Thai drunk drivers taken on gory tour of Bangkok morgue to reflect on their crime
Several convicted drink drivers were brought to a Bangkok morgue Monday to see a corpse and reflect on the gory consequences of their actions as part of a programme aimed at combating the carnage on Thailand’s roads.
Thailand has the world’s second-worst record for traffic fatalities, according to the World Health Organisation, just behind Libya. Most of the road accidents are caused by drink driving.
In the past, we have tried campaigns, but the statistics were not going down. So why not try other activities?
The morgue campaign was first introduced in April during Thailand’s traditional New Year holiday, known as Songkran. The holiday puts thousands of people on the road, as Thais return to their home villages for reunions and celebrations, typically fueled by alcohol. The government has dubbed the seven-day holiday – during which an estimated 2.3 people die and 160 are injured in road accidents every hour – “The Seven Days of Danger”.
The Department of Probation, which set up the programme, said that since April, more than 1,700 drink drivers have been taken to dozens of morgues nationwide.
“In the past, we have tried campaigns, but the statistics were not going down. So why not try other activities? What kind of activity would create more shock and worry?” said Prasarn Mahaleetrakul, deputy director of the Department of Probation. “So we came up with this project. Drunken driving – you get sent to the morgue.”
Media were invited to a photo op on Monday, when the programme came to Bangkok for the first time. Inside the morgue at Bangkok’s Taksin Hospital, four convicted drink drivers were handed rags to first wipe down the stainless steel gurneys where corpses are laid and then gathered around a body, covered by a white sheet with feet and hands hanging out.