Police rejecting tea money!

[balo]

Actually it must have been 2  100 baht bills or notes . Sorry about the confusion.

Edited January 12, 2019 by balo

[ballpoint]

1 hour ago, balo said:

English is not my native language , I now understand I should have said a 200 baht bill, but I have seen "note" been used about money before. 

 

 

The joke wasn't about the use of 'note' or 'bill', either one is appropriate to use, but rather that there is no such thing as a 200 baht note/bill, so a 200 baht one must be counterfeit.

 

Edit:  Sorry, I didn't see this page when I replied, you've already figured it out.

Edited January 12, 2019 by ballpoint

[HSMAN]

7 hours ago, roo860 said:

Can you give any info about the incident?

Sent from my SM-G920F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

I second that? If you feel up to it, no pressure. 

[Ulic]

On 1/11/2019 at 9:46 AM, HSMAN said:

I’m currently down in Phuket on the big bike from Pattaya. Staying in Patong, I got pulled into a checkpoint. The police officer came over to me and asked me for my licence. I provided him with my IDP and any other relevant documents. The police officer who spoke very good english, responded with thanking me for actually being one of the very few to go out and get a proper IDP before riding around. 

The problem is that according to International driving agreements that Thailand has agreed to. If your license is in English, you don't legally need an IDP. As a matter of fact, the IDP does not translate your license into Thai. The only thing the police know is the IDP has to be stamped in the correct square to make you legal. Of course agreements and the law do not matter. If you want to avoid a fine you have to have the IDP stamped in the correct place or a Thai license. 

[Ulic]

14 hours ago, TunnelRat69 said:

Good on them - slightly on-topic, can someone get an IDP from anywhere??  or does it have to be their home country??  I think I got ripped off in Honolulu AAA, it cost me $75 for an IDP.  I see onpline adverts for IDP's, will they be valid??  Mine has just expired.

My buddy in the Philippines was able to get an IDP there. (he has both a Canadian and Philippine license) He wanted it for a motorcycle tour of Vietnam. He had to fully join the PAA, and the whole thing ended up costing him about 80 dollars. I picked one up in Canada 7 months ago. As a non-member of CAA I was charged about 50 Canadian dollars. They used to be 10-14 dollars and still are in Countries like the UK and Australia. Canada just bends you over. The only good thing is they forgot to stamp a date on the front cover so now mine will never expire. Although they never check that anyway in Thailand. What you see online are usually advertisements for "International Drivers License" which are bullshit and a scam. I have a feeling when you got yours in Honolulu they signed to up to be a AAA member for the year instead of selling you and IDP at the non-member rate, about 20 dollars.

[muffy]

I like the no tip sign at immigration .

[muffy]

I show my police badge , works fine .

 

[WyrldTraveler]

The IDP is a scam.  It is a translation in seven languages (the last time I looked) on nice paper of the international treaty 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, with a nice space for your name, details and a photo.  There's a stamp that looks official.  There is no procedure to authenticate the validity of such a document.

 

Provided that you have a valid license from a signatory country, there is little to prevent you from printing your own.  It is NOT an official government document!

 

From https://idl-services.com

 

The International Driving Permit (IDP*) of the AAA® is a document that grants someone the privilege of driving a motor vehicle legally while abroad for up to 1 year, but It does not replace your government-issued U.S. driver’s license. The IDP serves as a translation in 10 languages of your valid U.S. driving permit. You must carry both your IDP and your U.S. driver’s license when driving abroad. You must obtain your IDP in the same country that issued your driver’s license and you can never use your IDP to drive in the country in which it was issued.

 

Why do I know so much about this stuff?  I have a driver's license from a country which is NOT a party to the treaty!  It's been interesting.

