Drivers Must Be Punished If They Are Found Drunk

[maidu]

All this could go under the heading 'Drug Related Crime" ....except officials like Chalerm don't like to refer to alcohol as a drug - in no small part because it's his drug of choice.

Maybe they should fix the breathalysers.

Bangkok police riding around with broken breathalyzers

http://www.thaivisa....-breathalyzers/

Shhhhhhh. You're giving away the secret - for the elite, "get out of jail free' card. In actuallity, the elite won't be detained unless they carry a wounded policeman on the hood of their speeding car for 200 meters.

The big drivers like busses and trucks are easy to fix, just make all salery pr hour, and not per trip, then theywill start to take their time longer in order to earn more and traffic danger is reduces by 50% or more. If government really where thinking of peoples safety speed limit would be a limit, not an option.

Well Drive safely and Happy New year to all

I spend time along a curving rural road (my rock climbing park is there), and every day there are trucks whizzing by. They're filled with sand or rock or fill - all racing to Chinese-Thai construction jobs. That the road is getting torn apart is secondary. The real problem is they're being paid by the load, not by the hour/day, so they barrel down the little road as fast as possible, cutting corners like a 9 year old on a go-cart. Whether or not they're drunk, I don't know, but one thing's for sure; local cops couldn't give a gnat's ass about the danger it poses to residents (mostly hill tribe kids) who frollick along the road.

[NoshowJones]

Does anybody think the red bull Ferrari driver had never driven intoxicated before? That he had never previously been stopped by the BIB while doing so? And yet, this is his first offense.

You want to stop drunk drivers? Pass a law where their vehicle is confiscated to be sold at public auction - 10% of the proceeds to the BIB making the arrest.

What a brilliant idea, if the BIB don't need to forfeit any tea money, this would work, If the Thai government are really serious about punishing drunk drivers, there is no excuse for not doing this. Oh, and if the drunk driver is not the owner of the vehicle, then still do it. the vehicle owners will still need to accept the responsibility for who they allow to drive their vehicles.

[meatboy]

what i have observed of thai driving over 30yrs.they drive as if their drunk 24/7.

[tominbkk]

What % of the accidents is caused by reckless motorcycles? I see some crazy siht happening on the roads at New YEar and Songkran, almost all of it happening on two wheels though.

[Bluespunk]

Does anybody think the red bull Ferrari driver had never driven intoxicated before? That he had never previously been stopped by the BIB while doing so? And yet, this is his first offense.

You want to stop drunk drivers? Pass a law where their vehicle is confiscated to be sold at public auction - 10% of the proceeds to the BIB making the arrest.

What a brilliant idea, if the BIB don't need to forfeit any tea money, this would work, If the Thai government are really serious about punishing drunk drivers, there is no excuse for not doing this. Oh, and if the drunk driver is not

the owner of the vehicle, then still do it. the vehicle owners will still need to accept the responsibility for who they allow to drive their vehicles.

Not really. What would happen is

A: there would suddenly be a lot more positive for drunk driving results even if no one had been drinking

and

B: the size of bribe demanded would increase under threat of loss of car.

[fred007]

My brother inlaw who is a traffic officer in a northern province only told me yesterday when they were driving up country .One of the large police check points was un manned.He said it usually has many police officers there.???? Not bad for the busiest times of the year one thinks.

I think that says it all .It needs some high ranking police officers to be dismissed who lack any intelligence and fortitude to carry out there job...The Word Incompetence comes to mind

Only Then Will the Indians take there positions seriously im affraid

[maturebrit]

Passengers in a vehicle should not be responsible for the drivers condition, I can think of lots of senarios were this would be simply daft, it is a nice thought though under certain conditions but would should require a lot of evidence to prove the passenger/s was aware of the drivers condition

I think in Thailand it should be good enough to arrest the driver

and for falangs that routinely drink and drive around Pattaya - beware, the BIB are setting up checkpoints around the city and you will go to jail if caught

failing that make sure you go to the ATM before driving off

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[Jim walker]

My wife’s brother was caught Drunk Driving in BKK a couple of months ago, and his punishment was only from his pocket he just had to pay a few people off out of jail in a few hrs and he was back behind the wheel again one day later. Until this type of penalty for DD stops it will be business as usual and death tolls as usual.

