19 hours ago, koratkarlos said:

Today was the first time I have seen road block inspections in my neighborhood (Doi Saket, east of Chiang Mai).  It looked like a show to me.  Every day I drive here in Thailand I get angry.  There are two things I hate the most; 1) how close they tailgate you when you are not driving fast enough and 2) how the people do not yield, slow down or steer towards their side of the road when the road narrows and they are coming from the opposite direction.

 

Anger every day.  I think this annoucement is rhetoric.  Enforcement and education are needed.

You cannot educate people with very little brain power, and that is a large majority of the Thai people.

19 hours ago, Asquith Production said:

Exactly. If I was a politician would I get into power by announcing we are going to create massive fines and crush your vehicles if you dont comply with our rules

No, but if you become a general and get other generals to back you up, you make all the rules you want, and have all the power you want.

This is what happens in the Banana Republic of Thailand.

If the government had any balls they would have banned the sale of Alcohol for the entirety of this pandemic.

7 minutes ago, Broken Record said:

If the government had any balls they would have banned the sale of Alcohol for the entirety of this pandemic.

Why? Do you think the natives would have conformed to that ban? Like most laws in Thailand, no chance.

20 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

Ohh the poor isaan farmer cannot pay a fine, go soft on them then.......

 

This is why the country is <deleted>.

 

Pay the fines or go to jail.

 

Not rocket science.

Fact. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. This is about people's lives, something which doesn't seem to matter here with the, "When it's my turn I can't do anything about it". That doesn't mean you drive haphazardly because if it's your time, you'll die anyway. A normal attitude should be, I'm not going to do anything that will jeopardize mine or other's lives because it can shorten our lives. You hit their wallets, they'll learn, period. Yes, most here are poor, but that  isn't an excuse to drive blindly. Just for the hell of it, the other day I counted how many definite infractions I saw that would warrant a ticket in the US, on a trip on a rural road from my village to a larger city. Of course I couldn't tell if anyone had a license or was driving impaired, but I counted 54 violations in a 30 km stretch, before I hit the bigger town. No helmets, passing on a double line, passing on the right, speeding, cutting others off, 3 to 5 on a scooter, underage drivers on scooters, weaving in and out of traffic, following too closely , and driving too slow. I've seen many people who drive right on the line, under the speed limit, and won't pull over to the left to let you pass, which is both illegal and inconsiderate. Like others have said, I don't see many using their mirrors for anything besides makeup. Tough laws, fines, a harder driving test, police who police infractions and not letting anyone get away with having children both driving scooters and not wearing helmets will save countless lives here. A changed government will do this.

1 hour ago, Broken Record said:

Nearly every Farang I know who has a motorcycle or car and drinks Alcohol, drinks and drives, they would think twice about it in their own countries, but in Thailand nearly all do it.

 

Yeah yeah, I know ThaiVisa members are different.......right.

 

Well, here's hoping you "urge" them not to !

What about the rest of the year dont that matter the answer is dont drink and drive at all.

On 12/30/2021 at 8:38 AM, jacko45k said:

If that is the case, well they should treat the privilege of being permitted to drive a little more seriously. Strong punishment is the way forward...along with education. Simply because they are poor is not reason to allow them to drive around drunk killing people!

Hm,...A Fortuner driver is not considered "Poor" !!! It's the Same for a Drunk Fortuner driver !!!

On 12/30/2021 at 5:52 AM, Swampy999 said:

Ohhhhhh yes they would.

Agree, and confiscating bikes would work also. I only mention bikes because the majority of accidents during the 7 dangerous days are motorcycle riders.

8 hours ago, off road pat said:

Hm,...A Fortuner driver is not considered "Poor" !!! It's the Same for a Drunk Fortuner driver !!!

I did not mention Fortuna....  in the post you quoted.

Every year we see the same headlines nothing changes, What about the rest of the year?

Well I am proud to say that Mrs. baboon did not drink and drive. No. She just put a dud firework on the ground next to me. It was then when it went off.

You have never seen an aging, slow, overweight man move so fast as my legs were being peppered with ordinance.

 

'Against stupidity the gods themselves fail to contend'....

I've often wondered how much, if any of the law  the police learn in their training.. i know for a fact a Thai national can buy their  way into the Thai police, so is any training necessary once the money has been handed over

I've often wondered how much, if any of the law  the police learn in their training.. i know for a fact a Thai national can buy their  way into the Thai police, so is any training necessary once the money has been handed over

Asking a Thai or expat to not drink and drive. is like asking all to not eat rice.

  Thailand will not change much in the next 100 years, we all know this, even the Thais,

that is the sad truth.

On 12/30/2021 at 2:33 PM, Asquith Production said:

Fines they would not be able to pay. Vehicles being crushed is not on as most need to use their vehicle for work and a lot are on credit so the driver will not be the owner until its paid off. 

 

The Government have no wish to implement harsh punishment because it will upset the majority of Thai people and not exactly a vote winner, plus do you see Thais marching on Parliament demanding tougher action on drink drivers?, Its only foreigners who see the devastation because it would be unacceptable in their countries. I believe the accidents are accepted by the Thai government and general public as part of life.

In the U.K. when I started driving/riding over 50 years ago, there was a general cultural acceptance of drink/driving, and little enforcement unless there was a collision/injury. 
 

But the rising tragedy of deaths caused by more and more drink/driving, no seat belts, no helmet laws, unsafe vehicle design forced the Government into action with the breathalyser law etc and it gradually changed by publicity, education and enforcement from acceptance of drink/driving to disgust and cultural change, with harsh penalties from the courts and the insurance companies who heavily penalise convicted drink/drivers.

 

In Thailand I think there are several barriers to following this model. No enforcement, cultural acceptance of death, no education, no training, no sanctions by insurance companies, derisory sentences, corruption, and as mentioned above, it’s a vote loser.  Expect next year to be as bad if not worse than this year.

Well that all came to nothing, more drinking arrests than ever before