Parking Ticket For Broken-down Bike..... What If I Don't Pay It?

[Thanh-BKK]

Hello

I am used to cops giving tickets or trying to take bribes on ANY ocassion, however i just experienced the unfairest possibility.

Friday evening i got home with a sputtering and misfiring engine. Saturday morning it wouldn't start at all - no spark. I suspected spark plug. Luckily there is a parts shop just about one kilometer from my place in soi Udomsuk. So i pushed the bike there.

At the shop i borrowed some tools and started troubleshooting. Wasn't the spark plug, so i partly dismantled the bike (seat and tank were off). Along comes a cop and writes me a ticket! I ask what it's for? He didn't speak english, just said "here no stop".

There is NO sign indicating a "no parking" zone. Neither are there any markings on the sidewalk (red-white or any others).

I tried to demonstrate that my engine would not start - pointed at the tank and seat that were taken off - pointed at the shop, saying "Fix motorbike" - his only comments were "here no stop, here no stop". Stuffed the ticket behind my cockpit and off he went! What an ass.

I am really not willing to pay this ticket, i don't even know WHERE to pay it!

Now what would happen if i just don't pay? The bike isn't registered in my name but in a friend's - and he is currently in jail (drug use).

Appreciate any advise......

Thanh

[Tilapia]

They will most likely arrest you, beat you up like a dog, put you in the hole for up to a year, before they let you see a judge....He will then sentence you to minimum 15 years in jail, and if you should survive those 15 years, then they will charge you for over-stay at your visa, and since you have been in jail for so long time, you properly dont have enough money to pay for the fine, so they will put you back in the hole, and history will repeat itself.

My advise, pay the bill, and get on with your life.

Cheers

Tilapia

[Thanh-BKK]

Ok.

Now anyone with a REAL reply.... please..?

[Tilapia]

What do you mean ???? I was being as real as a heart-attack....This is LOS !!! and in this case you just bend over and smile.

[H2oDunc]

If you cant afford to maintain your bike and have a complex about paying a 200 baht fine then I dont think you should be on the road. If you were in the UK you would now be faced with a 6,500 baht fine which if you didnt pay you would have your car/ bike clamped, towed away or crushed. JUST PAY THE FINE!!!!!!!!!!!! If 200 baht is a problem then maybe its time to go home???????

[PeaceBlondie]

C'mon guys, Thanh's not saying he can't pay it. WHERE does he go? The local police station? Some special office in BKK?

Thanh, that's what Thai partners are for! I have no idea where my b/f gets the renewal stickers for my bike's insurance and registration every year; he just brings them home. Same for the car. It's a pity that you were in no mood to pay the policeman 100 baht on the spot.

[Tilapia]

C'mon guys, Thanh's not saying he can't pay it. WHERE does he go? The local police station? Some special office in BKK?

Thanh, that's what Thai partners are for! I have no idea where my b/f gets the renewal stickers for my bike's insurance and registration every year; he just brings them home. Same for the car. It's a pity that you were in no mood to pay the policeman 100 baht on the spot.

Hi PB

I was just being a little sarcastic, the guy have been here long enough to have a friend who is in jail for drug-abuse, but he dont know how to handle the cops... As you say, why dident he just pay him on the spot ???? beats me.

[H2oDunc]

PB, if you read it properly he says " im really not willing to pay it I dont even know where to pay it" To me that means he wouldnt pay it even if he happened to know where. Just another cheap farang me thinks with some really nice friends.

To Than BKK if you dont pay the fine and the bike is registered in your friends name then when ( or if in case hes like yourself ) he goes to pay his insurance he will then have to pay original fine plus any penalty that they choose to incur.

[Thanh-BKK]

Now to make a few things VERY clear here:

I CAN afford to maintain my bike. There was a short circuit in the wire that runs to the kill switch, this had contact to the steering bar and in effect similar to the kill switch being in the "engine stop" position, hence - no spark. THAT HAD TO BE FOUND FIRST!!! And i rather do that myself than PUSHING the bike FIFTEEN KILOMETERS to the nearest PROFESSIONAL YAMAHA DEALER!!!

Second, I DID NOT PARK THERE but FIXED A BROKEN BIKE!! That's a difference, ladies and gentlemen!

