This is the dramatic moment a driver is believed to have fallen asleep at the wheel before smashing through a police checkpoint.

The motorist was seen speeding towards the junction in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand on May 17.

But rather than slow down, the driver crashed straight through a wooden white hut that traffic officers normally sit inside to monitor vehicles.

Fortunately, the checkpoint in the Pha Muang district of the city was empty at the time and nobody was killed in the collision.

Officers are now waiting to interview the driver after he was taken to hospital before police arrived at the scene.

Police believe the motorist was either drunk or had nodded off at the wheel.

Chiang Mai Provincial Police Traffic Department said in a statement on May 18 that the driver was still being treated in hospital and they had not yet interviewed them.

The police force said: ''The car did not reduce its speed and jumped into the middle of the island and hit the traffic police building so hard that the car broke through it.

''The driver is expected to be drunk or fell asleep while they were still driving. The cause is being investigated.

''The crash happened in the middle of the night so there were no traffic police acting in the fortress at the time. The driver will be responsible for the damages.''