Proposal to ban alcohol sales on Songkran day, April 13

Coming up with another blunt tool to help curb Thailand’s horrendous annual road toll during Songkran, the Alcohol Control Committee is proposing a ban be placed on the sale of alcohol on April 13, Songkran day.

The ACC has passed a resolution to ban the sale of alcoholic drinks on the national Songkran holiday but says the proposal will have to go to the Alcohol Policy Committee before they can implement the ban.

ACC deputy chair Dr Sukhum Karnchanapimai, also the permanent secretary for the Public Health Ministry, says road casualties are the highest on this day every year.

“We will present it to the Alcohol Policy Committee next month.”

April 13 is the traditional Thai New Year, in the middle of the long Songkran holiday, when millions of Thais head for their home-province for the annual celebrations.

The event co-incides with one of the two ‘seven days of danger’ road death reporting periods, when the toll surges, mostly with the extra volume of traffic combined with Thai drinking culture.

In Thailand, drink driving remains the major cause of road accidents, followed by speed-related deaths. The statistics reveal that most of these deaths are on motorbikes, are male and younger than 24.

“Records show between 50 and 60 per cent of adults get behind the wheel even after drinking. The percentage is even higher among those aged younger than 20 years,” Sukhum said.

He said the ACC had pushed for the alcohol-sale ban to protect people from the danger of drunk driving.

“Even if we don’t drink drive, there is risk of accidents if others drink drive,” he said.

“The latest proposal applies to April 13 this year only. But if evaluation shows good results, we will propose the ban on alcoholic sale on April 13 of every year.”