Thai PM orders crackdowns on drunk driving

[abitmiffed]

Sigh!!! Again?

Please tell me. I sometimes see the Word "Sigh" what does it mean ?

Its a feeling not a word...when you take a deep breath and blow the air out of your nose at the same time thinking aboit something bad that just happened and know nothing will change......sorry its about as good as i can do..

[lvr181]

I was at a stop light last night with a cop on a scooter right next to me. Across from us was an exit from a temple who was holding a fair. I'd hate to count how many scooters came out going the wrong way down the road (Sukhumvit), driving down the sidewalk, riding without helmets, etc. The cop did nothing.

Wow !! That is hard to believe.

For those whose first language is not English, the statement is "sarcasm".

[scorecard]

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Knee jerk ? closing the gate after the horse has bolted ? too little, too late ? a day late, a dollar short? that ship has sailed ? a bit late in the day ? better late than never ? late bloomer ? a bit late in the day ?

Just pick one and apply it to this BS order. Ordinary people killed daily but if any of his compatriots are in the car then it's of vital importance. alt=bah.gif>

Perhaps you might like to consider that many previous governments (all flavours) should have enacted severe punishment for drunk driving many years ago - say 25 to 30 years ago.

[scorecard]

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Knee jerk ? closing the gate after the horse has bolted ? too little, too late ? a day late, a dollar short? that ship has sailed ? a bit late in the day ? better late than never ? late bloomer ? a bit late in the day ?

Just pick one and apply it to this BS order. Ordinary people killed daily but if any of his compatriots are in the car then it's of vital importance. alt=bah.gif>

Yes! All true!

For a leader, he does not seem too bright.

As most of us here on TV know, the way to stop all this senseless murder is to ENFORCE THE LAWS 24/7/365. It does not take a rocket scientest to figure this out. alt=rolleyes.gif> alt=coffee1.gif width=32 height=24>

And you rush to blame the general.

Perhaps, to be balanced and fair, you might like to castigate the PMs and governments (all flavours) for the last 25 to 30 years, perhaps even more years, for a lack of action on this subject!

[No Apologist]

Alcoholism in general, is a very difficult problem to tackle. It destroys lives, it destroys other people lives...but there's no realistic way to regulate it. People have the freedom to drink, and some people drink too much. And, how can you 'control' that, as a government? Or even as a police force?

To really 'control' it, you'd either have to stop every single car, and examine every single driver...or else, it's terrible accidents like this.

[Muirton]

The question isn't how belated the directive is, or how many needless deaths have occurred before.

The question is... will the g.d. Thai police actually do anything on a sustained basis in response to the PM's directive.

Did you read his directive: "Don't drink and drive. You'll spill it."

[soalbundy]

Another drunk driving "Thai crackdown?"

yes, another two days of checks, or should i say cheques.

[Eric Loh]

Prayuth doing himself no favor again by reacting and responding off the cuff. A crackdown is just a short term partial knee jerk solution. He should gather his thoughts and consult and provide a more holistic solution like some posters mentioned like stricter law enforcement, harsher punishment as deterent, fast track prosecution of the guilty, stricter control of clubs beyond official closing time, social awareness campaign, review safer bikers lane.

[joebrown]

People who say the police don't take drunk driving seriously are deluding themselves. Drunk drivers have potential for future investment income (on the spot fines), and if incarcerated would then cease to be a source of roadside income. Drunk drivers are a 'premium/high yield' investment vehicle compared to the 'tea money' no-helmet motorcyclists, and this is surely a good enough reason to let them remain behind the wheel, and become repeat offenders. There's serious money at stake here, so expect little or no action from RTP. Think about it!!

Edited May 4, 2015 by joebrown

[MZurf]

And the PM comes to this conclusion after more then 300 deaths over Songkran this year , and how many more before that ?

Seems someone woke up early today ....

And how many PMs before this one simply ignored it or simply paid lip service?

The problem is not this PM, it is just the lack of enforcing the laws by the police going back decades.

It is an RTP problem.

Nope, it's more fundamental than that - it's a TIT problem.

