Illegal to change lanes on a bridge?

[BadCash]

Was driving a rental car in Bangkok the other day and got stopped by police at the Pratunam intersection, going north on Ratchadamri Road and turning east on Phetchaburi Road.

 

I had to change lanes just before the solid line started, but still a dashed line. It's my first time driving in Bangkok and on this road, so I wasn't sure if one or two lanes could turn. It was in rush hour and I was coming out from the Central World parking garage so had to make my way over all the way from left to right. The car in front of me also changed lanes at the same spot as me, just before the line became solid.

 

Unfortunately there was a police check at the intersection and they stopped me and said I changed lanes illegally, that the bridge was a "safety zone" and illegal to change lanes on it. They also showed a road sign on the phone which they supposedly thought supported their claim, although it was actually a sign forbidding passing other cars. 

 

Long story short they started off at 2000 baht and eventually lowered it to 500 baht cash payment after a few minutes of debating. 

 

But now I wonder if I even did anything wrong? I have reviewed my dashcam footage and I'm clearly changing lanes before the solid lines. Although I am holding up traffic behind me since the cars on the right won't let me in. 

 

 

[stubuzz]

16 minutes ago, BadCash said:

But now I wonder if I even did anything wrong? I have reviewed my dashcam footage and I'm clearly changing lanes before the solid lines. Although I am holding up traffic behind me since the cars on the right won't let me in. 

 

Next time, tell them to review your dash-cam and they will back down.

[ryxyz]

They're always at that intersection. 

[Shutterbug Guy]

1 hour ago, ryxyz said:

They're always at that intersection. 

It must be a cash cow for them.

[BadCash]

13 hours ago, stubuzz said:

Next time, tell them to review your dash-cam and they will back down. 

Thanks, that's what I tried to do, but my dashcam is pretty crappy at viewing video and of course froze up every time I tried to play it. They didn't seem to be bothered at all when I said I could show it though, which is why I'm thinking maybe I really did break some rule...

 

Will definitely buy a better dashcam now, one that doesn't freeze up when you need it..

[ChrisKC]

16 hours ago, BadCash said:

Was driving a rental car in Bangkok the other day and got stopped by police at the Pratunam intersection, going north on Ratchadamri Road and turning east on Phetchaburi Road.

 

I had to change lanes just before the solid line started, but still a dashed line. It's my first time driving in Bangkok and on this road, so I wasn't sure if one or two lanes could turn. It was in rush hour and I was coming out from the Central World parking garage so had to make my way over all the way from left to right. The car in front of me also changed lanes at the same spot as me, just before the line became solid.

 

Unfortunately there was a police check at the intersection and they stopped me and said I changed lanes illegally, that the bridge was a "safety zone" and illegal to change lanes on it. They also showed a road sign on the phone which they supposedly thought supported their claim, although it was actually a sign forbidding passing other cars. 

 

Long story short they started off at 2000 baht and eventually lowered it to 500 baht cash payment after a few minutes of debating. 

 

But now I wonder if I even did anything wrong? I have reviewed my dashcam footage and I'm clearly changing lanes before the solid lines. Although I am holding up traffic behind me since the cars on the right won't let me in. 

 

 

A sign that says passing other cars is forbidden means changing lanes - that means to me that their claim is valid.

[chiang mai]

Probably true, parking on a bridge of any kind is ticket able, trust me I learned this lesson the hard way

[Gweiloman]

It’s probably not illegal but cops in Bkk will try every trick in the book to part you with 500 bht. I lived in Bkk for 10 years and paid multiple “fines”.

[Liverpool Lou]

6 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

It’s probably not illegal but cops in Bkk will try every trick in the book to part you with 500 bht. I lived in Bkk for 10 years and paid multiple “fines”.

"...cops in Bkk will try every trick in the book..."

On the other hand they won't, I've lived in Bangkok since 1994 and been driving here since day one, I have never had to pay a single "fine" of the type you suggest.

[Gweiloman]

4 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

"...cops in Bkk will try every trick in the book..."

On the other hand they won't, I've lived in Bangkok since 1994 and been driving here since day one, I have never had to pay a single "fine" of the type you suggest.

You’ve been driving in BKK for the past 30 years and never paid a “fine”? Lucky you. By any chance, do you ride a bike as well?

[Liverpool Lou]

15 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

20 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

"...cops in Bkk will try every trick in the book..."

On the other hand they won't, I've lived in Bangkok since 1994 and been driving here since day one, I have never had to pay a single "fine" of the type you suggest.

You’ve been driving in BKK for the past 30 years and never paid a “fine”? Lucky you. By any chance, do you ride a bike as well?

No, I have never had to pay a "fine" a you describe it, I have had to pay a legitimate fine at a police station.

No, I don't (but can) ride a bike.  Why?

[AgMech Cowboy]

Wow... I got 'caught' at that same spot in 2012. I, too, did not cross the solid line. I, also, paid 500 baht.

