Phuket police volunteer faces drunk driving charges

A Phuket police volunteer faces drunk driving charges after he and a medical staffer collided on their motorbikes. The incident happened on Korsimbi Road near the Rang Hill in Talad Nuea market in Phuket’s main city district.

Rescuers arrived on the scene to find both men injured, with their motorbikes damaged. One of the injured men was 52 year old Kreangsak, a registered police volunteer with Phuket City Police.

An alcohol breathalyser test recorded 241 milligrams as Kreangsak’s alcohol level, The Phuket Express reported.

Officers brought Kreangsak to Phuket City Police Station to face charges of drunk driving causing damage, bodily harm, and harm to the mind.

Rescuers and law enforcement withheld the name of the medical staffer who collided with Kreangsak.

Across Thailand in 2021, 277 people were killed, and 2,357 were injured in almost 2,400 road accidents. Drunk driving was involved in more than one-third of the accidents.

Drunk driving is so common that Phuket holds an annual road safety campaign known as ‘Seven Days of Danger’ around the New Year holiday.

Last month, the government announced new strict screenings of drivers over the holiday period in an attempt to reduce the number of road deaths.

The Ministry of Interior and the police are under orders to check drivers to make sure they are following all traffic laws and not under the influence of alcohol, according to a deputy government spokesperson. The government has vowed to punish anyone caught driving drunk or violating the law.

Apart from drunk driving, Thai officials are desperately trying to make the kingdom’s roads safer in general. This month, officials implemented a new points system in which drivers get a certain number of points deducted for various driving offenses.

The new points system proved to be a challenge for over 500 drivers on the first day of its implementation. On the system’s first day, January 9, 540 drivers in the country had points deducted.