Jailed 5 Hours For Illegal U-Turn, Had Not Been Drinking

[robblok]

Great story and im happy they are locking up drunk drivers. Recently seen cops grabbing loads of people going the wrong way here in the outskirts of BKK. I thought they wanted to stop me but it soon became apparent they stopped people going the wrong way. They were standing there all lights off near a u turn. Also seen them there in the afternoon. Seems that everywhere they are starting to become a bit tougher.

Good.. hope this becomes the norm.

You wont hear me complain i find drunk drivers and people going on the wrong side of the road, dangerous and annoying. You see it here a lot and i had a few close calls with people driving on the wrong side.

[saengsureeya]

As the OP explained: his friend was using a U-turn which is meant for North-way-driving traffic to make a U-turn South-way.

The friend was using the wrong U-turn, because he should have driven along Sukhumvit in South direction in order to take the next U-turn and head for Central Pattaya Road. This particular U-turn is approx. 400 meters from where the friend was crossing to his "private"-u-turn.

He offended the traffic law and was driving against traffic (for just a few meters), but obviously enough for the BiB to detain him.

See also: http://www.thaivisa....ison-if-caught/

Edited November 2, 2012 by saengsureeya

[marinediscoking]

Rather weird.

I was of the impression that one could only get arrested pending court hearing for criminal offenses.

Drunk driving is one, as is driving recklessly resulting in accident/injury/death (hence the bail fund insurance).

However I was not aware that an illegal u-turn was a criminal offense!

Curious as to what the actual offense he was fined for, might very well be written down as reckless driving endangering other road users as opposed to an illegal u-turn...

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The official charge was "driving the wrong way" even though it was only for 4 or 5 meters.

[Jayman]

Rather weird.

I was of the impression that one could only get arrested pending court hearing for criminal offenses.

Drunk driving is one, as is driving recklessly resulting in accident/injury/death (hence the bail fund insurance).

However I was not aware that an illegal u-turn was a criminal offense!

Curious as to what the actual offense he was fined for, might very well be written down as reckless driving endangering other road users as opposed to an illegal u-turn...

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Thaivisa Connect App

The official charge was "driving the wrong way" even though it was only for 4 or 5 meters.

How many meters of driving the wrong way do you think should constitute driving the wrong way?

I think he's lucky they didn't also charge him with reckless driving.

[poanoi]

Making a U-turn invariably makes you driving in the wrong direction a bit,crossing the oncoming lane to get into a soi on the other side also invariably makes you drive in the wrong direction ever so slightly, technically. So i guess we are all screwed and should be shot at spot for even starting the vehicle,as it can be viewed as preparation/planning for crime

Edited November 2, 2012 by poanoi

[manarak]

Making a U-turn invariably makes you driving in the wrong direction a bit

no, not even a bit.

[farangme]

Traffic law enforcement? How about setting up stops to catch people driving/riding in the opposite direction of traffic on the shoulder? This behavior is absurd. Have almost had major incidents on numerous occasions. They can start with a checkpoint at the entrance to our housing estate. Can't believe noone has been killed already.

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[Jayman]

Traffic law enforcement? How about setting up stops to catch people driving/riding in the opposite direction of traffic on the shoulder? This behavior is absurd. Have almost had major incidents on numerous occasions. They can start with a checkpoint at the entrance to our housing estate. Can't believe noone has been killed already.

Sent from my PC36100 using Thaivisa Connect App

Yes.. that is being done as has been pointed out several times in this thread. There is even another thread running on that very subject

[Ohio]

OK

Let me get my head around this post

You committed an offence & were punished as you contravened a regulation ....Right??

In some of the jurisdictions I have worked you would have the vehicle confiscated for 14 - 28 days & lose driving privelges for up to 90 days as well as a pecuniary loss.

If you obey the rules then there is no problem.

Or is there a special dispensation you have I'm not aware of ??

SORRY , BUT I always thought if you comply with the rules where you choose to live then there is no consequence.

IMO

Edited November 4, 2012 by Rimmer

[poanoi]

Unfortunately in Thailand there can be consequences regardless

if you comply with rules or not.

Ever heard of corruption ? -that is what you got here

[Jayman]

Unfortunately in Thailand there can be consequences regardless

if you comply with rules or not.

Ever heard of corruption ? -that is what you got here

Huh.. how do you figure this is corruption? He broke a law and was caught. Others broke the same law and they were caught. All caught were taken to the police station and processed according to the law. No bribes were taken. Thais and foreigners were treated the same.

In fact, this is probably one of the few times where corruption wasn't the case.

[poanoi]

Agree with you on that,

but if you take a look at the post i was replying to,

he made a generalization that if you comply with the rules nothing can happen.

That is not the case in Land Of Scam

[Jayman]

Agree with you on that,

but if you take a look at the post i was replying to,

he made a generalization that if you comply with the rules nothing can happen.

