« Prev Page 4 of 7 2 3 4 5 6 Next » Please log in to reply 161 replies to this topic

[hjvdhoef]

Good for the police.Get some extra pocket money.

[tropo]

pisico, on 2009-12-03 19:33:58, said:

Zebo, on 2009-12-03 17:51:01, said:

12000 a year, that is a truly astonishing figure, I hope they actually bother to apply the law rather than see it as another chance for a bribe.

That is nothing compared to Brazil. In that country, 55,000 die every year on the roads (almost as many Americans who died in 13 years in the Vietnam war) as the result of being Brazilians.  

The difference is not as great if you consider the 15 - 64 age population of Thailand is about 1/3 that of Brazil (46 million/136 million) and the percentage of car ownership is probably higher in Brazil and being such a large country the distances covered by the average motorist are probably a lot higher.

[yeeowww]

atyclb, on 2009-12-03 17:59:58, said:

All it takes is a single cop with a loved one maimed or killed as the result of drunk driving and he can have no problem arresting the person. I know drinking and driving seems to be humorous for some, but it kills and injuries many people.  Alcoholics often lose control and are unable to realize they are incapable of driving.

right... and what about all the other offenders who aren't drunk?... Why be prejudiced against only 1 group?! drivers on an agenda to get somewhere, speeding and driving like wild men, those who are sleep deprived yet hellbent on reaching their destinations, or emotionally distraught individuals, having had a fight or other altercation who just don't care or can't think straight behind the wheel... where are the laws to clamp down on those fcukheads?! My point is, it's not simply drunk drivers who should be singled out & pointed fingers at. If they're going to do it, do it across the board for ALL emotionally & physically challenged drivers. Every one of them is just as guilty and worthy of spending a night or two in jail.

[webfact]

one off-topic post deleted

[torresthemonster]

sunny747, on 2009-12-03 17:44:12, said:

it's true. one of my thai colleague got caught and he had to fine 20,000 baht plus one night in jail. he also have to do some community work like reading books for the blind etc......

what i'm afraid is  the harassment by the police at night......

Anyone knows if it remains criminal record??????
I got caught and only being fined.

[Tigs]

12DrinkMore, on 2009-12-03 22:20:37, said:

mortenaa, on 2009-12-03 20:51:24, said:

12DrinkMore, on 2009-12-03 19:42:12, said:

Can somebody hazard a guess why 12,000 deaths and 100,0000 accidents cost the State 240,000,000,000 Baht?

That amounts to over 2,000,000 Baht on average, seems a huge amount,

Huge amount? I think that seems like a low amount. Think about all the resources, human, police, goverment, transport, hospitals, family, funeral etc etc etc that is involved in an accident.

In Norway, they estimate that one traffic death costs society more than 166 MB. Yes, thats 5 million USD..

I would really like to know how that figure is derived. If we talk about actual costs of deal with a dead victim.

If somebody is killed in an accident the hospital bills must be non-existent, like the victim is dead, a death certificate from a doctor is not that expensive.

Transport bills? Give me a break, transporting a corpse to a mortuary?

Funeral expenses? Well, why should it cost more to cremate a road accident victim than a heart attack victim?

Government Expenses? What????

Family expenses? Wills and heirs and arguments about who gets what?

Maybe the legal vultures circle around and boost the costs.

I suspect that the vast percentage of the cost has been worked out by some accountant as "future earnings potential which has been lost", and "lost value as a parent/offspring" and "lost value as a contribution to society". But all this is merely fictitious accounting nonsense.

There is no way that a road accident death will cost ON AVERAGE 5 million Dollars in CASH that HAS TO BE PAID. A ridiculous notion.

12drinkmore

I repeat my post 59 after you asked the question last time

Quote

2M baht would be about right. The cost is determined by many factors, including total police and emergency time spent dealing with RTA's, the cost of 'productivity' and 'tax 'to the country, in many cases medical bills etc etc etc. The price of a death in the UK is about £5M per person, no sh*t.

Anyway as maths is not the strong point here then one solution to get an ambitious politician to call a stop to the whole thing is to give them the following Fact! Did you know that in the UK and USA approximately 33% of all road accidents are caused by drunk drivers! That means that 67% of road accidents are caused by sober ones! Therefore get everyone to drive drunk and you will cut down the accident rate by 67%! Lies Lies and dam_n statistics!

Do you get it?

