Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing drunk driving here in Thailand. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Pattaya Mail, that is pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Summary of Thai Visas available: January 2024. Quoting directly: "Thailand in recent years has become more strict about drunk driving (especially with accidents) and possession or trafficking of illegal substances. Whilst bail is usually offered by the Court, the time scales involved in trying criminal cases can be months or even years if an appeal is involved."

Yeah look, coming to Thailand and drinking and driving is just a bad idea generally speaking; it can lead to a lot of problems. Quite honestly, when you look at sort of the foreign population if you will, the expat population of Thailand if you will, I often find it interesting that at the end of the day, driving seems to be something that causes more consternation for Farang than anything, for foreigners here than anything. Again it may not necessarily be their fault; they may have been in an accident that wasn't their fault but unfortunately like drunk driving you can't say that is anyone's fault other than the driver. I have personally watched, if my anecdotal evidence is worth anything, I have personally seen especially the past year or so, the Thai Police becoming far more assiduous about ascertaining whether or not somebody is under the influence and detaining them and going ahead and basically putting them through due process and it can result in a rather prolonged scenario wherein somebody is having to deal with the Thai Courts and go through all of that stuff. 

So the thing to take away from this video is, first off as a foreign national, if you are coming to Thailand it is kind of one of those, don't come to Thailand and be a foreigner behaving badly, it is just a bad idea generally speaking. Secondly, and the other thing to take away from this video is if you do find yourself in a situation whether it involves drunk driving or just a general traffic problem, citation, even a Court summons, it is probably not a terrible idea to contact a legal professional, gain some insight and guidance into how best to proceed.