Thingyan celebrations in Yangon can get a little out of hand. PHOTO/ WIKICOMMONS
While you salivate over the upcoming Thingyan break, spare a thought for the guys who have just been told there’ll be no holiday for them.
All leave for Yangon traffic police has been cancelled for the duration of the April festival, as the city tries to reduce the number of accidents that take place in between the boozing and water-splashing, the Myanmar Times reported.
Wayward drivers will be stopped and breathalysed, according to Police Lieutenant Colonel Lin Htut.
“We will use alcohol testing equipment to detect drunken drivers and arrest offenders,” he was quoted as saying.
During Thingyan last year, seven people were killed in traffic accidents in Yangon and 102 more were injured.
According to the Times, careless driving was to blame for 27 accidents last year while six of them were down to jaywalking, eight for speeding and three involved carelessness on the part of the passengers in the car.
