Drink, Drank, Drunk, Drive - Go To Jail

[photojourn]

Drinking and driving is now probably more unacceptable than selling some certain so-called soft or recreational drugs in many countries and in Thailand a similar stance appears to be being taken.

At 3am Saturday morning (26/9/08) the Chiang Mai BIB were out in force along with one of the local rescue mobs with a well set up RBT station set up in front of Tapae Gate. Anyone who had been drinking was told to puff in the machine and those over the limit were processed on the stop before being loaded into thee big brawler van that I've often seen on the streets at night but never new its purpose.

Foreigners and Thais were all treated equally. Pay up Bt10,000 deposit to ensure your appearance at court the next day or spend the night in the cells - though I must admit I'm not sure thee courts operate on a Saturday.

Before the cynics jump in and suggest some "tea money" might have helped defuse the situation I'll add I spent a reasonable amount of time watching the proceedings and no one who blew over the limit (whatever that is) was able to walk away.

Equally so no one had the necessary amount of cash to avoid being handcuffed and placed in the truck either.

By the end of the mornings operation there was a few luxury cars among the many motorbikes parked from those who had been nabbed.

Like the Australian TV ads say. Drink, drive, bloody idiot. Either that or make sure you have plenty of cash as passports and other documents are not accepted as security for ensuring your appearance at court.

I believe the fine is in the order of Bt3,000 but don't know if it depends on the reading or if licence cancellation is also part of the penalty. Perhaps someone else knows more on this score.

Oh, for those who think they can just drive through the check-point - don't try it. The BIB were very quick at putting safety cones in the way of those who tried.

[StevieH]

there were about twenty or more police stationed on the north-west corner of the moat last night around 11pm to catch people coming around from sripom and heading towards huay kaew. i didn't get pulled as i was wearing my lid and hadn't really been drinking, but it still puts the jeebies up you seeing so many in one place and not giving people the drive-through free pass that they used to.

so is this part of a general crackdown on drinkdriving or is it an end-of-month revenue generation exercise?

[lazeeboy]

lets hope it catches on all over thailand

[photojourn]

there were about twenty or more police stationed on the north-west corner of the moat last night around 11pm to catch people coming around from sripom and heading towards huay kaew. i didn't get pulled as i was wearing my lid and hadn't really been drinking, but it still puts the jeebies up you seeing so many in one place and not giving people the drive-through free pass that they used to.

so is this part of a general crackdown on drinkdriving or is it an end-of-month revenue generation exercise?

At night time they're not worried about your helmet.

But I'm curious to know what makes you think you should be entitled to a drive-through free pass?

On the same basis that some TV members feel there should be a special immigration desk at the airports for expats and retirees?

[StevieH]

At night time they're not worried about your helmet.

But I'm curious to know what makes you think you should be entitled to a drive-through free pass?

On the same basis that some TV members feel there should be a special immigration desk at the airports for expats and retirees?

i don't think it's an entitlement at all, i've only been in CM for a few months and just found it strange that all the times i've seen these late-night checkpoints i've never been pulled while many thais have been. i've always just been waved through. maybe i just have an innocent face.

and given the number of drinkdrivers around at night i'd have thought it more necessary for people to wear their helmets to be honest.

[bergen]

Bibs might have a good catch if they set up a checkpoint near Tuskers at the next TV pissup?

[sylviex]

lets hope it catches on all over thailand

Indeed.

It would be interesting to know where the pressure's coming from -- local or national.

[jumbo]

Anyone who had been drinking was told to puff in the machine and those over the limit were processed

How did they establish that or did they just ask??

[StevieH]

How did they establish that or did they just ask??

smell your breath i guess.

[photojourn]

How did they establish that or did they just ask??

smell your breath i guess.

That. As well as the glassy-eyed stares, disheveled appearances of drivers/riders and the difficulty some had in negotiating the bright orange, reflto taped safety cones is probably a good indication.

Though for one hapless tourist who was speeding home for a night of passion with a newly found friend, the fact that he had trouble negotiating the cones and failed to put any feet on the ground when he stopped his motorbike, resulting in rider, passenger and bike falling on top of several BIB, was also a pretty good indication I think - last seen being escorted into the back of the big black truck with some shiny new bracelets while his companion staggered back up the road after telling him "don't worry, I'll go back and tell everyone at Spicy."

