Alcohol

[NoshowJones]

15 minutes ago, StreetCowboy said:

It seems road safety experts think that 0.05 mg/ml of alcohol in the blood content is an acceptable risk for the public.  Dubai has more restrictive drink driving rules, 

There are many things that I can legally do that reduce my driving alertness, but the most dangerous common misbehaviour, which is also illegal, is speeding.  By your argument, perhaps we should be strongly discouraging from routinely driving close to the speed limit as well.  It is just irresponsible when you could simply set out ten minutes, or half an hour, earlier.

There is some sense in what you are saying, I am a non drinker, but I do know that alcohol affects people in different ways, ie some people can hold their drink better than others, but common sense tells me that it is better and safer just not to drink and drive at all.

[Rimmer]

A post with an incorrect quote has been removed and the replies

[VocalNeal]

Quote

 

"Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast!"

Arnold Judas Rimmer of Jupiter Mining Corporation Ship Red Dwarf

 

A quote actually attributable to Ace Rimmer not Arnold Rimmer so misquoted ????

[richard_smith237]

21 hours ago, StreetCowboy said:

21 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Because transport is a necessity, whereas drinking and then driving yourself isn’t..... 

 

That said: given some of the comments regarding drink driving we may also need to consider an IQ test before being given permission to take to the roads. 

Private cars are not a necessity, despite what their owners pretend.
If we got rid of them, traffic would be improved immensely.  But no, people insist that forming a traffic jam is an essential necessity of modern life.

I disagree... 

 

Getting my son to School safely is a necessity. 

 

This means driving my 7 year old to school each day, he is in his child car seat, we use the express way. 

Taking the school van is not an option as the van also takes the expressway and there are no child-seats.

Taxi’s do not have car seats - not an option (and also do not lessen traffic as the journey is being taken anyway)

Grab do not have car seats - not an option (and also do not lessen traffic as the journey is being taken anyway)

 

Taking reasonable steps to ensure the safety of my family is a necessity - part of this necessity is taking safe transport. Public transport in Thailand is not safe (in that the seatbelts are often missing, no car seats etc).

 

You may not consider having a car in Thailand (or elsewhere) a necessity, I do. 

If I lived in the centre of London, Singapore etc then I would not need a car. 

 

However, in Thailand as a family, a car is very much a necessity. 

 

As far as shopping etc is concerned - yes we could get most of it delivered, and in fact do so. 

Going away on holiday, we could ‘rent a car’ - but that wouldn’t reduce the traffic on the roads, as whether we take our car or rent one, we are still in a car on the road. 

I will not take a bus as they are not safe enough and its inconvenient to take a bus to Koh Chang, Hua Hin, or Khao Yai etc compared to driving - thus driving is still a necessity if one considers taking a weekend break a necessity. 

 

IF one doesn’t consider taking a weekend break a necessity, the they’d have to agree that staying inside their apartment and never going out acceptable - as we could in fact live our lives and never leave our homes as its not absolutely necessary to leave. 

 

 

 

 

 

[StreetCowboy]

3 hours ago, possum1931 said:

There is some sense in what you are saying, I am a non drinker, but I do know that alcohol affects people in different ways, ie some people can hold their drink better than others, but common sense tells me that it is better and safer just not to drink and drive at all.

And to drive within the speed limit.  And not drive when you are tired; concentrate on your driving and not talking to your passengers.  People who are serious about their driving wear a helmet, and a flame-proof suit

[StreetCowboy]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

I disagree... 

 

Getting my son to School safely is a necessity. 

 

This means driving my 7 year old to school each day, he is in his child car seat, we use the express way. 

Taking the school van is not an option as the van also takes the expressway and there are no child-seats.

Taxi’s do not have car seats - not an option (and also do not lessen traffic as the journey is being taken anyway)

Grab do not have car seats - not an option (and also do not lessen traffic as the journey is being taken anyway)

 

Taking reasonable steps to ensure the safety of my family is a necessity - part of this necessity is taking safe transport. Public transport in Thailand is not safe (in that the seatbelts are often missing, no car seats etc).

 

You may not consider having a car in Thailand (or elsewhere) a necessity, I do. 

If I lived in the centre of London, Singapore etc then I would not need a car. 

 

However, in Thailand as a family, a car is very much a necessity. 

 

As far as shopping etc is concerned - yes we could get most of it delivered, and in fact do so. 

Going away on holiday, we could ‘rent a car’ - but that wouldn’t reduce the traffic on the roads, as whether we take our car or rent one, we are still in a car on the road. 

I will not take a bus as they are not safe enough and its inconvenient to take a bus to Koh Chang, Hua Hin, or Khao Yai etc compared to driving - thus driving is still a necessity if one considers taking a weekend break a necessity. 

