No second chance: Thais in favor of stiffer sentences for DUI - throw repeat offenders in jail says poll

[webfact]

Picture: Naew Na

Details of a poll conducted by Suan Dusit were a central feature of a forum on drink driving, accidents and punishment at the Mandarin Hotel in Bangkok. 

Thanapong Jinnawong of a road safety group said the poll of 2,152 people in February revealed that more than half of all Thais - 56.37% - had found themselves in a drink driving situation of one kind or another. 

Nearly all the population - 93.96% were in favor of stiffer DUI penalties for repeat offenders. 

And 87.45% thought those caught a second time should be jailed with no suspension of sentence. 

The meeting heard that it was high time for the government and the Thai public to work together to change societal attitudes to drink driving. 

Dr Thaejing Siriphanich of the anti-drink driving group said the abuse of alcohol caused accidents and arguments and it was time Thais realised its danger.

Participants at the forum also expressed the view that traders selling alcohol should play a part in helping to stop DUI. 

Figures were given for the number of people caught at last year's Songkran/April period that were just 550 compared to the 2019 number of 17,584.

Naew Na reported the huge reduction was because Thailand was under curfew, alcohol was banned and the pubs were shut.

But Rungarun Limlahaphan representing a health promotion group said that though the figures were skewed by the pandemic it showed what could be done when there was enforcement. 

Calls were made for enforcement from the police and a societal shift when it came to DUI for the benefit of the country. 

 

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[darksidedog]

4 minutes ago, webfact said:

Nearly all the population - 93.96% were in favor of stiffer DUI penalties for repeat offenders. 

It kills countless lives every year, though hopefully people have finally woken up to the fact. Such a cultural shift will take time, but much harsher penalties will definitely speed the process up.

[colinneil]

6 minutes ago, webfact said:

Calls were made for enforcement from the police

That will never happen, enforcement, joke of the year, only enforcement by plod is the enforcement of the brown envelope.

[mtls2005]

Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya is sweating, NOT.

 

[keith101]

They should have flipped the photo to make it more relevant to here . 

[meechai]

Would be nice if they could at least start with arresting the drunks that have killed & dragged dead police bodies down the street

Looking at you red bull heir Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya ????

[Dmaxdan]

13 minutes ago, webfact said:

Nearly all the population - 93.96% were in favor of stiffer DUI penalties for repeat offenders. 

That would suggest that only 6.04% regularly drink and drive.....yeah, rignt!!!  

[Forza2002]

Selective enforcement by the police. Criteria is dependent upon who you know and how much money you have in your ATM account...

[Surelynot]

3 minutes ago, meechai said:

Would be nice if they could at least start with arresting the drunks that have killed & dragged dead police bodies down the street

Looking at you red bull heir Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya ????

Last police report I read said

• he was driving very slowly 
• it was the medication he was taking that gave a false result for drugs/alcohol
• it was the policeman's fault for swerving from the inside to the outside lane
• and....didn't the butler do it anyway?

Seems he is being very hard done to.

[ThailandRyan]

Time they actually started stopping vehicles by doing in-view patrols and after observing the driving pattern, stopping said vehicle, be it a car, motorbike, or truck, talking to the driver and then determining first observations after the stop of any signs and symptoms of intoxication, give them some field sobriety tests and then get a breath test afterwards,  Arrest them, impound the vehicle and have a court trial.  Suspend the license and then ensure the vehicle is not released until the suspension of the license is up making the driver pay the impound fee.  For repeat offenders, mandatory jail time, and vehicle seizure and sale with proceeds going to assist in paying the costs of the courts.  But then TIT and even the police drive or ride intoxicated.

[Surelynot]

1 minute ago, ThailandRyan said:

Time they actually started stopping vehicles by doing in-view patrols and after observing the driving pattern, stopping said vehicle, be it a car, motorbike, or truck, talking to the driver and then determining first observations after the stop of any signs and symptoms of intoxication, give them some field sobriety tests and then get a breath test afterwards,  Arrest them, impound the vehicle and have a court trial.  Suspend the license and then ensure the vehicle is not released until the suspension of the license is up making the driver pay the impound fee.  For repeat offenders, mandatory jail time, and vehicle seizure and sale with proceeds going to assist in paying the costs of the courts.  But then TIT and even the police drive or ride intoxicated.

That is an awful lot of effort......555

[PatOngo]

Knowing just how highly disciplined the population is, I'm sure this will be implemented without question! ????

 

 

Edited March 17, 2021 by PatOngo

[ThailandRyan]

4 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

That is an awful lot of effort......555

I know, crazy to think it works elsewhere.  I would be even willing to try and teach them once again like we tried back in 2010, but they just seem intent on their checkpoints only and never being out and about during the late night hours stopping the errant and impaired riders/drivers..  Of course how to do it in the small villages and towns is another issue.