[NoshowJones]

Does anybody think the red bull Ferrari driver had never driven intoxicated before? That he had never previously been stopped by the BIB while doing so? And yet, this is his first offense.

You want to stop drunk drivers? Pass a law where their vehicle is confiscated to be sold at public auction - 10% of the proceeds to the BIB making the arrest.

What a brilliant idea, if the BIB don't need to forfeit any tea money, this would work, If the Thai government are really serious about punishing drunk drivers, there is no excuse for not doing this. Oh, and if the drunk driver is not

the owner of the vehicle, then still do it. the vehicle owners will still need to accept the responsibility for who they allow to drive their vehicles.

Not really. What would happen is

A: there would suddenly be a lot more positive for drunk driving results even if no one had been drinking

and

B: the size of bribe demanded would increase under threat of loss of car.

Yes, I see where your'e coming from Bluespunk, and there is no perfect solution to anything, but I'm all in favour of confiscating vehicles of drunk drivers. To help stop bribery, they would have to reward the individual BIB who made the arrest in some way, and I believe that could be done.

[Tchooptip]

"Thais are among the heaviest consumers of alcohol, and law enforcement on drunk driving is lax."

"Earlier this year the penalty for drunk driving was adjusted. The Office of Alcoholic Beverages announced that occupants of vehicles of any kind who drink alcohol while travelling are now subject to six months' imprisonment and/or a Bt60,000 fine. But the new penalty still doesn't seem strong enough to deter careless drivers from getting behind the wheel."

"The authorities aim to reduce accident statistics this weekend, but the statistics will never be as telling as the faces and feelings of the injured parties and the families of the victims when they realise that their holiday, which should have been a joyful event, has turned into pain or a life beyond repair because of a drunk or dangerous drivers.

Inexperienced, drunk, stupid and dangerous drivers seem to be the majority. ---

Thais are among the heaviest consumers of alcohol

If you think Thais are always the bad guys, why not... up to you

On the other hand if you ask Google, Wikipedia for instance, as far as alcohol consumption is concern, you'll see Thailand is way behind UK, Germany, France, Netherlands,Canada, Australia to name a few...yes behind US too

I do not mean to say Thai people do not drink too much...

but among the heaviest consumers I'm afraid not...

Conclusion: maybe it's the all planet that drinks too much

http://en.wikipedia....hol_consumption

[tingtongfarang]

Girl i know got stopped for dd some weeks ago...she admitted to them she had been drinking a lot, They escorted her to the nearest atm and relieved her of 2000bht and she was on her way.

Edited because i just remembered she does,nt have a driving licence anyway, And the extraction of 2000bht might have been her putting the squeeze on me to pay, I was,nt having any of it.

Edited December 30, 2012 by tingtongfarang

[Bpuumike]

"drunk driving remained the most common cause of road deaths, at 39 per cent of the total. That was followed by violation of the speed limit at 22 per cent, careless driving at 15 per cent, motorcycle-related accidents at 15 per cent, poor vision at 8 per cent, and fatigue at 2.5 per cent"

Lies, dam_n lies and statistics? Go figure.

Edited December 30, 2012 by Bpuumike

[wprime]

You want to stop drunk drivers? Pass a law where their vehicle is confiscated to be sold at public auction - 10% of the proceeds to the BIB making the arrest.

That would cause problems with the breathalyzers, they're likely to return a lot of false positives then.

[A Member]

The Editorial headline said it all "the government needs to get tough" but that covers so many issues and Thai politicians have so much on their minds to worry about serious matters.

On the introduction of breath testing in my area a friend was one of the first to be caught, he spent 18 hours locked up, went to 2 different courts was fined and that was it. In no time flat the police were issuing on the spot "fines", no receipts and no one went to court. It doesn't matter how drunk a driver is as long as money changes hands the driver is on his way.

Over the years how many governments have promised to deal with corruption ?

[OzMick]

Does anybody think the red bull Ferrari driver had never driven intoxicated before? That he had never previously been stopped by the BIB while doing so? And yet, this is his first offense.

