Road fatalities halved when alcohol banned on major Buddhist holidays, safety centre finds

[digger70]

Give this man a Drink He knows his stuff/up    ????

[DavisH]

It's a mid-week public holiday so most people stay at home or don't travel far. Not much to do with banning the sale of alcohol. 

[helloagain]

11 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

How does he know that?

Ban booze everyday

[khunPer]

11 hours ago, webfact said:

A ban on the sale of alcoholic drinks on Asarnha Bucha day and the first day of Buddhist Lent reduced road fatalities on those days by roughly a half.

Could also be that people behave different on a Buddha Day, than on Songkran Day...????

[Ctkong]

10 hours ago, Jadam said:

A far cry from a peer-reviewed scientific study.

 

Here's an idea: how about a harsh penalty for drunk driving that is actually enforced (i.e. mandatory jail time and/or impound vehicle for set amount of time).  That way, they punish only those who put other people's lives at risk by driving drunk rather than punishing everyone who wants to enjoy a beer on a holiday.

They thought everyone is Buddhist.

[Ctkong]

10 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

It is said that the measure of a modern & civilised society is in its road use... 

 

It could be argued that this is somewhat of a sweeping generalisation and a bit of a Thai-bash... well it is, but not an unwarranted one. 

 

Improvement would make living in this lovely place that much more enjoyable... 

 

Its heartbraking to see so many Thai’s unnecessarily succumbing to a nationwide cultural failure to adopt a little curtesy and common sense... 

Lack of traffic education. Moreover the helmetless motorcyclists will go on unless real enforcement done by traffic authorities. Been in Myanmar recently upcountry and even there, most motorcyclists wore helmets on the bitumen and concrete roads though not on village mud roads. Road traffic policemen here are really enforcing the law so I heard from the guide. 

[Ctkong]

46 minutes ago, DavisH said:

It's a mid-week public holiday so most people stay at home or don't travel far. Not much to do with banning the sale of alcohol. 

I don’t think so. Last night on the way from don Muang airport to Suvarnabhumi Airport, the grid lock on the motorway extended for miles and miles. What normally takes 20 minutes resulted into 90 minutes along that stetch of motorway. Guess everybody is going towards pattaya and further down. . 

[Ctkong]

3 hours ago, captainhornblower said:

 

Very well said TER. To me, one of the best indicators of attitude on the roads here is the use of headlights to indicate to other drivers intent. In Europe (well certainly in UK) if a driver flashes their lights it is normally inviting you take the road ahead of them. In Thailand it generally means 'get out of my way I'm coming through whether you like it or not'. It is such a flawed thought process as in the western way it generally prevents accidents because right of way has been ceded by the driver that flashes but in the Thai way, if both drivers have the same mindset, then an accident is more likely to occur.

That is why I have to be aware where I am at all times. Same application to hitting the brakes at the sight of green changing to yellow light. Some country, you brake and slow down upon the traffic changes from green to yellow. In Thailand and Malaysia, you beat the light unless you want to be rear arsed by the vehicle behind you.  

[impulse]

I always love reading threads where one of the sacred vices is called into question. 

 

Everyone knows that drunk driving increases the risk of an accident.  It stands to reason that banning drinking will reduce the incidence of DUI.  Fewer drunk drivers means fewer DUI related deaths.  Whether it's reduced by half, or even by one human life, it seems like a reasonable trade-off---to anyone not addicted to alcohol.

 

But depriving us of one our favorite vices, even for a few hours, cannot possibly make Thailand a safer place to travel, can it?

 

Next, there's going to be a thread about how reducing prostitution cuts down of the number of STD's.  But that study, too, will be dismissed.  Because bar girls are another sacred vice...

[nong38]

This is a chaotic society who have little respect for others on the road and who think the law is for others and no themselves. Since the messiah arrived in 2014 his achievements on the roads of Thailand and getting the police to do their job and enforce the law have been a complete failure.

[robblok]

1 hour ago, impulse said:

I always love reading threads where one of the sacred vices is called into question. 

 

Everyone knows that drunk driving increases the risk of an accident.  It stands to reason that banning drinking will reduce the incidence of DUI.  Fewer drunk drivers means fewer DUI related deaths.  Whether it's reduced by half, or even by one human life, it seems like a reasonable trade-off---to anyone not addicted to alcohol.

 

But depriving us of one our favorite vices, even for a few hours, cannot possibly make Thailand a safer place to travel, can it?

 

Next, there's going to be a thread about how reducing prostitution cuts down of the number of STD's.  But that study, too, will be dismissed.  Because bar girls are another sacred vice...

Your reasoning is way off, there is no need for alcohol to be banned. Plenty of other countries have alcohol for sale and far less road accidents. Just enforcement would help just like it can in other countries. 

 

Then again some people need to find excuses to rally against the vices of others not sure why that is. I don't equate drinking with drunk driving and I don't even like to drink so no reason for to protect a vice I don't share. 

 

Drinking, not a problem in my book, drunk driving .. big problem. But they are not the same and the drinkers who don't drive should not be punished for the crimes of those who do drink and drive.

 

Two totally different things.

 

 

[impulse]

35 minutes ago, robblok said:

Your reasoning is way off, there is no need for alcohol to be banned. Plenty of other countries have alcohol for sale and far less road accidents. Just enforcement would help just like it can in other countries. 

 

Then again some people need to find excuses to rally against the vices of others not sure why that is. I don't equate drinking with drunk driving and I don't even like to drink so no reason for to protect a vice I don't share. 

