Is Thailand Value for money

[karlos]

Whitest riding down Tannon Ladkrabang this afternoon i saw some police officers lined along a pavement pulling people to one side.

Lucky for me i have stuck to the left-hand lanes for the New Year holidays as there's too many police around to risk multiple 200baht fines.

So being in the correct lane i proceeded towards them and started to indicate out to the middle lane to pass a taxi they had pulled over.

I passed one police officer and he gave my bike a good look over when coming towards him, once past him i noticed in my mirror that he realized i had no plate (New bike), he shouted at me so i pulled over knowing i had all the right documents, license and was in the right lane.

Turns out that he pulled me over because of the lack of a real number plate, my girlfriend argued with him telling him that as long as we have the registration documents, insurance, tax etc etc that there's no issue. We then told him that plenty of small bikes and some cars travel along with no plates when recently sold from a showroom, he insisted that the law is different for big bikes!

He then said Kawasaki were wrong to tell me that and that they were just pushing the sale through and didn't care about me getting fined for riding with no red plate at a later date, then asked for 500Baht. We again argued that all the documentation was in place and that we would phone Kawasaki if he wished.

As soon as we mentioned we would call Kawasaki and that he should take the matter up with them he quickly gave us the fine and told us to go......

The bike has no plate for him to track us down to an address, and he walked away with his tail between his legs. The only details he has is my name for my driving license and the chassis number of the bike

So what should i do?

1) I have never been told to just ride away after being issued with a fine before, i normally get asked to follow and officer or pay a top secret on the spot fine.... Do i do nothing as i'm sure the officer knew he was wrong?

2) Take the fine to a local police station and plead my case?

3) Take it to Kawasaki.....

Ohh just remembered one of my neighbors is a police officer, i'll ask him tomorrow too

Edited January 3, 2012 by karlos

[hehehoho]

Do nothing.

It was nonsense. He gave you the fine to save face as he told ye to go. His docket will have been scrumpled up and thrown in a bin.

The lesson learned however, is to simply ride through the police check whether they shout at you or not.

Edited January 3, 2012 by hehehoho

[karlos]

Do nothing.

It was nonsense. He gave you the fine to save face as he told ye to go. His docket will have been scrumpled up and thrown in a bin.

The lesson learned however, is to simply ride through the police check whether they shout at you or not.

To be honest i did ride through one last week, i was riding down Srinakarindra (just before the Ramkhemheang junction) when a police officer ran across two lanes of traffic (Cars jamming their brakes on) and jumped out in front of me, if i tried braking for him the car behind me might have smashed into me, so i continued to ride past. He then shouted to an officer 30m down the road to stop me and guess what happened.... a second police office darted out across two lanes to try to stop me in the third lane, suffice to say i was a bit pissed off and considering i had no plate on the back (new bike) i decided to accelerate past him, at which point he tried to hit me with his book (similar to one of Tony's videos)

After passing him i nipped down a couple of smaller sois and was on my way, i doubt he would have given chase, as chasing me would have meant losing more money from other motorists, Kamoy Scum!

[NormanW]

Do nothing.

It was nonsense. He gave you the fine to save face as he told ye to go. His docket will have been scrumpled up and thrown in a bin.

The lesson learned however, is to simply ride through the police check whether they shout at you or not.

To be honest i did ride through one last week, i was riding down Srinakarindra (just before the Ramkhemheang junction) when a police officer ran across two lanes of traffic (Cars jamming their brakes on) and jumped out in front of me, if i tried braking for him the car behind me might have smashed into me, so i continued to ride past. He then shouted to an officer 30m down the road to stop me and guess what happened.... a second police office darted out across two lanes to try to stop me in the third lane, suffice to say i was a bit pissed off and considering i had no plate on the back (new bike) i decided to accelerate past him, at which point he tried to hit me with his book (similar to one of Tony's videos)

After passing him i nipped down a couple of smaller sois and was on my way, i doubt he would have given chase, as chasing me would have meant losing more money from other motorists, Kamoy Scum!