You want to stop drunk drivers? Pass a law where their vehicle is confiscated to be sold at public auction - 10% of the proceeds to the BIB making the arrest.

What a brilliant idea, if the BIB don't need to forfeit any tea money, this would work, If the Thai government are really serious about punishing drunk drivers, there is no excuse for not doing this. Oh, and if the drunk driver is not

the owner of the vehicle, then still do it. the vehicle owners will still need to accept the responsibility for who they allow to drive their vehicles.

Not really. What would happen is

A: there would suddenly be a lot more positive for drunk driving results even if no one had been drinking

and

B: the size of bribe demanded would increase under threat of loss of car.

A/ has been well thought out in most countries where accused are given a sealed blood sample for their own testing if result is disputed.

B/ possibly, but is that not a deterrent? Even 5% of vehicle value (to make a bribe competitive) is a significant chunk of assets.

Consider what would happen to a bus or truck driver who had their employer's vehicle confiscated.

Edited December 31, 2012 by OzMick

[NoshowJones]

Does anybody think the red bull Ferrari driver had never driven intoxicated before? That he had never previously been stopped by the BIB while doing so? And yet, this is his first offense.

You want to stop drunk drivers? Pass a law where their vehicle is confiscated to be sold at public auction - 10% of the proceeds to the BIB making the arrest.

What a brilliant idea, if the BIB don't need to forfeit any tea money, this would work, If the Thai government are really serious about punishing drunk drivers, there is no excuse for not doing this. Oh, and if the drunk driver is not

the owner of the vehicle, then still do it. the vehicle owners will still need to accept the responsibility for who they allow to drive their vehicles.

Not really. What would happen is

A: there would suddenly be a lot more positive for drunk driving results even if no one had been drinking

and

B: the size of bribe demanded would increase under threat of loss of car.

A/ has been well thought out in most countries where accused are given a sealed blood sample for their own testing if result is disputed.

B/ possibly, but is that not a deterrent? Even 5% of vehicle value (to make a bribe competitive) is a significant chunk of assets.

Consider what would happen to a bus or truck driver who had their employer's vehicle confiscated.

Good post Ozmick, Common sense would tell you not to confiscate buses or trucks.

[harrry]

Not really. What would happen is

A: there would suddenly be a lot more positive for drunk driving results even if no one had been drinking

and

B: the size of bribe demanded would increase under threat of loss of car.

A/ has been well thought out in most countries where accused are given a sealed blood sample for their own testing if result is disputed.

B/ possibly, but is that not a deterrent? Even 5% of vehicle value (to make a bribe competitive) is a significant chunk of assets.

Consider what would happen to a bus or truck driver who had their employer's vehicle confiscated.

Good post Ozmick, Common sense would tell you not to confiscate buses or trucks.

Actually good sense would tell you to consfiscate them. If they did the owner would be more careful of whom he employs and the roads would be much safer and less bus passengers killed. They have started impounding even company cars which have been caught by the hoon driving laws in Australia. Companies did not want them to but it makes them a lot more careful with their drivers.

Edited December 31, 2012 by harrry

[jerrysteve]

Unfortunately whether intoxicated beyond the legal limit or not...Its Green Light Go, Yellow Light Go, and RED LIGHT GO in BKK, and NEVER STOP for Pedistrians Crossing in a Crosswalk, whether the coast is clear of Not

Edited December 31, 2012 by jerrysteve

[OzMick]

Still waiting to hear why I should be charged for having a beer in my car if I hire a driver. Because Yingluk doesn't like it?

Does anybody think Chalerm would pass on the JWB in the back seat of his chauffeured govt. limo?

[Thai at Heart]

Still waiting to hear why I should be charged for having a beer in my car if I hire a driver. Because Yingluk doesn't like it?

Does anybody think Chalerm would pass on the JWB in the back seat of his chauffeured govt. limo?

If it ain't law, they will never enforce it. They don't enforce the laws they have, let alone made up ones.

[maturebrit]

You want to stop drunk drivers? Pass a law where their vehicle is confiscated to be sold at public auction - 10% of the proceeds to the BIB making the arrest.

That would cause problems with the breathalyzers, they're likely to return a lot of false positives then.

screw the auction..... put it in the crusher. thus reducing the amount of vehicles

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