Alcohol ban will not be effective

The government's national alcohol control committee will shortly consider whether to ban the sale of alcohol during the upcoming Songkran Festival in order to reduce the annual carnage caused by road accidents during the traditional Thai New Year holiday.

The ban has been proposed in response to the alarming accident figures during the Songkran Festival. For example, from April 11 to 17 last year, a total of 32,327 people were killed and injured during the week-long festival. The most dangerous time was on April 12 from 3pm until 7pm when 5,376 people were killed or injured.

Big cities and towns were the accident champions. Bangkok saw the highest number of accidents, followed by Nakhon Ratchasima and Chiang Mai.

Every year, the Thai New Year festival is treated with dread in some quarters due to the high toll from accidents. In fact, the three-day festival should always be remembered as a joyous occasion when people soak each other with water in a respectful manner as a symbol of a fresh beginning for the new year. Instead, the festival always ends with reports of deaths, especially on the roads. Many people lose their lives or are severely injured in accidents that could easily have been avoided.

The festival, which often runs longer than the traditional three days, has recently been dubbed the "seven deadly days" due to the carnage. Most of the road accidents occur because drunken revellers get behind the wheel of a car or a motorbike.

The authorities have previously tried to reduce the number of accidents caused by drunk driving by attempting to impose a ban on the sale of alcohol at certain places and during certain periods of time. An alcohol act was initiated in 2008, but a survey at 1,073 places in 26 provinces around the country - including petrol stations, schools and temples - from April 11 to 16 last year showed extensive violations of the alcohol sale ban.

The survey showed that around 57 per cent of shops violated the rules by selling alcohol during the current nationwide ban for stores and supermarkets between the times of midnight to 11am and 2pm to 5pm. The number of violations had doubled from the previous year.

These figure show that preventative measures will not be effective if people are not fully aware of the dangers of drunk driving - both to themselves and to others.

A National Statistical Office survey conducted in 2007 showed that almost 16 million Thais aged 15 years and over drink alcohol. Almost one in every three Thais drinks alcohol regularly, and men drink five times more alcohol than women.

The way to tackle this problem is to educate people from an early age about the effects of alcohol and how to be responsible drinkers. If youngsters are able to purchase or obtain alcohol easily, they will be encouraged to start drinking prematurely.

In addition to public health and awareness campaigns about the dangers of alcohol, the government should help instil in people's minds the attitude that alcoholic beverages are not desirable gifts during the Songkran festival.

The call from the Public Health Ministry to ban alcohol sales during Songkran is a desperate attempt to curb the number of accidents caused by drunk driving.

Nonetheless, the plan has received a cautious reception from the tourism industry, which reasons that a ban could dampen the holiday sentiment in a sector that is already severely affected by the global economic crisis.

Without a strict crackdown on drunk drivers and better public education, a ban on alcohol sales will not be effective in curbing the number of accidents during the festival.

During the past few years, revellers have found ways to get around bans on the sale of alcohol. Do the authorities not realise that it is simple enough to stockpile alcohol before the festival begins? Any restriction on shops selling alcohol will not do much to prevent drunk driving and more deaths. It will only hurt businesses more.

The most effective way to prevent drunk driving is through education of drivers. People must be made aware of the dangers of drinking and driving, and they should learn how to drink with responsibility.

Otherwise, regardless of how strict the law is, drinkers will always find ways to get around the rules. A ban on alcohol sales is not the ultimate answer in saving lives during the seven deadly days.