 

IF one doesn’t consider taking a weekend break a necessity, the they’d have to agree that staying inside their apartment and never going out acceptable - as we could in fact live our lives and never leave our homes as its not absolutely necessary to leave. 

 

 

 

 

 

Keep telling yourself, but don’t complain about the traffic jams you form.

[richard_smith237]

17 minutes ago, StreetCowboy said:

Keep telling yourself, but don’t complain about the traffic jams you form.

If I take a taxi does that create more or less of a traffic jam ???? 

[Answer - its more, because after I get to my destination, the taxi is still driving around empty looking for a fair] 

 

Or are you expecting me to take a public bus in Bangkok ??? 

[Answer to that - no way, non AC, fumes - horrific]

 

Not everyone lives on the skytrain route or their destination is on the sky train route. 

[Answer - accommodation is lot more expensive on the sky-train]

 

 

I have a motorcycle to get myself about when I need to avoid traffic. 

 

---------

 

Question: Do you sit at home and never leave your apartment / house ?

Have 100% of your food delivered ?

Never go to a restaurant ? - if you want to discuss necessity, you don’t need to go to a restaurant and add to the traffic congestion, just get your food delivered. 

 

 

---------

 

StreetCowboy - What you have done is project the efficiencies of an efficient and convenient public transport system in a fully developed major city into a city such as Bangkok with a very poor public transport system which is very difficult to use. 

 

Note: As I mentioned, if you think Taxi’s lessen congestion in Bangkok that is not so. There are far more empty taxi’s roaming the streets than are needed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[StreetCowboy]

8 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

If I take a taxi does that create more or less of a traffic jam ???? 

[Answer - its more, because after I get to my destination, the taxi is still driving around empty looking for a fair] 

 

Or are you expecting me to take a public bus in Bangkok ??? 

[Answer to that - no way, non AC, fumes - horrific]

 

Not everyone lives on the skytrain route or their destination is on the sky train route. 

[Answer - accommodation is lot more expensive on the sky-train]

 

 

I have a motorcycle to get myself about when I need to avoid traffic. 

 

---------

 

Question: Do you sit at home and never leave your apartment / house ?

Have 100% of your food delivered ?

Never go to a restaurant ? - if you want to discuss necessity, you don’t need to go to a restaurant and add to the traffic congestion, just get your food delivered. 

 

 

---------

 

StreetCowboy - What you have done is project the efficiencies of an efficient and convenient public transport system in a fully developed major city into a city such as Bangkok with a very poor public transport system which is very difficult to use. 

 

Note: As I mentioned, if you think Taxi’s lessen congestion in Bangkok that is not so. There are far more empty taxi’s roaming the streets than are needed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bangkok has a great public transport system, and getting better all the time.  If you prefer not to live close to it, then that is a choice made practical by cheap private transport, but don’t complain about the traffic jams you cause.  We were lucky that we had a choice where to live, so the kids walked to school or took a short taxi journey, and I took a taxi to the station or to work.  I never complained about traffic, because there are choices, and if you don’t like it, you don’t need to cause it. Lorry drivers, bus drivers, pedestrians, have grounds for complaint, but not people in cars who have legs.

[sambum]

11 hours ago, pokerface1 said:

Might I boldly suggest they want to reduce the road toll by having less druck drives on the road.

This could be because there are a lot fewer hospital beds available due to covid 19. 

"Druck drives"?

[sambum]

5 hours ago, StreetCowboy said:

It seems road safety experts think that 0.05 mg/ml of alcohol in the blood content is an acceptable risk for the public.  Dubai has more restrictive drink driving rules, 

There are many things that I can legally do that reduce my driving alertness, but the most dangerous common misbehaviour, which is also illegal, is speeding.  By your argument, perhaps we should be strongly discouraging from routinely driving close to the speed limit as well.  It is just irresponsible when you could simply set out ten minutes, or half an hour, earlier.

I entirely agree with your comment re speeding, which is why I was amazed when, in a country with one of the worst records in the world for road fatalities decided to INCREASE the speed limit on some major roads! Still - TIT! 

[sambum]

3 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

A quote actually attributable to Ace Rimmer not Arnold Rimmer so misquoted ????

Pedantic! This has exactly what relevance to the post?  

[RocketDog]

On 9/23/2021 at 8:09 PM, zzaa09 said:

Alcohol is presently available. 

Just have to know where to go.

Can make 'wine' from grape (and other) juices in a few days. But everybody knows how easy it is to obtain alcohol anywhere/any time.

[richard_smith237]

3 hours ago, StreetCowboy said:

4 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

If I take a taxi does that create more or less of a traffic jam ???? 

[Answer - its more, because after I get to my destination, the taxi is still driving around empty looking for a fair] 

 

Or are you expecting me to take a public bus in Bangkok ??? 

[Answer to that - no way, non AC, fumes - horrific]

 

Not everyone lives on the skytrain route or their destination is on the sky train route. 

