richard_smith237

Utterly pathetic... this is such a waste of resources. They clearly have the budget to use their resources to arrest 4 women for playing a 240 baht game of cards, so they can certainly ride / walk around town and fine those without helmets, driving dangerously and running red lights.... Valid point, if 240 baht may have been representative of 240,000 baht etc... but why not use bottle tops instead etc... ... I get the 'thin end of the wedge' argument and its not without merit but still.... arresting 4 ladies for a 240 baht game of cards on the face of it seems so very disproportionate..... ... And then there is the hypocrisy, are there any Policeman who don't gamble ??? (all those I know, gamble over anything).

Not completely true - your existing 1st Class policy can be transfered across to the new owner if the policy is an 'any driver' policy. i.e. you have 6 months remaining on your 1st Class, any driver Policy, you and the new owner notifies the insurance company the the 'policy owner' (name of the policy holder) has changed, the insurance policy then remains on the car for the remaining duration, but maybe classed as a 'fresh policy' for the remaining 6 months.

So do you lose the NCB on a new policy/car, pathetic as it is, if the new owner has a claim on your old one. The policy will have transfered across to the new owner, so no longer in your name - thus, I assume not. And... thats not completely true. - With an EV, you have to have a 'named drivers' policy (there is no other option - recent laws) - With an ICE, you have the choice to have a 'named drivers' policy or an 'any driver' policy.

You just pay off what is outstanding. Sometimes there may be a lock-in period of say 12 months, during which you'll have to pay a penalty. ITs a good question as they used to lock you in for the full duration - i.e. if you wanted to pay off early, you'd still have to pay the same amount. There was a recent law / regulation change regarding this - I'm not quite sure what it is... BUT, from what I recall, its something like the above. If after taking out 48 month finance on car a) You want to pay it off early (before 12 months) - You pay xx % on the first 12 months, and the outstanding amount without interest. b) You want to pay it off early (after the first 12 months) - You pay the remainder at a reduced rate for the next xx months, then outstanding amount without interest (or it could be a smaller rate) Thats a pretty poor explanation - however, my point is that the finance 'situation' with regards to paying off early has improved - before you were locked in at the agreed interest. Now, there are laws to protect you from paying the full amount, .. but there is still some form of 'early pay off penalty' depending on the agreement signed.

Might have been MalcomB driving while pished up & convinced that he drives as well while drink as he does while not under the influence.

What NCB ???.... people may get discounts for not having a claim, but its not quite executed in the same manner that it is in the West (i.e. UK). Thus: Here - The car & insurance get transfered to the new owner and thats that. If their renewal policy will depend on the insurer and them. Insurance us much cheaper here than it is the West (well, UK at least) One point to note: - the difference in Insurance of EV's vs ICE's (when refering to 1st class policies) With ICE's There are two potential options: a) Any driver (the norm) / b) named driver(s) not so common but some people do this and bring down the Premium. With EV's ONLY named driver policies are permitted (with up to a Max of 5 drivers) - this is a fairly recent law brought in around this time last year. So, be careful if buying an EV because the insurance will not automatically transfer to you along with the car (as these are named policies - also check that the policy on an ICE is not a named driver policy).

Harsh penalty suggestion - but when impeding an ambulance in such a blatant and deliberate manner leads to prolonged suffering a delay in essential medical treatment and potential could cause death due to delayed expert treatment (access to specialist ER equipment) - then yes, people need to realise how serious the consequences of their 'face / ego / idiocy' is...

Take their licence and ban them from driving for a year. Send them to an attitude readjustment camp !... Anyone who impedes an ambulance in this manner has mental issues significant enough that they and very serious lesson taught to them, they also need rehabilitation otherwise next time he pulls out a gun and someone else on the road. --------- On a similar vein - we were in heavy traffic last week (busy expressway - nose to tail traffic at about 30 kmh)... an ambulance wanted to get through, it was good to see all the cars pulling to the sides (german fashion - but without the efficiency)... then it was like a classic F1 chaotic start as every car scrambled out to get ahead of the other in the gap that had been left by the passing ambulance !!! This is a good improvement to see on the Thai roads - I'd like to a more instant response... i.e. everyone hears the siren and their first instinct is to pull to the side immediately.

It can certainly do no harm !! and I agree... IF basic safety (road safety, water safety, electrical safety, First Aid) were taught at schools.... With absolutely certainty lives would be saved... Even if it meant the decision to wear a seatbelt or a helmet, there alone 1000's of lives would be saved each year.

