Leader of the Thai Civilized Party, Mongkolkit, opposes hefty fines of new traffic law

[snoop1130]

PHOTO: Manager Online

 

Mongkolkit Suksintharanon, MP and the leader of the Thai Civilized Party stated on Monday, September 5th, that he opposed the increase in traffic law fines as it could bring more bribery and dishonesty to the law system.

 

The Party leader responded to the new traffic law implemented on Monday that the new rate of fines is excessively expensive, such as a fine for speeding was previously 500 baht now increased to 4,000 baht, breaking traffic lights was from 500 baht to 4,000 baht, and not wearing a helmet was 400 baht and now increased to 2,000 baht. For many Thai nationals working at minimum wage, this could be a week or two of work.

 

Therefore, he was planning to seek the names of 20 MPs to propose amendments to the hefty fines.

 

Full Story: https://thepattayanews.com/2022/09/06/leader-of-the-thai-civilized-party-mongkolkit-opposes-hefty-fines-of-new-traffic-law-seeking-mps-names-to-propose-amendments-to-parliament/

 

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[Jerno]

Stating the obvious, but bigger fines is no deterrent when enforcement is clearly absent, selective and/or corrupt, as we know.  Change the policing System, not the fines.  (Yes, I'm dreaming again.)

[tomazbodner]

I agree with this man. Fines should be 10-100x higher!

[BKKTRAVELER]

This man is clearly part of the problem then. Let's hope he never gets anywhere near being PM in the future.

 

There should be hefty fines and it should be fully enforced.

 

Then, people will start following the rules and we'll stop reading news about dads crying about their 14 years old daughters dying because being on phone while on their bikes... Or because no helmet, no seatbelt, DUI, speeding, ignoring traffic lights or whatever that is.

 

You can't have it all. Enforce strict traffic laws or keep having skyrocket high road death numbers.

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, BKKTRAVELER said:

...and it should be fully enforced.

This.

 

Who?

[Geoffggi]

9 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The Party leader responded to the new traffic law implemented on Monday that the new rate of fines is excessively expensive, such as a fine for speeding was previously 500 baht now increased to 4,000 baht, breaking traffic lights was from 500 baht to 4,000 baht, and not wearing a helmet was 400 baht and now increased to 2,000 baht. For many Thai nationals working at minimum wage, this could be a week or two of work.

Alternatively, these people can respect the law and not drive like a total idiot ......................LOL

[1duckyboy]

Is this a joke? He wants to stop enforcement of higher fines aimed at saving hundreds of lives a year, if enforced, so as to not tempt crooked cops. Only in Thailand.

[RichardColeman]

Seems to me he is right. It is too high based on the national wage. BUT. They should have a scale for offences. 1st offence 500 baht, 2nd 2000, 3rd 4000, 4th 8000, 5th 16,000 etc.

[alyx]

1 minute ago, RichardColeman said:

Seems to me he is right. It is too high based on the national wage. BUT. They should have a scale for offences. 1st offence 500 baht, 2nd 2000, 3rd 4000, 4th 8000, 5th 16,000 etc.

5th ?

Well, how about red flag the offender with the Transport Department issuing the licence and  take them to court eventually as I strongly oppose to any Police officer getting hold of documents as driving licence or ID ...for obvious reasons

[realfunster]

7 hours ago, BKKTRAVELER said:

This man is clearly part of the problem then. Let's hope he never gets anywhere near being PM in the future.

 

There should be hefty fines and it should be fully enforced.

 

Then, people will start following the rules and we'll stop reading news about dads crying about their 14 years old daughters dying because being on phone while on their bikes... Or because no helmet, no seatbelt, DUI, speeding, ignoring traffic lights or whatever that is.

 

You can't have it all. Enforce strict traffic laws or keep having skyrocket high road death numbers.

I don’t know his views on road safety but the main objection he is making is around the potential for further corruption in the system as well as affordability of such fines for an average working Thai. The current proposal is around European levels. Perhaps they can look at more commensurate fine ranges for cars vs motorcycles.

