Shock treatment as Songkran drunk drivers visit the morgue

[mogo51]

Love it. Hope it helps.

Are you serious, look at the next post, he is realistic and ask the appropriate questions. This is a load of crap unless it is in conjunction with license cancellations, significant monetary fines and worse if necessary.

[trainman34014]

The bloke driving this one was carried in feet first !

[kiwikeith]

as a 16 year old high school student in Los Angeles in 1971, I had to watch the film "Mechanized Death" as part of my drivers education class.

I never forgot watching that film. Some of the images haunted me for years.

The instructor warned us before hand if we could not stand to watch, just look away. And the girls were told not to watch at all.

watch it if you dare:

Dam right, there should be a national road safety campaign with televised adds showing carnage on the roads.

They do this in NZ they are horrible to watch and I usually change channel after seeing a few, you don't want to watch them, you are also reminded by billboards.

Horrible but effective.

[attento]

Surely, the government should be setting a high standard and only drivers with clean records should be considered fit to drive any Public vehicle.

Are they so short of suitable applicants for Public vehicle licences ? A Licence should be something to be aspired to, to be respected., not an automatic right.

[DrTuner]

Only in Thailand could a megaphone and a morgue be in the same picture.

Why does every @@@uker need to shout here? even amongst the dead!

They're just a generation away from the rice fields, where you had a friendly discussion with the next farmer having their arse towards the stars, 500m away. Simply forgot to turn down the volume.

[slippery snake]

Should do same with all the helmet less motorbike riders too.. I see as many Thais without helmets as with them.

As I read 80% of deaths are motorbike riders with no helmets.

I think Thais just don't care, for the law, their own safety or the safety of others..

Until the police actually confiscate their bikes for a couple of weeks or so, they don't care,

just go pay a 300B fine and you get your keys back.

Do something that hurts them and then, just maybe they will start to take notice and road deaths will come down...

Still the way some of the young Thais ride their bikes it is only a matter of time

before it's their bodies that will be shown at the morgue.

[Artisi]

001.JPG

The bloke driving this one was carried in feet first !

If it was this own fault and without knowing the full story I'd say tough luck, hope he didn't take anyone with him.

[Thaidream]

I remember in America when drinking and driving was actually an accepted lifestyle. the police stopped one and asked if you were drinking and then told you to go home- which you didn't. the change came when States passed laws making drinking and driving not only unacceptable- but one faced jail; huge fines; and huge increases in insurance rates. the police enforced it and there were no exceptions. This was followed up by TV and Radio campaigns showing what happens when you drink and drive. The concept of a designate non drinking driver was established and it works. Thailand needs to do all this

[bkk75]

Prefer these drunk drivers be dragged on a rope tied to speeding car and crashing into a pole for real experience. This applies to idiots who keep cutting ppl off on highways just so he can get home faster by minutes.

[tropo]

as a 16 year old high school student in Los Angeles in 1971, I had to watch the film "Mechanized Death" as part of my drivers education class.

I never forgot watching that film. Some of the images haunted me for years.

The instructor warned us before hand if we could not stand to watch, just look away. And the girls were told not to watch at all.

watch it if you dare:

In view of what you can watch on film these days you'd have to be super squeamish for that film to have any impact. I don't believe a trip to the morgue will help much either.

[DaveinAsia]

They see dead mutilated bodies all the time here, how is that ever going to deter them? That would only work on people who have a low tolerance level

[emilymat]

Should do same with all the helmet less motorbike riders too.. I see as many Thais without helmets as with them.

As I read 80% of deaths are motorbike riders with no helmets.

I think Thais just don't care, for the law, their own safety or the safety of others..

Until the police actually confiscate their bikes for a couple of weeks or so, they don't care,

just go pay a 300B fine and you get your keys back.

Do something that hurts them and then, just maybe they will start to take notice and road deaths will come down...

Still the way some of the young Thais ride their bikes it is only a matter of time

before it's their bodies that will be shown at the morgue.

Agreed. Actually in an urban area like Pattaya where there is a semblance (not much) of helmet enforcement it's just like a game to many Thais (not all of course, that would be unfair).

A few weekend's ago I lent my motorbike to a Thai friend to go on an 'errand' for something he needed for a job they were doing on the house. It was only a small pieceand it was better than him taking his truck.