So very sadly true... ... Just look at all the knee-jerk reactions after the Dr was killed on the pedestrian crossing. A few were painted red, lots of announcements and photo opportunities for the offiicals and politicians... I've not noticed very little if any improvement at crossings... perhaps a slight improvement of more people having a greater understanding of what they are for so people 'may' yield if forced to, but so many who blow through at speed without a care.

Agreed... - If the guidelines hold the owners of the bus companies responsible and authorities are proven to act on this - this will force the shift. Until then, the blame always on the driver who runs... And... what of the officials taking bribes for 'inspecting and clearing' clearly dangerous vehicles ?

100% agree.... There are key life skills that can be taught in schools 1) Water Safety 2) Road Safety 3) Elecrtical Safety 4) Basic First Aid 1 - Drowning is the leading cause of deaths in Thailand of children under 15 years old. - there may not be the facilities or funding to teach all children to swim - neverthess 'dry side skills and knowledge' can be taught, highliing the risks of even a small upcountry pond. 2 - This one is obvious - from crossing the road, to not using phones while riding etc, driving safely - basic standards can be taught in schools, importance of wearing of helmets, seatbelts etc (as far as I'm aware, it is only the USA that has drivers Ed in schools). 3 - This one slips through the gaps in these discussions, however the awareness of electrical safety in Thailand is very poor - teach kids the invisible risks. 4 - There is no reason why basic first aid, CPR etc cannot be used in schools. --------- In summary, every child in Thailand will grow up and to some extent become exposed to the above hazards - in contrast trigonometry, pythagorus or covalent bonding may not matter to the majority ever in their lives - thats not to say these things don't matter - but life skills are as important, yet get overlooked for the 'transitional education subjects'...

I think the Immigration officers were in cahoots with some websites and ended up getting a rollocking for the corruption.. Then the BiB announced all such 'services were a scam - lots of face saving going on. https://aseannow.com/topic/1323497-immigration-says-“fast-track-service-at-bangkok-airports”-are-fakes/ Ultimately, its corruption... companies paying Immigration a cut so their customers can use the 'fast track lanes'.... (more on that below). https://www.thailand-business-news.com/travel/72285-airports-of-thailand-denies-premium-lane-cards-corruption-scheme A perfect example of how Thailand operates... someone in a position of relative authority sees an opportunity... so long as everyone gets their cut, everyone is happy.... .... Except the other waiting passengers who end up in longer lines as the 'fast track lanes' get busier with paying 'fast trackers' and they add another 'fast track lane' which eats into the regular lanes....

The 3rd Runway is approximately 150m from the 2nd runway.... I'm wondering how much 'more noise' can be produced ?? Are you sure this is not down to the planes switching their take-off and landing direction due to prevailing wind direction and you are now in the 'take off path' rather than the 'landing path' and thus identifying more noise ? By the time planes fly over housing on the flight path - they are at least 150 to 300m high... thus anyone within a 'specific radius' is surely going to be hearing the noise from Runway 2 anyway... OR... are you sure the 150m difference in runway offset (150m further West) really is making that much of a difference compared to runway 2 ???

I complained about the very same issue to VFS 10 days ago. This is the only method by which to pay for a Passport - i.e. Filling out the form and putting ALL of our CreditCard information, including the CCV on the form. I highlighted that it is a huge breach of financial security and that given the British Embassy / and VFS's emphasis on security, how can this system be so very poor... I asked why there is no 'instantaneous point of sale machine'... The forms go all the way back to the UK... so any interception and our data is out - with the CCV thats concerning and terrible security protocol. Another silly issue - I have terrible handwriting... Its also a lot quicker for me to just type out the form on the computer and print it, rather than fill out the form directly. VFS would not accept a 'computer filled form' it all had to be filled out by hand, which I found somewhat odd, as it was harder to read than 'clear unambiguous font'... I just had to re-fill out the form, not hardship, I just considered it silly.

Also... know the value of your car... use https://www.one2car.com/en Find your car on there, price it similarly / effectively and be prepared to drop about 10%

I'm sure they will... They will give you 400,000 baht for your 600,000 baht car, then the staff will sell it themselves and try and make 150,000 baht profit on it. IF purchasing 'through' the dealership then that 'can' be the case. IF purchasing directly from you, the insurance simple transfers across - its just a lot easier that way. Usually, insurance is anywhere from 10,000 baht to 30,000 baht for normal cars.. so its not much considering the price of the car anyway. When selling, you'll be negotiated against anyway... so you can factor that into the base price from the negotiation point if you want. BUT.. if you are going to let the dealer sell the car for you (or they give you a part exchange) - then you are going to lose over 100,000 baht... I'm not sure why 10,000 baht or so for the insurance would bother you. If selling a car and listing it for 650,000 baht (reasonable price) A Dealer will offer about 450,000 baht. A tent dealership will offer about 480,000 baht for the car. Its ok to be prepared to negotiate and be brought down, but not by 25-30%. Its better to give FB Market Place a go first and see if you can deal directly. Yes, there are time wasters - but that comes with the territory unless prepared to let someone else Profit more than 100,000 baht because I can't be bothered to deal with facebook Market place - makes no sense to me.

