Traffic police fined me illegally

[mogandave]

I imagine that was the first time someone told the cop they just took the helmet off an put it on the back of the bike for a moment because it was hot....

[tropo]

8 hours ago, mogandave said:

I imagine that was the first time someone told the cop they just took the helmet off an put it on the back of the bike for a moment because it was hot....

Virtually every 2nd Thai person rides or is pillion without a helmet, especially at night. They are not the slightest bit concerned about tickets or the law. Helmets mess too much with their hairdos, both guys, and gals. All jokes aside, it's obvious this has nothing to do with the law. There is no easier way to collect money than targeting foreigners without helmets. This leads to quick and efficient payments, whether it's directly to the cops or down at Soi 9. The serious dangers on the road are crazy motorists,  bus and truck drivers, but they are very difficult to stop and ticket as there isn't much space to park them without causing major traffic jams.

Edited January 24, 2018 by tropo

[mogandave]

14 hours ago, tropo said:

Virtually every 2nd Thai person rides or is pillion without a helmet, especially at night. They are not the slightest bit concerned about tickets or the law. Helmets mess too much with their hairdos, both guys, and gals. All jokes aside, it's obvious this has nothing to do with the law. There is no easier way to collect money than targeting foreigners without helmets. This leads to quick and efficient payments, whether it's directly to the cops or down at Soi 9. The serious dangers on the road are crazy motorists,  bus and truck drivers, but they are very difficult to stop and ticket as there isn't much space to park them without causing major traffic jams.

 

I see plenty of (what appear to be) Thais on the side of the road being fined.

 

No shortage of (what appear to be) foreigners on bikes participating in all manner of idiocy.

[tropo]

35 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

I see plenty of (what appear to be) Thais on the side of the road being fined.

 

No shortage of (what appear to be) foreigners on bikes participating in all manner of idiocy.

I'm talking about areas like where the OP was fined. Areas where there are a lot of foreigners ripe for the picking. There are different types of road stops. The genuine type where they stop everyone, and the ones specifically designed to fleece foreigners. They can't stop cars in the busy, congested streets in the tourist areas as there is nowhere for them to park, so they specialise in revenue collection services which don't hinder traffic flow - mainly no helmet offenses. Yes, even in these areas they do ticket Thai people, but that's just to make it look good.

 

I'm not making any comment about how foreigners ride their bikes, but they are still only a very small percentage of all bike traffic and take the lion's share of fines in tourist zones. Go and check out Soi 9 police station after a road-side raid. It's standing room only.

Edited January 25, 2018 by tropo

[mrblonde]

Pay the fine and move on.  Think yourself lucky, had you been in the good ol' US of A they could of fired several warning shots into your back for it

[mogandave]

13 hours ago, tropo said:

I'm talking about areas like where the OP was fined. Areas where there are a lot of foreigners ripe for the picking. There are different types of road stops. The genuine type where they stop everyone, and the ones specifically designed to fleece foreigners. They can't stop cars in the busy, congested streets in the tourist areas as there is nowhere for them to park, so they specialise in revenue collection services which don't hinder traffic flow - mainly no helmet offenses. Yes, even in these areas they do ticket Thai people, but that's just to make it look good.

 

I'm not making any comment about how foreigners ride their bikes, but they are still only a very small percentage of all bike traffic and take the lion's share of fines in tourist zones. Go and check out Soi 9 police station after a road-side raid. It's standing room only.

 

Indeed

[balo]

You were wrong, you cannot remove your helmet on the road waiting for a red light. So no point in even discussing it.

[The manic]

On 16/01/2018 at 9:15 AM, yengec said:

If the rule looks like what all polices and people say, I will be right. Now Im heading to city hall to check the camera record(ıf i can) and then I will inform you about the situation. For people who says just pay the fine and go etc.. I know its not a big money but Im not a daily tourist here. I have a time to protect my rights. If we accept everything what others make to us, then whats the point of living? Also dont forget that even in this country this level of corruption(if ım right and the police wrong according to rules) cannot be done. Because everywhere have camera and they use technology a lot. Before when ım not sure about my fault about illegal u turn etc, when I complain to the officer, they showed my video within few minutes. In my opinion this time Im right and they dont want to show me the video at that time. They directed us to the city hall the day after and they think we will not go after it. But ım going now let see :)

Dont make enemies of the Rozzers in any small town.

[tropo]

3 hours ago, balo said:

You were wrong, you cannot remove your helmet on the road waiting for a red light. So no point in even discussing it.

What about Sikhs? They ride around without a care in the world, without helmets. I really don't get these exemptions.

[balo]

9 hours ago, tropo said:

What about Sikhs?

Sikhs without helmets should be fined like the rest of us. 

[mogandave]

Sikhs without helmets should be fined like the rest of us. 

