Stopped By Police, Eu Driving License Taken

[LeCharivari]

(edited)

Do the above and I guarantee the BIB will not cite you for diving on just your home license if:

1) You are a tourist/visitor.

2) It is in English.

3) It has a photo.

4) It is current

5) It is for the class of vehicle you are diving.

6) Your home country and Thailand have a mutual agreement on licenses.

What sort of "guarantee" are you offering?

[LeCharivari]

(edited)

...... I will sit there all day before letting someone steal 1 satang off me, especially someone in uniform. .....

You must put a very low value on your time.

As long as police salaries are as low as they are they will be corrupt, so while waiting all day for the BiB to get bored and let you go may make you feel self-righteous all you are actually doing is holding up the traffic.

[simba]

Some great info in this post,

I have a uk, license and when on holiday in LOS carry a idp from the AA,

I also have a out of date 1 year thai license my question if I was to renew my thai licence (about 5 years) would I still have to do written test or just sight and reaction test as last time?

any ideas

[AllanB]

I always try to carry a few hundred baht on my person to pay on-the spot fines, or bribes, it is usually cheaper that way and of course, I don't have to go and recover my license. Well, that's my plan now.

Last week I was stopped at a checkpoint, the guy looked around and found my tax disc was a day out of date, being alone I got my wife on the phone to speak to him and she told him she had the disc she had picked up that day. Handing the phone back to me, she said give him 200 baht, unfortunately I only had a couple of 1000 baht notes and some change, making a back-hander rather difficult. I ended up paying the 500 baht fine, but did get a receipt.

[qdinthailand]

500 baht? probably about what you spend on a night of bar hopping?

What would be the fine in the EU for not having a proper DL?

likely way more than a night of drinking I suspect.

[meechai]

(edited)

...... I will sit there all day before letting someone steal 1 satang off me, especially someone in uniform. .....

You must put a very low value on your time.

As long as police salaries are as low as they are they will be corrupt, so while waiting all day for the BiB to get bored and let you go may make you feel self-righteous all you are actually doing is holding up the traffic.

That is the thing

Also I smile at folks who indignantly claim no bribes etc.

I left my nanny back in the USA but would like to say anyone who claims or thinks

the supposedly corruption free country they come from does not fix tickets then they are delusional.

Fixing tickets goes on in all countries the difference being you could be from a country where such benefits

are only extended to the 1% of well placed high rollers. Funny to say Thailand is more of an equal opportunity

But for those that look down on such practices as I said in my original post

"Those against such practices please just ignore this part of the reply"

[NomadJoe]

(edited)

...... I will sit there all day before letting someone steal 1 satang off me, especially someone in uniform. .....

You must put a very low value on your time.

As long as police salaries are as low as they are they will be corrupt, so while waiting all day for the BiB to get bored and let you go may make you feel self-righteous all you are actually doing is holding up the traffic.

It's just a metaphor. The money doesn't matter. It's the principle. You wouldn't give money to a random person that walks up to you on the street and demands it, so why a corrupt cop?

I am not sure why you think I would be holding up traffic. It's just the opposite. Traffic will flow smother through the checkpoint as my cop has to deal with me on the shoulder and can't stop any other vehicles.

Edited November 27, 2013 by NomadJoe

[NomadJoe]

(edited)

...... I will sit there all day before letting someone steal 1 satang off me, especially someone in uniform. .....

You must put a very low value on your time.

As long as police salaries are as low as they are they will be corrupt, so while waiting all day for the BiB to get bored and let you go may make you feel self-righteous all you are actually doing is holding up the traffic.

That is the thing

Also I smile at folks who indignantly claim no bribes etc.

I left my nanny back in the USA but would like to say anyone who claims or thinks

the supposedly corruption free country they come from does not fix tickets then they are delusional.

Fixing tickets goes on in all countries the difference being you could be from a country where such benefits

are only extended to the 1% of well placed high rollers. Funny to say Thailand is more of an equal opportunity

But for those that look down on such practices as I said in my original post

"Those against such practices please just ignore this part of the reply"

"Those against such practices please just ignore this part of the reply" Sorry, that is now how this works.

I have not said a single thing about ticket fixing in other countries. Of course that happens. But in the states, paying an on the spot bribe to a cop is almost unheard of. Even trying to bribe a cop will likely get you into arrested. I worked in law enforcement for 7 years in the states and it was made clear to me that if I even accepted a free cup of coffee, it was instant termination and possible criminal charges. But I did not work in a big city, and in places like LA or New York, these things do happen more.

