some of these statements both stun and sadden me, I fear that we will not progress here for a very long time......

Is there a legitimate reason that the police here do not appear to carry out the kind of daily activities, routine patrols or interaction with the public such as in Europe or the USA?

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It must be staggering the number of committees & money spent on junkets for the members

 

I wonder if it has ever dawned on these people that they could reduce the death toll all year round by properly enforcing these and other road traffic laws all the time, as opposed to halfheartedly from time to time?

51 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

National Alcoholic Beverage Policy Committee

Quick.......pinch me.  My mouth and keyboard fingers want to spew offensive jabs.

33 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

The punishment for the offence is paltry. Death doesn't seem to worry the locals, but really heavy fines and time in jail might.

The problem is that every time new harsher penalties for any kind of driving offence are proposed, the Thais go straight into tantrum mode, take to social media to vent their displeasure and the government immediately backtracks. It is time to stop fannying about with pointless meetings and start implementing tougher punishments that will genuinely make people sit up and take notice.    

Of course, all hope is that people are so stupid that they will not think of buying alcohol in advance. And local stores that sell alcohol at any time, day or night, suddenly change their mind about selling alcohol. Always sold, but this time they will change their mind and close before the end of the holidays.

Just more of the usual BS spouted at this time of year, but it will the same as every other year, all talk but no action.

Good idea again just a mince pie for you this year Santa without the mince or pie due to there isn't none????

49 minutes ago, Anythingleft? said:

Is there a legitimate reason that the police here do not appear to carry out the kind of daily activities, routine patrols or interaction with the public such as in Europe or the USA?
 

 

I believe going around making tea money collections, spending time keeping up with their Facebook profiles and taking a nap in the local police box are contributing factors....

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

Alcoholic beverages will not be sold to people under 20 years of age or to those who may already be drunk. 

Well that should stop the drunks from getting drunk, although they may become aggressive if they don't get what they want.

dog and pony show

Quote: "strict enforcement of the Alcohol Beverage Control Law"

 

OH REALLY!!! ThaiBev and Singha Corporation will not be happy. 

3 hours ago, Anythingleft? said:

.......police here do not appear to carry out the kind of daily activities, routine patrols or interaction with the public such as in Europe or the USA?
 

One of the reason why I chose SEA. No nanny state, save us from ourselves over policing.

 

I understand the concern that many have but we knew the score on arrival and we still chose to reside here. Why would anyone want this country changed to the ways of the nations we left as we did leave for a reason, no?

 

Sure the road toll is astronomical but what % of that is foreigners taking all safety precautions? 

I’m more than happy to keep the status quo and look after myself 

4 hours ago, mok199 said:

Yada Yada Yada

Thailand seems incapable of actual change.

 

These steps are purely reactionary.  They are the same programs rolled out with fanfare year after year after year - but there is nothing new, nothing proactive.  All that the authorities do is to maintain the same baseline of traffic deaths but the status quo never changes. 

 

It would take a complete redesign of how enforcement is carried out to actually change the carnage stats related traffic accidents.  But the Thai government shows no interest in altering the enforcement models, such as adopting First World traffic policing methods, so at the end of the day it truly is nothing but another year of "yada, yada, yada" - just so much blathering noise and photo-ops for the higher ups.

Yada, Yada, Yada

28 minutes ago, MadMuhammad said:

One of the reason why I chose SEA. No nanny state, save us from ourselves over policing.

 

I understand the concern that many have but we knew the score on arrival and we still chose to reside here. Why would anyone want this country changed to the ways of the nations we left as we did leave for a reason, no?

 

Sure the road toll is astronomical but what % of that is foreigners taking all safety precautions? 

I’m more than happy to keep the status quo and look after myself 

Thailand is on the opposite side of the regulatory spectrum compared to the US, EU, and Commonwealth countries.

Thailand is as under-regulated as the US, EU, and Commonwealth countries are over-regulated.