 

Here's the treaty:

https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/MTDSG/Volume I/Chapter XI/XI-B-1.en.pdf

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

My buddy in the Philippines was able to get an IDP there. (he has both a Canadian and Philippine license) He wanted it for a motorcycle tour of Vietnam. He had to fully join the PAA, and the whole thing ended up costing him about 80 dollars. I picked one up in Canada 7 months ago. As a non-member of CAA I was charged about 50 Canadian dollars. They used to be 10-14 dollars and still are in Countries like the UK and Australia. Canada just bends you over. The only good thing is they forgot to stamp a date on the front cover so now mine will never expire. Although they never check that anyway in Thailand. What you see online are usually advertisements for "International Drivers License" which are bullshit and a scam. I have a feeling when you got yours in Honolulu they signed to up to be a AAA member for the year instead of selling you and IDP at the non-member rate, about 20 dollars.

£5.50 (US$7) in the uk last time I got one, about 2 1/2 years ago from the post office.
Very easy to obtain, my father used to get them and post them to me yearly when I first lived o/seas.

[NanLaew]

On 1/11/2019 at 2:46 AM, HSMAN said:

The gentleman next to me on his rentend honda moove, well, he couldn’t  the say the same. No helmet, no licence. He tried to offer the police a quick transaction of “tea money” but it was rejected. The officer is quoted saying, “these are official fines, pay at police station or government office”

 

Have they being told from higher up no more “tea money” or what is the go. To me, Thai police are nice and courteous, and I have never had a reason to knock them. 

The key here is 'the gentleman next to' the OP. Yes, the police are generally under greater level of supervision and professionalism including having a senior officer in attendance and witnessing of individual stops. However, my fairly recent experience suggests that when it's a bit quieter and there are less 'witnesses' around, the old fashioned way is still possible. Put it this way, after I was asked very politely to turn off my dashcam, the old, mutually-agreed arrangement was happily facilitated.

[Bluetongue]

I got done for no helmet in Patong in the 90s, no question of tea money had to pay 300 baht official fine at station before keys were returned. Since then I've been pulled over three times by the Highway Patrol (with the car in the middle of the 4 lane road and two cops) for allegedly speeding, two tea moneys of 200 and 100 and once let go because I feigned ignorance. Once by the Highway Patrol for driving "in the right lane with a motorcycle in the back" tea money 500 baht. Once by a motorcycle cop at the toll gate on a motorway, he claimed to have a photo but the other thing was if I didn't want to pay tea money then I had to go to some police station in Bangkok, pay the fine and then find him again to get my license back, I chose the tea money which was huge at 3k, I can only say it was pretty early in my time here and he was very intimidating. Otherwise been pulled over numerous (+30) times at checkpoints showed an IDP once and a Thai DL once. 

[NanLaew]

40 minutes ago, Bluetongue said:

Once by a motorcycle cop at the toll gate on a motorway, he claimed to have a photo but the other thing was if I didn't want to pay tea money then I had to go to some police station in Bangkok, pay the fine and then find him again to get my license back, I chose the tea money which was huge at 3k, I can only say it was pretty early in my time here and he was very intimidating.

That bastard!?

 

Pulled the same with me years ago saying pickup cannot enter the elevated at that ramp (Ploenchit?). While having a serious what TF moment, I pointed at a pickup that has just passed us, coming up the ramp and asked him, "What about that pickup?" to which he slammed his fist on my door sill and shouted, "THIS pickup! THIS pickup!" Since Mrs NL and I were headed to the airport and home, I said I didn't want to hang about or come back for the license with the formal ticketing so he helpfully suggested the 3000 baht cash alternative. Even Mrs NL was gobsnacked at that effrontery and was just about to interject when I shushed her and solemnly handed over my expired Texas driving license in exchange for a ticket which I accepted with suitable degree of contriteness and a modicum of inferred genuflecting... but NO waii. Bloody pillock!

