DUI drivers face charge of murder

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon says he has ordered police to charge speeding and drunk motorists who cause fatal accidents during the Songkran holiday with premeditated murder.

"I am worried that speeding and drunk driving can kill others. We must try to reduce deaths from these causes. So, anyone who violates speed limits or drives under the influence (DUI) and causes death will be held responsible for murder," Gen Prawit said at the Defence Ministry on Friday.

The new measure would add to other measures earlier introduced to boost road safety during Songkran, he said. Other measures include impounding the vehicles of drunk drivers.

He did, however, confirm that Songkran revellers will be allowed to travel around on the backs of pickup trucks as usual.

"Let it go for now," said Gen Prawit, who is also the defence minister.

Despite the intense road safety campaign for the Songkran festival in April last year, there were still 3,724 traffic accidents, which killed 418 people and injured 3,897 others. Speeding and drink driving were cited as the most common causes.

Traffic accidents killed 20,169 people in Thailand last year, according to official statistics.

Pol Maj Gen Ekkarak Limsangkat, deputy chief of the Royal Thai Police's education bureau, said more than 200,000 policemen will be put on standby at checkpoints on secondary roads nationwide to crack down on law-breaking motorists, especially drunk drivers, during the so-called "seven dangerous days" of Songkran between April 11-17.

"We have now declared war on drunk drivers. Police officers will be deployed on secondary roads. When road accidents occur and people are injured, those involved must take breathalyser tests at the scene in order to keep drunk drivers off the streets,'' Pol Maj Gen Ekkarak said.

He said police are also considering measures to punish passengers riding in cars driven by drunk drivers for supporting the offence.

Kamol Buranapong, deputy director-general of the Land Transport Department, said drunk driving is the major cause of road accidents, particularly during the Songkran holiday, with the number of road fatalities during the period rising by 100% each year.