 

However, MadMuhammad has a point.  Which system would I rather live under: an under-regulated or over-regulated society?  Well, here I am for the last 12 years with no future plans to repatriate to my home country.  As critical as I am of Thai traffic enforcement, and as aghast as I am about the carnage - I'd rather drive on these under-regulated roads that to be subjected to the over-zealous policing that is indicative of Western countries. 

 

There is a happy medium.  Too bad Thailand can't move more towards a little more effective enforcement, and too bad Western countries can't loosen up their over-enforcement.  But it ain't in their nature - so we as individuals chose where we are the most comfortable. 

Edited December 23, 20187 yr by connda

Not selling to already intoxicated people? 

Not without mufti police cars on the road you won't

imo I don't believe you can reduce the impaired driving unless you make the punishments extremely painful (1st offence jail/crippling fines for example). That's the way it was brought under control in many parts of the world, and Thailand will be no different. Some of the comments here talk about 'nanny state' enforcement and I get it, no one likes to be controlled by others. But when you're 'freedom' ends up taking the life or mobility of an innocent bystander/driver because you wanted to spend your last baht on another drink instead of a taxi, this is selfishness to the extreme. Driving loaded is basically saying that there is NO ONE as important as you, and if the shit hits the fan, too bad so sad. That's a hell of a way to go through life, believing your amusement is more important than anybody around you. To me this indicates a tragic lack of maturity, these people just never grew up. Enough of the rant - i just hope all here have a SAFE and happy holiday season with their friends and family and the new year brings a resolution to the TV immigration woes concerning $ and extensions.

I know this may sound stupid, but it is only a few days before the holidays,why so late.Maybe,if back in say June/July, they sat down and said"what are we going to do about the death toll over the new year holiday".They would then be able to plan a proper course of actions that will actually help the situation.Instead of afterwards saying, well we told them to drive safely,not our fault they ignored our advice.

Sorry,I forgot where I was!!! planning in advance, what a strange concept!

 

 

all hot air again and again in this country nothing will stop people from drink driving.

There are not enough coppers to enforce any driving laws here......there are only 250,000 in the whole country !!!

maybe if the police got off their <deleted> and went out on the roads they would be able to pull over all the drunk drivers, set up booze buses like they do in Australia on main roads, arrest anyone over the limit and dont let them take their cars home. Toss them in jail and give huge fines, money and jail time seem to be the only things that upset thais but the fines are usually p*ss poor and they let them go home, its pathetic

 

18 hours ago, Anythingleft? said:

To suggest that they will enforce an already existing law suggests that they don't currently do it.... can they really not recognise the root cause failings of partial enforcements and reactionary measures, instead of pro active enforcement on a continual basis....
Some of these statements both stun and sadden me, I fear that we will not progress here for a very long time......

Is there a legitimate reason that the police here do not appear to carry out the kind of daily activities, routine patrols or interaction with the public such as in Europe or the USA?

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk
 

That meeting was a meeting about nothing. They have the laws but don't enforce it. We all know why? Oh oh, they are going to stop 20-year-olds from buying alcohol if they seem drunk What a bloody joke. But if you are 30, 40 50 60 and you are drunk you can buy alcohol. The meeting chaired by deputy PM number 4( never seen a country with so many deputy Pms) easy ways to pick 100,000 baht to attend meetings or is it only the deputy pm with the all the watches that were given to him only get that

There is no need for these committees of self-important people spouting the bleedin' obvious; the laws are there - they just need enforcing.  Having a police force would help if they worked after dark and at weekends.

14 hours ago, CeeGee said:

I know this may sound stupid, but it is only a few days before the holidays,why so late.Maybe,if back in say June/July, they sat down and said"what are we going to do about the death toll over the new year holiday".They would then be able to plan a proper course of actions that will actually help the situation.Instead of afterwards saying, well we told them to drive safely,not our fault they ignored our advice.

Sorry,I forgot where I was!!! planning in advance, what a strange concept!

 

 

Actually, back in June/July they should have been discussing what they would do about the death toll at that time of the year. As is shown year after year, the safest times to drive in Thailand are, ironically, New Year's and Songkran.