Drunk-driving crackdown starts tonight

PHUKET: The police have warned that they will begin serious spot checks for drunken driving from tonight, in a campaign that will last until April 18 – after the Songkhran festival. At a highly publicized trial roadblock set up in Phuket Town a week ago, police stopped and breathalysed 70 drivers – 60 men and 10 women. Of these, 40 had drunk detectable amounts of alcohol, but only six, all men, were found to have exceeded the legal limit of 50 milligrams per 100 milliliters of blood. These six were lucky; their only penalty was being forced to sit by the side of the road until their alcohol level had dropped below the legal limit. Thai law stipulates that anyone driving with a blood-alcohol level that is over the limit is subject to a penalty of up to three months in jail or a fine of up to 10,000 baht, or both.