Mr Meeseeks

The good old days, for me at least, were back in the late 90's early 00's. They have been sucking the fun out of the place since then. Stuff like this is comical and pointless. All about extorting money as usual.

Plenty of home-made jihadis living in the four Southern provinces. These attacks have been going on while the borders were closed. The extremist schools in the South of Thailand are, ironically enough, financed by the Saudis.

Not to mention the aftermarket dump valves that make whistling or other noises between gear-changes. Or those worthless, locally made metal bars that they think will stiffen the chassis even though they often have angles welded in, rendering them useless. These are kinds of vehicles I thoroughly enjoy seeing in my rear-view.

He'll do a couple of years bird and likely get an early release as they do annually.

As usual, anyone paying money will be exempt. I know convicted Thai felons that get visas for Australia and New Zealand with ease. Clean criminal record checks can easily be purchased here.

Most pick-ups still use rear drum brakes.

From the article: "Five off-duty security guards from a nearby bar joined in with yet another group of Thais looking for trouble nearby jumped in and began kicking foreigners who hit the ground." This is why I avoid drinking anywhere near these types of people.

If that ever happens, it'll be time to leave.

I'll bet on the latter.

These types of incident seem to be on the increase recently.

Speeding and drunk in the sedan would be my guess, chuck in a sidecar with no lights for good measure. The roads around there are fairly dangerous, loads of immature nutters out and about in that area.

Usually done by a swab test, never seen or heard of it done here though.

No training, no proper instruction, no proper competency system including assessment of driving ability, complete ignorance of the local highway code, insufficient practice of maneuvers such as parallel parking, reversing round corners, backing into spaces etc.

Nothing less than they deserve.

The real effects of the decimation of the tourist industry are yet to be felt.

The local customs are water fights on Songkran, indeed that is why many of them come at this specific time of year. I doubt tourists are concerned with warnings about water fights, and the 'laws' are applied arbitrarily under emergency decrees and other authoritarian junta-inspired nonsense designed to be vague and keep the population compliant. If you think backpackers travelling around the region on a gap year care to keep advised of this nonsense you are sadly mistaken. These idiotic, arbitrary laws and the dinosaurs in charge have managed to completely destroy the Thai tourism economy in a matter of two years. How many lives have been ruined, how many suicides, how many mental illnesses and how many families and businesses destroyed? Let's start asking the real pertinent questions. FYI Thailand has the death penalty for drug smuggling also, so is no different than Malaysia or Indo in that regard, other than appointing a convicted heroin smuggler to a deputy ministerial post in the government, even against their own laws, but then again he was a Thai gangster and alleged murderer with connections, not a nasty backpacking foreigner.

Correct.

Scapegoating, bullying and extorting a few young foreigners wanting to have a good time is hardly doing their job. The law is the law in Thailand? ????

From being unable to meet basic international aviation maintenance and safety standards to a space, aviation and aerospace hub in just a few years. Quite remarkable.

No need for sensors, cars will self-drive soon. With the full control that they will have over you, you wont be able to go anywhere in a vehicle without permission, or somewhere prohibited or with anyone they don't want in a vehicle. Total control is what it's all about and it is coming.

Pillars of Thai society sounds like. ????

15 year old 'rappers' throwing firecrackers are a threat to national security. ????

They have managed to ruin Khao San Road anyway, stuff like this will just be the final nail in the coffin.

A Thai license is completely worthless anyway. No competence necessary to obtain one.

Who is going to enforce all this? You need a competent and reliable Police force to enforce, which Thailand doesn't have.