Video: Netizens irate after car blocks ambulance carrying unconscious man - 500 baht's the fine

[webfact]

Picture: Sanook

 

Sanook reported that netizens on Facebook were furious after a video showed a white car going along a road in Nakhon Sri Thammarat in southern Thailand blocking an ambulance. 

 

The car was in the right lane and despite a blaring siren and many honks on the horn the driver did not pull over. 

 

Worse - the driver was deliberately braking and nearly caused a collision on seveal occasions as the Chulalongkorn Hospital ambulance tried to pass. 

 

In the back was a person who had fallen from a height, had broken their leg and suffered a head injury that had left them unconscious. 

 

The patient was being transferred to Maharat Nakhon Sri Thammarat Hospital  on Saturday afternoon. 

 

A video showed the driver of the ambulance eventually decide to undertake.

 

Sanook did not say why the ambulance driver did not take this option before though previous reports have suggested that ambulance drivers are reluctant to do this for fear of causing an accident themselves.

 

They said that under Article 76 this irresponsible driving blocking an ambulance was an offence punishable by a 500 baht fine. 

 

If the patient were to die as a result of this driving then they could be charged with negligence causing death, with a far more serious penalty.

 

Advocates of changes to the fines for traffic offences in Thailand have said that such paltry fines are no deterrent to appalling driving like this, notes Thaivisa.

 

But despite reviews the fine remains 500 baht - just US $16. 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2021-06-07

 

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[Surelynot]

To be fair he/she might have a U turn coming up in the next 15km.

[thequietman]

Clearly the ambulance driver doesn't know who is the owner of the car and 'who he is'  ????

 

What a nob!

[foreverlomsak]

They shouldn't blank out the number plate, Name and Shame.

I know, they can then be sued for deformation of character, it wasn't me and I don't know who was driving, maybe the car got fed up sitting outside the house and went for a drive by itself.

 

[Promsak]

Why block out the number? Shame him!

[Mango Bob]

Nothing new here.  If you have lived in Thailand for a while you would have seen it many time by some fools.  Nakong Si is know for doing many stupid things behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.

[connda]

Video: Netizens irate after car blocks ambulance carrying unconscious man - 500 baht's the fine

The government doesn't care about emergency vehicles any more the those who block them. 
In a civilized country those who block emergency vehicles in route with true emergencies would find themselves arrested, fined, possible imprisoned, and wide-open to lawsuits in civil courts.
Thailand isn't anywhere near "civilized" yet.  Probably never.
500 THB.  What an embarrassment.

[richard_smith237]

Anyone else would simply ‘undertake’ the white car. 

 

Why did the ambulance driver decide to ‘make a point’ instead of thinking of his paitent and getting him to hospital as quickly as possible ? - there was no reason to sit behind the car hitting the horn, the car was clearly not going to move.... Just undertake the car !!!!! 

 

Of course, the car driver was a total moron, but thats normal on the roads here. 

[irwinfc]

the fine should have been 6000 baht at least. 500 x 10 times the ambulance driver begged for the idiot to give way, plus 1000 for the undertaking the idiot forced the ambulance driver to commit. 

[itsari]

The more I experience Thai behavior on the roads the more I  scratch my head in bewilderment .

If I were the ambulance driver I would of overtaken on the inside rather than making a point .

Difficult to know what is going on in the head of the driver in the car . I suspect brain damage .

[a977]

Maybe they should start fitting nudge bars to the ambulances, giving ambulances the right to push the offender out of the way 

[ujayujay]

????????????500 Baht.......

[jimgilly]

Did anyone happen to notice the other vehicles passing the white car on the right?  Would have been an easy option for the ambulance driver who preferred to just keep honking his horn knowing it was not going to work. 

[Surelynot]

Just now, jimgilly said:

Did anyone happen to notice the other vehicles passing the white car on the right?  Would have been an easy option for the ambulance driver who preferred to just keep honking his horn knowing it was not going to work. 

500 baht fine for undertaking........Thais very tough on that kind of move.

[jimgilly]

Meant to say "passing on the left"

[tifino]

18 minutes ago, jimgilly said:

Meant to say "passing on the left"

yes... simply changed to a different lane and carried on regardless...    

 

The video didn't keep going on; for us to see whether the Ambo changed back into his earlier lane later on...     (to have done so would have made it a Passing move)  

[RobU]

Perhaps the driver was from the USA I understand that in that country traffic law allows passing on either side. No excuse for not obeying the law of the country you are in