It's same at all dangerous times during year, a lot of "Bru Haha" , lot of words, but little or nothing is done to curb the horrendous Road toll in major ongoing way!! 

1.The Gov't & RTP need to get serious & act, to police the road laws & strengthen where necessary...

2.All offenders, including Rich & influential persons, etc, must be prosecuted; no more "special treatment or privileges!! 

3. The Graft & corruption within Gov't &  RTP needs to be stopped, no more "back-hand" payments or favours,

4.Driver education & licensing needs to be greatly improved, driver attitudes are appalling & seem inbred into culture.. 

These are just some aspects & whole issue of the Road Tolls& Traffic Management needs to be addressed totally by the Gov't; not simply patches at certain times of year!!

Otherwise it will continue as is & get worse!! 

 

Deaths & casualties will rise!! 

The grief will grow throughout communities, the Thai economy & industries will suffer !!

5 hours ago, geoffbezoz said:

Unless of course caused by a driver in a BMW or Mercedes-Benz or better, in which case any potential charges will be discretionary falling in line with Thai convention and hence solely dependent upon the quality and content of the brown envelope.

only 5000-20000 baht.  laughable. in Los Angeles, first offense. license suspended, heavy fine, and consoling.  2nd offense, mandatory jail time.  no breaks for movie stars or celebs.

5 hours ago, rooster59 said:

BANGKOK, 13 April 2019 (NNT) - The deputy National Police commissioner general has warned that any motorists who might be driving drunk and caused deaths to others might be faced with intentional murder charges.

Yes, thank you. I'll keep that in mind.

Red Bull gives you wings!!

Note the error in my previous post - 'negligence' is covered in S. 291 and not 391. Apologies

 

 

 

 

Shouldn't be any 'might' about it.

I doubt it

which is completely wrong......whats the saying "not guilty until proven guilty?"

As with most countries, the police charge someone with a crime. It is then up to the courts to determine guilt or innocence.


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18 hours ago, Krataiboy said:

I'm no techie, but surely it must possible to design an built-in detector for vehicles to prevent them from being started if the driver has been drinking.

 

After all, we already have automatic smoke detectors in buildings which work pretty well. Why not alcohol "sniffers" linked to the ignition systems of cars, buses and lorries?

 

Somebody smarter than me can perhaps come up with a similar gadget for motorbike and scooter riders, who are the most at-risk group (perhaps a device in the helmet linked to the starter mechanism?).

 

Apart from the potential saving in life and limb, there's money to be made out of this worthy cause for an enterprising inventor and manufacturer.

 

We have them in Canada for DUI offenders on probation. They are very expensive and would probably be bypassed by a mechanic or by asking someone else to start the vehicule. 

 

 

A post containing a link to Bangkok Post has been removed as per forum rule 26: https://forum.thaivisa.com/terms/

 

22 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Police warn driving drunk and causing deaths might be charged with intentional murders

These emotional knee jerk threats have come about because it was a senior policeman and his wife who were unfortunately killed.

If it had been Somchai the rice farmer living out in the boons not another word world have been heard or said.

Poor old Somchai would have been just another forgotten statistic and the police couldn't have cared less.

3 hours ago, Tayaout said:

We have them in Canada for DUI offenders on probation. They are very expensive and would probably be bypassed by a mechanic or by asking someone else to start the vehicule. 

 

 

I was really talking about tamper-proof gadget which could be fitted to all cars during manufacture and legally compulsory to use. I am sure minds more scientifically-inclined than mine could come up with solutions to the inherent weaknesses of the system in the video - which must say strikes me as a bit Heath Robinson in these technically-advanced times. As for the installation cost, this would surely be far outweighed by the potential savings, not just in baht but in terms of human lives.

24 minutes ago, Krataiboy said:

I was really talking about tamper-proof gadget which could be fitted to all cars during manufacture and legally compulsory to use. I am sure minds more scientifically-inclined than mine could come up with solutions to the inherent weaknesses of the system in the video - which must say strikes me as a bit Heath Robinson in these technically-advanced times. As for the installation cost, this would surely be far outweighed by the potential savings, not just in baht but in terms of human lives.

I would start by enforcing helmet then see how that goes lol. 

What's the punishment/fine for a pick up truck operator who allows 10 of his beloved family members/friends to ride in the open back of the truck, and they are ejected and killed in a collision?