[Answer - accommodation is lot more expensive on the sky-train]

 

 

I have a motorcycle to get myself about when I need to avoid traffic. 

 

---------

 

Question: Do you sit at home and never leave your apartment / house ?

Have 100% of your food delivered ?

Never go to a restaurant ? - if you want to discuss necessity, you don’t need to go to a restaurant and add to the traffic congestion, just get your food delivered. 

 

 

---------

 

StreetCowboy - What you have done is project the efficiencies of an efficient and convenient public transport system in a fully developed major city into a city such as Bangkok with a very poor public transport system which is very difficult to use. 

 

Note: As I mentioned, if you think Taxi’s lessen congestion in Bangkok that is not so. There are far more empty taxi’s roaming the streets than are needed. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Expand  

Bangkok has a great public transport system, and getting better all the time.  If you prefer not to live close to it, then that is a choice made practical by cheap private transport, but don’t complain about the traffic jams you cause.  We were lucky that we had a choice where to live, so the kids walked to school or took a short taxi journey, and I took a taxi to the station or to work.  I never complained about traffic, because there are choices, and if you don’t like it, you don’t need to cause it. Lorry drivers, bus drivers, pedestrians, have grounds for complaint, but not people in cars who have legs.

No it doesn’t - Bangkoks public transport system is atrocious - we’ll just have to disagree there. 

Non-AC busses, belching out smoke... Taxi’s with no seatbelts in the back.

The BTS and MRT are excellent for areas of the city they serve (you would argue moving closer to a station - not really a strong argument). 

 

You seem to be of the misconception that I have complained about the traffic in Bangkok - the reason I prefer a car is that in most cases, even in Bangkok it gets me from my home to my destination quicker than taking a taxi to the sky train, using the sky train, then getting another taxi to my destination. 

 

My Son’s school is 15km away, it takes 20-30 mins to drive there. We don’t want to live in that area and accept that we can travel there and back easily with a car and far more quickly than public transport would ever allow (I’m not going to put a 7 year old in a school van). 

 

That said, IF our destination is on the Sky-train route, we will often drive to Gateway or EmQuartier, park up there and use the Sky-train.... That does not add any vehicular footprint to Bangkok because we still need a car to get to the sky train station (taxi or personal car). 

 

By the way, you seem to be of the misconception that I have complained about the traffic on this thread. I probably have on other threads !!!  The traffic in many cities in Thailand is extremely congested - the vast majority of this is caused by poor road network, poor planning, poor traffic management, poor traffic light timing etc. way too many taxi’s, which park up outside the sky train stations and other areas blocking traffic... 

 

Of course, the numbers of vehicles does add to the traffic congestion, but it's not the primary cause. 

 

But, I’ll still go back to the original disagreement - I consider owning a car in Thailand an absolute necessity, living in Bangkok would be unbearable without. 

 

“A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It’s where the rich use public transportation” – Gustavo Petro, Mayor of Bogotá.... 

....... Thailands public transport system is just not good enough yet. 

 

 

 

 

 

[StreetCowboy]

4 hours ago, sambum said:

Pedantic! This has exactly what relevance to the post?  

I had a post deleted for discussing misquotations - tread carefully, my friend

[sambum]

1 hour ago, StreetCowboy said:

I had a post deleted for discussing misquotations - tread carefully, my friend

Really? I am surprised - If you misquoted something I can understand it!

[edwarda909]

Yes, why do they need to ban alcohol in schools?

[sambum]

16 hours ago, edwarda909 said:

Yes, why do they need to ban alcohol in schools?

Are you implying that Thai people are uneducated?

[KannikaP]

On 9/24/2021 at 8:34 AM, ikke1959 said:

No drinking and driving....... If some one wants to drink he/she should not drive

OR, if someone wants to DRIVE they should not DRINK. Which one?

Which one does Heineken show at the Grand Prix...I forget. 

[Spock]

On 9/24/2021 at 4:56 PM, Russell17au said:

It took time but now in Australia if you are caught eating or drinking anything whilst you are actually driving a vehicle you are put off the road and get a hefty fine as well, because whilst eating and drinking when actually driving you do not have full control of the vehicle that you are driving, thus even drinking hot coffee and you have to hit the brakes in an emergency and that hot coffee spills in your lap and causes a split second reaction by you that has now cost the lives of an innocent father, mother and 2 young children aged 5 and 8 years

As an Australian citizen stuck in the safety cocoon in which this country envelops its citizens, I would happily be in any other country which doesn't prevent its own citizens travelling OS, or boasts the longest locked down city, the most punitive traffic fines available and the most restrictive speed limits in the world. You may value the priority placed on attempting to ensure that people's safety is the only priority in life worth pursuing, but the flip side is a dull and bland society which is currently revealing to discerning citizens just how an obsession with safety to the detriment of anything else can be stultifyingly boring and restrictive.