Third, THERE WAS NO "NO PARKING" SIGNS ANYWHERE!!!! So how come i get a ticket even IF i "parked" there..?????

Fourth, how in the world can a cop write a PARKING TICKET for an OBVIOUSLY BROKEN DOWN VEHICLE??? A MOTORBIKE on top of it all, with the DRIVER RIGHT BESIDE IT????

THESE ARE THE REASONS WHY I AM UNWILLING TO PAY THE F***ING FINE AND IF ITS 25 SATANG!!!

So next. Where the hel_l to pay it? Bangna Police Station. So please, can anyone tell me where is the Banga Police Station?? Hint: It's NOT the one under the bridge at Bangna intersection, and the cops there ALSO DON"T KNOW WHERE TO PAY THAT TICKET, because i ASKED THEM!! That is because i am NOT to shy to thai cops!

Next. I know that particular friend since 4 years, and since 6 months he's in the slammer for using Yabaa and being stupid enough to be caught with two pills in his posession. That really isn't MY fault, i wouldn't touch that stuff with a barge pole. And listen up, he's THE ONLY GUY I KNOW that is in jail!

Next. I pay the insurance for the bike. I go to that place at Sukhumvit 62, hand in my papers and the $$, and come back next day to collect the stickers. Done.

Why didn't i pay the cop on the spot? Because i was f***ing fixing the bike and didn't even see the bastard untill he stuffed the ticket behind my speedmeter! And then i found that apart from "here no stop" he couldn't speak any english and was very much in hurry to get away from that spot.

@ H2O Dunc: I don't think that in the UK i would pay any fine at all. Or are there jungle-rules as well? Well face it, honey, in GERMANY which is a civilised country, i once broke down in the middle of the night with a small motorbike (complete electric breakdown, engine still running). Cops stopped me for driving without lights (not allowed even at daytime). Instead of fining me, they took a quick look - insurance etc in order - a quick call over the radio - 10 minutes later a police VAN showed up, they loaded my 50cc into it and brought me home! 25 kilometers. I didn't have to pay a PENNY! Because in Germany, as much as cops can be a pain in the ass, they can also be one's friend and helper!

Now go on with your life. Tell me where's the ###### Bangna Police Station so that i can pay my "well deserved for breaking down in public", or better "for making the mistake of being in Thailand in first place", fine........

@PeaceBlondie: Sorry, my boyfriend also has no idea where that freakin' station is.... he thought it's the one under the bridge here but turned out it is not, and they themselves don't know..... must be a whole different district......

Best regards.....

Thanh

[PeaceBlondie]

My boyfriend probably doesn't know where every police station is in Chiang Mai, and your b/f is from Chiang Mai, too.

So my fellow geniuses, where does Thanh go to pay the ticket? He has the money and is willing to pay, and he and his friend have struck out finding the Bangna station in Bangna, so.........?

[Tilapia]

Don't do a damm thing, if somebody will be charged, it will be your "only" friend who is in prison , so why bother ??? Maybe add a few more F.... words , it always seems to work for the better....Happy trails... :

[terryp]

Sounds like you were unlucky to get a cop on a mission to get his quota of monthly tickets issued…if your bike was on the pavement this is enough reason for him.

The police box are just traffic police and will almost certainly not even know what day it is let alone where some Police stations are…My advice on that would be to go to any large police station and ask…IMPORTANT you only have so many days to pay the fine, it could be 7 days as in the UK

[Thanh-BKK]

Thanks for every usable input

Well i'm calmed down a little. I hate being ripped off for nothing,like we all do, but when i then get such comments like "cheap Farang" or "shouldn't be on the road", i am ###### near exploding.

Meantime i got some info where that station *might* be,in a complete different corner of town - around Seri Center on Srinakarin road, i was told. I'll have a look on friday when i have time to get there.

I too had the idea that that cop was maybe in the need to fill some sort of quota, because thinking about it - i was beside the bike, sitting on the road tracing electrical wires, and suddenly he appeared there, ticket already in hand, to stick it to my bike. If he had been there for a little longer (how long does it take to write a ticket..?) i would have sure seen him. I guess he wrote the ticket while himself being on the opposite side of the street, there was no police car or motorbike, he was a "walking cop".