[Surelynot]

The real effort has to go into education...preventative measures......it is no good throwing someone into jail for 10 years.......and at the same time burying a family of five and saying job done...........'we' need to prevent drink-driving.

[KannikaP]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

more than half of all Thais - 56.37% - had found themselves in a drink driving situation of one kind or another. 

Excluding younger ones up to say 15, those over 80 who should not be driving, what percentage is left.........about 60%.? So ALL those say that they have been found in a drink driving situation.

Or does it count if the driver is bladdered so the 20 other people in his pick-up would then be classed as involved when picked up by the BIB.

[PatOngo]

6 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

The real effort has to go into education

Already one of the highest budgeted ministries there is and where has that lead so far???

[KannikaP]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

the poll of 2,152 people in February revealed that more than half of all Thais

Meaning 2152 represent 66 million?

[worgeordie]

I remember years ago,they were having a vote in Parliament on stiffer

penalties for DUI , one MP was quoted as saying "I am not going to vote

for that, as I drink and drive"........it did not pass.

regards Worgeordie

 

 

[Kaopad999]

There are just NO excuses to drink drive in Thailand. taxis and public transportation are extremely affordable to go from point A to point B 
Drink driving causes countless road deaths resulting in innocent people being killed on a daily basis. 
It's nothing more than pure selfishness and should be treated as manslaughter.  A Minimum of 20 years in the slammer for each  innocent person killed due to drink driving.

[2 is 1]

4 hours ago, Forza2002 said:

Selective enforcement by the police. Criteria is dependent upon who you know and how much money you have in your ATM account...

Sad point is, you give 500 bth to police and they say "godspeed"! Dosent matter how drunk you are.

[RichardColeman]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Nearly all the population - 93.96% were in favor of stiffer DUI penalties for repeat offenders. 

I think 6% of government officials in the poll is quite high

[chang1]

3 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Time they actually started stopping vehicles by doing in-view patrols and after observing the driving pattern, stopping said vehicle, be it a car, motorbike, or truck, talking to the driver and then determining first observations after the stop of any signs and symptoms of intoxication, give them some field sobriety tests and then get a breath test afterwards,  Arrest them, impound the vehicle and have a court trial.  Suspend the license and then ensure the vehicle is not released until the suspension of the license is up making the driver pay the impound fee.  For repeat offenders, mandatory jail time, and vehicle seizure and sale with proceeds going to assist in paying the costs of the courts.  But then TIT and even the police drive or ride intoxicated.

Why waste time with pointless degrading sobriety tests?  In the UK we just get breath tested even with very little evidence of being over the limit. I have been stopped and tested even without having had a single drink,  just driving at night. It takes a couple of minutes and gives a go or no go result. If over the limit you are taken for a more accurate test. This has worked fine for decades.

 

[chang1]

18 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

I think 6% of government officials in the poll is quite high

Poles can say whatever the people who pay for them want - just pole the "correct" people. 

[natway09]

As stated many times mufti cops on the road would fill the prisons on the first day

Then what ?

They really do not want to enforce DD

[StevieAus]

4 hours ago, Surelynot said:

That is an awful lot of effort......555

Some of it sounds like what they do in the US.

In Australia or certainly Sydney ( NSW) they have random breath testing at various times of the day/ night.

Motorists are pulled over and tested you don’t have to have committed any offense.

[Surelynot]

1 minute ago, StevieAus said:

Some of it sounds like what they do in the US.

In Australia or certainly Sydney ( NSW) they have random breath testing at various times of the day/ night.

Motorists are pulled over and tested you don’t have to have committed any offense.

Personally.......all for it....happy for any DD to be caught and have the book thrown at them.

1 minute ago, StevieAus said:

 

 

[StevieAus]

2 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

Personally.......all for it....happy for any DD to be caught and have the book thrown at them.

 

So would I didn’t do it in Australia and don’t do it here.

[bermondburi]

I've been caught twice in Thailand, and both times bribed my way out of it. Until that possibility is gone nothing will change really. 

Like many things in Thailand it's saying the right thing outwardly but continuing in the same vein and nothing really changes. 

[Surelynot]

4 minutes ago, StevieAus said:

So would I didn’t do it in Australia and don’t do it here.

Been on these threads (sometime ago) and seen people commenting that they regularly DUI........and think nothing of it!!!!!"

[StevieAus]

4 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

Been on these threads (sometime ago) and seen people commenting that they regularly DUI........and think nothing of it!!!!!"

Happens in other countries as well saw some figures from the UK a while back although it seems taking drugs and driving has overtaken alcohol.

Apart from moral issues in my book, certainly in Australia you would have to be crazy, apart from the fines and driving ban your insurance is loaded the next year and if you have an accident your insurance is void.

If you kill or seriously injure somebody likely to serve prison time.