Have we been misled over the measure to ban alcohol sales during the Songkran festival?
The Alcohol Control Committee agreed on Feb 15 to ban alcohol sales on Songkran day, April 13, claiming it is the day when road accidents peak.
The measure has been tabled before the National Alcohol Policy Committee pending the committee's decision. Questions must be raised as to whether traffic accidents have really risen during the festive periods.
The government is gearing up safe driving campaigns by taking aim at drink-driving. But the National Statistical Office revealed that the number of road accidents during the festival period declined from 4,900 in 2007 to 3,500 in 2016, down 27%.
Despite this, for the whole year, the number of road accidents across the country rose from 39,600 in 2007 to 43,400 in 2015, up 10%.
According to the office, the number of alcohol drinkers has climbed in the festive periods but road accidents have fallen.
For the whole year, the number of traffic accidents across the country has risen 10% over the past 10 years but the number of alcohol drinkers has climbed only 2%. This shows that the road accidents were unlikely to be because of drinking. There are other major problems that should be looked upon but we tend not to mention or overlook them. The focus has mainly been on alcohol-ban campaigns during festive periods, which has yielded no substantial benefit.
Does the rise of road accidents come from alcohol consumption or poor driving behaviour?
According to statistics for road accidents between 2006 and 2015, the marked increase in accidents came from exceeding speed limits (from 5,500 to 7,100 accidents, up 70%), overtaking (from 3,600 to 8,100, up 125%), tailgating (from 2,900 to 5,900, up 103%), inexperienced drivers (from 1,300 to 2,900, up 123%), as well as not giving the right of way (from 900 to 2,100, up 133%). This is a matter of driving behaviour. Although drinking could cause people to drive poorly, people with bad driving behaviour are unlikely to change them when they drive during festival periods since this is their habit.
Would a ban on alcohol sales on Songkran day reduce traffic accidents?
A proposal has been raised to ban alcohol sales on Songkran day in a bid to reduce traffic accidents. Are there other causes of accidents? Thailand has various laws to ward off road accidents that stem from drink-driving. At least two of them clearly to serve this purpose.
One is the Land Traffic Act. Drink-driving is punishable by a jail term of up to one year and a fine of between 10,000 and 20,000 baht, or both. A court order can be issued to suspend driving licences for at least six months or even revoke them. Vehicles can also be seized for up to seven days. This legislation carries heavier punishment than that associated with the ban on alcohol sales.
Another is the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act's Section 29, which makes it illegal to sell alcohol to anyone under 20 years old. Violators could face a jail term of up to one year and/or a fine of up to 20,000 baht, based on the act's Section 40. Again, this punishment is heavier than those associated with the ban on alcohol sales.
The problem lies in ineffective law enforcement.
There are claims that the ban on alcohol sales during Buddhist holidays resulted in a smaller number of road accidents. In fact, alcohol consumption during Buddhist holidays is normally minimal since they are not festive days. Traffic is also light in comparison with the festive periods. It is not right to compare this with claims that the ban on alcohol sales during festive periods would reduce road accidents.
Driving behaviour is the main cause of road accidents throughout the year, and during festival periods when a huge number of vehicles hit the roads, more traffic accidents are likely to happen. Toughened traffic law enforcement and campaigns for safer driving practices would help reduce crashes more effectively.
A blanket ban on alcohol sales would not only be of dubious merit in reducing road accidents but may also hinder the tourism industry, particularly areas where foreign travellers visit such as hotels and resorts.
We should not be misled into believing that drink-driving is the major cause of road accidents. Instead, campaigns must be raised to instil a sense of public responsibility and driving discipline, and the existing laws must be enforced more stringently and effectively. There are already enough laws to ward off road accidents from drink-driving with harsher punishments than those linked with the ban on alcohol sales.
Chatrchai Tuongratanaphan is executive director of the Thai Retailers Association.