Karon Roadblock Today

[madmitch]

Wasn't the OP about police demanding passports and fining those that didn't have them and then things meandered from there?

Quite correct, but on TV's Phuket Forum you can start a post asking where to buy a goldfish and it'll end up as a heated discussion about corruption, dual-pricing, police incompetence or all three. This one didn't stray nearly as far as some.

As the OP, I would add that I don't ride a bike (I think I have said that) and have only been fined twice in my car, neither in Phuket, one for cruising in the right hand lane (an offence, yes, but 100 baht straight into the pocket, paid by my Thai back-seat passenger), the other for speeding, totally incorrect but only 100 baht again. Neither anything to do with my race.

[Lannatyne]

Just to reinforce the issue of carrying passports -

Last year, a friend of mine was caught up in an altercation at a bar. He proclaimed his innocence, but, nevertheless, the Thais dragged the BIB into the situation.

Himself, other witnesses, and some Thai bar staff, were taken along the police station and the usual debrief occured. In the end, they couldn't (quite correctly) pin anything on him, so no charges about the bar incident could be made.

Now, of course, the BIB had gone outside of their nice air-conditioned offices, done the interviews, couldn't find the real perpetrator, and were faced with doing all this hard work for no recompense.

So, they pulled out the "carrying passport" card, and did him for 20,000 baht for that.

Getting back to the case in point, the OP did us a service by warning us of a roadblock checking for this very thing. Instead of some people / usual suspects, demanding virtual first hand eye witness reports of this, a mere "Cheers for the heads up" would've done nicely.

[BangTaoBoy]

.

So, they pulled out the "carrying passport" card, and did him for 20,000 baht for that.

Getting back to the case in point, the OP did us a service by warning us of a roadblock checking for this very thing. Instead of some people / usual suspects, demanding virtual first hand eye witness reports of this, a mere "Cheers for the heads up" would've done nicely.

If you hand over 20k for the offense of not having your passport on your person, while drinking in a bar,then you are very, very stupid.

If it did happen, which Is dubious, then the copper was obviously trying it on big time, and got lucky with the sucker of the week. The words CHER CHING!! come to mind.

Nobody is denying a greedy Thai copper won't try and fleece someone. But please understand. The law of averages says, you will not find yourself in a police station, for no reason at all. Maybe your friend hadn't done anything wrong, but he must have been standing pretty close to someone who had!!

Edited November 19, 2010 by BangTaoBoy

[Jimi007]

Wasn't the OP about police demanding passports and fining those that didn't have them and then things meandered from there?

Quite correct, but on TV's Phuket Forum you can start a post asking where to buy a goldfish and it'll end up as a heated discussion about corruption, dual-pricing, police incompetence or all three. This one didn't stray nearly as far as some.

As the OP, I would add that I don't ride a bike (I think I have said that) and have only been fined twice in my car, neither in Phuket, one for cruising in the right hand lane (an offence, yes, but 100 baht straight into the pocket, paid by my Thai back-seat passenger), the other for speeding, totally incorrect but only 100 baht again. Neither anything to do with my race.

I have to agree with you summary of posting on TV's Phuket Forum at times...

I have only been stopped at a few checkpoints, and I have never been fined or paid a bribe. I carry my valid drivers license, a copy of my green book and government insurance in my motorbikes (the owner page and the recent fees paid page). In my car a copy of my blue book etc. I have never been asked to see those either, except for the time I had just bought my car and just changed ownership and paid all the fees that day and I didn't have the current sticker in my windshield. I carry my passport at times, when I'm going out of my immediate area, but I have never been asked to see it by the police, only the bank, immigration or when boarding a flight.

[Lannatyne]

.

So, they pulled out the "carrying passport" card, and did him for 20,000 baht for that.

Getting back to the case in point, the OP did us a service by warning us of a roadblock checking for this very thing. Instead of some people / usual suspects, demanding virtual first hand eye witness reports of this, a mere "Cheers for the heads up" would've done nicely.

If you hand over 20k for the offense of not having your passport on your person, while drinking in a bar,then you are very, very stupid.

If it did happen, which Is dubious, then the copper was obviously trying it on big time, and got lucky with the sucker of the week. The words CHER CHING!! come to mind.

Nobody is denying a greedy Thai copper won't try and fleece someone. But please understand. The law of averages says, you will not find yourself in a police station, for no reason at all. Maybe your friend hadn't done anything wrong, but he must have been standing pretty close to someone who had!!