I gave him my helmet and he said 'No want, police not work on Sunday'.

[BangkokKen]

Good buzz effect and PR operation as always with very little effect.

It's not just the FEW that they caught that needs to be aware of road dangers, it is the huge majority that need to be educated about driving and safety.

That starts with going to schools and educate kids, along with a real driving test

[Mudcrab]

Hope it helps, these roads are treacherous!

I've walked down many roads....haven't felt threatened by one....they just lay there under my feet.

Treacherous?...don't think so.

[Dumbastheycome]

God, this is painful.

Stop wearing kiddy gloves and punish them accordingly. Stop with taking people's cars away for the night or showing them dead bodies. Take away their licenses, heavy fines and inprisonment if warranted.

Stop acting like kids. If you really wanna add to the punishment, have a name and shame section in newspapers, etc. Have a pic of convicted driver saying "I'm a selfish moron who endangers other's lives"

Sadly the problem is more complex than such actions would prevent much. In the case of drunk drivers even if those who actually have one were to have it taken away would still drive. And often in a vehicle that is not their own. If any really effective blitz on drunk drivers were to be carried out the sheer numbers would clog the courts and there would be standing room only in prisons. Community programs with mandatory shock tactics such as morgue visits might at least instill a little more reality than the resentment of a prison sentence. Fines are pointless because they rarely get paid. Even countries with zero alchol limits on drivers still have road deaths as a result of drunk driving despite very harsh penalties. Human nature being what it is. Solving what are social issues requires the backing of society. In a culture that historically avoids acknowledging a myriad of social distortions legislation and announcements are as useful as a wet paper towel if not enforced consistantly and constantly. Without that even "name and shame" is reduced to " got away with it".

[edko]

I remember in America when drinking and driving was actually an accepted lifestyle. the police stopped one and asked if you were drinking and then told you to go home- which you didn't. the change came when States passed laws making drinking and driving not only unacceptable- but one faced jail; huge fines; and huge increases in insurance rates. the police enforced it and there were no exceptions. This was followed up by TV and Radio campaigns showing what happens when you drink and drive. The concept of a designate non drinking driver was established and it works. Thailand needs to do all this

Where I come from, the first infraction for DUI carries a large fine and loss of license for one year and the result of a conviction will keep insurance rates high for life. A second conviction is automatic prison time. The changes in laws and perception came as a result of a long campaign by "Mothers Against Drunk Driving" across the entire USA.

The problem here is that there is no real deterrent and evidently no real resentment by the majority of Thai citizens to see that the laws are changed and have some real teeth. They continue to characterize collisions as "accidents" when the actions of a drunk driver are anything but accidental. Look at what happened with that little chit head scion of Red Bull; killed a cop in August 2012 and not a damned thing has happened to him! And what about the recent case of the guy in the Mercedes doing 250 kph who wiped out the 2 grad students and wasn't given a blood test because it was his "right" to refuse one. It is sheer insanity that any person involved in a vehicular collision (don't call it an "accident") is allowed to refuse a blood test! Make it a law that anyone involved in a collision resulting in fatality found to be legally drunk after an immediate blood test is automatically conceded to be guilty of vehicular homicide with a minimum prison term of 25 years and I believe you would see far fewer people driving drunk.

The people driving without helmets are threatened with a fine when stopped but 200 baht to the cop and they're on their way without even a ticket. If the powers that be in this country were at all sincerely concerned with lowering the death toll, they would automatically impound the motorbike for 1 month and then the rider is going to have to ride a bus to work or school and they might just decide that wearing a helmet makes more sense than being without convenient transportation. There should be a supervisor on hand when they pull the offenders over and his job should be on the line if anyone is allowed to drive off - why bother with court when it is so obvious. Let them pay a significant fine to get their motorbike back when the period of impound is over and I can almost guarantee you that you're not going to see so many people driving motorbikes without a helmet.

I've been here long enough to know that true deterrent will never happen. That would take a recognition of cause and effect. Almost everything that happens here is explained by karma. If you end up murdered or maimed, that's because it's your karma to end that way. It seems that not many are really concerned about corruption; the corrupt must have been good in a previous life and to be in a position allowing corruption is their just reward. Think that's an insane attitude? I can never forget being told by a Thai friend that I should not give money to a horribly disfigured man in a wheelchair obviously as a result of a terrible fire...well, why shouldn't I give the man a few coins? Because he was a bad person in a previous existence and he's gotten his just desserts in this life.

