Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Thailand hopes holy sour candy will stop road accidents

Thai police on Monday started distributing "super sour" sweets blessed by a Buddhist abbot in the hope of curbing road accidents by keeping motorists awake with the lip-puckering treats.

Police began distributing 140,000 of the hard sweets ahead of the Buddhist New Year celebrations that run over five days starting Friday.

It's the most important holiday and biggest party time in Thailand, but also a time of carnage on the highways due to the heavy incidence of drunk driving.

An abbot in the southern province of Prachaup Khiri Khan donated 200,000 baht (5,700 dollars) to make 140,000 packets of sweets to give to drivers nationwide.

"The taste is very sour, which can keep you awake. The candy was also blessed by the monks, which makes people more comfortable and confident when driving," said regional highway police chief Colonel Panya Pinsuk.

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