WOW!

BKK police are so different to Pattaya police.

They pulled me over yesterday coming back from Kram and realised it was a new bike and let me through.

Easy peezy.

Keep those good times rolling and move to Pattaya hehe.

[karlos]

Do nothing.

It was nonsense. He gave you the fine to save face as he told ye to go. His docket will have been scrumpled up and thrown in a bin.

The lesson learned however, is to simply ride through the police check whether they shout at you or not.

To be honest i did ride through one last week, i was riding down Srinakarindra (just before the Ramkhemheang junction) when a police officer ran across two lanes of traffic (Cars jamming their brakes on) and jumped out in front of me, if i tried braking for him the car behind me might have smashed into me, so i continued to ride past. He then shouted to an officer 30m down the road to stop me and guess what happened.... a second police office darted out across two lanes to try to stop me in the third lane, suffice to say i was a bit pissed off and considering i had no plate on the back (new bike) i decided to accelerate past him, at which point he tried to hit me with his book (similar to one of Tony's videos)

After passing him i nipped down a couple of smaller sois and was on my way, i doubt he would have given chase, as chasing me would have meant losing more money from other motorists, Kamoy Scum!

WOW!

BKK police are so different to Pattaya police.

They pulled me over yesterday coming back from Kram and realised it was a new bike and let me through.

Easy peezy.

Keep those good times rolling and move to Pattaya hehe.

Most in my area will let me through too, but this prick (sorry) was testing me to see how gullible i was and hoping i could make up for the money he spent over the New Year holiday.

Oh an how could i forget this, 5 mins before i got pulled over there as a drunk guy walking across 3 lanes of traffic with a case of Leo on his shoulder, the shoulder being used to hold up the case of beer was the one facing the oncoming traffic which had stopped to let him stumble his way across the road, i didn't see what happened when he tried to cross the over side of the road......

[BigBikeBKK]

You made the mistake of stopping for the Brown Mafia

[BigBikeBKK]

Do nothing.

It was nonsense. He gave you the fine to save face as he told ye to go. His docket will have been scrumpled up and thrown in a bin.

The lesson learned however, is to simply ride through the police check whether they shout at you or not.

To be honest i did ride through one last week, i was riding down Srinakarindra (just before the Ramkhemheang junction) when a police officer ran across two lanes of traffic (Cars jamming their brakes on) and jumped out in front of me, if i tried braking for him the car behind me might have smashed into me, so i continued to ride past. He then shouted to an officer 30m down the road to stop me and guess what happened.... a second police office darted out across two lanes to try to stop me in the third lane, suffice to say i was a bit pissed off and considering i had no plate on the back (new bike) i decided to accelerate past him, at which point he tried to hit me with his book (similar to one of Tony's videos)

After passing him i nipped down a couple of smaller sois and was on my way, i doubt he would have given chase, as chasing me would have meant losing more money from other motorists, Kamoy Scum!

WOW!

BKK police are so different to Pattaya police.

They pulled me over yesterday coming back from Kram and realised it was a new bike and let me through.

Easy peezy.

Keep those good times rolling and move to Pattaya hehe.

C'mon now, the pigs in Pattaya are just as bent as the one's in the 'Kok. They love trying to nail bikes on beach road with the old 1000 Baht "too loud" fine. I never ride in Pattaya anymore, besides the BiB the traffic is generally horendous, riding home drunk is never a good idea and there are few places to park your bike in central Pattaya that it will be safe from wandering fingers- I just park bike at a hotel, tip the guard and catch a songtao into town.

[wana]

i have never lost a single thb anywhere in thailand except bangkok

the police are so greedy in some areas they ask for 1000 when they pull you over on a big bike

i hadnt been fined for about 6 months then i got 3 inside a week over the x-mas holidays (christmas presents for police wives and gigs have to be paid somehow i suppose )

[BookMan]

i have never lost a single thb anywhere in thailand except bangkok

the police are so greedy in some areas they ask for 1000 when they pull you over on a big bike

i hadnt been fined for about 6 months then i got 3 inside a week over the x-mas holidays (christmas presents for police wives and gigs have to be paid somehow i suppose )

What were the fines for?

