I think sometimes politicians just propose things in order to justify the fact that they are running the country. They feel the need to fiddle with things here and there just so they can say that they are doing something when the things they talk about doing are just silly.
I don't know if you are aware of this, but people go to bars and nightclubs in order to get drunk. It isn't something that happens by accident. It's not like you are just having a nice chat and then all of a sudden you are hammered. Most people intentionally go to clubs and bars with the expressed desire of specifically getting drunk.
I don't know the name of the legislator that is proposing this and if I did copy/pasta it here you likely wouldn't recognize it either even if you are Thai. It's just some legislator that is likely trying to make a name for himself by proposing something that he knows wont get passed and even if it did, the venues wouldn't abide by it anyway.
Keep in mind that prostitution is illegal in Thailand yet there are entire areas of town that are well-known and dedicated specifically for that purpose. Ever heard of Pattaya? Well that is basically what the entire city is all about.
So the way that this is meant to work, and it won't, I can promise you that, is that certain nightlife areas are going to be mandated to administer breathalyzer tests to people that are LEAVING the clubs and pubs and if they blow over a .05 the owners of the establishment are somehow meant to prevent the patrons from driving anywhere.
This is an absurd proposal because of a couple of reasons, several of which are going to be Thailand or countries like Thailand specific.
- As I already mentioned, the primary reason why people go to pubs or nightclubs is to get drunk. It shouldn't be that alarming that they manage to achieve this while they are there
- There are a ton of laws in Thailand that are basically just ignored. This is true of the aforementioned prostitution, speed limits, driving without licenses, operating a vehicle when you are 11 years old, and wearing of helmets. All of these laws are on the books in Thailand but nobody cares. Speed limits in particular are a waste of money spent on the signs that they put those numbers on because nobody even looks at them.
- The businesses that are required to administer this aren't actually going to try to prevent anyone from driving. Doing so would anger the patrons and lose business for them
- Bar staff are not police and it is not their job to enforce the rules of the police
There are likely a lot more rules similar to this but this proposal is one of the sillier ones that I have heard of since moving to this country. This country basically embraces hedonism and simply pretends to give a damn about whether or not the country has a drinking problem. It does have a drinking problem just like every other country in the world since basically everyone in the world is a pisshead.
If the police want there to be less drunk drivers on the roads of Thailand then they should take it upon themselves to enforce this sort of thing. It is lazy, impractical, and absurd to attempt to transfer this responsibility to the owners of clubs and pubs that make money from selling alcohol.
If this rule is passed it will end up being like the famed "100% helmet law" that some lawmakers were so proud of themselves for passing. It took about 3 weeks before everyone went back to doing what they had always done. This will be the same. It's just like the really strange 3 hours in the afternoon where you are not allowed to buy alcohol but the only thing this accomplishes is WHERE the people buy their booze, not whether or not they can actually get it.
Silly laws end up having silly reactions to them and if this is passed, I believe it will be almost entirely ignored by the owners of drinking establishments. I guess there are some politicians out there that feel as though they need to justify their positions by introducing something even if that something is stupid and unenforceable.