Drinking in vehicles ban may be reviewed

Deputy Public Health Minister Manit Nopamornbodi said yesterday that Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart's secretary team had urged the ministry to review the drinking ban regulations saying they might also be an abuse of authority beyond the Alcohol Beverage Control Act 2008.

The ministry will send the recommendations to its legal experts to make the regulation indisputable, before resubmitting it to the Committee, Manit said.

As a result, the regulations banning alcoholdrinking in vehicles on the street, might not be in effect by Songkran; a regulation normally needs at least seven days before implementation, he said. The ministry would reinforce existing laws and use community members such as village health volunteers to campaign for people to behave responsibly.

"The Public Health Ministry has seen that deaths and injuries through road accidents result from alcohol drinking and tried to tackle the root of problem, but others have disagreed with our move. We'll carry on with our duty and still have a chance [to achieve something by]the New Year holidays," he added.

Manit said the Committee had also assigned a subpanel to consider the regulations which prohibit alcohol selling on Makha Puja Day, Visakha Puja Day, Asanha Puja Day and the Buddhist Lent Day.

Alcohol Watch Network coordinator, Kamron Chudecha, said he was disappointed in the National Committee for Alcohol Consumption Control's actions. He said he still hoped PM Abhisit Vejjajiva, who had a final say on the matter, would come through with some solutions. His network would present Abhisit with facts about Songkran road accident tolls but would not pressure him.

"Whatever the PM decides, it will be so. And the government cannot escape responsibility for the consequences," Kamron said, adding the drinking ban in vehicles was the meekest regulation and should not affect anyone except the alcohol business.

Stop Drink Network director, Songkran Pakchokdee, urged Sanan to be responsible for the consequences if the Songkran Holidays' road accident tolls this year did not go down. He urged Abhisit, who assigned Sanan as the Committee chairman, and the ministries acting against the antialcohol attempts to be responsible.

"All laws somewhat limit individual person's rights. But they are for the prevention of violation to the rights of others and the society's majority. If a law is useful for the public, it can be done," he added.

Sanan told a videoconference of related agencies and provinces in which he was to give policy for the Songkran road toll prevention that the Committee's March 30 meeting had divided into two sides; one supported the total ban of alcohol sale during the Songkran while the other feared impacts on economic and tourist opportunities thus they finally voted against the alcohol sale ban. He said this year Songkran would see tougher law reinforcement to protect the public and to prove which one, the existing law reinforcement or the alcohol sale ban, was better than the other.

Interior Minister Chaowarat Chanverakul said he ordered provincial governors and local bodies to prepare for accident prevention from April 10 to 16. During the time the traffic law violators would face maximum punishments and all provinces update road toll figures to the Road Safety Center on daily basis for analysis and solutions, while watersplasing zones would be clearly set and all vehicles be banned from such areas, he said. The villages' main road checkpoints would also be up to 10,000 this Songkran to watch out for drunk drivers.