Down under or Thai? Aussie mum trades Oz for Land of Smiles

[BSJ]

Seems there's a bigger than normal effort to haul in those terrible law breakers who ride around without a helmet on their head.

The day before yesterday some African travelling in front of me (a few hundred metres) saw the policeman on the side of the side of the by-pass slammed on the brakes, did a U-turn and raced back past me and a few other cars with constable somchai in hot pursuit.

Yesterday travelling towards 3rd Rd on Pattaya Tai 1 (about 200m down where it narrows) some idiot on a bike coming the other way came so close to hitting us I felt the breeze as he went past. He also was being pursued by policeman on a scooter.

Wouldn't it be nice if the local police were issued with a siren...a la the really old style one that bolts on the handlebars.

[marstons]

Certainly out in force now checking, obvious thing to do but will never happen is to have a bike a few yards either side the road block ready for such events, known in the UK as pursuit vehicles. Maybe some thing a bit quicker than the average 125 which they do have. Ah but that takes thinking about and is proactive not reactive and reactive is what its all about in Thailand. Cure is always better than prevention here.

Edited August 10, 2012 by marstons

[wantan]

IMO no need to persuit anyone as long as the police is not willing/able to punish the running riders hard. Persuits for getting "200 Baht no helmet fees" is stupid and endangers people unnecessaryly.

[loserlazer]

they are active in every tourist area nowadays as it is low season

last weekend, they stopped me 4 times in Hua Hin due to my exhaust and fined me 1000 thb for each time:) Same police group.

At the end, i ended up paying 200 thb for all at the police station.

[eezergood]

Also very active here in Phuket!

[Semper]

There's a holiday coming up.

Edited August 10, 2012 by Semper

[NomadJoe]

Wouldn't it be nice if the local police were issued with a siren...

Just like weapons and uniforms, Thai Police have to outfit themselves with their own bikes, hence the reason why most have Honda Dreams, some Honda CBR 150's or Tiger Boxer 200's. However BMW did donate a couple of brand new R1200's to the local traffic police and if I recall those have sirens, but i will have to look closer the next time I see them.

... obvious thing to do but will never happen is to have a bike a few yards either side the road block ready for such events, known in the UK as pursuit vehicles. Maybe some thing a bit quicker than the average 125 which they do have.

Back in the day when I worked a few DUI checkpoints we had exactly that. Two Harley Road Kings would peel out each time someone U-turned.

[JeffreyMcCollum]

The Boxer 200 are a governmet contract as well as the older white CBR's and Kawasaki's before that.

And did any one consider the chase was for something other than a helmet issue ?

[NomadJoe]

The Boxer 200 are a governmet contract as well as the older white CBR's and Kawasaki's before that.

A government contract doesn't mean that officers aren't still having to individually pay for the bikes.

[Traxster]

'Police Very Active In Pattaya'

that's about the funniest thing I've heard in months .. !!!

[Phatcharanan]

'Police Very Active In Pattaya'

that's about the funniest thing I've heard in months .. !!!

Don't lead much of a life then.

[Radar501]

IMO no need to persuit anyone as long as the police is not willing/able to punish the running riders hard. Persuits for getting "200 Baht no helmet fees" is stupid and endangers people unnecessaryly.

The presumption always seems to be that a motorist doing a runner from a police road block is doing so to avoid a small traffic fine, and that police should not engage in a pursuit because the danger in doing so is not proportional to the offence.

The harsh reality is, however, that the police do not initially know why someone is fleeing. It is only after the interception, that it can be ascertained if the driver/rider/passenger is wanted for murder, if the vehicle is stolen, if there is a handgun under the seat, or , yes, if the driver just didn't want to cop a traffic fine.

[BSJ]

IMO no need to persuit anyone as long as the police is not willing/able to punish the running riders hard. Persuits for getting "200 Baht no helmet fees" is stupid and endangers people unnecessaryly.

The presumption always seems to be that a motorist doing a runner from a police road block is doing so to avoid a small traffic fine, and that police should not engage in a pursuit because the danger in doing so is not proportional to the offence.

The harsh reality is, however, that the police do not initially know why someone is fleeing. It is only after the interception, that it can be ascertained if the driver/rider/passenger is wanted for murder, if the vehicle is stolen, if there is a handgun under the seat, or , yes, if the driver just didn't want to cop a traffic fine.

Tis a fine line I know.

It would be nice if there was a police pursuit to hear the siren so I could be even more vigilant whilst riding along. Having somchai scream around a corner and passing so close isn't a pleasant feeling.

I maybe a bit strange I guess. I also pull over to let an ambulance pass....something that is foreign to most Thai's. Sad really

[marstons]

IMO no need to persuit anyone as long as the police is not willing/able to punish the running riders hard. Persuits for getting "200 Baht no helmet fees" is stupid and endangers people unnecessaryly.

so fleeing a police check point and riding against the flow of traffic is ok by you and should go un punished. All criminals have to do is jump on a bike and away and should not be followed as its to dangerous

They are probably not fleeing a 200 baht fine but with whats under there bikes seats, maybe a weapon maybe a large stash of drugs

Edited August 12, 2012 by marstons

[marstons]

Wouldn't it be nice if the local police were issued with a siren...

Just like weapons and uniforms, Thai Police have to outfit themselves with their own bikes, hence the reason why most have Honda Dreams, some Honda CBR 150's or Tiger Boxer 200's. However BMW did donate a couple of brand new R1200's to the local traffic police and if I recall those have sirens, but i will have to look closer the next time I see them.

... obvious thing to do but will never happen is to have a bike a few yards either side the road block ready for such events, known in the UK as pursuit vehicles. Maybe some thing a bit quicker than the average 125 which they do have.

Back in the day when I worked a few DUI checkpoints we had exactly that. Two Harley Road Kings would peel out each time someone U-turned.

Bit of a no brainer really, these guys are probably running from more than 200 baht fine. far to sophisticated fro the thai police to figure that one out.

[wantan]

IMO no need to persuit anyone as long as the police is not willing/able to punish the running riders hard. Persuits for getting "200 Baht no helmet fees" is stupid and endangers people unnecessaryly.

so fleeing a police check point and riding against the flow of traffic is ok by you and should go un punished. All criminals have to do is jump on a bike and away and should not be followed as its to dangerous

They are probably not fleeing a 200 baht fine but with whats under there bikes seats, maybe a weapon maybe a large stash of drugs

So fleeing a police checkpoint and riding against the flow of traffic is ok by you and should go un punished, as long as you are not a criminal?

If someone is running away from a checkpoint just because he isn't wearing a helmet than he should be punished much harder than just the "200 Baht no helmet fee". But this isn't possible, because checkpoints in Thailand are not clearly signed and are totally unorganized. To punish runners hard you should be able to prove the willful intend of the accused. Not possible to do professional police checks in such a chaos without blocking all traffic flow for miles.

I hope my first statement is now more understandable for you