Ban On Alcohol Consumption On Public Buses: Thailand

[cloudhopper]

Does this mean no more 'shooters' on the buses ?

Like most laws here it won't mean anything in actual practice.

[freezacrowd]

So how is the ban on alchohol on buses going to save lives unless drunk passengers sometimes drive the buses. Maybe something got lost in translation and it was meant for bus DRIVERS

[freezacrowd]

Just like prostitution is banned in Thailand right? And not wearing a helmet on a motorbike is banned, not stopping at a red light is banned, bars open past 2am is banned, Pornograpghy is banned, yaba is banned, talking on your cell phone while driving is banned.... I could go on all day...

Laws banning stuff mean nothing if there is no enforcement... Remember when the drunk kids stabbed and killed someone at Kao Yie and they "Banned" liquor at all of the national parks? Has anything changed at the national parks since then? Anyone who believes this "Law" will have the slightest effect on drinking in factories or on busses is a fool.

Surely there is something missing in the translation. I can't imagine how banning passengers from drinking a few beers on a long journey is going to save lives. Surely it was meant for bus drivers not bus passengers

[drbrit]

Making such laws are the right thing to do, but their effectiveness is usually minimal to nothing. Why? Enforcement doesn't take place.

For example - at my a regular local eating place of mine, the police frequent it after their shift. They sit right underneath a No Smoking sign with fine, and most of them smoke where the customers do not. They all share whiskey to the point they stagger out of there and then get in their police trucks or motorbikes.

Do you recall when alcohol was banned from petrol station mini-marts? The death and injury figures didn't reduce as a result.

[Globeman]

It's sad if people can't control their urge to drink for a few minutes/hours ride.

I feel sorry for these weak people and will feel much better now not being surrounded by drunken people on a public bus.

There are more important things in life than booze.

Wow, your "Victorian Dad" avatar really suits you, doesn't it?

[Unkomoncents]

I just assumed this type of law always existed. Makes sense to me. I've had the unpleasant situation of sharing a bus with obnoxiously drunk and annoying people before. People ride buses to get somewhere. They shouldn't have to deal with drunken idiots -- that's what bars are for.

Not to hijack the thread but this reminds me that I've never heard an explanation for the restriction on booze sales from 2 pm to 5 pm everyday. I've assumed it's to stop people from getting drunk during their work or school day. If that's the case, isn't it a bit embarrassing to have to make a law like that? Sort of like saying that one's population doesn't have enough self-control or maturity to be responsible.

Someone once explained to me that it had something to do with Rama II and Rama V being the most revered of Thai monarchs. I didn't question too much further, and I might be remembering it slightly wrong but it basically had something to do with obscure Chinese numerology/luck/Thai kings or some such thing. The condominium buildings in which I have a condo are numbered, in order, backwards from the main road 5-4-1-2-3. I was convinced that Thais didn't understand the significance of numbers until I was told that 3 and 5 are lucky numbers according to Chinese numerology so the developers wanted 5 and 3 at the ends of the row of buildings. Ha! I didn't quite know what to say about it: "Ohhhh! Now everything makes sense." I couldn't pull it off with a straight face.

Edited August 9, 2012 by Unkomoncents

[Tanuki]

I just assumed this type of law always existed. Makes sense to me. I've had the unpleasant situation of sharing a bus with obnoxiously drunk and annoying people before. People ride buses to get somewhere. They shouldn't have to deal with drunken idiots -- that's what bars are for.

Not to hijack the thread but this reminds me that I've never heard an explanation for the restriction on booze sales from 2 pm to 5 pm everyday. I've assumed it's to stop people from getting drunk during their work or school day. If that's the case, isn't it a bit embarrassing to have to make a law like that? Sort of like saying that one's population doesn't have enough self-control or maturity to be responsible.

Well....do they?

[Tanuki]

I just assumed this type of law always existed. Makes sense to me. I've had the unpleasant situation of sharing a bus with obnoxiously drunk and annoying people before. People ride buses to get somewhere. They shouldn't have to deal with drunken idiots -- that's what bars are for.

Not to hijack the thread but this reminds me that I've never heard an explanation for the restriction on booze sales from 2 pm to 5 pm everyday. I've assumed it's to stop people from getting drunk during their work or school day. If that's the case, isn't it a bit embarrassing to have to make a law like that? Sort of like saying that one's population doesn't have enough self-control or maturity to be responsible.

Well.....do they. Pretty effective too as they can't plan ahead to buy their booze before 2.

[belg]

the driver will drink outside the bus first and them will be your happy driver for the trip...he might also flee the scene if he gets into an accident and kills some of the passengers, by accident off course, not because he was drinking or smoking

[writeshack]

Not to hijack the thread but this reminds me that I've never heard an explanation for the restriction on booze sales from 2 pm to 5 pm everyday. I've assumed it's to stop people from getting drunk during their work or school day. If that's the case, isn't it a bit embarrassing to have to make a law like that? Sort of like saying that one's population doesn't have enough self-control or maturity to be responsible.

