New regulations to combat drunk driving

The updated criteria, published in the Royal Gazette on Friday, include additional testing methods and revised blood-alcohol limits for different age groups.

In addition to breathalyser tests, urine and blood tests now can be conducted on drivers under the age of 20, those with provisional driving licences, and drivers over the age of 50.

The Ministerial Regulation on Testing the Alcohol Content of Drivers outlines the procedures for conducting these tests and sets legal limits for blood-alcohol content.

Under the new regulations, drivers who exceed 20 milligrams per decilitre blood-alcohol content (BAC) will be considered drunk if they are under 20 years old, holding a provisional driving licence, driving a vehicle for which their licence is not valid, or driving without a licence or with a suspended or revoked licence. For drivers over the age of 50, the legal limit is 50 milligrams per decilitre.

The regulations also specify the procedures for collecting urine and blood samples and the methods for measuring alcohol content. The results of these tests will be compared to the blood-alcohol content level as a benchmark.

The implementation of these stricter regulations aims to enhance road safety and reduce the number of accidents caused by drunk driving in Thailand.

Legal Basis and Implementation

These new regulations are based on amendments to the Land Traffic Act B.E. 2522 (1979) and replace previous ministerial regulations from 1994 and 2017. The changes aim to enhance road safety and reduce alcohol-related traffic incidents in Thailand.

The prime minister granted these regulations on September 3, with the Royal Gazette publication following on September 20.

As Thailand continues to grapple with road-safety issues, these revised alcohol testing criteria represent a significant step towards stricter enforcement of drunk driving laws. The introduction of multiple testing methods and age-specific BAC limits demonstrates the government's commitment to reducing alcohol-related road accidents and improving overall road safety in the kingdom.