Mandatory Detention For Drunk Drivers

[george]

ACCIDENT CRACKDOWN: Mandatory detention for drunk drivers

BANGKOK: The government yesterday enacted five road-safety measures, including mandatory detention of drunk drivers, in a bid to prevent a repeat of the road carnage seen during the recent holiday period.

The New Year holiday, between Monday December 29, 2003 and Sunday January 4, saw 18,803 road accidents resulting in 612 deaths and 25,580 injuries with Bt3.4 billion in damage caused, Government Deputy Spokesman Topong Chaiyasan said yesterday.

The new measures include the strict enforcement of traffic rules and swift penalties for a lapse of law enforcement.

The highway police will be empowered to direct traffic on secondary rural roads, where most accidents over the holiday occurred, while motorists under the influence of alcohol are to be detained in police custody overnight pending a court hearing.

Civil servants and state employees have also been designated as role models for road rules along with year-round campaigning to raise awareness of road safety.

Health activist Taejing Siripanit welcomed the measures, saying enforcement of traffic rules was often lax. "I particularly urge traffic police to crack down on drunk drivers," he said.

Drunk drivers will never learn a lesson if traffic police continue to be lenient towards them, he said.

Despite tough penalties of up to three months in jail and a Bt20,000 fine, there has never been a conviction for drink-driving because the cases never reach court, he said.

In the past, police did not detain drunk drivers after they compensated the injured parties for damage and paid a fine.

--The Nation 2004-01-07