It's Highway Robbery! Thais scream in protest at new fines calling them an excuse for more police corruption

[Jonmarleesco]

22 hours ago, webfact said:

Have any studies been done? Will it work in reducing road accidents?

 

And,specifically, will it stop drunk drivers?

Totally irrelevant. Get a licence or don't drive. 

[lucjoker]

21 hours ago, Darcula said:

 

Concerned about high fines? Don't break the law.

In western countries, 45 years ago , a driving license was not existing , no alcohol tests,no helmet needed for motorcycles......and we are still alive ! And we were enjoying our freedom !

16 years ago i came to Thailand ....again this freedom feeling , primitive traffic rules, 200bht fines ....but who cares. 

Now all these "safety" restrictions take away my freedom , so i moved away .

If you can not enjoy a few beers and drive home ......because "the law" says......no way.

Thais have a drinking culture,as all poor people have , work the whole day and evenings sit down with the family and friends drinking and laughing. Accidents happen and will continuing ,but that's life.

We are over-protected, you can not smoke (cancer),not drink , no sex (aids),don't eat fat,sugar,.....Camera's in every street to check you ,  insurance for house /car/health/gsm/........AND pay 50% tax on everything you earn ......

Is this what we want ?

Then stay home ,and watch commercials on tv / and continue living in your FB-world.

 

 

[NoshowJones]

5 hours ago, bartender100 said:

What percentage of the 20,000 odd killed every year had a licence?

I sat and passed my motorbike test to renew my 5 year licence at my local DLT this week.

I live in a small town and I would say there was about 50 people here for their car or motorbike licence.

My wife tells me it is like that every day Mon-Fri.

 

This tells me that there is not so many Thais driving  without a licence as you might think.

[Cereal]

I'm having a challenging time my head around the fact Thais are b!tchin' about getting fined (anything at all) for driving without a legit license. What's wrong with them?

[NoshowJones]

5 hours ago, glennb6 said:

see other story > Video: Minivan driver watching a movie instead of the road nearly has accident

 

and I'll bet that driver has a 'drivers license' and should therefore be deemed a safe driver.... you can't fix stupid by fines, you can't legislate against human nature.

 

educate educate educate

You cannot educate people who do not have much brains in the first place.

[nickmondo]

It could only be a Thai that could complain it is wrong to be fined for not having a licence!

Seriously, there must be a Thai somewhere who can work this one out?

 

[nickmondo]

2 minutes ago, Cereal said:

I'm having a challenging time my head around the fact Thais are b!tchin' about getting fined (anything at all) for driving without a legit license. What's wrong with them?

i think the word you are looking for is Bozos!!

[glennb6]

laws and punishments - traffic cameras - fines and fees - stop and show your papers - jail and prison - oh hell, why not increase the VAT a few percent while you're at it, and oh yea, double the insurance costs too.

 

What kind of police state you some of you people want to create here !??!??!

A piece of paper (plastic) with some numbers on it does not make someone a qualified vehicle operator and never will.

Driving education might, safety courses might... Increased fees/fines are just to 'cover their ass' when the higher up bosses demand their underlings 'do something'.

[stanleycoin]

3 minutes ago, Cereal said:

I'm having a challenging time my head around the fact Thais are b!tchin' about getting fined (anything at all) for driving without a legit license. What's wrong with them?

They think there own rules and regulations don't apply to them.

it's all part of the denial and Bs face culture they have.

it holds them back on so many different levels.

 

[glennb6]

well there you go possum1931, I guess you've effectively written off the entire population in one sentence....

[NoshowJones]

4 hours ago, Deli said:

I really wonder why all the "obey the law - fanatics" on this forum are living in Thailand ?

Good question.

[Thaidream]

4 minutes ago, nickmondo said:

I'm having a challenging time my head around the fact Thais are b!tchin' about getting fined (anything at all) for driving without a legit license. What's wrong with them?

I can't get my head around why so many foreigners can't understand why Thais see this as a potential scam by the police. Think back when you were in your own country. There is a system of fines established for driving too fast- too slow- etc etc.  Ever hear of the police deciding arbitrarily how much the fine should be?  Well- in Thailand they do and that's exactly why Thais do not like the proposed law.

[NoshowJones]

3 hours ago, akirasan said:

Avoid police checkpoints, problem solved.