[StevieH]

haha. jesus, lesson learned you'd hope.

after we'd passed the checkpoint last night and taken the first u-turn to head back up to huay kaew, the big toyota thing in front of us, that'd also been stopped, ramped the curb of the u-turn quite spectacularly and was lucky he didn't drive into the moat. was bizarre, how he got through the DUI checkpoint i've no idea.

[Artey]

I remember seeing them in the exact same place, about a month ago, at around 3am too, i didn't have a helmet and neither did my farang friend on another bike, we slowed down, but they just looked at us and let us pass. Good thing too, as we had both consumed a few beverages. I had no idea they had RBT outside of BKK, better avoid that part of the moat at the end of the months.

[Mestizo]

I remember seeing them in the exact same place, about a month ago, at around 3am too, i didn't have a helmet and neither did my farang friend on another bike, we slowed down, but they just looked at us and let us pass. Good thing too, as we had both consumed a few beverages. I had no idea they had RBT outside of BKK, better avoid that part of the moat at the end of the months.

I also have had similar experiences at the Tae Pae checkpoint. Been waved through about 3 times now. Everytime on my way home from Spicy and without a doubt, well over the legal limit.

Two times have been helmetless. One time I blantantly swung in to 7-11 to grab a bottle of water and put on my helmet. Each time I resign myself that I am busted and its time to face the music, but they always, to my utter disbelief, they just wave me thru! (I know, I know, someday I need to learn my lesson)

I have noticed that they setup somewhere after 2am and finish up sometime between 4:30 and 5. So, if you stay in Spicy until closing, you will miss them.. (At least that's the excuse I use when I stay out too late!)

-Mestizo

[PeaceBlondie]

I come from a big place where we have funny road signs, such as "LITTERING IS unAWFUL" and "Don't Mess with Texas." One of the more common signs says, Drunk Driving - You Can't Afford It."

[imaneggspurt]

I think you are all missing the point, laws in thailand arent made as not to be broken, only a form of revenue collection,if you dont beleive me go and get caught 4 times or more in a day for speeding, you wont get a ban ,you will be releived of some dough, i prefer the thai way,im not condoning drink driving,however the police dont take it personal and you can pay up and be on your way, they have cottoned on that a big fine can be had for DWI ,why not,.

[Priceless]

I think you are all missing the point, laws in thailand arent made as not to be broken, only a form of revenue collection,if you dont beleive me go and get caught 4 times or more in a day for speeding, you wont get a ban ,you will be releived of some dough, i prefer the thai way,im not condoning drink driving,however the police dont take it personal and you can pay up and be on your way, they have cottoned on that a big fine can be had for DWI ,why not,.

I come from Sweden, a place where being caught while DUI will probably end you up in jail. (BTW, there's a fairly high probability that you will get caught, too.)

Sweden has about 420-440 traffic fatalities each year, on a population of ~9 million. Thailand has approximately 7 times as many people and would, with the same relative frequency, have about 3,000 fatalities per year. In reality, the number is somewhere in the region of 15,000! There are obviously many reasons for this, such as more "unprotected" drivers on motosais, worse roads, poor/non-existent driver's education, lack of snow and ice on the roads and so on. I can however not escape the suspicion that DUI may be the cause of up to half of the "excess" deaths, which would be some 6,000 unnecessary deaths per year!

How much would a taxi home from the bar cost you?

/ Priceless

[StevieH]

I think you are all missing the point, laws in thailand arent made as not to be broken, only a form of revenue collection,if you dont beleive me go and get caught 4 times or more in a day for speeding, you wont get a ban ,you will be releived of some dough, i prefer the thai way,im not condoning drink driving,however the police dont take it personal and you can pay up and be on your way, they have cottoned on that a big fine can be had for DWI ,why not,.

i have no problem with police enforcing drinkdriving laws and catching people, as every one of us knows that you just shouldn't do it. if they're doing out of a concern for public safety and to try to reduce the number of road deaths, great, more power to them. if they're doing it as an end of month revenue generator and to boost the arrest stats then shame on them.

