By Suchada Tupchai
Accidents happen, but they don’t always need to.
Sometimes a tragic news story makes us stop and realize that with a little
responsible behavior, an incident that killed or maimed need never have
taken place.
Such an accident happened in Bangkok a few days ago. A
Jeep Cherokee ploughed into Po Tek Tueng Foundation rescue workers as they
and police were in the process of lifting a stolen motorcycle onto a police
pickup. Police had arrested two thieves in the Pakret area when the
accident occurred on Chaengwattana Road.
One of the injured was an 11-year-old boy who was
helping his father with the volunteer work. The driver of the vehicle,
Thanitpon Rarmnant, claimed he “just looked away for a second to turn on
the radio.” Police tested the man’s blood alcohol content, which was 69
milligrams, well over the legal limit of 50 mgs.
Drunk driving is an offence of negligence, and has been
played over and over again as motorists continue in failing to heed the
law. That failure sees the constant loss of life and property as a result.
Over recent years, the Mau Mai Clup (Don’t Drink and
Drive) Foundation along with other associations has attempted to spread the
word on the dangers. They’ve even offered to test drivers before they get
into the car.
The Po Tek Tueng Foundation, similar to Pattaya’s
Sawang Boriboon Foundation, also provides a bus service for drivers who
have imbibed more than their fair share to curb accidents such as this.
Government officials - albeit somewhat sporadically - have tried to prevent
drink-driving through random tests and fines. All efforts appear to have
failed in the long run, with only minor successes during specific periods.
The main point is that not driving whilst impaired is
conscious decision that must be made individually before we get behind the
wheel. We should not need to be told.
National statistics reveal that the number of Thai
people consuming alcohol increases on an average of 260,000 per year.
Thailand’s per capita drink consumption rates around number 5 in the
world. This works out at 13.59 liters of alcohol per person per year. Total
consumption stood at 992 million liters annually in 1992 and a decade later
it had reached 1,926 million liters - in other words, it doubled. The
drinks industry is naturally delighted - Thailand is a 150 billion baht
market, and it’s growing.
Business is business. But the ugly side of the coin is
that those who enjoy themselves with a few drinks and then attempt to drive
an automobile are in every way behaving unacceptably. The climbing alcohol
statistics have the corollary that drunken driving statistics will also
rise, unless we make individual decisions not to drink and drive.
There is no great inevitability in the road toll rising.
It can be controlled, reduced, eradicated even. What a thought! So we need
ways to get the message across effectively. If we are to cooperate and
create awareness in earnest, progress can be made. Of course, it needs more
than this idealistic vision. Penalties for drink-drivers can be raised to
the point where people won’t want to drink and drive. This has been very
effective in many other countries.
It is time now for us to take a stand against those who
remain willfully negligent in drinking and driving - for real! And that
includes ourselves. Alcohol blurs our judgement, gives us false confidence,
and can make us do things we sincerely regret next morning. Time then to
look at ourselves, and our families, and our friends. Taking responsibility
starts here. Don’t drink and drive. The life you save may be your own.