Why not just wear a helmet?

[trigpoint]

Your main problem in that situation is you are not Thai so you are fair game to the bib in Pattaya, they have their own set of rules here same as immigration on soi 5.

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[mogandave]

Your main problem in that situation is you are not Thai so you are fair game to the bib in Pattaya, they have their own set of rules here same as immigration on soi 5.

Sent from my [device_name] using http://Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

Yes, Thais never get stopped for no helmet...

[Pattaya46]

1 hour ago, trigpoint said:

Your main problem in that situation is you are not Thai so you are fair game to the bib in Pattaya, they have their own set of rules here same as immigration on soi 5.

 

Which "own set of rules" please ?

Every times I got stopped at a police checkpoint, they just checked some official requirements/rules (like helmet, license, sticker & insurance, etc.) and immediately let me go. Good job  

[trigpoint]

 
Which "own set of rules" please ?
Every times I got stopped at a police checkpoint, they just checked some official requirements/rules (like helmet, license, sticker & insurance, etc.) and immediately let me go. Good job [emoji2] 

One set of rules for Thai and another for foreigners, you see it all the time, for eg. I got stopped the other day for no reason apart from being a foreigner guess, while I was showing my licence and docs all legal, Thais with no helmets, probably no licence which means no insurance were riding by, no attempt to stop them.

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[mogandave]

One set of rules for Thai and another for foreigners, you see it all the time, for eg. I got stopped the other day for no reason apart from being a foreigner guess, while I was showing my licence and docs all legal, Thais with no helmets, probably no licence which means no insurance were riding by, no attempt to stop them.

Sent from my [device_name] using http://Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

So the cop should have told you to wait while they chased after someone else?

[seeyoujimmy]

i hate to defend the bib, but since I came here I have been stopped about 100 times and they have always stopped  Thai. people also, and yes some people will drive by the check point with no helmet but only because the police are busy with other people they have stopped. I have driven by check points lots of times and not been stopped because they are busy

[mogandave]

It’s like fishing. Even on a great day you never catch them all...


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[trigpoint]

On 3/4/2018 at 3:19 PM, mogandave said:

 

So the cop should have told you to wait while they chased after someone else?
 

 

His side kick could have easily but didn't.

[mogandave]

His side kick could have easily but didn't.

And they both stopped you for nothing...

[Rimmer]

A post with messed up quotes has been removed

[trigpoint]

And they both stopped you for nothing...

Correct, what you trying to say?

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[mogandave]

Correct, what you trying to say?

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That they both stopped you for nothing.

[tropo]

On 2/4/2018 at 3:43 AM, balo said:

Sikhs without helmets should be fined like the rest of us. 

I agree, which would be the case if road safety had anything to do with it. Many people get around with bicycle headgear too. No problem.

[tropo]

On 3/5/2018 at 5:23 PM, seeyoujimmy said:

i hate to defend the bib, but since I came here I have been stopped about 100 times and they have always stopped  Thai. people also, and yes some people will drive by the check point with no helmet but only because the police are busy with other people they have stopped. I have driven by check points lots of times and not been stopped because they are busy

It all depends on where you are being stopped. Some individual cops (working alone) ONLY stop foreigners. Then there are foreigner-orientated stops where most stopped are foreigners, with only a few token Thais stopped. How often do you see them pulling over motorcycle taxis with 1 or 2 passengers not wearing helmets? Never. That's 2 or 3 offenses and should incur an 800 or 1200 baht fine.

 

Then there are genuine traffic checks where they don't discriminate. These are usually located well away from the main tourist areas... like along Sukhumvit Road.

[mogandave]

Why not just wear a helmet?


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[tropo]

4 hours ago, mogandave said:

Why not just wear a helmet?


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I always wear a helmet, for personal safety. The only time I was fined for no helmet was years ago when it was stolen and I had to ride home to get a spare.

 

But now that you ask, I have always wondered why so many Thai people don't wear helmets. Many carry them around but don't put them on. I suspect it has something to do with damaging their hairdos, but I really don't know.

 

You've been good at providing very insightful one-liners. Perhaps you could answer that question too.

[mogandave]

6 hours ago, tropo said:

I always wear a helmet, for personal safety. The only time I was fined for no helmet was years ago when it was stolen and I had to ride home to get a spare.

 

But now that you ask, I have always wondered why so many Thai people don't wear helmets. Many carry them around but don't put them on. I suspect it has something to do with damaging their hairdos, but I really don't know.

 

You've been good at providing very insightful one-liners. Perhaps you could answer that question too.

Because they don't like wearing a helmet. I didn't like wearing a helmet when I had a bike. 

 

I think at one time there there were states (S. Carolina maybe?) in the US that required you had a helmet on the bike, but you did not actually have to wear one.