Thailand’s barrier-free toll system: a boon for motorists – and a challenge for cheaters

[webfact]

 

Launched just over a year ago, Thailand’s M-Flow or barrier-free toll system is now serving more than 110,000 vehicles each day. Although praised for easing traffic flows, it has also been a boon for cheaters, who have sought to exploit the system’s automated license plate recognition and post-pay service.

 

The issue made headlines again this week when police arrested the driver of a luxury BMW sedan and accused her of evading M-Flow tollgate charges around 260 times.

 

The BMW owner, 35, has been charged with using fake license plates. If convicted, she faces up to five years in jail and a maximum fine of 10,000 baht. She must also pay the evaded toll fees as well as a hefty fine.

 

Those who fail to pay M-Flow fees by the deadline are penalized with a bill for 10 times the amount of their fees. Collection fees are also added to repayments of long overdue fees.

 

#news

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thailands-barrier-free-toll-system-a-boon-for-motorists-and-a-challenge-for-cheaters/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2023-07-01

 

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[stoner]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

The BMW owner, 35, has been charged with using fake license plates. If convicted, she faces up to five years in jail and a maximum fine of 10,000 baht. She must also pay the evaded toll fees as well as a hefty fine.

set a precedent. give her the max jail time and fine. use it as a warning to others who want to try similar things.

 

stamp out the behavior that is bound to develop over the coming years.

[ezzra]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

The BMW owner, 35, has been charged with using fake license plates. If convicted, she faces up to five years in jail and a maximum fine of 10,000 baht. She must also pay the evaded toll fees as well as a hefty fine.

Yeah, NOT IF, convict the cheating toll evader for others to see and learn the hard way.

[flyingtlger]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

accused her of evading M-Flow tollgate charges around 260 times.

Really? Someone is not doing their job....

[KannikaP]

How difficult would it be for the number-plate recognition software to sound an alarm when a 'non-paying' vehicle goes through, especially 260 times?

[jacko45k]

3 hours ago, stoner said:

set a precedent. give her the max jail time and fine. use it as a warning to others who want to try similar things.

 

stamp out the behavior that is bound to develop over the coming years.

But she drives a BMW and must therefore be above the rules!

[stoner]

2 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

But she drives a BMW and must therefore be above the rules!

there is zero chance it would of got this far back home. 260 times ? hardly an accident or innocent mistake. clear intent. 

 

crush her car too. 

[jcmj]

Why don’t they do it like most other countries and do it prepaid. Most everything else here is prepaid. Why not this. In order to get a pass you need to put X amount on the pass, and then receive a notification when it is below a certain amount. If they don’t top it up and go through tolls, then they will get a fine. You’d think that they would have a picture taken every time the light was red showing they didn’t pay, but that would require more work, and we all know that’s not an easy task to accomplish. It sure would cut down the traffic a lot if they promoted this and let people know that they will pay less by having a pass, and made it idiot proof. 

[h90]

9 hours ago, stoner said:

set a precedent. give her the max jail time and fine. use it as a warning to others who want to try similar things.

 

stamp out the behavior that is bound to develop over the coming years.

5 year jail for cheating the toll fee? What would you do with someone parking wrong? execute?

 

[h90]

7 hours ago, KannikaP said:

How difficult would it be for the number-plate recognition software to sound an alarm when a 'non-paying' vehicle goes through, especially 260 times?

I guess than the system reports it and tries to find the owner...but she uses fake plates. If it is common you can have some police hiding there. But if it is rare it is difficult.

[h90]

From what year is that law? 1975?

"up to five years in jail and a maximum fine of 10,000?

10.000 is way to mild

5 years jail time is way over the top....200 hours community service maybe.

I guess the law is from a time where 10.000 Baht was a fortune.

[stoner]

1 hour ago, h90 said:

5 year jail for cheating the toll fee? What would you do with someone parking wrong? execute?

 

is it really just cheating a toll fee though ? 260 times is quite habitual. parking wrong to pop in for a coffee is a little different than parking every day like that. 

 

parking wrong in canada in many of the bigger cities is pretty risky. the meter maids are like ninjas. the fines are huge now just for minor offences. if tickets are not paid you cannot renew your drivers license won't get insurance and then cannot drive anymore. if you did and were caught you would then face criminal charges. 

