Drink drivers and repeat traffic offenders in Thailand could be sent to work in hospital morgues under a new plan by the authorities to try to put a stop to carnage on the country’s roads.

Thailand has the second worst record in the world for traffic fatalities.

During the annual Songkran holiday, thousands of Thais take to the road on motorbikes — often without helmets — to return to their home villages from the big cities to reunite with families. Alcohol usually plays a large role in the festivities.

It is estimated that during the “seven days of danger” more than two people die and 160 are injured every hour.

Amid fears the situation might be getting worse, the government, which earlier this year said drink drivers could have their cars impounded for the duration of the holiday, recently approved the morgue shock treatment plan.

“Traffic offenders who are found guilty by courts will be sent to do public service work at morgues in hospitals,” said police colonel Kriangdej Jantarawong, deputy director of the special task planning division.

“It is a strategy used to make traffic offenders afraid of driving recklessly and driving while they are drunk because they could end up in the same condition. It is aimed to be a deterrent, a way to discourage people.”

Anurak Amornpetchsathaporn, director of the emergency response for the bureau of public health, said recently that a stint of working in hospital morgues may bring home the problem to reckless drivers in a way that community service such as tidying up parks and libraries has failed to do.

“They should see the actual physical and mental damage,” he said. “In the morgue, they will have to be cleaning up and transporting bodies, so that hopefully they would feel the pain, so that they may understand and attain a good conscience, so that it could be safer on the roads.”

为减少致命交通事故，泰国政府出台新计划，拟派酒驾司机及屡次违反交通法规者去医院太平间工作。

泰国的交通事故死亡率高居世界第二。

每年泼水节（又称“宋干节”），成千上万生活在大城市的泰国人都会骑摩托返乡，与家人团聚，他们通常不戴安全头盔。而在庆祝重大节日期间，饮酒是必不可少的。

据估计，在这“七日危险期”中，每小时最少有2人丧生，160人受伤。

更令人担心的是，这种情况正不断恶化。泰国政府年初时表示，司机在假日期间酒驾，车辆可能被扣押。而最近，泰国政府批准了将酒驾司机送到太平间的“恐惧疗法”。

“交通肇事者将被派往医院太平间做社区服务工作，”警察局特种任务副队长、上校Kriangdej Jantarawong说。

“这一措施的目的是警告交通肇事者不要鲁莽驾驶和酒后驾驶，因为他们也可能为此躺在医院太平间。这项计划的目的旨在威慑、阻止人们醉驾。”

日前泰国公共卫生局应急部主任Anurak Amornpetchsathaporn称，对危险驾驶的司机来说，在太平间工作一段时间才能让他们真正意识到自己的问题，而打扫公园和图书馆等社区服务工作难以起到效果。

“这些肇事司机会见到真真切切的肉体和精神上的损伤，”他说。“在太平间，他们需要清洗、运送尸体。这样的惩罚才能让肇事司机感受到伤痛，才能唤醒他们的良

知，让道路交通更加安全。”

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

   【太平间】tàipíngjiān morgue a place in which bodies are kept, especially the bodies of victims of violence or accidents, pending identification or burial

    【杀戮】shālù carnage the slaughter of a great number of people