Be careful with police in Ploen Chit

[Minnehaha]

I would advise folks to be careful passing along (Sukumvit) Rama 1 under the expressway in Ploenchit. And remind people to wear helmets when traveling on any roads, particularly main roads.

I was walking there this morning, under the overpass when a policeman high kicked a motorcycle taxi with a girl on the back and they fell over like a sack of potatoes. The driver had on a helmet but it fell off and the girl riding pillion did not have helmet. When she fell she hurt her arm. From my point of view it looked bent in a strange angle and her crying and holding it made it look like it could be broken.

The motorcycle driver was enraged but not as pissed off as the cop who was screaming at the guy. Picked him up and took the motorbike over behind the police box where the shouting continued. No police or anyone walked over to the girl for like 4 or 5 minutes. I walked over to ask her if she needed an ambulance and another cop stopped me. I told the cop I was just offering to call for medical assistance because her arm looks broken. He told me he would do it and told me to mind my own business - "Yaa suak". I said sorry and left. It looked like they had everything under control, so I took his advice.

I can only surmise, the cop ordered the motorcycle taxi to stop and he did not. So he stopped him with a thump.

Edited August 21, 2013 by Minnehaha

[GirlDrinkDrunk]

and we should be careful about this why? I pass by there on my mtn bike almost daily and they have never glanced twice at me.

on the motorcycle they stop everyone coming from ploenchit side, and may want to see tax decals etc.

while i pity the girl, it would seem there is very little for most on here to worry about there.

Edited August 21, 2013 by GirlDrinkDrunk

[stoneyboy]

Why involve yourself in something that is non of your business,your only putting yourself at risk of being conned out of money or even arrested.

Good samaritan or not,walk away and remember where you are.

[samran]

Apart from the fact that coming from Ploenchit into Sukhumvit there are signs saying that only busses are allowed through, yet this bloke ignored the signs and ignored the cop.

[farang000999]

^^ <deleted>?

[Suradit69]

It's unfortunate that the girl was injured, but I doubt this is a regularly occurring event that the general population needs to be on guard against. You might as easily warn people to take care with motorbike taxis drivers.

"And remind people to wear helmets when traveling on any roads, particularly main roads. "

As to advising people to wear helmets, that would generally be a good idea. but why it applies particularly to main roads, or under the expressway in Ploenchit or how it would have saved the girl from injuring her arm is not at all clear.

The old TV show, Naked City (set in New York) always started out with the narrator saying: "There are eight million stories in the naked city."

He might have added: "...but most of them don't really need to be reported on Thai Visa."

Edited August 21, 2013 by Suradit69

[MrJohnson]

Re; The Good Samaritan approach - No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - unfortuante but often true..........

[manarak]

Apart from the fact that coming from Ploenchit into Sukhumvit there are signs saying that only busses are allowed through, yet this bloke ignored the signs and ignored the cop.

usually taxis and motorcycle taxis are allowed to use bus lanes

[MrJohnson]

Apart from the fact that coming from Ploenchit into Sukhumvit there are signs saying that only busses are allowed through, yet this bloke ignored the signs and ignored the cop.

usually taxis and motorcycle taxis are allowed to use bus lanes

Not at Ploenchit they are not. There are police at the entrance to the expressway almost 24/7 stopping cars (including taxis) and motorbikes there and fining them. It is certainly a trap for people not familiar with the area but I would think most moto taxis would know it. Sounds like this guy thought he might be able t get through.

[lomatopo]

when a policeman high kicked a motorcycle taxi with a girl on the back and they fell over like a sack of potatoes.

Was this motorbike taxi in motion or stopped? Kicking a motorcycle while it is in motion seems very dangerous for the policeman. Was the woman bleeding? Did you see any bone sticking out? Were was the odd angle observed?

It seems weird, to me anyway, that a policeman would deliberately injure an innocent passenger just to make a traffic stop? Have you seen anything like this before? I know I haven't.

[Curt1591]

when a policeman high kicked a motorcycle taxi with a girl on the back and they fell over like a sack of potatoes.

Was this motorbike taxi in motion or stopped? Kicking a motorcycle while it is in motion seems very dangerous for the policeman. Was the woman bleeding? Did you see any bone sticking out? Were was the odd angle observed?

It seems weird, to me anyway, that a policeman would deliberately injure an innocent passenger just to make a traffic stop? Have you seen anything like this before? I know I haven't.

I have often seen cops lunge at motos, with or without passengers.

[theoldgit]

when a policeman high kicked a motorcycle taxi with a girl on the back and they fell over like a sack of potatoes.