 

in fact i am willing to bet in canada you would face criminal charges for avoiding a toll this many times. think this amounts to fraud maybe ? 

 

how would you deter this sort of behavior from happening ? 

[jonclark]

I would have thought using fake license plates would have been a bigger concern or crime??

[Confuscious]

16 hours ago, h90 said:

5 year jail for cheating the toll fee? What would you do with someone parking wrong? execute?

 

Read again, more careful this time:

"The BMW owner, 35, has been charged with using fake license plates. If convicted, she faces up to five years in jail and a maximum fine of 10,000 baht." 
 

[h90]

7 minutes ago, Confuscious said:

Read again, more careful this time:

"The BMW owner, 35, has been charged with using fake license plates. If convicted, she faces up to five years in jail and a maximum fine of 10,000 baht." 
 

yes wrong....a non violent fraud.....nothing someone should go into jail...so painful fee...someone could argue to seize the BMW (I do not, but I could understand it). Some community service would OK....cleaning the toilets at the train stations....as a fee may not hurt someone rich.

But not 5 year jail like murder rapist drug dealer etc....

We had a freelance sales who got stopped for drunk driving...a Thai who only spoke English with the policeman and explained the policeman that he is just too uneducated to understand him....He got a 2 week cleaning the street.....all the office had fun calling him, pretending to be a customer who need him visit and today and let him made up some story why he can't......he never again drove drunk.....it worked magic

[billd766]

18 hours ago, h90 said:

5 year jail for cheating the toll fee? What would you do with someone parking wrong? execute?

 

Not only ignoring the toll fee 260 times, but using fake number plates.

 

YOU are one that repeatedly says the law must be obeyed, or do you simply ignore the law for rich people.

 

You cannot have it both ways, Either enforce the law or scrap it.

 

18 hours ago, h90 said:

From what year is that law? 1975?

"up to five years in jail and a maximum fine of 10,000?

10.000 is way to mild

5 years jail time is way over the top....200 hours community service maybe.

I guess the law is from a time where 10.000 Baht was a fortune.

260 times 10,000 equals 2,600,000 baht she has stolen from the tollway system, and she has done it deliberately using fake plates. How much is the fine for that, 260 times?

 

As you rtepeatedly claim, the law is the law.

 

 

[stoner]

1 hour ago, h90 said:

But not 5 year jail like murder rapist drug dealer etc....

We had a freelance sales who got stopped for drunk driving...

most people who murder and rape get a little more than 5 years though. what if it was a human body that stopped him from drunk driving rather than the stop check ? 

[Purdey]

I believe prepay makes more sense, but I like the barrier free entry. Simply deduct from the amount added to the account. Anyone passing through without an account can be arrested within a day or two.

[kennw]

On 7/1/2023 at 10:56 AM, KannikaP said:

How difficult would it be for the number-plate recognition software to sound an alarm when a 'non-paying' vehicle goes through, especially 260 times?

Maybe because as the article noted at it's end there were many cars using the same red plate number. I wonder how many the will eventually catch. 

[ExpatOilWorker]

Post pay?

Where do you pay, at the exit gate?

Or is this just for registration customers with an M card?

[stoner]

13 minutes ago, kennw said:

Maybe because as the article noted at it's end there were many cars using the same red plate number. I wonder how many the will eventually catch. 

i don't see where it says that. can you quote it from the article please. 

[Hepbub]

On 7/1/2023 at 4:45 PM, jcmj said:

 

Why don’t they do it like most other countries and do it prepaid. Most everything else here is prepaid. Why not this. In order to get a pass you need to put X amount on the pass, and then receive a notification when it is below a certain amount. If they don’t top it up and go through tolls, then they will get a fine. You’d think that they would have a picture taken every time the light was red showing they didn’t pay, but that would require more work, and we all know that’s not an easy task to accomplish. It sure would cut down the traffic a lot if they promoted this and let people know that they will pay less by having a pass, and made it idiot proof. 

 

What about tourists and others who rarely use the tolls? do we have to buy a pass "just in case"!