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Although the ban seems morally correct, it does not mean a blanket prohibition is the final answer to Thais' careless habits concerning alcohol consumption. But whether the death toll during this major Thai holiday is really related to the prohibition has yet to be demonstrated. One of the very first arguments is that people who like to drink will stock up anyway. Who could guarantee that they wouldn't also be behind the wheel? A weaker argument: if the ban were implemented, could anyone guarantee that it would be enforced efficiently? Would the police patrol mom-and-pop stores in every moo baan to check them out or would they be too busy having fun, themselves?

True, the number of accidents during the holidays is frightening, and stronger regulations need to be put in place. But any agency against alcohol consumption should first accept that drunk-driving is part of a bigger problem. Secondly, the injuries and casualties caused by drunken drivers happen every day, except the toll during Songkran gets scarier due to the larger number of motorists.

Call me an idiot, but I personally believe that the only way to avoid road accidents is to ban driving altogether. With Thailand's sloppy law-enforcement methods, we never find out whether the person behind the wheel was drunk.

So maybe the government could put it on the national agenda.

Okay, I have bored you by proposing an obvious idea, but when was the last time you experienced any Thai government waging a war against drunken drivers? We have had a "war on drugs", a "war on poverty", but no one's ever thought about a "war on drunk-driving". Most of you would think of campaigns against drunk-driving run in advertisements by either an auto or tyre firm, or even the producers of a famous Scotch whisky.

The Stop Drink Network's director Songkran Pakchokdee has urged Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart, who chairs the National Committee for Alcohol Consumption Control, and Prime Minister Abhisit to be responsible for the consequences if road tolls don't go down during the holidays. I have no objection to someone taking the blame for the deaths, but the problem goes beyond just the holidays. There are fatal accidents every single day in Thailand, and curbing alcohol consumption may be like giving a simple painkiller to a cancer patient.

Alcohol is not just available in Thailand but can be bought elsewhere in the world. Except, elsewhere, people know they should not drink and drive. Take Japan for example: there are more than 15,000 bars in Tokyo alone, and problem drinkers in the country were estimated at 3 million in 2007. Yet, the problem of drunk-driving in its capital is not as severe as in our City of Angels.

Why? That is a question the government should ask itself and try to find answers.

One thing is that the majority of the Japanese take public transport and car owners opt not to drive after drinking. The law in Japan is far stricter than in Thailand, and nobody wants to take a chance with the law.

Perhaps the government should amend all laws with regard to road safety, using Japanese law as an inspiration. A traffic violator, especially if caught drunk, should have his/her licence automatically revoked for a year for the first offence regardless of whether or not any injury had been caused.

In Japan, a traffic violator would be forced to sit in a classroom and go through several hassles before being allowed to drive again. But in Thailand, people who say, "Do you know who my father is?" or who flash their celebrity smiles get away with road casualties.

Awareness and respect for regulations against drunk driving will only come after there is strict enforcement of the law. The government will not lose any support if they prove to the public that they are ready to take responsibility, albeit in a more effective way than just banning alcohol or prohibiting its sale during festivals.

Once a friend of mine was the victim of a drunken driver. She was waiting for the lights to change when a car just suddenly hit her. She could clearly see that the driver was drunk, but the police let him go to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries without actually checking the alcohol level in his blood on the spot. Tell me, if law-enforcement is as lax as this, who would be scared enough to stop driving after getting drunk?

Maybe this year the police will flex their muscles and inspect cars for drunken drivers? Yes, let people drink and be merry, but don't let them get away with hurting other people. Chase drunken drivers off the roads. Lets see how many drunken drivers are arrested this year and if the death toll gets any lower.

If it does, then it will support Sanan's argument that strong enforcement of the law is a more effective measure than banning the sale of alcohol. If Sanan is proved to be right, then it would raise another question: if enforcing the law is as easy as this, then what the hell have you guys been doing for all these years?