It's easy to use labels like "nanny state" to generalize something, to move the conversation away from specifics, which right now are about police bribes in Thailand which I disagree with for many reasons.

Edited November 27, 2013 by NomadJoe

[meechai]

"Those against such practices please just ignore this part of the reply" Sorry, that is now how this works.

Bit of a Freudian slip there Joe

If not then yes I do agree this is now how this works.

But really the reason I said "Those against such practices please just ignore this part of the reply"

Is I did not want to detour the OP into some puritanical debate.

I see my try was a miss. Last post by me on this subject.

Just want to say hey do as you feel

If I did something wrong & get stopped and, I am then offered pay now 50+% discount or go to station

I am taking the discount thank you.

I did something deemed unlawful "here" I paid I'm done

Edited November 27, 2013 by meechai

[NomadJoe]

"Those against such practices please just ignore this part of the reply" Sorry, that is now how this works.

Bit of a Freudian slip there Joe

If not then yes I do agree this is now how this works.

But really the reason I said "Those against such practices please just ignore this part of the reply"

Is I did not want to detour the OP into some puritanical debate.

I see my try was a miss. Last post by me on this subject.

Just want to say hey do as you feel

If I did something wrong & get stopped and, I am then offered pay now 50+% discount or go to station

I am taking the discount thank you.

I did something deemed unlawful "here" I paid I'm done

The topic is police stops, so that is what we are talking about.

Corruption affects this country and everyone in it. When you pay the cop directly, you feed the animal that is eating this country from the inside out. You reinforce the behavior in the officer (to stop people often making up offenses hoping to get a bribe out of you), you make farangs an easy target, and you take money directly from government coffers, from the Thai people. You are being as greedy as the cop because you don't want to spend the time or money to deal with the consequences of your actions. Think about it.

You can keep calling me names all want (puritanical, self-righteous, indignant) but is does not change the fact that what you are doing is wrong from a legal and, more importantly, moral standpoint.

I really wish people in this world would assess the affects of their actions a bit more.

[ll2]

"Those against such practices please just ignore this part of the reply" Sorry, that is now how this works.

Bit of a Freudian slip there Joe

If not then yes I do agree this is now how this works.

But really the reason I said "Those against such practices please just ignore this part of the reply"

Is I did not want to detour the OP into some puritanical debate.

I see my try was a miss. Last post by me on this subject.

Just want to say hey do as you feel

If I did something wrong & get stopped and, I am then offered pay now 50+% discount or go to station

I am taking the discount thank you.

I did something deemed unlawful "here" I paid I'm done

The topic is police stops, so that is what we are talking about.

Corruption affects this country and everyone in it. When you pay the cop directly, you feed the animal that is eating this country from the inside out. You reinforce the behavior in the officer (to stop people often making up offenses hoping to get a bribe out of you), you make farangs an easy target, and you take money directly from government coffers, from the Thai people. You are being as greedy as the cop because you don't want to spend the time or money to deal with the consequences of your actions. Think about it.

You can keep calling me names all want (puritanical, self-righteous, indignant) but is does not change the fact that what you are doing is wrong from a legal and, more importantly, moral standpoint.

I really wish people in this world would assess the affects of their actions a bit more.

nomad, so you ask us to change thousands of years of Asian tradition of bribing?

we are foreigners here man, so for me i take the easy route and pay 100 thb. You dont pay the bribe, they take your license and you need to go to that police station and wait there for the police that took your license so lots of hassle.

So, i assess and found out that as a foreigner, i cannot change Thailand but i have to adapt myself here and cannot judge this beautiful country with my western standards.

[NomadJoe]

"Those against such practices please just ignore this part of the reply" Sorry, that is now how this works.

Bit of a Freudian slip there Joe

If not then yes I do agree this is now how this works.

But really the reason I said "Those against such practices please just ignore this part of the reply"

Is I did not want to detour the OP into some puritanical debate.

I see my try was a miss. Last post by me on this subject.

Just want to say hey do as you feel

If I did something wrong & get stopped and, I am then offered pay now 50+% discount or go to station

I am taking the discount thank you.

I did something deemed unlawful "here" I paid I'm done

The topic is police stops, so that is what we are talking about.

Corruption affects this country and everyone in it. When you pay the cop directly, you feed the animal that is eating this country from the inside out. You reinforce the behavior in the officer (to stop people often making up offenses hoping to get a bribe out of you), you make farangs an easy target, and you take money directly from government coffers, from the Thai people. You are being as greedy as the cop because you don't want to spend the time or money to deal with the consequences of your actions. Think about it.

