PATTAYA, THAILAND – A 26-year-old bar owner who fell asleep drunk at the wheel of his pickup truck caused an unusual traffic jam in the coastal city.
Pickup Driver Asleep in the Middle of the Road
Around midday on 19 November, the situation escalated near Soi 6 on Phothisan Road in the Naklua area when a bronze Isuzu pickup came to a halt in the middle of the lane. The driver, identified as Ukrit, a 26-year-old bar owner, had fallen asleep at the wheel and his vehicle blocked traffic over hundreds of meters. Local residents tried to wake him by banging on the windows, but their efforts failed.
Rescue Workers Forced to Pry Open Vehicle
Police officers and rescue volunteers from Sawang Boriboon rushed to the scene but were also unable to wake the sleeping driver at first.
“They had to use tools to pry open the door,”
said eyewitnesses. Only after forcing the door open were responders finally able to wake the man.
Completely Drunk and Confused
The cause of the deep sleep quickly became apparent: Ukrit was completely drunk and visibly confused. He was so intoxicated that he could no longer form coherent sentences. To restore the flow of traffic on the fully blocked road, emergency crews had to push the pickup to the side.
Police Clear Road and Detain Driver
“The authorities removed the vehicle from the road to clear the traffic,”
said a police spokesperson. The drunk driver was taken to the Pattaya Police Station, where he was initially allowed to sober up while waiting for relatives to pick him up. According to the initial account, no formal charge was immediately filed.
Symptom of Pattaya’s Alcohol on the Road
The case highlighted what officials described as a familiar problem in Pattaya, where alcohol at the wheel was said to be part of everyday life in the tourist hotspot. Fortunately, no accident occurred in this incident, as the man fell asleep before he could injure himself or other road users. Authorities continued to carry out checks, but in a city famed for its nightlife, the temptation to drink and drive remained high, and the report warned that a similar episode could end far more severely for drivers and innocent traffic participants in the future.