<deleted> are you on about BTB??

He didn't hand over 20K while in a bar - if you read my post properly, he was arrested and taken to the police station. For your information,a police station is a large building, generally made out of brick and concrete, from which you don't just walk out until released by the constabulary. Again, you generally find more than one "greedy Thai coppers" in these buildings, so hardly an example of a single BIB trying to fleece someone.

So, to get released from this said building, he was asked to show his passport. Not on him, so he was charged with that offence ( as i said, they had to find something to get him on), got his wife to bring in the passport, and paid 20K to be let out. Got it?

Are you suggesting you'd refuse, stick it out in the cells, wait for them to cave in, contact the Honorary Consul, write to the newspaper, get Amnesty International to take up your case? Yeah, sure you would! Who would ever be silly enough to pay up to be released from a police station?

And as for standing beside someone who got into trouble, well done Sherlock. Perhaps when we all go out to bars, we shouldn't sit or stand beside anyone, eh?

[stevenl]

<deleted> are you on about BTB??

He didn't hand over 20K while in a bar - if you read my post properly, he was arrested and taken to the police station. For your information,a police station is a large building, generally made out of brick and concrete, from which you don't just walk out until released by the constabulary. Again, you generally find more than one "greedy Thai coppers" in these buildings, so hardly an example of a single BIB trying to fleece someone.

So, to get released from this said building, he was asked to show his passport. Not on him, so he was charged with that offence ( as i said, they had to find something to get him on), got his wife to bring in the passport, and paid 20K to be let out. Got it?

Are you suggesting you'd refuse, stick it out in the cells, wait for them to cave in, contact the Honorary Consul, write to the newspaper, get Amnesty International to take up your case? Yeah, sure you would! Who would ever be silly enough to pay up to be released from a police station?

And as for standing beside someone who got into trouble, well done Sherlock. Perhaps when we all go out to bars, we shouldn't sit or stand beside anyone, eh?

Sounds to me like he needed his passport to get out of jail, which makes sense, but the charge was not 'not having a passport on him', but much more likely something that happened earlier in the bar.

[Lannatyne]

<deleted> are you on about BTB??

He didn't hand over 20K while in a bar - if you read my post properly, he was arrested and taken to the police station. For your information,a police station is a large building, generally made out of brick and concrete, from which you don't just walk out until released by the constabulary. Again, you generally find more than one "greedy Thai coppers" in these buildings, so hardly an example of a single BIB trying to fleece someone.

So, to get released from this said building, he was asked to show his passport. Not on him, so he was charged with that offence ( as i said, they had to find something to get him on), got his wife to bring in the passport, and paid 20K to be let out. Got it?

Are you suggesting you'd refuse, stick it out in the cells, wait for them to cave in, contact the Honorary Consul, write to the newspaper, get Amnesty International to take up your case? Yeah, sure you would! Who would ever be silly enough to pay up to be released from a police station?

And as for standing beside someone who got into trouble, well done Sherlock. Perhaps when we all go out to bars, we shouldn't sit or stand beside anyone, eh?

Sounds to me like he needed his passport to get out of jail, which makes sense, but the charge was not 'not having a passport on him', but much more likely something that happened earlier in the bar.

You know absolutely nothing about my mate's incident, stevenl, so don't go "sounds to me" guessing what happened. You're fond on telling people to read posts correctly, so I suggest you do the same.

I said that any possible charges for the bar situation were dropped because the police couldn't prove anything, and because, in any case, he was an innocent bystander.

For reasons which we can all only assume was to make money, he was asked to present his passport. Obviously, he couldn't, so his wife brought it in. And then they were told that a foreigner should carry their passport at all times (correct in law), so the charge was made and a fine of 20K was paid accordingly. He and I are pretty dam_n sure that if he hadn't paid the passport fine, he'd still be in the cells.

[naiharn]

That's just it. You've just admitted you were never bribed. You got pulled over and didn't pay a fine!! So like I said, people telling other people about things that happen every day, then when the truth comes out, it's never happened to that person at all! Not a great argument is it.

Aah the ESP is back in action again, working overtime! Despite the fact that I only talked about a few days on a recent trip, and you know nothing else about me, your ESP tells you I 'have never been bribed'. Well I'm impressed because you are right. I was 'never bribed' (in Thailand, or anywhere else for that matter). But hardly surprising since I've never been a police officer or a government official, so I've never been in a position to be bribed.