That is not the case in Land Of Scam

I misinterpreted your post. I read "here" as this thread and I see now you meant "here" to be Thailand. The fact that you didn't quote the post you were replying to made it that much less clear.

[smedly]

The problem here is that once there is a crackdown the official rule book goes out the window, I somehow doubt that jail and court is the correct enforcemnt of this traffic offence - they just make it up as they go, I am all for the enforcement of all laws in Thailand especially traffic laws but it needs to be done correctly not making it up as they go, going up a oneway street the wrong way is a common offence here in Pattaya and has a fixed fine of around 400baht, I don't see how the OP got jailed and hit with a 2000baht fine for doing effectively the same thing, but TIT and why it remains a 3rd world country.

[Langsuan Man]

Try telling a cop in any other country that other drivers broke the law, why are you picking on me.

If I can't drive the wrong way to get to the U-turn in my car, why do you think you can just because you are on a motorcycle. How many times do they pass you on the wrong side, pull out in traffic without looking, overload their vehicles, cut in front of you at a traffic light, and on and on

To the OP: If you can't do the time, don't do the crime

[poanoi]

How many times do they pass you on the wrong side,

...And what is the 'wrong side' then ?

because i was charged for overtaking in the right lane,

with two lanes going in the same direction

And i have a video from a video pen where a police claim it's definitely a no-go

for a bike to take over in the right lane.

I would already have uploaded it on Youtube if it wasn't for the fact that he spoke so miserable english, and also after repeatedly keep questioning how else i would take over ?

he conceded that i should 'yeck yeck' next time anyone tries to scam me.

I still had to pay the extortion tho

[Jayman]

How many times do they pass you on the wrong side,

...And what is the 'wrong side' then ?

because i was charged for overtaking in the right lane,

with two lanes going in the same direction

And i have a video from a video pen where a police claim it's definitely a no-go

for a bike to take over in the right lane.

I would already have uploaded it on Youtube if it wasn't for the fact that he spoke so miserable english, and also after repeatedly keep questioning how else i would take over ?

he conceded that i should 'yeck yeck' next time anyone tries to scam me.

I still had to pay the extortion tho

It is definitely illegal for a bike to drive in or over take in the right lane on the highway.

Edited November 4, 2012 by Jayman

[poanoi]

lol

[Jayman]

lol

It's all fun and games until someone gets pulled over and then starts a thread on tvf to complain about it.

Or better yet, posts a video on YouTube documenting it.

Edited November 4, 2012 by Jayman

[Ohio]

Corruption has nothing to do with this incident

And if you think it's corrupt here you ought to check out , New Orleans PD , Brisbane PD Australia,Sydney NSW Australia, India , Philippines & on & on & on.

OP was caught ,fined , end of story. So can't understand the bleating

[poanoi]

lol

It's all fun and games until someone gets pulled over and then starts a thread on tvf to complain about it.

Or better yet, posts a video on YouTube documenting it.

I lost you now, are you being ironic/sarcastic ?

Or is it your sincere belief that 'It is definitely illegal for a bike to drive in or over take in the right lane' ?

[SCOTTIEDAM]

OK, THAT DOES IT !!! I'm going for the surgery....... have my hair darkened, my eyes slanted, and my skin tanned and become a Thai !! Then, I can not only drive drunk, I can ride without a helmet as I drive down the wrong way on a one-way street,, at 90klm an hour, and wave to the copper who has some other Farang pulled over, lookin for his retirement contribution . That's exactly why I DON"T drive here, not worth the HASSLE.55555

[robblok]

How many times do they pass you on the wrong side,

...And what is the 'wrong side' then ?

because i was charged for overtaking in the right lane,

with two lanes going in the same direction

And i have a video from a video pen where a police claim it's definitely a no-go

for a bike to take over in the right lane.

I would already have uploaded it on Youtube if it wasn't for the fact that he spoke so miserable english, and also after repeatedly keep questioning how else i would take over ?

he conceded that i should 'yeck yeck' next time anyone tries to scam me.

I still had to pay the extortion tho

It is definitely illegal for a bike to drive in or over take in the right lane on the highway.

Actually its not the police like to make people believe it is. They are talkign about slow moving vehicules not bikes in the law.

I actually aways make sure im in the fast moving lane at the speed of cars. The most dangerous lane is the left lane where buses / minivans / taxi's and the like cut bikes off for their stops. Its perfectly safe to drive on the left if you keep with the speed of traffic. I have been stopped by cops and paid the fine argued it a few times and won too.

[gmac]

OK, THAT DOES IT !!! I'm going for the surgery....... have my hair darkened, my eyes slanted, and my skin tanned and become a Thai !! Then, I can not only drive drunk, I can ride without a helmet as I drive down the wrong way on a one-way street,, at 90klm an hour, and wave to the copper who has some other Farang pulled over, lookin for his retirement contribution . That's exactly why I DON"T drive here, not worth the HASSLE.55555

Don't think you'll find that works all either, plenty of Thai's get pulled over as well. The only way to avoid it is to wear a police uniform then you can drive the wrong way, not wear a helmet, take 3 on a bike etc etc. That's the bit that sticks in the craw, every day you can watch police drive the wrong way down soi 9 without helmets on the way to or from work. Do as I say not as I do!!

