FolkGuitar

17 hours ago, Jiggo said:

Basically at Thai Policeman told me when I was pulled over, he stops all nationals except Thais.

A policeman told you this…

On 5/28/2025 at 10:04 AM, Quentin Zen said:

I just drive with about five crisp 500 baht notes. I drive by, handing them the 500 politely without stopping, and zoom off.

Thanks for the laughs, guys. Kudos for originality. 

I wonder how many people in this thread are having conversations with their sock puppets?

14 minutes ago, DUNROAMIN said:

What number crackdown is this? I think is No 999 crackdown with no effect.

That's because it's not a crackdown. Never has been.

It's nothing more than a visual display that the police exist.

Open Letter to those who think Police Helmet Checkpoints are set up mainly for farang:

We're in Thailand's Rainy Season. 

Comparatively few foreigners here right now, but NOW is when they are running their helmet campaign.
It's true, they DO catch a lot of foreigners not wearing helmets when the foreigners are here. We notice them more than we notice the Thais lining up to pay the same way we 'notice' signs written in our own language without thinking about it, but have to look and actually pay attention when the sign is in a different language.
We 'see' the farangs. We don't 'look' for the Thais.

1 hour ago, fredwiggy said:

True, but wearing helmets definitely saves lives. You can break any bones in your body and live but you hit your head, even at moderate speeds, you're usually dead or sustain brain injuries.

Obviously, very true. I ride every day, and I'd never ride without one.
But is the government's goal to save 'one' life... or reduce total road fatalities and injuries?

I don't think that's going to happen by just setting up a table on a street corner to catch the occasional rider without a helmet. That might save the rider's life, but do nothing for the accidents caused by the nutter cutting off other drivers, passing on blind curves, and ignoring traffic lights.

Here's an idea: Get out on the roads and stop the insane drivers! Putting a helmet on the head of a tourist might save HIS/HER life, but does nothing for the rest of the community. And isn't THAT who the police should be protecting?

The Helmet Crackdown doesn't save lives. It saves money...

... money that the government has to pay every time someone is sent to the hospital and can't pay the bill!  That includes Thais! A LOT MORE Thais than farang.

Forcing helmet use reduces that cost.

If there were a genuine effort made to reduce road injury/fatality, they would put police on the roads to stop the unsafe, reckless driving we see every single day!

I'm just curious why people enjoy watching others die slowly?
What's the psychology behind it?

It's rain. Just water. And it happens for a few months every year.
Do you leave the Kingdom like the Burn-Season folks do?

My first dorm in college  (a small rural school) right after high school had this phone on the wall. Turn the crank, tell the operator the 4-digit number you wanted, and she'd connect you. Obviously an old dorm. The new dorms had the new-fangled push-button phones.

54 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

 

With Trump, there are so many plot twists. Good luck trying to keep up with what he's doing or why he's doing it.

He's 15 moves ahead of you. 

 

 

If it were just Krasnov I wouldn’t worry. He’s failed at everything he’s done. BUT… I am worried about what those who are controlling him will do next. 

1 hour ago, Yagoda said:

1 hour ago, Yagoda said:

Probably far less that the Democrats grifted to their Socialist supporters and enemies of America.

And to think, he managed to get it done in just 5 months... instead of four years. Of course, by the END of the four years, he'll have bankrupted America just as he die all his other businesses.

14 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

You voted for a guy who has about 6 bankruptcies and a string of failed businesses on his record. Talking about "business level discipline" from such a person is a new level of stupid.

I wonder... As he's bankrupted every business he's run, is president Krasnov's goal as a Russian operative to bankrupt America?

27 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Or, it could be that we voted for a guy who's going to instill some business level discipline to keep the gub'ment from pissing away our tax dollars like water. 

I don't recall the exact numbers, but aren't we up to over $30,000,000 dollars wasted on his golf outings just in the past 5 months?!?

Typical weekend golf trips cost taxpayers approximately $3.4 million each, with longer or more complex trips (such as those involving additional air travel or security arrangements) costing even more—up to $4.2 million for a single extended weekend.

How exactly is that NOT pissing away our tax dollars? That's $30,000,000 that could be used to feed and shelter American disabled veterans or provide houses for America's growing homeless population.

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

None, but I've noticed one particular hate thread starting member is no longer with us.

If two more were to leave it would be totally finished.

I don't hate Trump. He's just a pawn in the game. President Krasnov! He's a con man recruited to do what he's always done. Con Americans out of their money. No surprises there.

I do hate what it has shown us about half of Americans; that they have no compassion, no empathy, are bigoted and racist with little common sense, virtually no morality, and yet live believing they are still following Christian values because Trump says they are!

Now isn't that the biggest con of all?

I've lived in Chiang Mai for over 25 years, and never felt the need to leave during Burning Season. Two cheap air purifiers in the house (2-bedroom apt) is all we've ever needed. We did put on masks for a week this year when we played outside, but that really was just because it 'looked' so bad!

Outside often 'looks' really bad, but the actuality is, your kitchen frequently gets a much higher PM2.5 reading any time you fry, bake, stir fry, or grill breakfast, lunch, or dinner!
In fact, do you ever eat in ethnic restaurants that have incense burning? Or visit temples with incense burning, or hell... just walking down the street and seeing all the shop keepers putting their incense out 2-3 times a day... but you don't 'see' that air pollution around you in Chiang Mai all the time.

I'm 78 years old. Chiang Mai's air quality has never affected me or my family over the past 25 years.  It just looks ugly for a few weeks.  Please do not allow the doom-sayers to ruin what may be a perfect place for you to live.

6 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

I put it down to little to no training at the beginning. 

I see every day:

,,,,,,, sniped only for brevity.

While I agree there is virtually no 'good' driver training going on,
it's 'my' opinion that most of these driving infractions would be significantly reduced if police were on the roads giving on-the-spot fines (so the drivers KNOW why they are paying) for these offences, and vehicles impounded for recurrences.
Thailand: It's time to sh!t or get off the pot. You aren't saving lives by letting people drive dangerously.

I will not drive down in East Thailand any longer. The drivers passing all the cane trucks simply don't give a damn if anyone is coming in the other lane. They are going to pass the cane truck regardless! I was forced onto the shoulder (thank God there was one!) at least 4 times in less than two hours by 'strings' of cars passing the cane trucks. They just don't care, or perhaps even realize they are going to die too.

I ride a motorbike every day. And at least 2-3 times a week I just barely manage to stay alive because car and truck drivers are passing on blind curves, passing at the crest of a hill, and generally driving like dicks!

Anyone on the Thai roads today will realize there are no cops patrolling the roads looking for unsafe driving. There are no cops at intersections stopping drivers from jumping red lights or making left turns from the right lane. There are no cops at the fresh markets in your neighborhood, where there is ALWAYS a traffic jam because of double and triple parking. There are few cops on the roads working to keep people safe. Just road blocks set up to collect helmet money.

Many wonder why?