Perhaps this would help if it was suddenly made into law!

7 hours ago, Cadbury said:

These emotional knee jerk threats have come about because it was a senior policeman and his wife who were unfortunately killed.

If it had been Somchai the rice farmer living out in the boons not another word world have been heard or said.

Poor old Somchai would have been just another forgotten statistic and the police couldn't have cared less.

The first murder charges were thrown out of court.  Murder needs premeditation - how many people sit down, crack open a beer or drink a few shots of Lao Khao and think to themselves "I am going to go out on the road and kill someone!" 

10 minutes ago, Prairieboy said:

The first murder charges were thrown out of court.  Murder needs premeditation - how many people sit down, crack open a beer or drink a few shots of Lao Khao and think to themselves "I am going to go out on the road and kill someone!" 

I thought about it last night... I drove after drinking for the first time. 

 

My Father in-law fell quite unwell after dinner. I thought he may have had a stroke. 

We got him in the car and drove 500m straight to Samitivej Emergency entrance (which was quicker than calling for and waiting for an ambulance).

 

I’d had 4 classes of beer - Didn’t feel drunk but was likely over the legal limit. 

While checking my FIL for vital signs and F.A.S.T (stroke signs) I also considered how much of a risk I posed to others while driving vs the impending emergency for my father, vs how busy the roads were and how close the hospital was. 

 

I figured the risk was worth it... and drove.

 

I didn’t think ‘I’d go out on the road an kill someone”... but I did think there is a possibility of being involved in an accident because I’m a) pre-occupied with my FIL’s health and 2) After 4 beers there may be some mental impairment even if I didn’t think so... as such any accident may have been my fault and a direct cause of my having had 4 beers.

 

Fortunately, nothing happened and with hindsight the risk was worth taking. However, I’d be thinking quite differently today had a motorcycle pulled out in front of me and I didn’t stop in time or predict the daft actions of a motorcycle pulling out without looking. 

 

Attempted Murder? No... but Manslaughter - I think so, particularly if an is most cases of DUI in Thailand the only extenuating circumstance is ‘not wanting to take a taxi’....

 

I’ll put my hands up and admit I really should never have drove but circumstances forced my hand.

3 hours ago, Tayaout said:

I would start by enforcing helmet then see how that goes lol. 

Couldn't agree more in the context of Thailand, where most deaths and injuries involve riders and passengers on motorcycles. Maybe some enterprising techie could come up with a helmet with built-in alcohol detector linked to a cut-off for bikes' ignition systems.

19 minutes ago, Krataiboy said:

Couldn't agree more in the context of Thailand, where most deaths and injuries involve riders and passengers on motorcycles. Maybe some enterprising techie could come up with a helmet with built-in alcohol detector linked to a cut-off for bikes' ignition systems.

That's part of the problem here.

To many Helmets in Thailand. 

And no control over the Helmets. 

Gross negligence or involuntary manslaughter is understood the world over as the correct verdict in this type of case. It would still attract a heavy prison sentence in the appropriate circumstances. Changing the logic of the law is non-sensical  

I was really talking about tamper-proof gadget which could be fitted to all cars during manufacture and legally compulsory to use. I am sure minds more scientifically-inclined than mine could come up with solutions to the inherent weaknesses of the system in the video - which must say strikes me as a bit Heath Robinson in these technically-advanced times. As for the installation cost, this would surely be far outweighed by the potential savings, not just in baht but in terms of human lives.

A gadget such as you suggest has probably not been introduced because it is not really practical. What is to stop the drunk driver from just having someone else start their car?


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11 minutes ago, Sealbash said:

A gadget such as you suggest has probably not been introduced because it is not really practical. What is to stop the drunk driver from just having someone else start their car?


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From the video I posted it says the system do random test during drive. So you need a sober passenger with you to bypass the system. However, I know there would be a market for mechanic who would desactivate the system and no company would voluntarily sell their car at a higher price. 

6 hours ago, Sealbash said:

A gadget such as you suggest has probably not been introduced because it is not really practical. What is to stop the drunk driver from just having someone else start their car?


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A breathalyser device capable also of matching the driver's pre-recorded DNA? I can't believe this is an insurmountable problem. Maybe other posters can suggest solutions.