Edited January 13, 2019 by NanLaew

[Andrew Dwyer]

Been stopped many times but the only time I was asked for money was at a toll.
The cop stood in front of the car as I paid my toll and claimed I had changed lanes from the Easy pass lane .
Actually I had as I found myself to be in the wrong lane and changed quickly probably running over a little of the blue road markings.
He asked for 1000 baht, when I showed that I wasn’t gonna conform his tone changed and he barked “ 1000 baht here or police station “.
I offered 500 but he was having none of it !! so 1000 baht it was !

[Aussieroaming]

19 hours ago, Ulic said:

My buddy in the Philippines was able to get an IDP there. (he has both a Canadian and Philippine license) He wanted it for a motorcycle tour of Vietnam. He had to fully join the PAA, and the whole thing ended up costing him about 80 dollars. I picked one up in Canada 7 months ago. As a non-member of CAA I was charged about 50 Canadian dollars. They used to be 10-14 dollars and still are in Countries like the UK and Australia. Canada just bends you over. The only good thing is they forgot to stamp a date on the front cover so now mine will never expire. Although they never check that anyway in Thailand. What you see online are usually advertisements for "International Drivers License" which are bullshit and a scam. I have a feeling when you got yours in Honolulu they signed to up to be a AAA member for the year instead of selling you and IDP at the non-member rate, about 20 dollars.

$39 when I did my last Australian IDL in 2017. 

[MyFriend You]

20 hours ago, Ulic said:

My buddy in the Philippines was able to get an IDP there. (he has both a Canadian and Philippine license) He wanted it for a motorcycle tour of Vietnam. He had to fully join the PAA, and the whole thing ended up costing him about 80 dollars. I picked one up in Canada 7 months ago. As a non-member of CAA I was charged about 50 Canadian dollars. They used to be 10-14 dollars and still are in Countries like the UK and Australia. Canada just bends you over. The only good thing is they forgot to stamp a date on the front cover so now mine will never expire. Although they never check that anyway in Thailand. What you see online are usually advertisements for "International Drivers License" which are bullshit and a scam. I have a feeling when you got yours in Honolulu they signed to up to be a AAA member for the year instead of selling you and IDP at the non-member rate, about 20 dollars.

Thanx for the reply  -  I think you are right, they said I had to be a member to get an IDP, that was the rip off maybe..............I'll ensure I get the non-member this time.........headed to hawaii in February for a couple weeks.     

[HSMAN]

11 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Been stopped many times but the only time I was asked for money was at a toll.
The cop stood in front of the car as I paid my toll and claimed I had changed lanes from the Easy pass lane .
Actually I had as I found myself to be in the wrong lane and changed quickly probably running over a little of the blue road markings.
He asked for 1000 baht, when I showed that I wasn’t gonna conform his tone changed and he barked “ 1000 baht here or police station “.
I offered 500 but he was having none of it !! so 1000 baht it was !

God forbid you hit the blue road markings! He may have saved someone that day by fining you for committing such a grievous offence.

[Andrew Dwyer]

God forbid you hit the blue road markings! He may have saved someone that day by fining you for committing such a grievous offence.

Yup, I have to agree !! his time would have been better spent on matters of safety ( people in back of pick ups, many children not strapped in , unroadworthy vehicles etc ) but those examples do not guarantee a crisp 1000 baht note in the back pocket whereas a foreigner driving a ( relatively) new car almost certainly does !!

Of course I could have taken my chances at the police station and no doubt paid a fine ( possibly 500 baht ? ) but also wasted a lot of time , something I wasn’t prepared to do .

[seancbk]

On 1/11/2019 at 6:56 PM, balo said:

Most of the cops are actually good guys unlike the stories you hear on expat forums. 

 

I was stopped for not wearing a seat belt in CM in 2017 and I had to pay the fine down at the police station, when I showed him a 200 baht note he turned down the offer and said "no no , go station". 

  

 

 

 

He probably knew he'd have trouble passing a 200 baht note on, no matter how real it might have looked!

[losworld]

What has really happened is the bb are probably on the new "commission" structure which pays them a hefty percentage of each ticket up to the maximum monthly quota.