[marinediscoking]

I think the problem is here there was a directive from police commanders to start locking up violators and then a quota had to met. So the cops basically looking to fill the quota took the lazy way went after people using the U-turn the wrong way. I think what the higher ups had in mind was to get people going the wrong way down the road for several meters, like on sukumvit. or going down a one way street the wrong way like second road.

I had a friend over on holiday here a few years ago and while he was waiting at a red light on second rd. a young thai turned left from center rd crashing into him. My friend sustained a broken let the other driver fled. It was about 4 am but turning left at speed onto second rd he must have been on yaba or something.

Edited November 4, 2012 by marinediscoking

[saengsureeya]

OK

Let me get my head around this post

You committed an offence & were punished as you contravened a regulation ....Right??

In some of the jurisdictions I have worked you would have the vehicle confiscated for 14 - 28 days & lose driving privelges for up to 90 days as well as a pecuniary loss.

If you obey the rules then there is no problem.

Or is there a special dispensation you have I'm not aware of ??

SORRY , BUT I always thought if you comply with the rules where you choose to live then there is no consequence.

IMO

May be so Ohio, but in Thailand it's slightly different.

You can be stopped, checked and fined although you didn't do anything wrong.

The BiB are very creative in coming up with the most ridiculous reasons for fining you.

Of course, the friend of the OP was wrong....no doubt, but he could have been stopped and fined for whatever reason.

In order to remind everyone here some of the most obvious traffic rules:

- a max. of 2 people on one motorbike (one rider and one passenger)

- both should where a helmet

- the rider should have a driver license (Thai or International + Home DL)

- a farang rider should also have his ID (read: passport) on him

- riding against the traffic is prohibited

- making phone calls or even use your phone while riding a bike is prohibited

- lights should work (all day long)

- the road-tax tag (that one with the year of expiration on it) should be visible at all times

- your license plate must be visible at all times

- you should have a copy (or original) of your insurance with you (rental bikes: copy or original of rental contract)

- you should have a copy (or original) of the green-book with you (rental bikes: copy or original of rental-contract)

- you should remain on the left side of the road (slow side)

- you should stop for red-traffic lights (unless stated otherwise)

- you must comply with the maximum speed rules (60 km/h innercity 80 km/h on secondary roads).

- you are not allowed to use motorways and/or expressways (access is usually not possible)

- you are not allowed to push or pull another bike with a running engine

- you must give direction with the orange direction-lights which are meant for it

- upon entering a main-road from a secondary road you should check for upcoming traffic

Most important: A motorbike rider is no longer the weaker party in case of a collision with another motor-vehicle (read: cars, trucks, buses), meaning: of course you are the weakest party, but for the law, if you are in the wrong, you will have caused the accident and treated accordingly.

Maybe that other posters do have more obvious rules......

[NoshowJones]

From my experiences from several years ago this sounds a good deterrant.

Stay legal and drive legal. Their country and their rules.

Yes, it's their country and their rules, but there is something going on in Pattaya regarding motorbikes and the BIB tea money. I parked my rented bike in a bike bay alongside other bikes, when I arrived back later, the police had taken the bike to a pound and I had to pay 200Baht to police, and 200 Baht at the pound for the return of the bike. So that was tea money to two different parties, probably in league with each other. May I point out that there were no paintmarks on the kirb, and no notice of any kind where the bike was parked.

[poanoi]

- you should remain on the left side of the road (slow side)

By all means do elaborate on this one

[smedly]

How many times do they pass you on the wrong side,

...And what is the 'wrong side' then ?

because i was charged for overtaking in the right lane,

with two lanes going in the same direction

And i have a video from a video pen where a police claim it's definitely a no-go

for a bike to take over in the right lane.

I would already have uploaded it on Youtube if it wasn't for the fact that he spoke so miserable english, and also after repeatedly keep questioning how else i would take over ?

he conceded that i should 'yeck yeck' next time anyone tries to scam me.

I still had to pay the extortion tho

It is definitely illegal for a bike to drive in or over take in the right lane on the highway.

100% incorrect and a common missconception by falangs here, there are two ways to confirm this, go to the licence issue place on HW36 and watch the video or look up the Thai road traffic act (article 36 or 34) and you will find it clearly states all vehicles (including motorbikes) must overtake on the right unless preparing to turn right - exactly the same as in the west

and just to clarify - the OP did not go the wrong way on sukumvit, he crossed going the right way but used a U-turn which is for north bound traffic (wanting to go south) only, it's just before the pattaya klang traffic lights.

[poanoi]

Moreover it is a common misconception among the police here too.

Or are they just crooks scamming ?

I think i know why the misconception came into being in the first instance,

when the typical scooter was far slower than cars,

they couldnt take over and so as the slower trafficant should keep left.