Anyway, as many people have said, the only time they have handed over money, they had done something wrong, and WENT TO THE POLICE OFFICE to pay the fine and get a RECIEPT.

And several posters have said something different. Several have said they either paid money straight into a cop's pocket or witnessed it happening in front of their eyes. That is one thing that bothers me about Bang Tao thought - the dismissal out of hand the posts that don't agree with your thinking - then later just pretend those posts never existed.

[stevenl]

<deleted> are you on about BTB??

He didn't hand over 20K while in a bar - if you read my post properly, he was arrested and taken to the police station. For your information,a police station is a large building, generally made out of brick and concrete, from which you don't just walk out until released by the constabulary. Again, you generally find more than one "greedy Thai coppers" in these buildings, so hardly an example of a single BIB trying to fleece someone.

So, to get released from this said building, he was asked to show his passport. Not on him, so he was charged with that offence ( as i said, they had to find something to get him on), got his wife to bring in the passport, and paid 20K to be let out. Got it?

Are you suggesting you'd refuse, stick it out in the cells, wait for them to cave in, contact the Honorary Consul, write to the newspaper, get Amnesty International to take up your case? Yeah, sure you would! Who would ever be silly enough to pay up to be released from a police station?

And as for standing beside someone who got into trouble, well done Sherlock. Perhaps when we all go out to bars, we shouldn't sit or stand beside anyone, eh?

Sounds to me like he needed his passport to get out of jail, which makes sense, but the charge was not 'not having a passport on him', but much more likely something that happened earlier in the bar.

You know absolutely nothing about my mate's incident, stevenl, so don't go "sounds to me" guessing what happened. You're fond on telling people to read posts correctly, so I suggest you do the same.

I said that any possible charges for the bar situation were dropped because the police couldn't prove anything, and because, in any case, he was an innocent bystander.

For reasons which we can all only assume was to make money, he was asked to present his passport. Obviously, he couldn't, so his wife brought it in. And then they were told that a foreigner should carry their passport at all times (correct in law), so the charge was made and a fine of 20K was paid accordingly. He and I are pretty dam_n sure that if he hadn't paid the passport fine, he'd still be in the cells.

Hmm, if I read your post correctly it was your mate, not you?

So I am doing exactly the same as you are: judging from a distance. I still think the fine was not for not carrying a passport, but for the earlier incident at the bar. he was arrested, so he needed his passport to prove his identity, sounds logical to me.

Edited November 20, 2010 by stevenl

[Lannatyne]

Hmm, if I read your post correctly it was your mate, not you?

So I am doing exactly the same as you are: judging from a distance. I still think the fine was not for not carrying a passport, but for the earlier incident at the bar. he was arrested, so he needed his passport to prove his identity, sounds logical to me.

Hardly 'judging from a distance' when my friend tells me about this the following day, is it?

Think what you want, bonny lad, but I'd kind of go with what the policeman told him and his wife.

Got no charters to book this morning?

[naiharn]

So you don't accept that Farang drivers are often (or usually) assumed to be guilty in traffic accidents in Thailand, even when they are not at fault?

Here are a few other opinions:

Whos opinion should I trust: the opinion of anonymous poster on Thaivisa who has by his own admission not had an accident in ten years of driving in Phuket, or the opinion of Thais, including a lawyer, who presumably knows at least a little about the subject?

I think I will take the latter. Others can form whatever judgement they like.

I'm not asking you to trust me, I'm asking you to trust YOURSELF.

Well I have never personally had an accident in TLOS so it is not simply a matter of trusting myself. I don't have any direct experience in this area.

Like I've said numerous times before, I'm going by my own experiences, that's all I need to do, to make judgements on my life,

Your own experiences regarding traffic accidents? Given your decade of trouble-free motoring in Phuket, it would seem like your direct experience is not much different to mine, i.e. almost none.

I have however had plenty of conversations with people who've been involved in accidents, and I believe the information I posted has some merit in it.

Naturally I couldn't post any of the details of such incidents involving friends and acquaintances, because you dont' accept anything but personal first-hand accounts.