[BookMan]

Sounds like you were aleady past them. Should have kept riding!

[hehehoho]

I got my new CBR250 just before xmas last year. 2 weeks of endless police checks for xmas and new years. Stopped at big checks about 5 times. not one fine.

[KRS1]

There are no fines over 400 baht.

He would have kept your license if the fine was legit.

[BigBikeBKK]

There are no fines over 400 baht.

He would have kept your license if the fine was legit.

You're wrong mate- plenty of fines well in excess of 400 Baht. Ask anyone who ever been arrested for drunk driving in Thailand

[KRS1]

I got arrested for drunk driving once, the fine was 4000baht and 24 hours community service. actually shouldn't have paid bail cuz arraignment was the next morning. That's what i get for trying to save a lesbian from the clutches of a bull dike.

I was referring to vehicle violations, forgot where i read it. But nevertheless they usually keep your license if the fine is legit.

[VocalNeal]

The lesson learned however, is to simply ride through the police check whether they shout at you or not.

Yeh, But don't back up at a check point that is another fine

[wana]

i have never lost a single thb anywhere in thailand except bangkok

the police are so greedy in some areas they ask for 1000 when they pull you over on a big bike

i hadnt been fined for about 6 months then i got 3 inside a week over the x-mas holidays (christmas presents for police wives and gigs have to be paid somehow i suppose )

What were the fines for?

one was for a passenger (thai girl ) who didnt want to wear a hat cost 500- baragined to 300 at the station the next day

the next one was for being a farang in a bus lane because there was a pickup behind me and thats not a bus either last time i checked cost 100 thb and a welcome to thailand handshake from the cop who seemed amused at the incident

last one was for making a u-turn lots of bikes were making but the police were hiding behind the wall and that cost 200- haggled down from 1000 by my thai friend

[wana]

There are no fines over 400 baht.

He would have kept your license if the fine was legit.

standard fine is 1000 thb now for taking the illegal underpass at huai kwang/ suttisan

they have a sign up in the station with the fines and their respective prices but you can still haggle a bit

500 per person is the new official price for people without helmets also and that includes the passesnger also

a thai friend said recently that drunk driving is going to be added to the thai id cards so you may not get a future licence

but i dont know how seriously this will be enforced like everything else in thai

[katabeachbum]

Karlos, if a fine has been issued and they got your framenumber or passportnumber or TH DL number, you will have to pay to avoid later problems

[BookMan]

i have never lost a single thb anywhere in thailand except bangkok

the police are so greedy in some areas they ask for 1000 when they pull you over on a big bike

i hadnt been fined for about 6 months then i got 3 inside a week over the x-mas holidays (christmas presents for police wives and gigs have to be paid somehow i suppose )

What were the fines for?

one was for a passenger (thai girl ) who didnt want to wear a hat cost 500- baragined to 300 at the station the next day

the next one was for being a farang in a bus lane because there was a pickup behind me and thats not a bus either last time i checked cost 100 thb and a welcome to thailand handshake from the cop who seemed amused at the incident

last one was for making a u-turn lots of bikes were making but the police were hiding behind the wall and that cost 200- haggled down from 1000 by my thai friend

Wow! some holiday spending cash for someone indeed.

Out of interest. Does the passenger get a fine also? or just the driver?

[RED21]

I got my bike a few days after Christmas in Chaing Mai last year (it being sort of a Christmas present from the wife). I was told I would get the plates in a week or two so I had to bring all the bike's documents whenever I took it out for a ride. I was also told the same thing Kawasaki told you about the lack of a real number plate not being an issue for a newly purchased bike. Passed by a few police checkpoints but they never bothered to stop me, my guess is that the officers knew it was a new bike so they didn't bother with the missing plates. Got stopped once but only because the officer was curious about the bike (as it had just been released a few months earlier), and wanted to talk.