[Caveat Emptor]

Were all the offenders taken to the morgue or only those with no connections ?

[Caveat Emptor]

Hope it helps, these roads are treacherous!

Think these roads are bad? Try the Middle East for driving, now they are scary

The thread is about Thailand, roads elsewhere don;t matter unless you are trying to excuse.

[slippery snake]

Hope it helps, these roads are treacherous!

I've walked down many roads....haven't felt threatened by one....they just lay there under my feet.

Treacherous?...don't think so.

Hehehe, I not so sure, I tripped in a pot hole once, but in all fairness to the road, I did have few Thai whiskys

before walking home that night, I should have done the Thai thing and driven home, just to get my drunken self home quicker

and not be a menace to others on the road for any longer than possible, and of course speeding will get you home quicker too !!!

[slippery snake]

Should do same with all the helmet less motorbike riders too.. I see as many Thais without helmets as with them.

As I read 80% of deaths are motorbike riders with no helmets.

I think Thais just don't care, for the law, their own safety or the safety of others..

Until the police actually confiscate their bikes for a couple of weeks or so, they don't care,

just go pay a 300B fine and you get your keys back.

Do something that hurts them and then, just maybe they will start to take notice and road deaths will come down...

Still the way some of the young Thais ride their bikes it is only a matter of time

before it's their bodies that will be shown at the morgue.

Agreed. Actually in an urban area like Pattaya where there is a semblance (not much) of helmet enforcement it's just like a game to many Thais (not all of course, that would be unfair).

A few weekend's ago I lent my motorbike to a Thai friend to go on an 'errand' for something he needed for a job they were doing on the house. It was only a small pieceand it was better than him taking his truck.

I gave him my helmet and he said 'No want, police not work on Sunday'.

well of course, I think all hospitals close on Sundays too, never any accidents happen on Sunday so why wear a helmet? Thai thinking !

[Roomuck]

I remember in America when drinking and driving was actually an accepted lifestyle. the police stopped one and asked if you were drinking and then told you to go home- which you didn't. the change came when States passed laws making drinking and driving not only unacceptable- but one faced jail; huge fines; and huge increases in insurance rates. the police enforced it and there were no exceptions. This was followed up by TV and Radio campaigns showing what happens when you drink and drive. The concept of a designate non drinking driver was established and it works. Thailand needs to do all this

Where I come from, the first infraction for DUI carries a large fine and loss of license for one year and the result of a conviction will keep insurance rates high for life. A second conviction is automatic prison time. The changes in laws and perception came as a result of a long campaign by "Mothers Against Drunk Driving" across the entire USA.

The problem here is that there is no real deterrent and evidently no real resentment by the majority of Thai citizens to see that the laws are changed and have some real teeth. They continue to characterize collisions as "accidents" when the actions of a drunk driver are anything but accidental. Look at what happened with that little chit head scion of Red Bull; killed a cop in August 2012 and not a damned thing has happened to him! And what about the recent case of the guy in the Mercedes doing 250 kph who wiped out the 2 grad students and wasn't given a blood test because it was his "right" to refuse one. It is sheer insanity that any person involved in a vehicular collision (don't call it an "accident") is allowed to refuse a blood test! Make it a law that anyone involved in a collision resulting in fatality found to be legally drunk after an immediate blood test is automatically conceded to be guilty of vehicular homicide with a minimum prison term of 25 years and I believe you would see far fewer people driving drunk.

The people driving without helmets are threatened with a fine when stopped but 200 baht to the cop and they're on their way without even a ticket. If the powers that be in this country were at all sincerely concerned with lowering the death toll, they would automatically impound the motorbike for 1 month and then the rider is going to have to ride a bus to work or school and they might just decide that wearing a helmet makes more sense than being without convenient transportation. There should be a supervisor on hand when they pull the offenders over and his job should be on the line if anyone is allowed to drive off - why bother with court when it is so obvious. Let them pay a significant fine to get their motorbike back when the period of impound is over and I can almost guarantee you that you're not going to see so many people driving motorbikes without a helmet.

