Kalasin: Judge needs to draft in reinforcements there are so many drunk drivers

 

Picture: Naew Na

 

Naew Na reported that a judge had to recruit some extra help because she was sent so many drunk drivers. 

 

Judge Aree Rotwattanaboon was snowed under with offenders and needed some extra staff to dispense justice after she received 100 drunks a day from December 27th to December 30th. 

 

Worse was to come. 

 

On New Year's Eve she was given 200 cases to deal with by police across many jurisdictions in the north eastern Thai province. 

 

Fortunately most of the cases - mainly men - were first time offenders.

 

Picture: Naew Na

 

These were fined 2500 to 5,000 baht depending on what vehicle they were driving or riding and how much alcohol was in their system. 

 

If their relatives couldn't pay they were put in jail. The drivers, not the relatives.

 

Naew Na said that those who had been convicted before had learned their lesson about how seriously Thailand takes drink driving.

 

(Thaivisa notes that this was reported in all seriousness). 

 

The media said that the courts had the power to jail people for a year and fine them 10,000 to 20,000 baht, ban people from driving for six months and seize their vehicles for a week. 

 

They did not explain precisely why the courts decided to show leniency except perhaps that most were first time offenders. 

 

Source: Naew Na

 

 

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3 minutes ago, webfact said:

Naew Na said that those who had been convicted before had learned their lesson about how seriously Thailand takes drink driving.

(Thaivisa notes that this was reported in all seriousness).

Interesting comment from TV there. One suspects they learned their lesson - while it was fresh in their memory.

 

6 minutes ago, webfact said:

They did not explain precisely why the courts decided to show leniency except perhaps that most were first time offenders. 

The next time they might not be listed as second time offenders, but perhaps fatalities.

First offence should be 10,000 Baht fine and licence gone fo 1 year (if they have one)

2nd....25,000 fine and vehicle crushed !

The worst accident/death rate in the world and this is how they deal with drunk drivers

 

 

I had trouble finding a MB taxi driver in Pattaya that wasn't drunk (not the first time either) and ended up walking home

 

They just don't seem to get it

 

Thailand the HUB of drunk drivers 

9 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

Interesting comment from TV there. One suspects they learned their lesson - while it was fresh in their memory.

 

The next time they might not be listed as second time offenders, but perhaps fatalities.

They can go meet their maker if they like as long as they don't wipe out any innocent people at the same time. 

26 minutes ago, webfact said:

judge had to recruit some extra help because she was sent so many drunk drivers

Makes you wonder if she was expecting less customers due to more roads deaths.

 

Maybe more drivers took notice of the sign.

 

Drive slowly when drunk. 

3 minutes ago, trainman34014 said:

First offence should be 10,000 Baht fine and licence gone fo 1 year (if they have one)

2nd....25,000 fine and vehicle crushed !

I'd agree with that.

If the media would then cover this on a regular basis, showing the vehicles being crushed:

One, it might start to hit home.

Two, it would be more difficult for the police to 'misappropriate' vehicles if it was shown live on TV being crushed.

The offender should be forced to be present and watch, thereby causing a serious loss of face.

42 minutes ago, webfact said:

Naew Na said that those who had been convicted before had learned their lesson about how seriously Thailand takes drink driving

If they've learned their lesson why they are back in court again .. 

Reality is from top to bottom Thai's don't take it seriously .. They just don't grasp the consequences of driving when under the influence ..  

Laying down the law is important, but education is crucial too. An awareness campaign has got to be launched and maintained. Easy? No. Necessary? Yes! (i.e. MAD - Mothers Against Drunk Driving)

And if they have a note on the vehicle most would stop paying because they say they no longer have the vehicle. Perhaps if they were still forced to pay for the vehicle it might have an impact...but I'm not holding my breath.

 

I won't get into the situation with the BiB letting them go if they've been only consuming beer but locking them up if drinking hard liquor.

19 minutes ago, Justgrazing said:

If they've learned their lesson why they are back in court again .. 

Reality is from top to bottom Thai's don't take it seriously .. They just don't grasp the consequences of driving when under the influence ..  

So many things wrong with webfact an hour ago . ...mainly men , first time offenders . No , first time caught. Those that had been convicted had learnt their lesson , I doubt that very much.....how seriously Thailand takes drink driving . No it doesn't. First offence , maybe a good telling off.

Could be fined 10,000B and put in jail for a year and have their vehicle confiscated for  a week.

Sawsdee pe mi khap.

I am against drunk driving however why do people have this fixation on crushing vehicles? First not everyone buys their car cash so therefore the bank owns the car and you want the police to crush the banks car, are you mad? Then there is the person who buys a 2 million baht car and his friend who has a 1,000baht scooter who are both convicted of drunk driving their vehicles crushed and you think that's justice? Now someone will smugly say "they new the risks" how pathetic that remark is. Justice should be equal. 

Those who think every offence is solved by ‘500 baht and a wai’ will be smiling at this. For many the 5000 baht fine is close to a month’s wages. Imagine that back home. 

Bizarre: depending on what vehicle they were driving . So Mercs and BMW are free from fine; " you dont know who I am!"

17 minutes ago, TEFLKrabi said:

Those who think every offence is solved by ‘500 baht and a wai’ will be smiling at this. For many the 5000 baht fine is close to a month’s wages. Imagine that back home. 

Well, you can imagine it.

In my home state an average is 5,000 USD.  Can be much more with attorney.