Then again cops here are actually much nicer, I guess.

Edited January 4, 2012 by RED21

[KRS1]

There are no fines over 400 baht.

He would have kept your license if the fine was legit.

standard fine is 1000 thb now for taking the illegal underpass at huai kwang/ suttisan

they have a sign up in the station with the fines and their respective prices but you can still haggle a bit

500 per person is the new official price for people without helmets also and that includes the passesnger also

a thai friend said recently that drunk driving is going to be added to the thai id cards so you may not get a future licence

but i dont know how seriously this will be enforced like everything else in thai

When you get caught drunk driving they put a "D" sticker on the back of th DL...guess 'D' stands for drunk ...555...Also have an 'A' sticker on the back for no seatbelt.

[karlos]

Karlos, if a fine has been issued and they got your framenumber or passportnumber or TH DL number, you will have to pay to avoid later problems

He didn't bother with the DL number, just the chassis number of the bike.

I'm going to take this matter up with my nextdoor neighbor when he returns home tomorrow (police officer) and i'll pop to Kawasaki tomorrow afternoon to let them take the matter up with the police too.

As much as i respect your knowledge Katabeachbum, I'm not paying a fine for having not violated any laws and he clearly was making up the law as he was talking to us, a new law for every obstical we threw at him, grrrr

[karlos]

There are no fines over 400 baht.

He would have kept your license if the fine was legit.

Exactly what i thought too, every other time i have been stopped for being in the wrong lane (My own fault and i'm willing to pay a fine for the added safety of the outer and middle lanes) the police have asked me to follow them, or their preferred choice a 'top secret' on the spot fine.

He kept nothing other than his docket with the frame number of my bike, so i guess the question is.... What's the likelihood of a police officer tracking down the chassis number with Kawasaki and finding out my address?

[karlos]

Double post, no idea why that happened. sorry

Edited January 4, 2012 by karlos

[karlos]

I just noticed he has written my first name as the driving license number and the wrong year on the fine too

Edited January 4, 2012 by karlos

[hehehoho]

standard fine is 1000 thb now for taking the illegal underpass at huai kwang/ suttisan

Eh?

I've driven on those underpasses at least twice a day for over the past year and have never once been stopped or fined.

I have on one occasion seen the police blocking one end on something like a Sunday morning. I've probably gone through them 1000 times over the past 14 months and my wallet is 0 baht lighter for it.

[karlos]

standard fine is 1000 thb now for taking the illegal underpass at huai kwang/ suttisan

Eh?

I've driven on those underpasses at least twice a day for over the past year and have never once been stopped or fined.

I have on one occasion seen the police blocking one end on something like a Sunday morning. I've probably gone through them 1000 times over the past 14 months and my wallet is 0 baht lighter for it.

I went under them yesterday while searching for Paddock and wasn't even aware bikes couldn't use them, there were about 10 bikes in front of me using the underpass, countless bikes the over side too..... Maybe the rules have changed recently?

[KRS1]

There are no fines over 400 baht.

He would have kept your license if the fine was legit.

Exactly what i thought too, every other time i have been stopped for being in the wrong lane (My own fault and i'm willing to pay a fine for the added safety of the outer and middle lanes) the police have asked me to follow them, or their preferred choice a 'top secret' on the spot fine.

He kept nothing other than his docket with the frame number of my bike, so i guess the question is.... What's the likelihood of a police officer tracking down the chassis number with Kawasaki and finding out my address?

They wont track you down, they'll just wait till its time for registration renewal and make you pay the fine before you can do it.

Easy to find a bike according to serial, there all tied together with the plates. Go down to DMV in 14 days and see if there are any outstanding fines, not the police station. Prawet district cops are a bunch of gangstas. Especially that midget cop with a beer belly that wears glasses. Had one flip the switch at a stoplight one time and set me up.

[karlos]

Sorry, what and where is the DMV in Prawet?

Karl

[KRS1]

DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) - Place you go to renew registration located on Prakanong/On nut (closest one) ...or the main office close by Morchit.