You can keep calling me names all want (puritanical, self-righteous, indignant) but is does not change the fact that what you are doing is wrong from a legal and, more importantly, moral standpoint.

I really wish people in this world would assess the affects of their actions a bit more.

nomad, so you ask us to change thousands of years of Asian tradition of bribing?

we are foreigners here man, so for me i take the easy route and pay 100 thb. You dont pay the bribe, they take your license and you need to go to that police station and wait there for the police that took your license so lots of hassle.

So, i assess and found out that as a foreigner, i cannot change Thailand but i have to adapt myself here and cannot judge this beautiful country with my western standards.

Fair enough, however I am not asking anyone to change thousands of years of Asian tradition. Foreigners have this attitude that it's a cute little novelty of living here that they can a chuckle telling their friends back home about, but corruption, even on low levels like this, has very real consequences for real people. I am saying that I chose not to contribute to something I see as a big problem with society here. Every country has it's problems. 50 -75 years ago it was the same in my, and probably your, home country, but that eventually changed because attitudes towards it changed. There are a lot of people in this country (Thai's) that don't like and don't want the corruption either. I tend to agree with them with hopes that it will eventually get better.

Edited November 27, 2013 by NomadJoe

[ll2]

^

^

totally understand you on this and share your feelings.

Hate filling the stomachs of corrupted people too.

But, i suffer if i go by the book in Thailand so i decided to go with the flow not against it.

Corruption will get better once they pay good money to government staff, system sucks here man.

[LeCharivari]

(edited)

...... I will sit there all day before letting someone steal 1 satang off me, especially someone in uniform. .....

You must put a very low value on your time.

As long as police salaries are as low as they are they will be corrupt, so while waiting all day for the BiB to get bored and let you go may make you feel self-righteous all you are actually doing is holding up the traffic.

It's just a metaphor. The money doesn't matter. It's the principle. You wouldn't give money to a random person that walks up to you on the street and demands it, so why a corrupt cop?

I am not sure why you think I would be holding up traffic. It's just the opposite. Traffic will flow smother through the checkpoint as my cop has to deal with me on the shoulder and can't stop any other vehicles.

"You wouldn't give money to a random person that walks up to you on the street and demands it, so why a corrupt cop?"

If that "random person" had the ability and legal authority to detain me on the spot until he got bored, or put me in jail for a couple of days, or if I tried to drive away shoot out my tyres or have me arrested later, and that would mean that I would face a considerable time in a Thai jail, I'd have no hesitation in handing over a hundred baht as soon as I was stopped and being allowed to go on my way immediately.

"I am not sure why you think I would be holding up traffic. It's just the opposite. Traffic will flow smother through the checkpoint as my cop has to deal with me on the shoulder and can't stop any other vehicles."

I think you'd be holding up the traffic because that's what happens when you get stopped and don't play along: you get told to pull over to the side and wait there for "the boss" to come along, while "your cop" goes back to stopping other vehicles and letting them go ... and you wait ... and wait ...and wait ... and wait ... and wait ...and wait ... and wait ... and wait ...and wait ... and wait. The last thing "your cop" does is waste his time debating the niceties of the 1949 Geneva or 1968 Vienna Conventions on Road Traffic with you - for him time is money, and while others here may have time to spare he doesn't. That you think that he might and say that this is what happens makes me wonder just how often you have actually tried this tactic.

My own experience is based mainly on seeing what must be around a thousand such checkpoints at a well known local "BiB blackspot" and being stopped myself several times over the years while driving to/from Isaan. I have only been stopped once at the former (all legal, not "fined") but stopped a number of times at the latter and "fined" occasionally. I now follow the Thai system and simply keep 100 baht at hand which is quickly palmed and I'm on my way - rather like paying a toll.

"... and you take money directly from government coffers, from the Thai people."

No idea how you come to that conclusion; if its not a valid offence I'm simply giving money (100 baht) to "a corrupt cop" that I would otherwise keep, and if its a valid offence I will probably have to pay a valid fine (rather a lot more than 100 baht) of which the BiB will get his share and the "government coffers" theirs - a 50:50 split the last time I checked.

"I really wish people in this world would assess the affects of their actions a bit more."

Now there I agree with you - but possibly not in the way you intended as I think that my actions in a foreign country and culture should be based on their culture and accepted norms, not mine. I came to live here because I prefer it to my own country, and although I have now lived here for longer than I lived there I don't think that gives me the responsibility or the right to try to impose my culture and beliefs on them in any way.