Learn to do a quick U turn on a motorbike, another problem solved.

[genset]

21 hours ago, webfact said:

The update is intended to bring more discipline to on-the-road behaviour and improve overall administrative procedures by amending and then combining the Vehicle Act 1979 and the Land Transport Act 1979. 

 

Sorry... but 'on-the-road behaviour' will never improve in Thailand until the authorities take the licensing process and road traffic enforcement seriously, whcih they simply do not.

 

There's been a lot of waffle from many quarters regarding this issue, but in most 'developed' countries, it's not only a requirement that you actually 'learn' how to drive before you receive a license, but once you have it, 'on-the-road behaviour' is monitored and enforced by the authorities (Traffic Police... mobile enforcement, not asleep in their vehicles).

 

If the powers that be (the few individuals in positions of authority, who actually make decisions in Thailand) weren't so xenophobic, they would simply cut and paste from a model which actually works and apply it in Thailand (pick one of a dozen countries).

 

Would it be painful... cause a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth...? Of course, but what's the alternative; continued carnage and ignorance of what it actually takes to actually fix this problem... It's sad, but I'll have another pint and won't hold my  breath.

 

 

 

[NoshowJones]

3 hours ago, Media1 said:

The day Prayut took office was a downhill slide for Thailand in so many respects. Promises of legitimate reforms which became business partnerships for him.instead. The spine of a daddy long legs spider.

Unfortunately corruption and incompetence is 3 fold under him. A huge failure and disgrace

 

I think that people should be careful when they condemn corruption, I would bet that when stopped for a traffic offence and asked to either pay 300Bt now without a receipt, or pay a lot more at the police station, would hand the 300Bt to the police officer.

Hypocricy is alive and well.

[genset]

38 minutes ago, lucjoker said:

Now all these "safety" restrictions take away my freedom , so i moved away .

If you can not enjoy a few beers and drive home ......because "the law" says......no way.

 

Thais have a drinking culture,as all poor people have , work the whole day and evenings sit down with the family and friends drinking and laughing. Accidents happen and will continuing ,but that's life.

 

Let's clarify the definition of 'Accidents'

 

They happen by chance, unexpectedly and unintentionally, not sure that definition fits with people who drive drunk.

 

Any thoughts on the 'freedom' of the hardworking Thai on his way home from work after a long day, who is killed by that fun loving, freedom loving, harmless drunk driver? And if the victim was your own wife, brother, daughter, would you be inclined to brush it off as 'that's life' ?

 

 

[tropo]

21 hours ago, kekalot said:

they should use minimum charges and prices going up with repeated offenses up to seizure of vehicle (and license) and then sell those vehicles at auctions

 

no license? 250-500-750-1000 each time going up and paid at the police station so its recorded.

 

when i lived up North near where I lived there was some police stop near a little booth but everyone knew how to avoid it and it was announced on a Facebook group with 8000 members if they were ever out.

4

Assuming they will introduce these new extremely high fines, the result will be that far fewer fines will be paid at the police station. This is a fantastic business opportunity for the traffic police who can name their price for quick cash payments. They will be able to count their daily earnings in 1000 baht notes instead of 100's.

[nubwo]

When a Policemen in full uniform daily ride the wrong way down a dual carriageway with a pre teen child on the pillion neither with helmets is it any wonder that they dont think " If he can do it why shouldn't I ? "

 

[upu2]

23 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

Pity they don't put as much energy and enthusiastic gusto into learning to drive properly, getting a valid driving licence and obeying the law !

They probably will after a few people have had these fines imposed on them

[Dreckenfousnoll]

Very good, 10k to 50k is not enough get them out of the road!!

[tropo]

14 minutes ago, nubwo said:

When a Policemen in full uniform daily ride the wrong way down a dual carriageway with a pre teen child on the pillion neither with helmets is it any wonder that they dont think " If he can do it why shouldn't I ? "

 

Get kids off motorcycles. No babies held in arms, and maximum 2 up... and then work on speeding and red light crashing. This would be the best start for improving road safety IMO. Licencing or not doesn't make one iota of difference. The problem was compounded by the introduction of fully automatic scooters, which people don't need much training to ride. You couldn't carry babies and talk on cell phones in the days when you needed to use a clutch and both feet to ride.