This nanny-state hours ban was originally introduced with the professed aim of stopping school children obtaining (often by older people buying it for them) and drinking alcohol before, during and immediately after school. So, of course, instead of simply enforcing existing laws, adults were expected to accept the inconvenience of limited selling hours in the interests of saving truant children from themselves. And.......the adults would benefit too, from drinking less..

[newermonkey]

The TV heading was:

"Alcohol bans in all vehicles and factories: Thailand"

So the responce would be:

More money for the theves in brown. Can you imagine how a trip back from the supermarket is going to turn out... alcohol spot check field day!!!

But TV got it wrong, perhaps trying to get us ol farangs all excited "did the trick"

So my responce is now different:

SO WHAT, they do that everywhere in the world don they?

Edited August 9, 2012 by newermonkey

[Frederickxx]

It's sad if people can't control their urge to drink for a few minutes/hours ride.

I feel sorry for these weak people and will feel much better now not being surrounded by drunken people on a public bus.

There are more important things in life than booze.

Name one.

[webfact]

New law banning drinking in vehicles comes into force

BANGKOK, 9 August 2012 (NNT) - A new law banning drinking in public and personal vehicles has been published in the Royal Gazette, becoming effective from August 8 onwards.

Director of the Alcohol Control Committee Office Samarn Futrakul said the law was issued under the 2008 Alcoholic Beverage Control Act and it applies to both drivers and passengers of all vehicles.

Any persons found violating the law will face up to 6 months in jail and a fine of up to 10,000 baht, or both.

Jadet Chaowilai, adviser of the Network of People Affected by Alcoholic Drinks, expressed his gratitude to the government for the new anti-alcohol measures, saying that the law will help reduce the overall number of road fatalities and deaths, particularly during New Year festivities.

He elaborated that over 60 people were killed in road accidents on a daily basis during the past New Year holiday, with 30 deaths accounted for on non-festive days.

Mr Jadet also expressed confidence that the new regulation will improve the quality of life, reduce daily risk factors and increase overall productivity of Thai workers.

-- NNT 2012-08-09

[koto]

Great, now the passengers have to be stone cold sober whilst they get taken on their 'seat-of-their-pants-ride-of-death' bus ride on which they probably wont get out alive...

Seems a bit unfair as well, the driver is high as a kite, and yet the passengers are not allowed a little tipple to steel their nerves.

Looks like i have to stick to my wasted motocy rider instead!

Now, If they would make it possible and mandatory, to wear the seat belts, in most if not all vans, they are all tied up.

[fxe1200]

What is the procedure that will turn me in to authorities if I add bourbon to coke? And what is the punishment?

At a road control point it will be 200THB flat per person drinking, no receipt.

[koto]

It's sad if people can't control their urge to drink for a few minutes/hours ride.

I feel sorry for these weak people and will feel much better now not being surrounded by drunken people on a public bus.

There are more important things in life than booze.

It is a sickness, Alcohol, Drugs, Smoking, all hard habits, to quit, most die first, many take innocent lives with them on their way out.

Many must hit their bottom, cesspool, way to many have an income that prevents them from going to their hell, being to broke to afford the bad habit, long enough, to see a better life, after killing their Dragons, very sad, very true.

Been there done that, I was one of the few, that made it...Thank You Buddha, Thank You God, Thank You Coconut Tree, Kapun Krup,Mak, Mak, Mahalo Nui Loa, cha,cha,cha.

[bkkjames]

It's sad if people can't control their urge to drink for a few minutes/hours ride.

I feel sorry for these weak people and will feel much better now not being surrounded by drunken people on a public bus.

There are more important things in life than booze.

Name one.

Sex

[NoshowJones]

It's sad if people can't control their urge to drink for a few minutes/hours ride.

I feel sorry for these weak people and will feel much better now not being surrounded by drunken people on a public bus.

There are more important things in life than booze.

Name one.

Sex

[jerrysteve]

Listerine bottles work great for me; the small ones.

[AiteCM]

hopefully this legislation wont make its way to the back of tuk tuks...

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Dude..

Or: http://www.videojug....with-a-soda-can

Edited August 9, 2012 by WinnieTheKhwai

[GentlemanJim]

Listerine bottles work great for me; the small ones.

Oh the memories! During Gulf War 1 whilst sat in the desert waiting for it all to kick off, the girls and wives back home used to send us food parcels. Obviously being in Saudi, alcohol was banned, so they used to get bottles of listermint, empty out the mouthwash and fill with Bacardi or Vodka, with a few drops of green food colouring! No matter how many times the bottles had been rinsed you just couldn't get rid of the taste of listermint. We all developed quite a taste for Bacardi and Listermint, the one great advantage being that no matter how drunk you got, you always woke up with fresh breath!