 

1 hour ago, Justgrazing said:

If they've learned their lesson why they are back in court again .. 

Reality is from top to bottom Thai's don't take it seriously .. They just don't grasp the consequences of driving when under the influence ..  

Yes this is why the real solution is zero tolerance everywhere.  Any trace of alcohol and you are convicted. There will be no questioning "am i drunk" and no wasted money on lawyers.

38 minutes ago, Scot123 said:

I am against drunk driving however why do people have this fixation on crushing vehicles? First not everyone buys their car cash so therefore the bank owns the car and you want the police to crush the banks car, are you mad? Then there is the person who buys a 2 million baht car and his friend who has a 1,000baht scooter who are both convicted of drunk driving their vehicles crushed and you think that's justice? Now someone will smugly say "they new the risks" how pathetic that remark is. Justice should be equal. 

Some time ago there was a process in place in the UK to link fines to income. As you can imagine this was not popular with the 'haves'. They didn't like disclosing their income to the court and, as one newspaper columnist wrote, they felt that they had somehow earned the right for penalties to be less painful to their pockets than those of the hoi-poloi.  the system was dropped!  

1 hour ago, kotsak said:

They can go meet their maker if they like as long as they don't wipe out any innocent people at the same time. 

Sadly, they do tend to take out innocent people.

And what plan did they recently have to help drivers ? Put the speed up. Lunatics !

The answer is not crushing but confiscation followed by public auction. Proceeds first go to pay off any car loan, with anything left to go 50/50 to police to fund more patrol vehicles for traffic stops and to a fund to compensate victims of drunk drivers.

3 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

First offence should be 10,000 Baht fine and licence gone fo 1 year (if they have one)

2nd....25,000 fine and vehicle crushed !

That fine and time with the loss of licencs of yours is a bit steep compared to even Australia it starts first offence $250 ( one days wages) and 3 months suspension.

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Fortunately most of the cases - mainly men - were first time offenders.

 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

These were fined 2500 to 5,000 baht depending on what vehicle they were driving or riding and how much alcohol was in their system.

 

3 hours ago, webfact said:

The media said that the courts had the power to jail people for a year and fine them 10,000 to 20,000 baht, ban people from driving for six months and seize their vehicles for a week.

No need to say anything the above is self explanatory.... 

23 minutes ago, Barry343 said:

That fine and time with the loss of licencs of yours is a bit steep compared to even Australia it starts first offence $250 ( one days wages) and 3 months suspension.

The penalty in the UK for drunk driving is a minimum 12 months disqualification, a fine of up to 5,000 quid (almost 200,000 baht) and optionally can serve 6 months in prison.

Fines in general here are far from being a deterrent. 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Fortunately most of the cases - mainly men - were first time offenders.

No, not first time offenders. First time they were issued a ticket instead of paying tea money.

1 hour ago, Barry343 said:

That fine and time with the loss of licencs of yours is a bit steep compared to even Australia it starts first offence $250 ( one days wages) and 3 months suspension.

Extreme Drunk Driving and other Mororing offences here need Extreme Measures to combat them.   The Locals know that they will get away with very low fines and no severe punishment for their wrongdoing, so will continue to offend time after time.

Quote:-

"Judge needs to draft in reinforcements" 

When I first read this, Chinese tanks and US Stryker armored cars came to mind!

In NSW Oz where the family and I now reside, the first offence for Low-Range DUI since May 2019 is automatic suspension of licence for three months plus $591 AUD fine, on the spot. A mid-range costs you $2K+ and high range $3k+. Second offence at mid or high range is a hefty fine PLUS nine months in prison or one year in prison respectively. Pubs are now a no-go thing in the bush if driving - I see the police RBT in the same spot every other day, as we live on top of a hill overlooking the highway. Drivers approaching can't see them though, until the last second. They still catch those idiots who won't change, also for drug-driving, as ganja use is rife in this area. Thai missus loves watching it - she reckons it is better than watching television. She says she feels safe here, trusts the police and will never leave - she is right. Driving is generally a pleasure. The pure clean air is a bonus.

4 hours ago, TEFLKrabi said:

Those who think every offence is solved by ‘500 baht and a wai’ will be smiling at this. For many the 5000 baht fine is close to a month’s wages. Imagine that back home. 

How much is a life worth if that drunken <deleted> heads on into someone and kills or severely injures people? Getting drunk behind the wheel is attempted murder and should be penalised the same way. Would you feel pity for someone who in drunken state killed off your entire family or put them in vegetable state for the rest of their lives and say the same? Look at the number of fatalities directly related to drunk driving in this country. Those killed and injured were someone's relatives. And they didn't deserve to get injured or killed because this nutcase didn't want to skip the bottle before sitting behind the wheel.

7 hours ago, webfact said:

show leniency

Huh... maybe yiu drink more give tips OR because of quantity 

buys shows you were giving back to the local business...

 

maybe they dont have proof readers... 2 for 2 today..

5 hours ago, sniggie said:

Some time ago there was a process in place in the UK to link fines to income. As you can imagine this was not popular with the 'haves'. They didn't like disclosing their income to the court and, as one newspaper columnist wrote, they felt that they had somehow earned the right for penalties to be less painful to their pockets than those of the hoi-poloi.  the system was dropped!  

Since when was it dropped ? The TV presenter Ant McPartlin was fined £86,000 and disqualified from driving for 20 months after admitting drink-driving, linked to his income.