[Speedhump]

10 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

No, I have never had to pay a "fine" a you describe it, I have had to pay a legitimate fine at a police station.

No, I don't (but can) ride a bike.  Why?

Police taking tea money for an infringement that didn't take place is common here. You change lanes 5 or 10 metres before a solid white line starts on a road but they magically see you doing it 5 or 10 metres later. They station themselves at likely spots to pay for their anticipated soapy massages for the next week. If they threaten to hold onto your license until you reach the police station demand it back on the spot, it's just another form of pressure for you to hand over a bit of cash. They won't write a ticket if they even get 200 Baht out of you. Just negotiate calmly and with humour.

[Gweiloman]

11 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

No, I have never had to pay a "fine" a you describe it, I have had to pay a legitimate fine at a police station.

No, I don't (but can) ride a bike.  Why?

Like I said, lucky you. I’ve paid multiple “not close enough to the left kerb” fines whilst on my bike, including once when I had to overtake a parked truck. This particular so called breach doesn’t apply to cars, just bikes. Another time, I had to pay a “too far to the right “ fine. This took place on Siloam Rd, at the multiple intersection directly in front of the police station. Poor guy behind me suffered the same fate. Worse, he left the station forgetting his ID.

 

They also tried to pull me over on my big bike even though I was fully helmeted, jacketed and booted. I decided to ignore them that instance and rode straight on. Bikers have plenty of tea money incidents. Motorists tend not to have as many.

[Watawattana]

5 hours ago, AgMech Cowboy said:

Wow... I got 'caught' at that same spot in 2012. I, too, did not cross the solid line. I, also, paid 500 baht.

Not much inflationary pressure on fines in 12 years, must be the only thing that hasn't risen in price!

[KannikaP]

6 hours ago, AgMech Cowboy said:

I got 'caught' at that same spot in 2012

Same cops 12 years later? 555

[impulse]

On 10/19/2024 at 1:57 AM, BadCash said:

Long story short they started off at 2000 baht and eventually lowered it to 500 baht cash payment after a few minutes of debating. 

 

If you settled up on the spot, you were probably scammed.  If you didn't get a receipt, you were definitely scammed.

 

Happens to all most of us.

 

Edit:  BTW, that doesn't mean you didn't break any laws.

 

[Gsxrnz]

Your only error was renting a vehicle with insufficiently tinted windows. I used to get stopped all the time for made-up reasons because they could see me. Got a new car with dark windows and they can't see me - haven't been stopped in seven years.

 

Also, if you have a dark tint and annoy a fellow motorist, they assume you're Thai and might have a gun. It means you can make that dodgy u-turn or steal their lane with no repercussions.

[richard_smith237]

36 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

6 hours ago, AgMech Cowboy said:

I got 'caught' at that same spot in 2012

Same cops 12 years later? 555

Probably earlier than that around 2005 I'd guess...    At that very corner (turning right onto Petchaburi from Central World) the BiB pulled me over accusing me and my passenger of not wearing our seatbelts (we were wearing our seatbelts)

 

They wanted 2000 baht - I just outright refused, & kept refusing - they waved me on.

 

 

A few years later, coming from the other direction, turning left from the wrong lane (second lane)

Fine negotiated down to 200 baht.  The amusing part about that one, was that there was a bin lorry parked in the left lane, so turning left from the left most lane was impossible.

 

 

It seems the Police in that area know exactly what they are doing when making up these 'technical faults' which are impossible to avoid if wanting to drive here.

 

 

 

[bubblegum]

Cops were correct.

[richard_smith237]

43 minutes ago, bubblegum said:

Cops were correct.

 

The 'cops' hang out at specific area's of poor road design so they can catch people out on such technicalities..   It seems the Police in Pratunam have their preferred spots to make their cash,

 

 

Over the past 25 years or so of driving and riding a motorcycle in Bangkok I can point out that getting pulled over by the BiB is by far the exception and certainly not a common occurrence.

 

 

That said - the Police are now relying on camera's a lot more.

We are getting a plenty of fines for crossing a white line.

 

At one junction we often use, we want to exit the expressway and use a flyover... there is a narrow window of 'dashed white lines' via which to get to the central lanes and use the fly over.

But, this also means drivers can't just 'flow and merge' they have to stop and lane change only at the dashed-white-lines (green arrow), or face a 500 baht fine if they merge in a manner that would be safer (yellow arrow).... (we get caught by the camera quite regularly here).

 

As for the Op: The only solution is to 'switch lanes' across to the right most lanes immediately when exiting central world parking - everyone else does this & makes traffic worse... but the BiB don't care - they instead create a worse situation by preventing lane changes on a bridge.

 

 

[Liverpool Lou]

3 hours ago, Gweiloman said:

They also tried to pull me over on my big bike even though I was fully helmeted, jacketed and booted.

The size of your bike has some relevance?