I've been here long enough to know that true deterrent will never happen. That would take a recognition of cause and effect. Almost everything that happens here is explained by karma. If you end up murdered or maimed, that's because it's your karma to end that way. It seems that not many are really concerned about corruption; the corrupt must have been good in a previous life and to be in a position allowing corruption is their just reward. Think that's an insane attitude? I can never forget being told by a Thai friend that I should not give money to a horribly disfigured man in a wheelchair obviously as a result of a terrible fire...well, why shouldn't I give the man a few coins? Because he was a bad person in a previous existence and he's gotten his just desserts in this life.

Everything you say is right. But not for Thailand.

Your penalties are too serious and it would cause an administrative nightmare.

99.9999999 % of motorbike trips using the helmet is a waste of time. The Thais know this, unlike farangs who "think too much" about the worst case scenario that "might" or "could" happen.

It is hot, and many trips, say an fifty year old women riding up her on quiet soi to see her friend in a quiet village like she has done since she was a kid riding at 15kms per hour. It is up to her if she wants to wear a helmet or not, and so it should be.

It would save lives if everyone in cars wore helmets also, but that seems redicoulous. Just like ALWAYS having to wear a helmet on a bike is.

The nanny state I left made you wear a helmet on a push bike. It was pathetic and redicoulous. How far do you take things. Wrap everyone in cotton wool? Make people crossing the road helmet up also, because it would also save lives?

[slippery snake]

I remember in America when drinking and driving was actually an accepted lifestyle. the police stopped one and asked if you were drinking and then told you to go home- which you didn't. the change came when States passed laws making drinking and driving not only unacceptable- but one faced jail; huge fines; and huge increases in insurance rates. the police enforced it and there were no exceptions. This was followed up by TV and Radio campaigns showing what happens when you drink and drive. The concept of a designate non drinking driver was established and it works. Thailand needs to do all this

Where I come from, the first infraction for DUI carries a large fine and loss of license for one year and the result of a conviction will keep insurance rates high for life. A second conviction is automatic prison time. The changes in laws and perception came as a result of a long campaign by "Mothers Against Drunk Driving" across the entire USA.

The problem here is that there is no real deterrent and evidently no real resentment by the majority of Thai citizens to see that the laws are changed and have some real teeth. They continue to characterize collisions as "accidents" when the actions of a drunk driver are anything but accidental. Look at what happened with that little chit head scion of Red Bull; killed a cop in August 2012 and not a damned thing has happened to him! And what about the recent case of the guy in the Mercedes doing 250 kph who wiped out the 2 grad students and wasn't given a blood test because it was his "right" to refuse one. It is sheer insanity that any person involved in a vehicular collision (don't call it an "accident") is allowed to refuse a blood test! Make it a law that anyone involved in a collision resulting in fatality found to be legally drunk after an immediate blood test is automatically conceded to be guilty of vehicular homicide with a minimum prison term of 25 years and I believe you would see far fewer people driving drunk.

The people driving without helmets are threatened with a fine when stopped but 200 baht to the cop and they're on their way without even a ticket. If the powers that be in this country were at all sincerely concerned with lowering the death toll, they would automatically impound the motorbike for 1 month and then the rider is going to have to ride a bus to work or school and they might just decide that wearing a helmet makes more sense than being without convenient transportation. There should be a supervisor on hand when they pull the offenders over and his job should be on the line if anyone is allowed to drive off - why bother with court when it is so obvious. Let them pay a significant fine to get their motorbike back when the period of impound is over and I can almost guarantee you that you're not going to see so many people driving motorbikes without a helmet.

I've been here long enough to know that true deterrent will never happen. That would take a recognition of cause and effect. Almost everything that happens here is explained by karma. If you end up murdered or maimed, that's because it's your karma to end that way. It seems that not many are really concerned about corruption; the corrupt must have been good in a previous life and to be in a position allowing corruption is their just reward. Think that's an insane attitude? I can never forget being told by a Thai friend that I should not give money to a horribly disfigured man in a wheelchair obviously as a result of a terrible fire...well, why shouldn't I give the man a few coins? Because he was a bad person in a previous existence and he's gotten his just desserts in this life.

Everything you say is right. But not for Thailand.

Your penalties are too serious and it would cause an administrative nightmare.

99.9999999 % of motorbike trips using the helmet is a waste of time. The Thais know this, unlike farangs who "think too much" about the worst case scenario that "might" or "could" happen.