[naiharn]

handling accident as described by TAT usd to be common one-two decades ago. The eight years I have lived here permanently I have driven +400k km. Most accidents are handled fairly by police and Insurance companies. For everyone motoring, it is imprtant to have a good 3rd party Insurance and bailbond insurance, and expect others to have no insurance at all. Then there will never be any demand of paying anything on the spot, and insurance will cover all 3rd party claims within insurance limits, usually 10mill baht.

Covering 50-70k km a year, I have been involved in several minor accidents/scratches, and except for one incident with patong mafia, its always been fair. Even though a kid on Fino was at fault once hitting my car, police and I recommended him to leave as he was unable to pay for the damages. The Thai way

Traffic offences are in LOS frequently asked to be payed in cash on spot without issuing fines. But in Phuket this has not happend to me ONCE. Stopped by police and done something wrong I have ALWAYS been issued a fine 2-400 baht.

Stoping farang on bike. Sure, everyone know they are targets since very few of them have a valid driverslisence for bike. and most of them are dangerous on bikes

Good post. Another problem with blindly following web sites

If you are referring to the website I quoted, it is a the website of an official Thai Government organisation. I also quoted a book on Thai law.

and forum comments is they become outdated so quickly.

That would particularly apply to your comments, right?

Which is why it really shows when people aren't describing things that have happened to them, just second hand (out dated) nonsence.

The book I quoted was written just 2 years ago. Out of date already? Has Thailand changed so quickly? I doubt it!

[katabeachbum]

If you are referring to the website I quoted, it is a the website of an official Thai Government organisation. I also quoted a book on Thai law.

and forum comments is they become outdated so quickly.

That would particularly apply to your comments, right?

Which is why it really shows when people aren't describing things that have happened to them, just second hand (out dated) nonsence.

The book I quoted was written just 2 years ago. Out of date already? Has Thailand changed so quickly? I doubt it!

The advantage of TV is that you can achieve first hand information from people with long time experience here, rather than reliying on websites with info not updated or books written by people who was here for a holiday.

Unfortunately due to some loud posters accurate information on occasions drown in heresays and "friends" storys

[stevenl]

Hardly 'judging from a distance' when my friend tells me about this the following day, is it?

Think what you want, bonny lad, but I'd kind of go with what the policeman told him and his wife.

Got no charters to book this morning?

How do you do that, incorrect quoting? If that happens to me TV corrects me.

Anyway, of course you have to say that, but I'm sorry, anybody who believes somebody who claims to have been fined 20,000 baht for not having his passport on him should try to think straight next time. Friend or not, no reason for blind trust.

[katasyd]

I feel dumber just reading this whole thread.

It is all just a fart in the wind, hearsay laws that sway from one officer to another and depending whether it's tea money time or not.

Has anyone noticed it's a beautiful day outside.

[katabeachbum]

I feel dumber just reading this whole thread.

It is all just a fart in the wind, hearsay laws that sway from one officer to another and depending whether it's tea money time or not.

Has anyone noticed it's a beautiful day outside.

very beatiful, and 1300 hours I can leave the laptop :D :D

[katabeachbum]

Hardly 'judging from a distance' when my friend tells me about this the following day, is it?

Think what you want, bonny lad, but I'd kind of go with what the policeman told him and his wife.

Got no charters to book this morning?

How do you do that, incorrect quoting? If that happens to me TV corrects me.

Anyway, of course you have to say that, but I'm sorry, anybody who believes somebody who claims to have been fined 20,000 baht for not having his passport on him should try to think straight next time. Friend or not, no reason for blind trust.

it usually works like this, blablablablablablabla for 3 hours, and then the wife says, you must pay 20k you no bring passport, cause she is unable or unwilling to translate what is really going on, following her husbands bar trip

Edit hehehe, on occasions I have even heard it when policeofficer and wife both come from Isarn, they change to speak Isarn (Laos) to makes sure people with bkk or south thai dont understand

just read the policereport and the fine. says it all

Edited November 20, 2010 by katabeachbum

[naiharn]

I have enjoyed this thread. I have learnt quite a lot, and heard some new opinions on the subject. I do however, think the outcome is some what conclusive.