The cost in any country of providing emergency services for a particular problem, divided by the number of accidents or deaths will give the starting point for the calculation. So if providing Road Traffic Police cost $1 Billion and there were 1000 deaths on the roads in the year, the starting cost per death will be $1 million. The Road Traffic police are there to provide safety and prevent accidents and fatalities on the road. It cost in the example $1 Billion a year, but easy to say $1 million per death or $10 000 per accident etc etc. The sums of money involved are vast. You cannot estimate the cost of travel to the hospital at say $10 per trip. If the ambulance only goes to two emergencies per day, you have still had to pay for two crew for 24 hours, fuel, holidays, pensions, vehicle and crew insurance blah blah blah. It is £5 Million per death in the UK!

you also say

"There is no way that a road accident death will cost ON AVERAGE 5 million Dollars in CASH that HAS TO BE PAID. A ridiculous notion".

Why the shouting? Nobody has said it is cash that has to be paid. Where did that come from?

Edited by Tigs, 2009-12-04 00:01:16.

[uncletom]

No sh*t Sherlock! This has been happening to us for along time. Thais and so to speak non Thais have been subjected unscrupulous stuff for ever. Did you happen to be questioned by an officer who can speak English or not? Doesn't matter any way..
You drunk, maybe they like you, but really now days, blow into the prescribed measurer and take your chances. If they do not like you, bye bye, and if they do...walk

[ericthai]

cloudhopper, on 2009-12-03 18:37:39, said:

As if not having a license would ever stop anyone from driving here.

hel_l, it dont stop repeat offender's in the USA.  I read all the time of guys being arrested for the 4 or 5th time for drinking and driving, in which they dont have a license, so there is no way it will stop a drinker that wants to drive in Thailand. Also, 5K upto 20K, this is really cheap.  My cousin was a arrested for drinking and driving, his lawyer fee was more than this, then court costs, school, getting his car out of impound etc, cost him over $5000 USD, made him think twice about driving and drinking again.

[skinnymilinky]

Do you think that these laws will extend to the drunken Policemen drivers like the one who crashed in to my car in Pai?!! He was so drunk that when the other police came to assess the damage, he denied that he had hit my car and said that he would have to drive down to have a look as he was too drunk to walk!!
There was no arrest for him, he hasn't even paid for the damage yet and it was 8 months ago!!

[SNGLIFE]

Hey!  A new law which will be ignored.  I'll drink to that!

[Phuket Stan]

Dont forget that when u go down for drunk driving and pay the fine the Immigration Police are waiting to be paid next or your Visa/Permission to stay is cancelled...happened here in Phuket last Songkran..going rate with Immigration Police was 10k

[orosee]

The 2010 FTA will affect several Asian countries. Expect big benefits from overtaxed alcohols such as wine. Finally we can afford better than what the French have scraped out from under their toenails and filled in an export bottle!

I do however never understand what's wrong with journalism today if people write rubbish such as "three times cheaper". Is it so hard to spell "third"? For example, imagine a bottle priced at 1,000 Baht. Now this shall become three times cheaper - as what? Do a little math:

Full price: 1,000 Baht
ONE time cheaper: 1,000 Baht - 1 x 1,000 Baht = 0 (FREE!!! BOOZE!!!)
TWO times cheaper: Now that can be anything from 1,000 - 2 x 1,000 = -1,000 (so you make money on the purchase) to 0 (by using another "1 times cheaper" on the 0 Baht obtained before).

Continue ad infinitum each new round of "times cheaper".

I'm surprised that this being Thailand, the writer did not put "three times more cheaper" since this is proper Tinglish.

[needforspeed]

Good to track this down but as many laws in Thailand who is going to enforced this .

[fishhooks]

This is now the norm in Korat. Every night their are numerous alcohol checkpoints with breathalyzers in hand. If over the .05 limit you are arrested and booked into jail, with a court hearing within 48 hrs............Quote barryofthailand

Hope with the numerous checkpoints in Korat, they also lend a hand to enforcing the speed along Mittrapharp Road, particularly along the main city stretch.

This road would quite possibly be one of the most dangerous in Thailand!

[hhiser]

Ok, 1 question who will administer the Breathalyzer test to the cops after they have set around drinking whiskey at the check points?

[kevkev1888]

metisdead, on 2009-12-03 18:07:53, said:

Chris Lawrence, on 2009-12-03 17:49:26, said:

Enforce the helmet law. A lot of head injuries are more than likely in those figures. See so many people just coming off their bikes.

Yesterday when I left my mooban, there were 2 police on a motorbike, they were headed the same way as me, once out on the main road 2 motorbikes, drivers not wearing helmets, passed right by the police and they didn't even bat any eye. Apparently the police only enforce the helmet law at check points only?

The Police only enforce ALL traffic laws at check points only!!!!!!

[fiercesnake]

PhilHarries, on 2009-12-03 17:19:17, said:

I would love this to be the true face of the law but unfortunately money can, will and always has talked.

Also, what equipment are the BiB being provided with to enforce this ruling which is not new but just another of Thailand's unenforced laws.

