Crackdown on drunk driving

PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Police and the Phuket Provincial Health Office are to launch a breath-test campaign to catch drunk drivers, starting in the early hours of Friday, March 30. Happily for drunk drivers, Dr Boonrieng Chuchaisangrat, Chief of the Health Office, has revealed that the checks will take place in front of Surakul stadium between 2 and 4 am. Those caught will be asked to take a seat by the side of the road and will be rechecked regularly until they are within the legal limit. Thai law stipulates that anyone driving with a blood-alcohol content of more than 50 milligrams is over the limit, and subject to penalties of up to three months in jail or a fine of up to 10,000 baht, or both. Dr Boonrieng advised that, in order not to be caught for drunk driving, drivers should avoid drinking more than 90 cc of spirits, or two cans or small bottles of beer (four cans for light beer), or two glasses of wine before driving. They should not drink at all in the hour before getting behind the wheel. Pol Lt Col Teerapol Thipjaroen, Deputy Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, said, “I don’t think we will be able to check every vehicle but we will try to check as many as possible, even if the driver does not look drunk – some people do not show it when they’re drunk, but it’s still bad for their driving.” The police will start to get serious next month, and drivers will face the full penalties of the law if caught driving while over the limit during the Songkhran period.