 

This proposal reeks of the RTP shrugging their shoulders about road safety and simply asking government for higher fines just to incentivize their people to do their job. I don’t know why the RTP don’t install more speed/junction cameras, sure that would be a good earner for them with little effort, win-win.

 

We have seen with COVID, that Thais are fairly willing to adopt certain behaviours and develop a social norm on mask wearing etc, I don’t know why they don’t launch consistent and frequent media campaigns on road safety to make it socially unacceptable to do certain things on the roads…

 

As for the fourteen year old, unfortunately, I think we are dreaming if we think any of this is going to impact any time soon on the rural back roads, where quite simply there is no police presence and people have limited options on education and transport.

[klauskunkel]

11 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Mongkolkit Suksintharanon, MP and the leader of the Thai Civilized Party stated on Monday, September 5th, that he opposed the increase in traffic law fines as it could bring more bribery and dishonesty to the law system.

If I say that Thailand's law system is corrupt I would probably be charged for defamation, Lèse-majesté and imagery tarnishings. 

This guy is on public record exactly saying this, but he is not opposing the corruption, just the traffic fines. (Why be part of the solution when being part of the problem is so much more rewarding and fun...)

Edited September 7, 2022 by klauskunkel

[carlf]

2 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Seems to me he is right. It is too high based on the national wage. BUT. They should have a scale for offences. 1st offence 500 baht, 2nd 2000, 3rd 4000, 4th 8000, 5th 16,000 etc.

I know that it's more complicated, but I'd love to see them implement fines that take into account revenue.  Probably not toooo difficult to implement if they just took into account the prior year's tax revenue declaration.  Basically, the idea is to make a fine that is painful, and the level of pain depends upon your revenue.

[tomacht8]

Unfortunately, the penalties are very general and undifferentiated. For example driving too fast. So far always 500 baht flat rate. Someone speeding with 98 km/h on a road with a maximum speed of 90 km/h pays the same as someone driving 180 km/h.

 

There is still considerable need for revision.

[Bday Prang]

39 minutes ago, carlf said:

I know that it's more complicated, but I'd love to see them implement fines that take into account revenue.  Probably not toooo difficult to implement if they just took into account the prior year's tax revenue declaration.  Basically, the idea is to make a fine that is painful, and the level of pain depends upon your revenue.

"prior years tax returns"  ????????????     Have you any idea regarding how things work here in Thailand ? Your post suggests otherwise   

[tomacht8]

I also think the new penalty for driving without a helmet is too high compared to driving through a red light. Both ways of behaving are stupid and ignorant, but those who drive without a helmet "only" endanger themselves, while red light drivers endanger the lives of third parties and bystanders.

[Road Warrior]

surely thats the idea to deter the traffic offenders ..is it not ??? .

[hotchilli]

14 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The Party leader responded to the new traffic law implemented on Monday that the new rate of fines is excessively expensive, such as a fine for speeding was previously 500 baht now increased to 4,000 baht, breaking traffic lights was from 500 baht to 4,000 baht, and not wearing a helmet was 400 baht and now increased to 2,000 baht. For many Thai nationals working at minimum wage, this could be a week or two of work.

If they don't break the law it won't cost them a single satang....

[MikeN]

4 hours ago, carlf said:

I know that it's more complicated, but I'd love to see them implement fines that take into account revenue.  Probably not toooo difficult to implement if they just took into account the prior year's tax revenue declaration.  Basically, the idea is to make a fine that is painful, and the level of pain depends upon your revenue.

So the vast majority of people would pay a fine of zero baht, in line with their tax paid ?

 

If people obeyed the traffic laws they wouldn’t need to pay any fines, something that this MP seems to have overlooked.

Edited September 7, 2022 by MikeN

[tomacht8]

Driving a motor vehicle lawfully will certainly not achieve the desired change in behavior with only higher penalties.

 

The traffic fines are already high for many normal-earning Thais.

 

As a result, many fines are simply not paid. The threat that they will not be able to pay their road tax and minimal insurance does not bother them much.

 

Why? Because they can then pay their village police officers directly at a traffic stop and then get a cash payment discount.

 

The real problem lies in the bribery system.