And 200 Baht, heck even 2.000 Baht, would not pose a life-threatening situation for me right now. Still, losing 200 Baht for SUCH a thing burns. I'd rather give 200 Baht to the blind guy that sits on the pedestrian flyover at the Udomsuk corner and plays the "saw" so nicely. He would deserve the money, that cop certainly doesn't.

Best regards.....

Thanh

[Tilapia]

Now you are on the right track..

[Thanh-BKK]

Welcome to Thailand, the land of... scams?

So here i am again. Just been to the cop station, i actually found it after some searching, it is opposite and some 1 kilometer before Seri Center, coming from Bangna-Trat. Connected to Srinakarin road by a half-kilometer dead-end soi with a small, but thai-and-english lettered sign on the main road, telling that there's the Bangna Police Station.

So in i went, being greeted by around 20 young guys mostly with helmets - aha that's whjere all those motoebikes come from. And the first cop i saw greeted me in perfect english with a question: "Do you belong to those racer guys?" I just smiled and replied "No, i'd smoke them in third gear anyway". The cop laughed and asked what i want.

So i handed him my ticket, and asked immediately: "How come that i get a ticket for parking violation when i am fixing a partly dismantled motorbike in a place that doesn't in any way indicate that parking is not allowed?", expecting him to ask me where that was.

Instead he immediately said the following, word-by-word: "This is not real ticket. Real ticket have stamp from police station, here no have. Ticket fake. No need to pay any Baht". THAT WERE HIS WORDS!!

he then gave the "ticket" to another, older cop who looked it over quite a few times, and then that guy gave it to a third. THAT one then came to me and asked about "when, where, from who". I could only tell him - "Udomsuk opposite Soi 10, Saturday around noon, walking uniformed police officer who didn't speak any english". And then that cop, too, told me (in worse english) that this ticket was written on original police "ticket forms" yet didn't have the stamp from the station and also no signature from the issuing cop. He explained that there should be a red stamp indicating the issuing station including it's address, and not a handwritten "Bangna Police Station". Further the make and type of vehicle should have been noted, not only the plate number. Basically the only things correct on the "ticket" were the plate number and the "committed offense" - parking in restricted zone, altough they of course could not verify if at that place was indeed a restricted zone without checking first. But anyway i would definitely not need to pay for THAT ticket!

Then the younger, first, cop talked to me again - explaining that i probably got a scammer in a genuine-looking police uniform that tried to get cash-on-the-spot, using the "ticket" as a pressure method. If someone refuses to pay, they get a ticket to scare them. In my case, i got a ticket because i didn't speak thai and the guy would not want to spend time with me, probably because he been in that area before and was scared someone could detect his not really being a cop (which is probably why he was in such a hurry to get away from me).

So they sent me on my way, the younger one actually saluting me and holding open the door for me! The whole "adventure" took less than ten minutes despite the station being crammed full with those young thai ones, aparently a gang of motorbike racers....... and one more lesson learned: Beside fake CD's, Rolexes, Armanis and Yamaha carburetors you can even obtain fake parking tickets..... truly Amazing Thailand.

Peace to all, and my regards to the (genuine) cops at the Bangna Police Station!

Your Thanh

PS if someone wonders - i only ONCE gotten a ticket before, and totally correct that one - using a flyover where motorbikes are actually not allowed to drive on and a sign very clearly says so. Done the crime, had to pay the fine. Cop would not take cash-on-the-spot but ESCORTED me to his station to have me pay it there (since there too i had no idea where that station might be) - which is nice too! Since he actually kept the ticket and i was only given a receipt i didn't see how the "genuine ticket" looks like.

[H2oDunc]

Thann BKK you need to seriously chill out. Why are you on here ranting and raving over a two bit fine fine when it would have been less stressfull to just pay the <deleted>^&**g thing. You say you can afford to maintain your bike????? If that was the case you would be able to afford to get the bike taken home??? Ive ridden all over Thailand and had some problems on the way. EVERY time Ive been helped and most of the time its cost me nothing. Maybe its a little attitude problem that gets you in these positions. You seem to have a big " Im being screwed chip "

Germany a civilised country? <deleted>! They fined me for looking at a map at the side of the road.

I once broke down 200 km from home here in Thailand, bike totally dead. Within 10 minutes a Thai guy in a truck stopped and loaded my bike onto truck and took me home. He wouldnt take a penny. Maybe if you took the <deleted>%^&*g time to learn a few Thai words then you may get a better response from the MIB.