People will just find a way around this if they are determined. A large coke from 7/11 with half the coke thrown out and a quarter bottle of vodka/whiskey in will soon catch on for those desperate for a tipple.

The only deterrent to the problem will be that when a bus driver has an accident and he has been drinking is give them maximum penalties, and death caused by drunk driving charges. Get some banged up for 7-10 years and most will soon stop.

[cat5]

The title to this article is confusing. The legislation applies to all road transport, drivers and passengers included. To make it abundantly clear, it also applies to people sitting in the back of a pickup truck.

http://my.bangkoklibrary.com/2012/08/09/thailand-bans-drivers-and-all-passengers-from-drinking-alcohol/

[cat5]

In reality, this will just give the police another law to not enforce.

I'm sure it will be enforced, for some. Would you fancy 6 months in a Thai jail?

[glanville63]

So will the extension to this way of thinking later include flights and air passengers. A drunken yob on an airplane could have far more serious repurcussions.

[Billmont]

Drunks anwhere can be annoying, even 'happy' drunks when in a confined area such as a bus. Some sober people can be equally annoying. In the UK we have several laws to cover this: 'Being drunk and disorderly' 'Being a Public nuisnce' ect etc, too many too mention but really just one would do, 'Being a public nuisance' should cover any problem but the law makers do not like anything simple.Thailand unfortunately seems to be following this model by adding new laws which basically restricts freedom. The good news is that they are not normally enforced. Laws in any case are in the main only followed by honest people, those that would follow this practice even without the law because they are good citizens. People who are not good citizens ignore such laws in any case. Laws do not make a good country only good people make a good country but usually the good people are frequently the victim of these laws as they become the easy target for the law enforcers or because of their personal conscience in that they must follow the law!. I personally would not drink alcohol on a bus or in any road vehicle but the day they bad drinking alcohol on aircraft will most probably be the day I stop flying. One of the reasons I live in Thailand is to to get away from petty laws, rules and regulations.Under Tony Blair's government an average of 2663 new laws were introduced each year, a total of 26,849 while he was in power so thankfully Thailand has along way to go to reach this level of restrictions for 'honest' people to adhere to and criminals to ignore. I like a drink, seldom or never get drunk but I really object to alcohol restrictions, such as the ban on sale in the afternoons, on certain holidays and now on buses, it will achieve nothing except move 'good citizens' to the wrong side of the law.

[hellodolly]

Floater- I drink to put up with idiots on buses, airplanes etc..Paint everyone with a broad brush.Try listening to yourself while I'm sleeping.

Now that you mention it I see no ban on airplanes or boats.

Obviously they don't want to rush into things. Pass law partially covering transportation 2008. enact same law 2012.

News flash September 12 2017

First arrest on 2008 law made.

Police in nowheresville province of Huh arrest Jim Khaunatsford for sitting in back seat of vehicle with half bottle of Tiger beer.

[crazydrummerpauly]

I just love this title : 'Network of People Affected by Alcoholic Drinks' .....is that the human race ? or...?

[12DrinkMore]

Not to hijack the thread but this reminds me that I've never heard an explanation for the restriction on booze sales from 2 pm to 5 pm everyday. I've assumed it's to stop people from getting drunk during their work or school day. If that's the case, isn't it a bit embarrassing to have to make a law like that? Sort of like saying that one's population doesn't have enough self-control or maturity to be responsible.

This nanny-state hours ban was originally introduced with the professed aim of stopping school children obtaining (often by older people buying it for them) and drinking alcohol before, during and immediately after school. So, of course, instead of simply enforcing existing laws, adults were expected to accept the inconvenience of limited selling hours in the interests of saving truant children from themselves. And.......the adults would benefit too, from drinking less..

The bullshit here is, if you buy at least two boxes of beer, then it is legal.

So you can't have a couple of beers, but are allowed to get totally legless.

And I also find on the long bus journeys that with a couple of beers and then plugging in the mp3 player to counter the screaming drivel that is put onto the TV I can drift off into a pleasant slumber.

I thought that drinking alcohol was already banned on the long distance coaches.

BTW I have to mask the opening "titch" as I pull back the ring thingy with a loud cough.

[visionchaser45]

Sort of like saying that one's population doesn't have enough self-control or maturity to be responsible.

This is the basic premise of the so-called "nanny state." People are not mature or responsible enough to manage their own affairs, so the government must step in and "take care" of them. The more you take responsibility away from people, the more irresponsible they become. Increased instances of irresponsible behavior are then exploited by governments to expand their power and take away even more individual liberties. This paradigm is nothing more than a Trojan Horse that opens the door to tyranny.