I too have enjoyed this thread as it has exposed me to a little of the BangTao School of Philosophy: some of its maxims are:

If you are stopped by a cop in Thailand, for an offence, no matter how trivial, and the cop solicits a bribe, which goes straight into his pocket, then that is not corruption, it's not even bribery, because YOU BROKE THE LAW:

Sorry, but it is bribery and it is corruption. (Mind, contrary to what you might think, this particular nuisance doesn't worry me greatly, as the amounts involved are small, it happens to me very rarely, and I'm not poor. That's not the case for ordinary working-class Thais.)

If you are stopped by a cop for a ridiculously minor offence, and all around you locals (and foreigners) are driving/riding like maniacs, committing every offence under the sun and endangering the lives of many people, then you have no right to complain, you shouldn't even think about it

I strongly disagree. The maniacs and idiots being ignored are affecting my safety. The cops aren't doing their jobs. I could easily be killed or injured by one of those hundreds of speeding and reckless drivers/riders that the cop ignored while giving me a ticket for a triviality.

Even if you dismiss my point by the (all-too-common) argument "foreigners have no rights in Thailand, even if they work and live here for years" and "No-one forced you to come to Thailand" etc, my wife and daughter are Thai nationals, and they have a right to expect cops to do their jobs properly and apprehend serious violaters, not just turn a blind eye, and I would be seriously pissed-off if something happened to my wife or daughter due to the incompetence of the Thai police. The sage of BangTao may have reached an ethereal plane where such a triviality would not bother him, but I have a long way to go to reach such an elevated state.

No-one on ThaiVisa has ever produced a photograph to prove they were mistreated by a cop (e.g. given a fine for a non-offence, paid a bribe)

I too look forward to the day when someone is able to produce a photograph of a receipt for a bribe. Wonder what that will look like!

Naiharn " threw the words extortion and corruption around like there's no tomorrow."

Pardon? Don't believe I used the word extortion at all, and if I mentioned corruption it was only as part of very sober commentary. Care to correct that?

If you're a farang in this country you CAN afford to pay for a ticket, which you undoubtedly deserved to get in the first place.

Even though this is a little off-topic, I find that sort of sweeping statement really annoying. Not all farangs are well-off. Not all are rich retirees. Some are only in Thailand working in low-paying jobs, constantly paying for visas, visa runs, expensive work permits, and supporting their family.

[stevenl]

it usually works like this, blablablablablablabla for 3 hours, and then the wife says, you must pay 20k you no bring passport, cause she is unable or unwilling to translate what is really going on, following her husbands bar trip

Edit hehehe, on occasions I have even heard it when policeofficer and wife both come from Isarn, they change to speak Isarn (Laos) to makes sure people with bkk or south thai dont understand

just read the policereport and the fine. says it all

Yes, I also think something like that happened.

[BangTaoBoy]

Sorry, but it is bribery and it is corruption. (Mind, contrary to what you might think, this particular nuisance doesn't worry me greatly, as the amounts involved are small, it happens to me very rarely, and I'm not poor. That's not the case for ordinary working-class Thais.)

I strongly disagree. The maniacs and idiots being ignored are affecting my safety. The cops aren't doing their jobs. I could easily be killed or injured by one of those hundreds of speeding and reckless drivers/riders that the cop ignored while giving me a ticket for a triviality.

Even if you dismiss my point by the (all-too-common) argument "foreigners have no rights in Thailand, even if they work and live here for years" and "No-one forced you to come to Thailand" etc, my wife and daughter are Thai nationals, and they have a right to expect cops to do their jobs properly and apprehend serious violaters, not just turn a blind eye, and I would be seriously pissed-off if something happened to my wife or daughter due to the incompetence of the Thai police. The sage of BangTao may have reached an ethereal plane where such a triviality would not bother him, but I have a long way to go to reach such an elevated state.

If you're a farang in this country you CAN afford to pay for a ticket, which you undoubtedly deserved to get in the first place.

Even though this is a little off-topic, I find that sort of sweeping statement really annoying. Not all farangs are well-off. Not all are rich retirees. Some are only in Thailand working in low-paying jobs, constantly paying for visas, visa runs, expensive work permits, and supporting their family.

Did those corrupt police officers, use some of their ill gotten gains to buy you your ticket to Thailand??

The fact that your wife and daughter are Thai means nothing to me. If anything it highlights your strange operating methods. You think this place is too dangerous but you still allow your family to live here, even though you are in a position to move them to the West. I get the feeling that their safety isn't top of the list after all. Probably gets topped by the good weather here and the nice beaches.