Was this motorbike taxi in motion or stopped? Kicking a motorcycle while it is in motion seems very dangerous for the policeman. Was the woman bleeding? Did you see any bone sticking out? Were was the odd angle observed?

It seems weird, to me anyway, that a policeman would deliberately injure an innocent passenger just to make a traffic stop? Have you seen anything like this before? I know I haven't.

I also witnessed a similar episode in the same area a few weeks ago, I didn't think it was weird but I did think that it was dangerous and that the officer was acting irresponsibly.

The police officer called on a motorcyclist to stop, I don't know what, if anything, he had done wrong, but he didn't stop, I have no idea if he even heard the officer, but the officer grabbed hold of the bike and forced it to stop.

So yes, it does happen.

[lomatopo]

I also witnessed a similar episode in the same area a few weeks ago, I didn't think it was weird but I did think that it was dangerous and that the officer was acting irresponsibly.

Was this the first time you've seen such an occurrence? The only time? Over what period would you say?

Kicking or lunging at a moving vehicle seems, to me anyway, to be extremely dangerous for lunger/kicker? I guess I wouldn't expect them to last long exhibiting this behavior.

I honestly have never, ever seen such a thing - I live/work/drive in this area during the week - over ~ ten years, there or anywhere in Thailand.

Edited August 23, 2013 by lomatopo

[Curt1591]

I honestly have never, ever seen such a thing - I live/work/drive in this area during the week - over ~ ten years, there or anywhere in Thailand.

Although not in this particular area, I ride all over and have seen this numerous times. I have had to swerve to avoid the clown avoiding the cop.

[theoldgit]

I also witnessed a similar episode in the same area a few weeks ago, I didn't think it was weird but I did think that it was dangerous and that the officer was acting irresponsibly.

Was this the first time you've seen such an occurrence? The only time? Over what period would you say?

Kicking or lunging at a moving vehicle seems, to me anyway, to be extremely dangerous for lunger/kicker? I guess I wouldn't expect them to last long exhibiting this behavior.

I honestly have never, ever seen such a thing - I live/work/drive in this area during the week - over ~ ten years, there or anywhere in Thailand.

I'm not inclined to get into a debate over this, save to say you've never witnessed a police officer acting in such an irresponsible fashion, but I and a number of others have.

It's fair to add that whilst I often see police officers darting in and out of traffic, it's the first and only time I have witnessed an officer physically stopping a motorcycle.

I didn't think too much of it at the time, nothing really surprises me anymore, but the other posts in this thread suggest to me that what I saw wasn't a one off.

[Kilgore Trout]

when a policeman high kicked a motorcycle taxi with a girl on the back and they fell over like a sack of potatoes.

 

Was this motorbike taxi in motion or stopped? Kicking a motorcycle while it is in motion seems very dangerous for the policeman. Was the woman bleeding? Did you see any bone sticking out? Were was the odd angle observed?

 

It seems weird, to me anyway, that a policeman would deliberately injure an innocent passenger just to make a traffic stop? Have you seen anything like this before? I know I haven't.

I once saw a policeman standing in the middle of the road while a group of kids on motorbiks drove through

The cop was swinging as hard as he could at the kids heads

Many got past but about 10 of them were laid out, lots of blood everywhere

I wouldnt be surprised if some of them were dead

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[robblok]

Apart from the fact that coming from Ploenchit into Sukhumvit there are signs saying that only busses are allowed through, yet this bloke ignored the signs and ignored the cop.

That might be so but to kick him of his bike and injuring a passenger is a bit overkill. If it was just the rider sure he made the mistake but the passenger was innocent.

[robblok]

I also witnessed a similar episode in the same area a few weeks ago, I didn't think it was weird but I did think that it was dangerous and that the officer was acting irresponsibly.

Was this the first time you've seen such an occurrence? The only time? Over what period would you say?

Kicking or lunging at a moving vehicle seems, to me anyway, to be extremely dangerous for lunger/kicker? I guess I wouldn't expect them to last long exhibiting this behavior.

I honestly have never, ever seen such a thing - I live/work/drive in this area during the week - over ~ ten years, there or anywhere in Thailand.

I'm not inclined to get into a debate over this, save to say you've never witnessed a police officer acting in such an irresponsible fashion, but I and a number of others have.

It's fair to add that whilst I often see police officers darting in and out of traffic, it's the first and only time I have witnessed an officer physically stopping a motorcycle.