[Bangkok Barry]

After 11pm at night 80% of the drivers are drunk drivers. But as we know lots of laws, Not one is enforceable. Due to patronage and corruption. Two things that could destroy Thailand.

Or indifference. The RTP have worked out that they get paid whether they work or not, so they see no point in bothering to enforce the law. I have a brother-in-law, a policeman, who found no problem with allowing his 10-year old nephew to ride a motorbike without license, helmet or insurance. Of course, he had an accident as he was too small to control the bike. But the people here just don't care. Someone on this forum described Thais as the Hillbillies of Asia, and that described them perfectly.

[fobuff]

The general PM yaks yaks a lot... nobody listens he likes to hear himself give orders... bla bla bla

[gerry123]

Double the amount of useless police checpoints.....increase the cost of booze multiple satang. Fine business owners who have photos beer or wine on there menus. Dont let it be sold for many hours per day.

yeah......crackdown.

How about insuring drivers not vehicles

be careful what you wish / dream for

[razer]

Got to educate the public ... got to change the culture. USA and MAD is the best model on how to make drunk driving un-cool.

[BlackJack]

There's one thing the police doing the job they are paid for, in arresting drunk drivers and taking them to the station, and quite another when their case comes to court.

Sentences are generally abysmal even when they get to court. My brother in law was stopped at 2am very drunk, driving from Bangkok to Isaan. Police wanted 15,000baht to let him continue. This was negotiated down to 7,000baht, and since there was no money left, the "kind" copper gave him back 1,000baht! He (my bil) should have been locked up for a minimum of 2 years in my book! And a policeman taking money should also be locked up for double the time!

There should be specific sentences for drunk driving, enforced in every court of the land, and they shoud NOT be fines.

this is why it doesn't work

and cut the kid a break

remember when you all were young and indistrutable 40 50 years ago -it.was heads up who was the least.drunk would.drive.home

[Chopperboy]

Thais can't drive when they are sober so of course they can't drive when they're drunk.

While driving a car about 70% of my time is taken up stopping the Thais crashing into me in one form or other.

While riding my 1K super bike that goes up to 95% of my time... basically I don't even blink.

Reminds me of a bad computer game - though in this guys case its - GAME OVER

[Alwyn]

Half the problem is that the police can be as drunk as the other road users and they aren't going to arrest themselves are they? I'm ashamed to say that after 15 years I don't if the RTP actually has a traffic department? Are there traffic cops? If not there should be and then they take ownership of this problem in an agressive manner, take no prisoners bo matter who the culprit is

[ChrisY1]

Others expressed concern that highways might not be safe for cyclists t ride anymore.

Highways not only safe for cyclists anymore, what do you think about the uturns, when I see all the uturns on the petchkasem road from Chaam to Huahin, everytime you have to use it it is like a suicide attempt.

And that used much more than drunk driving.

@0 years ago I can accept, but now it is one of the most dangerous obstacles on the high way!

Agree Peter....Petchkasem road is a race track...more so on holidays and the weekends..........

[gchurch259]

When I was a young man in the Southern part of the USA they had "Chain Gangs", these prisoners worked on the roads and ditches along the roads. It was hard work and many learned that if they broke the law they would end up out there. The other thing is everybody sees them and knows what is waiting if they break the law. Of course the Liberal Bleeding Hearts said how cruel that was, but it had it's effect !!

Drunk Driving, First time 6 months on the Chain Gang, Second time one year. Third time put them away for life on a remote island somewhere !!

Edited May 4, 2015 by gchurch259

[DaveinAsia]

An English mate was stopped in his car on Rama 4 last weekend. On Silom he had 8 pints of Guinness and 6 shots of Whiskey.

Paid the usual 5k bribe and was on his way.

That's how much the RTP are doing Mr PM

[Arkady]

The crackdown has been happening in Bangkok for a few years already. There are now so many checkpoints that you are bound to be breathalyzed fairly regularly if you drive your car in the city at night. I drive late at night about 2-3 times a week and get breathalyzed once or twice a month. In the 90s, when they still had no breathalyzers, I was never stopped once by police in Bangkok. In the 2000s only 2 or 3 times over the decade and never breathalyzed. Now in the 2010s I have been stopped and breathalyzed more times than I can remember.