Exactly, they need some simple handheld breathalyzer units.

I was recently stunned when I was pulled over by the BIB late in the evening on the bike and he wanted me to remove my face mask so he could get closer. Though polite, the of English and communication is limited and I'm used to just the usual tea money for some ridiculous nonsense, but no it was to check my breath! He was using the smell test! Not had a drink at all and never do drink and drive I was stunned at the level of "sophistication"! Let's try and smell someone's breath amongst choking diesel fumes from buses and trucks, car fumes and cooking smells on the Sukhumvit!

Seriuously good idea to stop accidents but gosh at least can the government get real on how to do. I don't think the smell test in that type of situation is exactly the most ideal to use.

[Beacher]

I'm curious to know what the fine (if any) there is for driving without a license. I suspect that losing or having ones driving license suspended won't be a deterrent to the vast majority of Thais. Now, if they could find some way to make them lose face for drunk driving, perhaps through conspicuous community service (as some suggested by picking up liter on the side of the road) that might work. To make it more effective, the guilty parties could be forced to wear a big placard with their name on it, stating that they are irresponsible people who were caught drunk driving. Hit them where it really hurts -- saving face.

[Tafia]

Thanh-BKK, on 2009-12-03 17:48:28, said:

Hi..

I am all for this one, if they ever manage to pull it off.

However the cops will be way too busy harassing motorbikes for entirely made-up "offenses" so they won't have the time to check anyone for alcohol levels.

And even if they manage to catch a drunkard by chance (probably because he was on a motorbike) it will be the usual 200 Baht straight into the cop's pocket and he'll be on his merry way again.

regards

Thanh

Breath Tests have been becoming very frequent in Udon, on one occasion I was stopped twice in one night in different parts of town.

[Sherlocke]

I'm sure this law will be applied inappropriately and people will be locked up who haven't had a drop - procedure will be ignored and the police will just "do" who they want.

[Chris78]

I would never drink and drive in BKK as there's loads of other transport options. However, when you live in a place where transport pretty much stops after dark it's a little more difficult to get around when you're out drinking. I guess I'll have to start walking to the bar.

[LuckyLew]

ericthai, on 2009-12-04 00:47:39, said:

cloudhopper, on 2009-12-03 18:37:39, said:

As if not having a license would ever stop anyone from driving here.

hel_l, it dont stop repeat offender's in the USA.  I read all the time of guys being arrested for the 4 or 5th time for drinking and driving, in which they dont have a license, so there is no way it will stop a drinker that wants to drive in Thailand. Also, 5K upto 20K, this is really cheap.  My cousin was a arrested for drinking and driving, his lawyer fee was more than this, then court costs, school, getting his car out of impound etc, cost him over $5000 USD, made him think twice about driving and drinking again.

You are right, it won;t stop repeat offenders
but if it saves one life it is worth it.

Funny how the original article mentioned cutting
back on drunk drives and then redusing the cost
of alcohol all in one go.  

Repeat drunk drivers would be locked up like attempted murderers
are, it is the same thing. another deterent would be to confiscate
their cars and send them to the wrecking yard. If you are foolish
and dumb enough to drink and drive you deserve whatever
punishment you get.

[hhiser]

pisico, on 2009-12-03 19:33:58, said:

...it is nothing like it is in the States where Road Rage is typified by flipping of the bird, four letter word insults and gun fire. Let's count our blessings and take it in stride. No Road Rage, I am all for that. 
Pisico

Swearing and flipping the bird is not road rage it is just simply communication. Gunfire, I lived in an area where according to Fox News and CNN had the highest number of incidents of road rage in the country, I never heard gunfire while driving. Nor have I ever witnessed a violent confrontation on the roads. Nor did any local news outlet report many such incidents, just Fox News and CNN. According to them there was a fatality attributed to Road Rage everyday! 

Edited by hhiser, 2009-12-04 10:00:41.

[caf]

Beacher, on 2009-12-04 08:56:17, said:

I'm curious to know what the fine (if any) there is for driving without a license. I suspect that losing or having ones driving license suspended won't be a deterrent to the vast majority of Thais. Now, if they could find some way to make them lose face for drunk driving, perhaps through conspicuous community service (as some suggested by picking up liter on the side of the road) that might work. To make it more effective, the guilty parties could be forced to wear a big placard with their name on it, stating that they are irresponsible people who were caught drunk driving. Hit them where it really hurts -- saving face.

You make a good point.

But the problem is Thais generally do not want to make others lose face. This concept is holding them back so much and keeping them in the 19th century.

[Sherlocke]

No one is in favour od DD! - the issue here surely is wether or not this is an effective piece of legislation - I would give it a resounding NO!