Maybe because we are posting an official e-mail address - and the mods want to check for risk of misinformation perhaps... A new forum feature ?

I just had an appointment for a passport renewal 10 days ago. I'd written to them to book the appointment two weeks before hand, and received the booking confirmation within 10 minutes of e-mailing.

Why did my post come up like this ??

Yes they did.. they stopped at the side of the road, which might be a 'no-stopping zone'... There was a 1m 'should' that they may or may not have stopped in. Nevertheless..... a vehicle driving should not be hitting any stationary object. 'who' mentioned the dark glasses is irrelevant - it only matters that it is a fact - every photo and video shows Tic wearing those dark glasses. As far as who mentioned, this, that only matters to those want to argue the person not discuss the discussion. It matters whether he was wearing them whilst driving - that is not proven as pointed out - but its a very important point as that could be the reason he didn't see a stationary object on the side of the road. Also, unless the motorcycle was parked in the middle or sticking out into the driving lane, poor visibility (dark glasses / dark tine) may also be the reason Tic didn't see a stationary vehicle... (which may or may not have had lights on). I think it was you (MalcomB) who pointed out that he could have been upset after the accident and wanted to hide his eyes and thus put on dark glasses... its also a possibility, though one I find unlikely. I disagree... he may have 'thought' he could see sufficiently, its exactly the same for people think the are fine with such dark tint on their windows... then we read of loads of threads on here of forum members getting a new car a rental or going in a friends car and stating how difficult it was to see whilst driving at night... So, I don't see that compromised visibility is a conscious issue for many drivers in Thailand. We see people doing loads of outrageously dumb things on the roads here. I've seen people in cars driving at night with sun glasses on, so I know people do so, in much the same way I still see loads of people driving whilst using their phone to send messages etc.

Ignore their webpage appointment system. Write directly to them via e-mail BangkokHMPO[at]vfshelpline.com Give them 3 preferred dates - they will respond with an appointment time on one of those preferred dates. Note: The VFS for British Passport renewal is no longer at the Trendy Building, the location is now at Belle Grand Rama 9. https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZWwy3vzf5MzY1WGo8

None of us know all the facts? Yet, by that logic, no one should say a word about the incident, and we should just scroll through pages of empty "RIP" comments. That’s completely absurd. From where I’m standing, every one of your posts seems like a cheap shot aimed at tearing me down, which only makes you look like a hypocrite. The difference? I'm not as fragile as you are when faced with opinions I don't agree with. What’s truly laughable is that you actually agree with me ( as below ) , but still can’t resist picking a fight. Because you've taken a disliking to me in other threads, you are arguing the person, not the debating the discussion...

Fair enough.... I was perhaps over defensive as there is a strong contingency of members on this forum who jump on the 'anti-cannabis bandwagon' each time a thread or report exists with a negative outcome related to cannabis / Marijuana use.... I think those posters argue from a place of extreme bias without fact and just attempt to inflame those supportive of such moderate measures. I am quite happy that Thailand allows marijuana - I believe it does far more good than bad when used sensibly..... And the folk who fail to use such 'substances sensibly' are also likely to be those who fail to use other 'substances sensibly'... i.e. booze and other 'stuff'. I also find it's good for helping with sleep - but don't want to be taking it every night..... but a few times a weeks is good.

The loss of life is tragic... but that has happened... I always approach these discussions from the position of wanting to learn what happened and how it happened so I can better learn to avoid such issues. i.e. recently purchasing a car, the darkness of film the dealership wanted to put on the vehicle was extreme, the staff thought I was mad wanting to cut back the darkness by a significant amount. The idea that I wanted to see clearly while driving at night was completely lost of them - they were primarily concerned with it 'getting too hot' in the day time in the car. I think these attitudes and end result of dark tints cause a lot of accidents at night in Thailand. And IF the driver was wearing dark glasses and had dark tint - then I think this is why he may have crashed into a stationary object. Of course, I can't prove he had dark glasses on - but should that mean it should not be a part of the discussion, especially in light of the fact that in every photo and video he is seen with dark glasses ????