The Interior Ministry has agreed to allow entertainment venues to remain open until 6am on Jan 1 for New Year celebrations, it was announced yesterday.
Government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul said the decision to allow the temporary extension of closing time was taken to stimulate spending during the New Year period.
Furthermore, starting from Friday, bars and clubs in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chon Buri, Phuket and Koh Samui in Surat Thani will be allowed to operate until 4am. Venues attached to registered hotels nationwide will also be allowed to open until 4am starting this Friday.
The ministerial decree on the matter has been signed by Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, said the spokeswoman, before adding it will become official once it is published in the Royal Gazette this week.
Ms Traisuree said the Interior Minister had ordered all relevant units under the ministry to work with local authorities to ensure safety in areas where the new operating hours will apply. Drunk driving, she said, is a particular concern.
In response, temperance groups and road safety advocates are urging the government to rethink its plan, saying authorities have not taken the necessary precautions to prevent alcohol-related accidents.
Dr Tairjing Siriphanich, secretary-general of the Don't Drive Drunk Foundation, said that while the new regulation has a clear economic motive, it fails to protect the public from the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption.
For example, while the National Alcoholic Beverage Policy Committee has said bar and club patrons must take a breathalyser test before leaving the venue and recommends operators of such venues provide a resting area for inebriated patrons to sober up before leaving the premises, they are not legally bound to follow the recommendations.
He also urged the government to increase the penalty for drunk driving, saying 10 years' imprisonment isn't enough to deter drunk driving, especially when the sentences end up getting reduced because of good behaviour.
Pheu Thai MP Khattiya Sawatdipol and Theera Watcharapranee, president of the Stop Drinking Network, said without adequate precautions, the policy would cause road deaths to soar instead of stimulating the economy.
Citing accident data from Chiang Mai, Chon Buri, Bangkok and Phuket, Thanapong Jinvong, from the Road Safety Academic Centre, said drunk driving was to blame for at least 2,118 deaths last year. Almost half of the accidents, or 1,004 cases, took place in Bangkok.