Drink-driving in Indonesia

In Indonesia, a majority-Muslim country, authorities have tried to ban alcohol in the past, but nowadays it's easy to find alcoholic beverages in shops and restaurants.

Beer, especially Bintang, is widely available in supermarkets and shops. Wine is still very expensive due to high import taxes, but the amount of shops selling wine is increasing (in Jakarta). It's easy to find all kinds of liquor in bars and clubs, especially in Jakarta and Bali. Although alcohol sales and consumption are increasing, 'Indonesian law does not dictate a maximum blood alcohol concentration limit' (The Jakarta Globe, June 2011).

I did some investigation and found that 'According to Wikipedia, Indonesia is one of only six countries that allows alcohol to be sold legally but imposes no blood-alcohol limit on its drivers.' (Drink-driving in Indonesia, Street Legal, The Economist, February 2012).

The Drink Driving website also provides a list of Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limits in 262 countries, based on reliable sources like CIA and World Health Organization. According to this list, there are 11 countries that do not have any BAC limits: Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Gabon, Indonesia, Kiribati, Togo and Vanuatu. This is only 4.2 percent of the countries!

Although alcohol consumption in Indonesia is lower than in most Western countries, the problem of drink-driving exists and seems to worsen: 'It was the sixth time this year that drunk drivers had plunged their vehicles into the fountain.' (Drink-driving cases on the rise in Indonesia, The Jakarta Globe, June 2011). 

So the facts are: alcohol cannot be banned from the country, people consume alcoholic beverages, some people get drunk, some drunk people drive, they don't break the law by doing this, but they do cause deadly accidents.

Is the government burying its head in the sand? Or is there any good reason for not imposing a BAC limit on drivers? I don't know, but I can't think of any good reason...