As for the boo hoo, people work here and don't have much money line. People need to take responsibility for their decisions in life. Nobody is forcing you or anyone else to be or stay here. Take it for exactly what it is, or jog on.

Anyway, I'm happy with this thread now. If people are looking to know the truth, then I think they'll find it, they just need to search through all the doom and gloomers, who still can't make themselves happy in what is undoubtedly one of the greatest places on earth.

I'm off now. The BangToaBoy school of philosophy won't build itself

[Lannatyne]

it usually works like this, blablablablablablabla for 3 hours, and then the wife says, you must pay 20k you no bring passport, cause she is unable or unwilling to translate what is really going on, following her husbands bar trip

Edit hehehe, on occasions I have even heard it when policeofficer and wife both come from Isarn, they change to speak Isarn (Laos) to makes sure people with bkk or south thai dont understand

just read the policereport and the fine. says it all

Yes, I also think something like that happened.

Here we go again!!

Pity that his wife's from Nakhon Sri Thammarrat, then.

[billythehat]

it usually works like this, blablablablablablabla for 3 hours, and then the wife says, you must pay 20k you no bring passport, cause she is unable or unwilling to translate what is really going on, following her husbands bar trip

Edit hehehe, on occasions I have even heard it when policeofficer and wife both come from Isarn, they change to speak Isarn (Laos) to makes sure people with bkk or south thai dont understand

just read the policereport and the fine. says it all

Yes, I also think something like that happened.

Here we go again!!

Pity that his wife's from Nakhon Sri Thammarrat, then.

....mmmm...can only be the 'Fawang Passport Mafia' operating here; joining the ever growing list of scams perpetrated against the evil fawang...

Fawang: "ere, Somchai, lend us yer clapped out and poorly maintained moto sai for a few days, will ya?"

Somchai: "Yeh, shoowa, no poplem but yoo hab leave passport wid me udderwise me no rent yoo."

Fawang: "But I have to carry my passport with me all the time otherwise Somchai the bent copper will fine me 2 million Baht for not carrying my passport with me all the time..."

Somchai: "Ha, ha, yoo funni guy, but yoo hab read Thai Wheezer too mutt!...but I like yoo....lissen, Somchai the bent copper brudder me him an' if yoo hab twubble too mutt yoo hab tell him passport wid me, okay?...then no poplem."

Fawang: "....mmmm...okay...do you have a safety helmet? I don't wanna get pulled over.."

Somchai: "...errrr...no hab, but I hab this.."(pulls out a an old rice colander and bungee strap)

Fawang: "Okay, see ya later.."

(2 miles down the road..)

Somchai: "Hey, fawang, yoo stop, where yoo passport, yoo show me udderwise yoo hab go monkey house cos nobody hab bigger chip on shoulder than me."

Fawang: "...but, but, but....Somchai made me give him my passport and said it would be okay if...."

Somchai: "Yoo tink me hab born yesterday, Fawang?"

Fawang: "....last Friday at the latest...heh, heh..."

Fawang last seen being 'escorted' to the cells at the Patong Hilton...

[witold]

If you are dumb enough to leave your passport with a motorbike rental shop you deserve to be stopped.

If there is a place that rents 'big bikes' and _doesn't_ require you to leave your passport, I would like to hear about it.

As far as I can tell, EVERY place that rents legitimately registered and insured big bikes _requires_ that you leave your passport at their place.

[phuketrichard]

i have a thai license and ca license.

since the car is in my name i show them the thai license but all other times i show them my ca license.

Never have i been asked to show my passport since i have lived here ( but i very very seldom go to karon)

:-)

[phuketrichard]

I have enjoyed this thread. I have learnt quite a lot, and heard some new opinions on the subject. I do however, think the outcome is some what conclusive.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm fairly sure there wasn't one single post in this 8 page thread, where somebody was complaining of being given a ticket when they DIDN'T deserve it. I'm talking, had the right license, right insurance, vehicle taxed, wearing a helmet etc etc. Now that says it all for me.

We had several posters 'NaiHarn, was one of the most verbal, who wanted to give the impression that they had been given tickets unfairly, by mentioning how many times they got stopped. They threw the words extortion and corruption around like there's no tomorrow. But when questioned further, it would seems the poster, who I don't think even lives here, but only holidays here, eventually admitted, all the times he was stopped he didn't get a ticket anyway!

