Twelve speed demons have received two-month jail terms for dangerous driving on the Motorway from Pattaya after an accident that damaged all of the racers’ cars and that of another motorist.
The Chon Buri District Court on Friday sentenced all 12 drivers to two months in the Chon Buri Prison. Their modified cars were confiscated and their driving licences revoked.
All the defendants had confessed to multiple charges, including reckless driving and driving over the speed limit, to police before they were sent to prosecutors for indictment.
The accident took place at 2.20am on Sunday, when other motorists were shocked by a road race involving 12 cars on the Bangkok-bound motorway in Si Racha district in Chon Buri province.
One of the cars suddenly lost control and struck the vehicle of an innocent driver, which set off a chain reaction that took out the cars of the other 11 racers.
Highway police said four people were injured in the pile-up. The accident brought traffic on the motorway to a standstill before all the damaged vehicles were towed away.
Highway police checked CCTV footage and found the drivers, most of them young, raced for at least 10 kilometres at speeds between 130 and 180 kilometres per hour. They changed lanes at will, posing moire danger to other road users, before the accident occurred.
A district court handles criminal cases with a maximum sentence of three months or a fine up to 60,000 baht, or both. Cases that carry higher jail terms and financial penalties are carried out by provincial courts.
Source: Bangkok Post