Thai Commerce Ministry to put child car seats on “products under watch” list

[snoop1130]

 

The Ministry of Commerce is to include car safety seats in their “product under watch” list to prevent profiteering, after the Land Traffic Act has made it mandatory for children under 6 and those whose height is 135cm or less to be placed in safety seats and secured with a seatbelt from September 5th. Violators will face a fine up to 2,000 baht on conviction.

 

Inclusion on the “products under watch” list means officials monitor the prices and supply of the listed products on a bi-weekly basis.

 

Keep up to date with all things Thailand - Join our daily ASEAN NOW Thailand Newsletter - Click to subscribe

 

The Customs Department is also considering cutting import tax on car safety seats, currently set at 20%. This will be proposed to the Finance Ministry.

 

Full Story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thai-commerce-ministry-to-put-child-car-seats-on-products-under-watch-list/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-05-16

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

[transam]

What about child crash helmets....?  

I hardly ever see them in use.....????

[richard_smith237]

Good idea... But putting them on a list which will be ignored won’t change anything.

Thailand has to start ‘acting’ on the laws it wishes to enforce. 

 

 

A number of years ago I wanted to purchase a child seat for my Son.

The Britax Römer KidFix III.

 

The manufacturer (Britax Römer) lists the seat in Thailand at 25,900 baht, nearly 3-4x the price it is in the UK.  Central Department store lists the same seat at 29,900 baht.

 

The same seat in the UK is £165 to £200 (THB 7000 to 9500 depending on the shop).

 

After contacting the manufacture and asking them the question of why they are profiting so strongly on a ‘safety item’ and have a mark up of over 3x the price in the UK (which can’t be explained by tax) - the simple and somewhat clumsy response was ’this is the Thai Price’.

 

The excessive fee’s in Thailand for some of these ’safety items’ is somewhat immoral IMO. 

 

At least the government can remove the Import tax and limit the profit margin a company can apply. 

 

 

Costs of the same Seat in the Thailand (25,900 to 29,900 baht)

https://www.central.co.th

https://www.britaxthailand.com/product/KIDFIXIIIS

 

Costs of the same Seat in the UK (£179 (7560 baht) to £189 (7980 baht) 

https://www.pramworld.co.uk/search.php?search_query=KidFix III

https://www.uberkids.com

 

(I purchased the seat in the UK for about £160 I think and simply brought it to Thailand).

 

[Bobtheblob]

Time and again Thai people and companies price gouge whenever the opportunity arises. This is not a national trait to be proud of. 

[RichardColeman]

They should put child seats on the 50/50 pay scheme 

[hotchilli]

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The Ministry of Commerce is to include car safety seats in their “product under watch” list to prevent profiteering

That'll be worth watching if it succeeds.

[hotchilli]

14 hours ago, transam said:

What about child crash helmets....?  

I hardly ever see them in use.....????

 

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Violators will face a fine up to 2,000 baht on conviction.

Or a roadside tip ... as is the norm now.

[trainman34014]

Pork went on that list too but it made no difference whatsoever.   The Government 'Price Watch Lists' are just window dressing.

[ChrisY1]

The rest of the world has had child seats/restraints for decades....why does Thailand insist on re-inventing the wheel?

What could possibly be so damn difficult?

[alien365]

16 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

After contacting the manufacture and asking them the question of why they are profiting so strongly on a ‘safety item’ and have a mark up of over 3x the price in the UK (which can’t be explained by tax) - the simple and somewhat clumsy response was ’this is the Thai Price’.

 

The excessive fee’s in Thailand for some of these ’safety items’ is somewhat immoral IMO. 

 

 

I agree that the markup is a complete joke but I wonder if part of the problem is that nobody uses or buys child seats. A lot of the locals still don't even wear seatbelts. Having these items take up valuable store space only to be bought once every blue moon could be part of the reason. 

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, ChrisY1 said:

The rest of the world has had child seats/restraints for decades....why does Thailand insist on re-inventing the wheel?

What could possibly be so damn difficult?

Its not re-inventing the wheel....  with regards to safety, its slowly realising that there is a wheel. 

 

This is the face of the endemic nature of the corruption in Thailand - at every facet, every turn, every little bit adds up to an abhorrent lack of care for safety and enforcement of safety regulations. 

 

For lives to be saved and for Thailands road fatality stats to be improved a top to bottom cultural shift needs to be applied. Many nations this started this shift decades ago, Thailand still struggles with this aspect of its development. 

 

The laws are good, the legislation is good, but failure commences at the seeming belief that putting a law in place is alone effective. 

 

Changing the safety attitudes of the nation is a huge task, firstly those at the ‘top’ need to be on board and currently I don’t really see that. 

[Peterphuket]

I think it's hard to control with all those tinted windows.

[Troy Tempest]

I live on Samui and never drive after Dark anymore!......

 

So many times I have had "Motorcys" come towards me on the wrong side of the road and with no lights after dark!

 

But, being a "Farang" if I hit and killed or injured them it would be "My Fault"

 

Also, I have seen young Thai mothers riding motorbikes holding their small Babies in one hand whilst chatting on a mobile phone (tucked under their chin)!

 

I am not joking!

[trainman34014]

1 hour ago, Troy Tempest said:

I live on Samui and never drive after Dark anymore!......

 

So many times I have had "Motorcys" come towards me on the wrong side of the road and with no lights after dark!

 

But, being a "Farang" if I hit and killed or injured them it would be "My Fault"

 

Also, I have seen young Thai mothers riding motorbikes holding their small Babies in one hand whilst chatting on a mobile phone (tucked under their chin)!

 

I am not joking!

We live in Chiang Mai and i haven't driven after dark for about eight years now; it's just not worth all the risks owing to all the Idiots who call themselves Riders and Drivers, the majority who can't pass the very simplest Driving or Riding Tests, don't even turn lights on at Dusk or in Rainy conditions, Riders leaving Indicator Lights on after turning, recklessness when  cutting off corners or entering a Main Road from the left, jumping Red Lights etc etc, the list is never ending.  No; much easier and safer to stay home after Dusk and let the Idiots all kill or main each other !