We then had another poster, 'KaronBravo' who seemed to feel hard done, by for getting fined for riding a bike with no green book, which is about as ilegal as a bike can be, (without it having drugs stuffed up the exaust pipe) Now the poster seemed to be a bit confused about this, saying one thing then the other, but it would seem his main gripe is the fact that he got fined but the Thai people didn't. What he fails to realise the Thai people riding very old C90's or whatever it was, haven't spent huge amounts of money making them nice and shiny, putting new fancy parts on, and giving it custom spray jobs, but have actually had them for 20 years as they can't afford a new one. But he would like to see it taken off the road as his was??

This seemed to be a common theme running through this thread. People firstly feeling hard done by for getting a ticket. Then when it's pointed out to them that they were breaking the law, so that's why they got a ticket, they try to divert the attention away from them, so they start talking about the local people not getting tickets instead. To me this is an unfortunate attitude to have.

We then had several posters, with experience of driving on the island, ranging from 5 to 21 years. These poster have never been bribed. They have been given very few tickets between them over a very long period of time, and every time they did get a ticket, they had done something wrong, and they paid for the ticket at the station, in return for a nice crisp receipt.

These people also agreed that Thai people, more often than not, will get tickets as well.

So my summary of this thread is:

You will almost never get a ticket if you haven't broken the law.

If you do get a ticket that you deserved, the money may well go in the police mans pocket but more often than not will go through the books at the station.

Yes it is a possibility, that while you're getting a ticket a local Thai may be allowed to pass through without paying.

If anyone doesn't like that, and would rather a different system, then they need to be in a different place.

Anyway, enjoyed this thread. Must only be a few weeks before the next Tuk tuk thread starts. See you there.

I agree with you for the above. I have never gotten a ticket i didn't deserve BUT i have gotten tickets that Thai had not.

Once was in bang Tao for not wearing a seat belt. The thai driving the pickup in front of me was stopped for the same offense.

when i asked the Cop why he let him go he told me , ( in Thai) that the thai guy didn't have as much money as me!!!!

Really pissed me off.

Outside of that i have had very few tickets in over 20 years of driving here

[SanukMahk]

Have Seat Belt, Thai DL and proper papers... So What, road block is not new. I drove all over Udon and got stopped 1k times. Farang in rental Vigo.. show your Thai DL and move on or move out of Thailand!

[Lannatyne]

Have Seat Belt, Thai DL and proper papers... So What, road block is not new. I drove all over Udon and got stopped 1k times. Farang in rental Vigo.. show your Thai DL and move on or move out of Thailand!

But none of the above matters!! Going back 9 pages to the OP, wasn't this about a passport check rather than a check for other documents?

[stevenl]

But none of the above matters!! Going back 9 pages to the OP, wasn't this about a passport check rather than a check for other documents?

Yes, it was. But did the passport check really happen, or were e.g. some people asked for their passports when they could not produce a valid DL? Was anybody actually fined for not carrying their passport with them?

Edited November 23, 2010 by stevenl

[BangTaoBoy]

Have Seat Belt, Thai DL and proper papers... So What, road block is not new. I drove all over Udon and got stopped 1k times. Farang in rental Vigo.. show your Thai DL and move on or move out of Thailand!

But none of the above matters!! Going back 9 pages to the OP, wasn't this about a passport check rather than a check for other documents?

But the point I made 9 pages ago was, that if you were asked for a passport (lets not forget we never did actually get a member who could confirm this, just fairly reliable source) but you showed them your Thai lisence, I'm fairly sure they would have waved you through.

Had they been stopping people walking through Jungceylon, and asking for their passport, then your point would be valid, and I would agree fully that it was out of order.

EDIT: Sorry, I just said, what you just said 'stevenl'. Great minds think alike.

Edited November 23, 2010 by BangTaoBoy

[katabeachbum]

But the point I made 9 pages ago was, that if you were asked for a passport (lets not forget we never did actually get a member who could confirm this, just fairly reliable source) but you showed them your Thai lisence, I'm fairly sure they would have waved you through.

Had they been stopping people walking through Jungceylon, and asking for their passport, then your point would be valid, and I would agree fully that it was out of order.

EDIT: Sorry, I just said, what you just said 'stevenl'. Great minds think alike.

so in the US to check every muslimlooking person for passport in a mall is ok, but for us to be asked to display acceptable id here in LOS you find out of order?