Harsher punishments with no suspended sentences should be introduced for drink-drivers, to curb the death toll resulting from road accidents, according to the Road Safety Policy Foundation.
Speaking at a forum Thursday, Thanaphong Chinnawong, the foundation's manager of academic resources, said drink driving is responsible for a quarter of the 15,000 people killed in road accidents every year.
Health advocates are demanding stronger measures to curb the toll.
Many victims, based on death certificates recently obtained from state agencies, are pedestrians and even traffic police.
They were hit by drink drivers who ignored warnings and took advantage of weak spots in the law.
The flaw in Dr Thanaphong's view is weak penalties. Many drink drivers are only given suspended jail terms when they commit wrongdoing even though those acts claim other lives.
"But drink driving is not a careless act," he said. "It's dangerous behaviour which deserves harsh punishment with no suspended sentences."
Anti-drink driving activists campaign around Victory Monument, demanding harsher punishments for people caught driving while under the influence. (Photo by Chanat Katanyu)
In Japan, a wrongdoer in a drink-driving case can be sentenced to 20 years in jail, he said.
More social measures also must be devised because many people in society believe "drink driving is normal", Dr Thanaphong said.
Worse, more motorists are using gadgets to help them avoid roads where police checkpoints are set up.
The toll on the roads of 40 deaths a day on average, a quarter of which result from drink driving, is enough to prompt both government and civic groups to take serious action, he said.
State agencies have launched road safety campaigns, especially during the long holidays. However, Dr Thanaphong said, the death toll in accidents caused by drink drivers increased from 17% to 32%, and drink-driving-related accidents rose from 34% to 43% during the Songkran festival in April.
Most troubling is that many victims are people aged under 20.
"I believe only stronger laws, arrests and jail terms can deal with the problem," said Wichan Naisong, whose vehicle once hit a police officer seven years ago.
The officer, Snr Sgt Maj Anusak Khaminthong, suffered severe wounds and had to have his left leg amputated.
He was given a two-year suspended jail term and fined more than 10,000 baht, though also had to meet the victim's medical bills and compensation worth two million baht in total.
The 59-year-old said he never wanted to take the case to the court. "It was an expensive lesson for me," he said.
He did not want to see other drivers make the same mistake and agreed tougher penalties were needed to deter drink driving.
Snr Sgt Maj Anusak is among a number of policemen who have been injured in road accidents. Over the past three years, 49 others have fallen victim to drink drivers, Dr Thanaphong said.
"I've never forgotten that incident," Sgt Maj Anusak said.