[Pedrogaz]

Seems to me that all the huffing and puffing by the farangs its hypocrisy. Thailand is a third world country with lots of poor people. Denying them the ability to travel and conduct normal commerce is not a step forward.

[Parsve]

"He also joined in the chorus of complaints asking whether any study had been done to see if it would actually have any effect in reducing accidents".

 

Look outside Thailand man and compare, that would be more than enough to answer that stupid question.

[chang1]

1 hour ago, glennb6 said:

laws and punishments - traffic cameras - fines and fees - stop and show your papers - jail and prison - oh hell, why not increase the VAT a few percent while you're at it, and oh yea, double the insurance costs too.

 

What kind of police state you some of you people want to create here !??!??!

A piece of paper (plastic) with some numbers on it does not make someone a qualified vehicle operator and never will.

Driving education might, safety courses might... Increased fees/fines are just to 'cover their ass' when the higher up bosses demand their underlings 'do something'.

There seems to be quite a few on here with this opinion. We all know about the corruption. If people obey the law there would be much less corruption as people would have more reason to complain. Who complains when the backhander is less than the fine that they should have paid? As a person who has suffered in a coach crash and known more people who have been injured or died on Thai roads than on UK roads in the relatively short time spent in Los, I can easily believe Thai roads are the world's most dangerous. Doing nothing can not be an option. Whether you pay a fine or a bribe you are still encouraged to get a license. You will also think twice before drinking and driving if you know you will lose that license. The next stage is make the license harder to get so only those who are competent enough to pass a rigorous test are on the roads. Then retesting those who drive badly could start. 

If you don't have severe deterrents people won't bother to change. 

Why not increase VAT to subsidize driver training and testing? I was off work for 18 months - cost me far more than a couple of percent extra VAT would in many years.

How would you get people better trained and pay for it without "laws and punishments"?

[chang1]

27 minutes ago, Parsve said:

"He also joined in the chorus of complaints asking whether any study had been done to see if it would actually have any effect in reducing accidents".

 

Look outside Thailand man and compare, that would be more than enough to answer that stupid question.

How can anyone not have the common sense to understand that training people to drive/ride properly before going on a public highway, will reduce the death toll. The reason there are no studies is because it is obvious to any normal person. 

[cookieqw]

7 hours ago, MaxLee said:

 

Most important of all, will it change the "CRAPPY ATTITUDE AND PRESTIGE TREATMENT" of the "RICH AND INFLUENTIAL" ?

 

they will not be affected  they can pay   -   the poor masses will be affected.   catch 22   -  to get thru this problem you would have to educate the masses so they can prosper but that would not suit the rich and influential as that would make labour more expensive. 

[mlmcleod]

On 8/22/2018 at 2:55 PM, webfact said:

Bangkok's top traffic cop also agreed that it was a scare tactic in an earlier interview revealed on Thaivisa. But unlike the Thai public he denied it would lead to more bribery and corruption and defended his "honest and upright" officers.

I will only believe this when they can pass a lie detector test!

[cookieqw]

5 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Do you? I don't.

me neither

[jvs]

2 hours ago, lucjoker said:

In western countries, 45 years ago , a driving license was not existing , no alcohol tests,no helmet needed for motorcycles......and we are still alive ! And we were enjoying our freedom !

16 years ago i came to Thailand ....again this freedom feeling , primitive traffic rules, 200bht fines ....but who cares. 

Now all these "safety" restrictions take away my freedom , so i moved away .

If you can not enjoy a few beers and drive home ......because "the law" says......no way.

Thais have a drinking culture,as all poor people have , work the whole day and evenings sit down with the family and friends drinking and laughing. Accidents happen and will continuing ,but that's life.

We are over-protected, you can not smoke (cancer),not drink , no sex (aids),don't eat fat,sugar,.....Camera's in every street to check you ,  insurance for house /car/health/gsm/........AND pay 50% tax on everything you earn ......

Is this what we want ?

Then stay home ,and watch commercials on tv / and continue living in your FB-world.

 

 

Were their nearly 30 000 traffic deaths in 'Western countries?'

[stanleycoin]

1 hour ago, tropo said:

 automatic scooters, which people don't need much training to ride. You couldn't carry babies and talk on cell phones in the days when you needed to use a clutch and both feet to ride.

Think the Honda 100C cub step through come out in 1958.

how far back are you talking about ? 

I thought you were quite young