The excuse you dont know where to pay also says a lot. So you dont know 1 Thai friend who can take the ticket and pay it?????????? Maybe you could go and see the owner of the bike in prison. Im sure somebody there would be able to tell him where to pay it.

[canadiangirl]

PS if someone wonders - i only ONCE gotten a ticket before, and totally correct that one - using a flyover where motorbikes are actually not allowed to drive on and a sign very clearly says so. Done the crime, had to pay the fine. Cop would not take cash-on-the-spot but ESCORTED me to his station to have me pay it there (since there too i had no idea where that station might be) - which is nice too! Since he actually kept the ticket and i was only given a receipt i didn't see how the "genuine ticket" looks like.

Wow, what a crazy story! I'm glad it all turned out ok for you, with a bit of light entertainment on the side for me. Sounds like something out of book!

[Thanh-BKK]

Thann BKK you need to seriously chill out. Why are you on here ranting and raving over a two bit fine fine when it would have been less stressfull to just pay the <deleted>^&**g thing. You say you can afford to maintain your bike????? If that was the case you would be able to afford to get the bike taken home??? Ive ridden all over Thailand and had some problems on the way. EVERY time Ive been helped and most of the time its cost me nothing. Maybe its a little attitude problem that gets you in these positions. You seem to have a big " Im being screwed chip "

Germany a civilised country? <deleted>! They fined me for looking at a map at the side of the road.

I once broke down 200 km from home here in Thailand, bike totally dead. Within 10 minutes a Thai guy in a truck stopped and loaded my bike onto truck and took me home. He wouldnt take a penny. Maybe if you took the <deleted>%^&*g time to learn a few Thai words then you may get a better response from the MIB.

The excuse you dont know where to pay also says a lot. So you dont know 1 Thai friend who can take the ticket and pay it?????????? Maybe you could go and see the owner of the bike in prison. Im sure somebody there would be able to tell him where to pay it.

They should fine you for being a complete waste of oxygen.

I asked a few people about where that station is and nobody knew because no-one of my thai friends happens to live in Bangna. You probably don't even know where Bangna is, so stop being an ass.

And being able to read also helps, before you waste space on this board. I clearly stated that i brought my bike FROM home TO the repair shop (well parts shop actually) because the nearest Yamaha dealer is a great distance further away. And no, i do NOT happen to know the owner of a pickup truck and the thing wouldn't fit in the back of my Volvo 460. Maybe i'll ask YOU next time to come to Bangna and tow me to the next repair shop, in case you know where is Bangna. Oh and by the way i am a certified motor mechanic and with tools i can fix just about EVERYTHING on my bike myself, "having tools" being the issue and reason why i got the bike there - buying parts there and using their tools to do the repairs myself.

Upcountry people usually help another, particular if a bike is broken down somewhere outside of civilisation. Here in Bangkok nobody gives a ###### as you can find bike shops every few hundred meters..... and still, i don't mind pushing my own motorbike, i'm not to proud to do that.

The OWNER of the bike is the one typing these words. I paid for the thing, i got the green book and all other papers, i got the keys and i drive it daily. The person registering it was the one i bought it for, the reason it stayed with me was that his girlfriend didn't like the two-stroke and so it was a done deal that i just keep it instead of him paying paying back to me in installments. In Thailand, as you probably know, it doesn't matter in who's name a vehicle is registered as long as it IS registered and the taxes and insurance are paid, for which i myself take care.

I can speak thai, probably better than you. But NOT speaking any when dealing with cops saves great amounts of money because they often don't bother trying to scam you for small on-the-spot things for non-existing offenses since they don't speak YOUR language. If you are so happy to be ripped off daily, go ahead.... i'm not.

And if you can read - it turned out that the whole thing was a SCAM anyway as the ticket was a FAKE. Real cops would probably NOT issue tickets to broken-down motorbikes, not even in Thailand.

Best regards....

Thanh

[RusticCharm]

And the first cop i saw greeted me in perfect english...

....No need to pay any Baht". THAT WERE HIS WORDS!!...

...the younger one actually saluting me and holding open the door for me! The whole "adventure" took less than ten minutes

Bloody hel_l!

My flabber is well and truely gasted!

Edited July 29, 2007 by RusticCharm