My solution now is not to drink alcohol at all, if I have to drive home. For fun nights out, I take a taxi or have a designated driver. Even one drink can put you over the 0.05 limit. After a bit friends get used to it and stop asking the annoying questions about what's wrong with you etc.

[bristolgeoff]

was the thai driver male or female,the bike riders Chinese.i would never ride a bike in chiang mai. a scooter is much more safer.just abit to a bike.the Chinese are not the best bike riders,i have seen them myself and some look like a accident waiting to happen.on a scooter or a bike.one case I saw they wanted to rent a scooter took it round the block and returned the scooter asap.they could not ride a scooter propertly.they left walking down the street.alot of the parts of the story left out here

there is already a lot of police check pts in chiang mai at night,and a lot are the ladies who go to a certain bar and ride home after drunk.you just have to sit and watch the action sometime from macdonalds

[Sputnik699]

Went down to PMY beach in Rayong a while back for some food and a few beer's with my G/F and noticed a policeman sat on the next table to us with his mates....he was dressed in full uniform and had his gun in his holster.....thats how i knew he was a policeman

I'm not sure if he was on duty on not....are they allowed to carry a gun when there off duty ??

Anyway they where knocking back the whiskey as the thais like to do, all merry and having a laugh.....no harm in that i guess and to be honest i wasn't too surprised when after about an hour or so the said policeman wobbled over to his scooter ( not exactly on his hand's and knees but it was more than obvious he'd had a few too many ), fired it up and sped off down the road.

I'm guessing the Thai PM's pissing in the wind with this one

[falangjim]

Interesting drunk driving campaign; they used an upper-class woman to portray the drunk behind the wheel before running over two people. But again, the message is not of legal punishment. She's confronted with two ghosts, instead. I wonder if the Thai killers of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller see their ghosts. I digress. It's interesting to see what moves a Thai, and if I take this TV spot to reflect a bit of the culture, it's obviously not punishment meted out by the law that gets Thais all a fluster. It's ghosts.

[rethaier]

Checking is all well and good. But then you need to back it up with very stiff penalties. The penalties need to be a deterrent not just an inconvenience.

[juice777]

A crack down on drink driving in Thailand yeah allright got more chance of baning noodles

[Broeno]

Checkpoints by the royal Thai police?

Many more get killed. The roadblocks i have seen where very dangerous.

Some policeman prefer to stand in the middle of the road in the dark.

[bikerlou47]

Thailand will never change for good or bad!

A country run by children and the Children are not very bright!

[Truth4All]

I was at a stop light last night with a cop on a scooter right next to me. Across from us was an exit from a temple who was holding a fair. I'd hate to count how many scooters came out going the wrong way down the road (Sukhumvit), driving down the sidewalk, riding without helmets, etc. The cop did nothing.

I view the problem another way. I see the very lack of education from when the kids are very little, plus what they grow up with. Poverty is part of the problem and why 4 or more are on a motorscoooter at the same time-- It happens to be their Only method of transport. Helmets are crap if you don't have any money.

The System will never change and you can make all the stupid laws you want to.

It starts at a young age and by example. My Thai son wore a helmet or he lost his bike!! I didn't care what all the other boys were doing. At 17-18, I lost control and he did what ever he pleased-- I also kicked him out of the house at 21!! Sorry-- My house, my Rules! He got kicked out for other reasons than a helmet-- in case you think I was a little harsh.

[Cabra]

Sadly....... Thai Drivers have no respect or care for human Life, they Drive as if it is a" GRAND PRIX" when a Family member, or a Family Friend Die's... or Killed, there is no remorse, it's just another Day to spend at the Temple..... and 100 Days later; have another Day at the Temple ....... and more Food, Beer and Whiskey....... and......." Have a safe Drive Home with your Wife and Kids"?????

CRACK DOWN ????????

Good Luck Sir.........