[richard_smith237]

Just now, Liverpool Lou said:

3 hours ago, Gweiloman said:

They also tried to pull me over on my big bike even though I was fully helmeted, jacketed and booted.

The size of your bike has some relevance?

 

It has some...   When riding a larger bike with full kit, the BiB are less likely to pull a rider over because they know they are more likely to be fully licensed, taxed and insured etc

 

Whether thats true or not, I'm not sure - but in Bangkok the BiB seem mostly interested in those riding scooters and tend not to bother riders on larger bikes... 

[Liverpool Lou]

3 hours ago, Speedhump said:

They won't write a ticket if they even get 200 Baht out of you. Just negotiate calmly and with humour.

Why are you trying to tell me how to negotiate with the police?   I know how to avoid a ticket or a "fine".

[CallumWK]

11 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

 I know how to avoid a ticket or a "fine".

 

Obviously you don't.

 

14 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

I have had to pay a legitimate fine at a police station.

 

[brianthainess]

I have been fined for crossing a solid white line, and that was by CCTV. That also was near BKK and I was a bit confused as to what ramp to take, the road behind me was completely void of any traffic, otherwise I would not have done it.

The fine is 500baht and nothing more, yes the cops were trying to rip you off, I have my dash cam, positioned, so I can turn it round to my drivers window, just incase anybody tries something wrong. 

[Guderian]

Something similar happened to me a few months ago. I live in Pattaya and, in the past, I've always taken a taxi to and from Bangkok, but for a change I decided that I fancied driving to the hotel we were staying at in the Nana area of Sukhumvit. It looked pretty easy on the map and I was using Google Maps on my phone connected via Android Auto to the infotainment display in the car to make sure I didn't go wrong.

 

For some reason, the phone tried to divert me off the 7 motorway near Swampy, but the road seemed clear so I just continued. Then when we were maybe 10 klicks from the turning off to get to Sukhumvit the phone again told me to turn left at some junction that I was unfamiliar with. As I was in 'new' territory for me I did as the phone commanded and ended up on a maze of much smaller roads with traffic travelling quite fast. In one section we were underneath the Skytrain or maybe an actual railway as there were alternate periods in deep shadow and then bright sunlight, but I was just following the traffic ahead while keeping a safe distance and watching to see what Maps came up with next. We came out from the alternate bright/dark flashing road onto a large traffic junction with half a dozen cops there and we were flagged down to stop as I'd gone through a red light. I didn't argue the point, I'm sure they were right, though I certainly hadn't seen it in the bright/dark area. Having lived here for 20 years, the cops usually only have a large presence like that in places where they're certain to make some decent money.

 

Anyway, an old female cop showed us (the Thai GF was with me) a laminated plastic menu saying that the penalty for running a red light was 4,000 Baht. A load of old cobblers, I knew, but I just smiled and let the GF do the talking. The cop eventually came down to 1,000 Baht then the GF said that her father is a retired policeman up in Phitsanulok so she would call him and he could fix the ticket for us. Really, it works, I've seen her do it before when she had a run in with the cops locally down this way. He wasn't picking up, though, so after some more bargaining the cop came down to 700 Baht and said that was as low as she could go. The GF was gearing up for Round 2 of the negotiations but I was getting bored and was happy to just cough up the 700 Baht. No ticket or receipt, of course, but we were soon on our way again. While we were sitting there arguing, I saw at least three other vehicles pulled up by the cops, presumably for running the same invisible red traffic light. In the hotel, the GF's father called and he said that the ticket should have been no more than 400 Baht, so I was 300 Baht out of pocket but it was a lot better than the 4,000 Baht the crooks, I mean cops, had originally demanded.

 

It was an amusing and educational episode, anyway, though the GF was fuming. All part of the rich tapestry of life here, but genuine tourists will probably not be very amused by such greed and larceny.

[richard_smith237]

13 minutes ago, Guderian said:

Having lived here for 20 years, the cops usually only have a large presence like that in places where they're certain to make some decent money.

 

Exactly this... 

 

One such area is travelling east from Chitlom area, near Sukhumvit Soi 1...  

There is a 20meter interval of road over which cars cannot travel (only busses can)...  

But, once you are on that road, its impossible to avoid the '20m interval of road' unless you want to turn left onto the expressway heading north.

 

... Its one of those 'you have to know' areas...  And the police know very well, that not everyone knows...  they make a killing in tea money at that junction !!! 

[Speedhump]

On 10/20/2024 at 11:17 AM, Liverpool Lou said:

Why are you trying to tell me how to negotiate with the police?   I know how to avoid a ticket or a "fine".

I was writing for readers in general. Remember, it's not all about you....

[Liverpool Lou]

13 hours ago, Speedhump said:

On 10/20/2024 at 11:17 AM, Liverpool Lou said:

Why are you trying to tell me how to negotiate with the police?   I know how to avoid a ticket or a "fine".

I was writing for readers in general. Remember, it's not all about you....

So why did you address it specifically to me by commenting on my post that you quoted?