It is hot, and many trips, say an fifty year old women riding up her on quiet soi to see her friend in a quiet village like she has done since she was a kid riding at 15kms per hour. It is up to her if she wants to wear a helmet or not, and so it should be.

It would save lives if everyone in cars wore helmets also, but that seems redicoulous. Just like ALWAYS having to wear a helmet on a bike is.

The nanny state I left made you wear a helmet on a push bike. It was pathetic and redicoulous. How far do you take things. Wrap everyone in cotton wool? Make people crossing the road helmet up also, because it would also save lives?

[/quote

So you don't worry that 80% of deaths are motorbike riders with No helmets, that may have lived with one ??

And I also come from a 'nanny' country where even push bikes riders have to wear helmets. I have a brother that would be dead now if he did not have a helmet on,

and a cousin that was in intensive care for a week, at 10years old (it was touch and go if she lived or not) and she didn't wear a helmet.. wake up, they save lives,

even can crash and hit you head on a pole or rock even in a quiet soi..

[Nicolas32]

[freedom4life]

Good Job. More programs like this is needed to wake up those drunk drivers

Not sure about that...might get them to drink more..

[Roomuck]

I remember in America when drinking and driving was actually an accepted lifestyle. the police stopped one and asked if you were drinking and then told you to go home- which you didn't. the change came when States passed laws making drinking and driving not only unacceptable- but one faced jail; huge fines; and huge increases in insurance rates. the police enforced it and there were no exceptions. This was followed up by TV and Radio campaigns showing what happens when you drink and drive. The concept of a designate non drinking driver was established and it works. Thailand needs to do all this

Where I come from, the first infraction for DUI carries a large fine and loss of license for one year and the result of a conviction will keep insurance rates high for life. A second conviction is automatic prison time. The changes in laws and perception came as a result of a long campaign by "Mothers Against Drunk Driving" across the entire USA.

The problem here is that there is no real deterrent and evidently no real resentment by the majority of Thai citizens to see that the laws are changed and have some real teeth. They continue to characterize collisions as "accidents" when the actions of a drunk driver are anything but accidental. Look at what happened with that little chit head scion of Red Bull; killed a cop in August 2012 and not a damned thing has happened to him! And what about the recent case of the guy in the Mercedes doing 250 kph who wiped out the 2 grad students and wasn't given a blood test because it was his "right" to refuse one. It is sheer insanity that any person involved in a vehicular collision (don't call it an "accident") is allowed to refuse a blood test! Make it a law that anyone involved in a collision resulting in fatality found to be legally drunk after an immediate blood test is automatically conceded to be guilty of vehicular homicide with a minimum prison term of 25 years and I believe you would see far fewer people driving drunk.

The people driving without helmets are threatened with a fine when stopped but 200 baht to the cop and they're on their way without even a ticket. If the powers that be in this country were at all sincerely concerned with lowering the death toll, they would automatically impound the motorbike for 1 month and then the rider is going to have to ride a bus to work or school and they might just decide that wearing a helmet makes more sense than being without convenient transportation. There should be a supervisor on hand when they pull the offenders over and his job should be on the line if anyone is allowed to drive off - why bother with court when it is so obvious. Let them pay a significant fine to get their motorbike back when the period of impound is over and I can almost guarantee you that you're not going to see so many people driving motorbikes without a helmet.

I've been here long enough to know that true deterrent will never happen. That would take a recognition of cause and effect. Almost everything that happens here is explained by karma. If you end up murdered or maimed, that's because it's your karma to end that way. It seems that not many are really concerned about corruption; the corrupt must have been good in a previous life and to be in a position allowing corruption is their just reward. Think that's an insane attitude? I can never forget being told by a Thai friend that I should not give money to a horribly disfigured man in a wheelchair obviously as a result of a terrible fire...well, why shouldn't I give the man a few coins? Because he was a bad person in a previous existence and he's gotten his just desserts in this life.

Everything you say is right. But not for Thailand.

Your penalties are too serious and it would cause an administrative nightmare.

99.9999999 % of motorbike trips using the helmet is a waste of time. The Thais know this, unlike farangs who "think too much" about the worst case scenario that "might" or "could" happen.