[Priceless]

I think you are all missing the point, laws in thailand arent made as not to be broken, only a form of revenue collection,if you dont beleive me go and get caught 4 times or more in a day for speeding, you wont get a ban ,you will be releived of some dough, i prefer the thai way,im not condoning drink driving,however the police dont take it personal and you can pay up and be on your way, they have cottoned on that a big fine can be had for DWI ,why not,.

i have no problem with police enforcing drinkdriving laws and catching people, as every one of us knows that you just shouldn't do it. if they're doing out of a concern for public safety and to try to reduce the number of road deaths, great, more power to them. if they're doing it as an end of month revenue generator and to boost the arrest stats then shame on them.

I am not one to ever condone police corruption! However, if it happens to have the unintended effect of yearly saving a few thousand lives, I think that is a happy coincidence.

/ Priceless

[ollylama]

This is incredibly un-PC to say, but being able to drive drunk is one of the things I find most pleasurable about Thailand. Being able to tie one on and not having to worry about getting busted is a real plus.

I always drive extra carefully when under the influence though. No, seriously. I never drive the wrong way down a street or have more than two other passengers on my bike if I'm totally wasted. And I normally don't talk on my mobile while doing so.

This of course is not true for the principal subset of the population which I believe suffer the most casualties as a result of drunk driving - young Thai males. The insanely cavalier way in which some of them drive even when not drunk is in my opinion more of a hazard than merely drinking, and put together spells serious trouble. Plus, as with most young folks, they don't know how to handle their liquor as well as us more mature folk.

Therefore, I propose that the police only stop young Thai males at the checkpoints and let us older farang sail through scot free. It would certainly be more efficient.

Oops, think I just trod over the acceptable PC line. Must not drink and type.

[photojourn]

Some photos of the ability of extra careful drunk drivers in being able to control their vehicles. Enuff said.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

How much would a taxi home from the bar cost you?

About 200-300 baht at that hour as a wild guess. So it'd actually be cheaper to grab a cheapo guesthouse room.. Which might be a good thing for other reasons as well.

But anyway, if I read all this correctly they keep the vehicles for the night at least right? So they can only do checkpoints at places where they can keep a bunch of cars without having to pile them up.. Like Thapae Gate. There's not THAT many other locations where they could do this. Possibly the Duang Tawan intersection is another candidate. Three Kings monument of course, but not many people pass there. So that's about it I guess?

( BTW it wouldn't be the first time I knocked over a bunch of traffic cones at a police checkpoint and just kept going. My truck loves traffic cones as a late night snack. )

[ollylama]

Is enuff really said, though, in this case?

Of course, I'm not advocating drunk driving, and I'm of course being intentionally flip to boot, but I highly doubt that anyone who drives into the moat, unless they're absolutely blotto, is driving carefully.

However, I admit that the problem is one of personal responsibility. With no immediate threat of serious fines, jail time or loss of license facing the driver in Thailand, they will not moderate their driving behavior accordingly after a tipple. Consequently, road checks are going to be increasingly necessary, and a good thing overall. What I take umbrage with, on a purely selfish level, is that I will no longer be able to drive after having a few beverages (what is the limit here anyway?) and as rude as it may sound, I'm an excellent drunk driver. I drive much slower and with greater precautions than I would if I was sober. I wish everyone would do the same. And I wish people would drive more moderately while sober as well. But you can't legislate common sense. You can only penalize people for something easily measured, in this case BAC.

Maybe I'll take up a pharmaceutical habit instead. Someone should start a nice Valium or Nitrous Oxide bar. Call it "Spacey".

[KevinHunt]

This is incredibly un-PC to say, but being able to drive drunk is one of the things I find most pleasurable about Thailand. Being able to tie one on and not having to worry about getting busted is a real plus.

I always drive extra carefully when under the influence though. No, seriously. I never drive the wrong way down a street or have more than two other passengers on my bike if I'm totally wasted. And I normally don't talk on my mobile while doing so.

This of course is not true for the principal subset of the population which I believe suffer the most casualties as a result of drunk driving - young Thai males. The insanely cavalier way in which some of them drive even when not drunk is in my opinion more of a hazard than merely drinking, and put together spells serious trouble. Plus, as with most young folks, they don't know how to handle their liquor as well as us more mature folk.

Therefore, I propose that the police only stop young Thai males at the checkpoints and let us older farang sail through scot free. It would certainly be more efficient.

Oops, think I just trod over the acceptable PC line. Must not drink and type.

The best excuses for drunk driving ...

"I drive better when I'm drunk"  and  "I'm too drunk to walk".

[ollylama]

also, it hurts less when you crash.