 

Drinking, not a problem in my book, drunk driving .. big problem. But they are not the same and the drinkers who don't drive should not be punished for the crimes of those who do drink and drive.

 

Two totally different things.

 

I'm a little more pragmatic...

 

Sure, the long term solution is enforcement.  Just like so much of the tragic death toll on Thai roads.  But that isn't happening.  Maybe it will happen in my lifetime, maybe never. 

 

Banning alcohol during the holiday driving periods reduces DUI and saves lives this year.  Maybe not 50%, but logic holds that it saves some lives.  And that's a good thing.

 

Plus, I don't view a government policy that gives a lot of people's livers a well deserved break as any kind of punishment.  I think that it's more of a cultural thing related to Buddhism and the holiday that has a side benefit of reducing traffic fatalities.  

 

Edited February 19, 2019 by impulse

[dcnx]

Just another Somchai grasping for his 15 minutes.

 

 

[Imkah]

18 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

It is said that the measure of a modern & civilised society is in its road use... 

 

It could be argued that this is somewhat of a sweeping generalisation and a bit of a Thai-bash... well it is, but not an unwarranted one. 

 

Improvement would make living in this lovely place that much more enjoyable... 

 

Its heartbraking to see so many Thai’s unnecessarily succumbing to a nationwide cultural failure to adopt a little curtesy and common sense... 

Amen to that.  Thai-bashing seems to be the favorite of the day on this site.  While we all have chosen this country as a place to rest our bones. A bit more of optimism might be help us all?

[Mad mick]

delusional thinking 

Edited February 19, 2019 by Mad mick

[nasa123]

21 hours ago, Artisi said:

More nonsense from the experts, this one claiming 40 deaths per day when other figures indicate far in excess of this number. 

 

69 per day in 2018.

[Sir Swagman]

This ‘study’ brought to you the letters B and S and the number 555

[dinsdale]

Study finds less people drive on Buddhist holidays (about 50%). People stay home and drink.????

[geoffbezoz]

That may or not be true if verified but statistics tells us that anyone driving with alcohol in their blood are more likely to have an accident then those that have not.

However irrespective of which country, if you put a retard behind the wheel of any pick-up then sooner or later he will either have an accident of cause one. Its just that in Thailand there appears to be a much higher percentage of them.

[robblok]

8 hours ago, impulse said:

 

I'm a little more pragmatic...

 

Sure, the long term solution is enforcement.  Just like so much of the tragic death toll on Thai roads.  But that isn't happening.  Maybe it will happen in my lifetime, maybe never. 

 

Banning alcohol during the holiday driving periods reduces DUI and saves lives this year.  Maybe not 50%, but logic holds that it saves some lives.  And that's a good thing.

 

Plus, I don't view a government policy that gives a lot of people's livers a well deserved break as any kind of punishment.  I think that it's more of a cultural thing related to Buddhism and the holiday that has a side benefit of reducing traffic fatalities.  

 

I am all for freedom and freedom of choice, I also have no problem with drug use (as long as it does not bother people). But I am dead set against people drinking and driving or using drugs and driving. I think those are 2 separate issues. 

 

Drinking and driving are 2 separate issues. I mean road carnage would go down even more if we just banned driving for the holidays but that is not viable also. I just hate solutions that punish the innocent because of the bad behavior of others. I seen that happen too many times already.

[Speedhump]

How about purchase of alcohol on religious holidays requires production of an overseas passport? ????

[nasa123]

What is the problem in Thailand and the statistic of accident (death) is that those who do not die at the accident and die in the hospital they not come to this statistic for killed in the traffic.

[Artisi]

22 minutes ago, Speedhump said:

How about purchase of alcohol on religious holidays requires production of an overseas passport? ????

why?

[Artisi]

14 minutes ago, nasa123 said:

What is the problem in Thailand and the statistic of accident (death) is that those who do not die at the accident and die in the hospital they not come to this statistic for killed in the traffic.

Don't believe that is a fact, although being constantly promoted doesn't make it a fact. 

[Magenta408]

Road deaths have gone up despite or in spite of not selling alcohol on major holidays including Buddhist holidays. So what is this all about? Furthermore, any drinker will realize that if alcohol is not sold during his holidays (or day of choice), they will buy in bulk before the ban is effected. This is elementary.

Edited February 20, 2019 by Magenta408

[DM07]

On 2/19/2019 at 8:21 AM, darksidedog said:

Alchohol is definitely a contributing factor in way too many accidents here, though to my mind, it keeps coming back to the fact that a significant number of Thai people simply have no idea of how to drive properly, even when they are sober.

Alcohol absolutely is a contributing factor!

Now...does the fact that SALES are prohibited on "religious" holidays, lower the amount of CONSUMED alcohol?

I highly doubt that!

[Huckenfell]

Alcohol has nothing to do with it. everything depends on the actual Amulet which you are wearing. Go to Isaan and ask any Thai.

[BobbyL]

What an incredible press release. These are people in paid roles ????

 

Not only do they not release the correct numbers of deaths per day (which have been published online many times before), they also fail to see what it is they are suggesting.

 

Although alcohol will always play a role in some car accidents, do they not realise that on a public holiday there will be far less cars and motorbikes on the road. Driving in Bangkok yesterday was a dream.

 

The less vehicles on the road = less accidents. Who would have thought it. 

[eddysmit]

Also,far less traffic doing the 'school run',might have something to do with lower accidents during special Buddha days and bank holidays.

[Stargeezr]

A boozer anywhere in the world wakes up and it is booze day! Does not matter if it is a week day, holiday, Buddha day, or weekend, it is Booze Day!, drink up!

Geezer