It is hot, and many trips, say an fifty year old women riding up her on quiet soi to see her friend in a quiet village like she has done since she was a kid riding at 15kms per hour. It is up to her if she wants to wear a helmet or not, and so it should be.

It would save lives if everyone in cars wore helmets also, but that seems redicoulous. Just like ALWAYS having to wear a helmet on a bike is.

The nanny state I left made you wear a helmet on a push bike. It was pathetic and redicoulous. How far do you take things. Wrap everyone in cotton wool? Make people crossing the road helmet up also, because it would also save lives?

[/quote

So you don't worry that 80% of deaths are motorbike riders with No helmets, that may have lived with one ??

And I also come from a 'nanny' country where even push bikes riders have to wear helmets. I have a brother that would be dead now if he did not have a helmet on,

and a cousin that was in intensive care for a week, at 10years old (it was touch and go if she lived or not) and she didn't wear a helmet.. wake up, they save lives,

even can crash and hit you head on a pole or rock even in a quiet soi..

No I don't worry about people who make the decision for themselves. They took the risk, up to them.

I do nag my house cleaner and girlfriend to wear their helmets in Pattaya and Chonburi on busy dangerous roads. But upcountry, riding 300 meters up a quiet soi at little over walking speed. Nah.

Am I going to tell other Thais that they should be wearing a helmet? Nah.

I don't wear one myself in small sois for small trips.

Nice to hear your brother made the right decision that day and if I had a ten year I would make her wear a bicycle helmet.

But as a kid, I never wore one, rode push bikes everyday, bmx craze began, building ramps/jumps, racing each other, etc etc. Big groups, no one wearing helmets, no one died. Fun times. I don't even know if bike helmets even existed then? It just wasn't a consideration.

Now in the nanny state you don't see kids riding around like we did, playing footy and cricket in the street, living, it is less social now because everyone is obsessed with the imagined dangers. It is slightly safer but it was more fun before. Thailand is still fun.

After doing all those stunts and surviving I think I am capable of riding slowly 300 meters up a quiet road without a helmet. But if I do have a freak accident with a pole or a rock and die, it is my own fault. I am not risking someone else's life by not wearing a helmet. Up to me.

"You think too much"

[anotheruser]

Good initiative, esp. the visit to the prison.

But it should be repeated before the next Songkran, because in one year it will have been forgotten.

Indeed. I don't think a lot of Thais would even by phased by the morgue. An extended stay in jail would be more meaningful.

[mikiea]

Love it. Hope it helps.

a drunk driver could care less, that is fact . the wishy washy way they treat these attempted murder's is a downright shame . lock them up for 90 days at least . every time they are behind the wheel drunk double the time . it should be called what it is , " premeditated attempted murder in progress" take possession of the car and sell it immediately give money to families that lost a loved one to these sick bastards .shame them in public , show their faces on tv before the thai soap opera's start and after each commercial show a new batch of losers . there i said it and i am sticking by it ,drunk drivers are sick bastards that need to be punished

[slippery snake]

Love it. Hope it helps.

a drunk driver could care less, that is fact . the wishy washy way they treat these attempted murder's is a downright shame . lock them up for 90 days at least . every time they are behind the wheel drunk double the time . it should be called what it is , " premeditated attempted murder in progress" take possession of the car and sell it immediately give money to families that lost a loved one to these sick bastards .shame them in public , show their faces on tv before the thai soap opera's start and after each commercial show a new batch of losers . there i said it and i am sticking by it ,drunk drivers are sick bastards that need to be punished

Bet you feel good you got that off your chest,, But I totally agree. Needs to be much more that a trip to the morgue,

did they actually see any mutilated bodies ?? Also most would drive anyway if lost their drivers licence, that's if they ever had one,

need to have their car confiscated for 6 months,

and if it's a friends car/motorbike, too bad, they will have to work that out with their friends. Bet that will make them popular,

telling their friends that they lost their car for them for 6 month.. haha

[lvr181]

Morgue visit is only a part of re-education and should NOT be substituted for punishment!

[Veritas48]

What about the f@#$wits on motorcycles who don't need a drink to be amazingly stupid and aggressive on the roads.They should ALL have to attend the morgue every six months and as for the imbecilic farangs who rent big bikes....they should be made to go before they are allowed to ride a bike that they cannot control.

Sorry I am completely motosy intolerant!!