I didn't think too much of it at the time, nothing really surprises me anymore, but the other posts in this thread suggest to me that what I saw wasn't a one off.

It was even caught on camera once that a cop did this (actually a volunteer cop) He got a lot of flack for it. Probably only because it hit the social media else they would have ignored it.

[samran]

Apart from the fact that coming from Ploenchit into Sukhumvit there are signs saying that only busses are allowed through, yet this bloke ignored the signs and ignored the cop.

That might be so but to kick him of his bike and injuring a passenger is a bit overkill. If it was just the rider sure he made the mistake but the passenger was innocent.

That is very true.

[huahinjoe]

Policemen always swinging and waving trying to stop bikes on lower sukhumvit mini checkpoints and i saw numerous times people on bike try to avoid catching them. It's a little funny to see when it successful but obviously it's very dangerous indeed. Best is to wear helmet and having proper license & tax (cost you some hundred baht) and sometimes have to accept the police apply extra "road tax" without any reason...

[ricklev]

I've seen a policeman attempt to jam his billy club in the back wheel of a motorcycle as it drove past him without stopping. This was at the Rajadamri BTS in front of maybe 20 people.

[A1Str8]

When i was reading it i couldnt believe it for a second that he just kicked them off the bike.

But it has nothing to do with Thailand anyway, authorities abuse their power all over the world.

But because they do, i dont think its proper to say that there is nothing to worry about, like one of the comments.

When you will get kicked off your bike you are going to feel otherwise.

[Briggsy]

I have twice personally received karate chops to my forearm whilst riding in Bangkok.

One was on Ratchadamri, travelling at around 5-10 km/h from a standing cop who jumped out into the road and the other was on Viphavadi-Rangsit doing around 70 km/h from a moving police bike as a signal to pull over! Fortunately on neither occasion did I come off.

It is symptomatic of an ill-trained, ill-disciplined police force with no concept of reasonable force and little fear of punishment for their very dangerous actions.

[Somchai Mao]

About a year ago I was travelling on a motorbike taxi from Soi 4 Nana to Soi Cowboy. All of a sudden a policeman appeared right in front of us so the rider stopped. Stupidly I had no helmet on (was a bit mao). My Thai isn't bad but they were speaking too fast or me to understand fully but it was clear my lack of a helmet was the main talking point. I prepared myself for the inevitable 200 baht fine or worse. This is when the rider verbally laid into the policeman. This only went on for a few seconds but the policeman swiftly stood aside and we continued. When we arrived at Soi Cowboy I asked him what had happened, I just got a mai pen rai. Typically strange Thai.

[brummiebob]

I had police try to stop me in similar fashion when I'm on my bikes, granted I was taking an underpass that was clearly illegal for motorcycles to enter (Ratchada). They were kicking the traffic cones at my bike and hurled themselves in front of me.

An application of throttle and a wheelie made them think twice and I quickly made a u-turn and sped of into narrow sois to avoid them.

I was clearly in the wrong then and I really should have just stop and paid up, but I wasn't thinking clearly then.

To the police's eye, if they had asked the bike to stop yet the bike continued on, obviously there might be something suspicious, from drugs, no licence or stolen bike, it would have mean more money for the Police definitely.

[Hedghog]

Where's the video?

Have you posted it on U tube?

If not, I don't believe a word of it.

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[OMGImInPattaya]

I have twice personally received karate chops to my forearm whilst riding in Bangkok.

One was on Ratchadamri, travelling at around 5-10 km/h from a standing cop who jumped out into the road and the other was on Viphavadi-Rangsit doing around 70 km/h from a moving police bike as a signal to pull over! Fortunately on neither occasion did I come off.

It is symptomatic of an ill-trained, ill-disciplined police force with no concept of reasonable force and little fear of punishment for their very dangerous actions.

Interesting, another reason to add to the many others to not drive or ride on a moto in Thailand. That, and the fact it's so lo-so.

[StateSix]

A few years ago I went down past the Soi 1 Expressway entrance instead of turning left at Wireless Rd. One of the cops near the policebox looked at me then turned away, so I assumed he was going to let me past. At the last minute he stepped in front of me with his arm up for me to stop. It had been raining and the floor was wet so as I braked hard i skidded and ran into him, knocking him over. I thought I would be in all kinds of trouble, particularly as he was rubbing his leg as he got up. I pointed out that I couldn't avoid him as he stepped in front of me and the floor was wet. He was sound about it and actually apologised and asked if I was alright. We went in the police box and I was fined Bt 400 as it is No Exit to bikes at that time of day. No 'compensation' for running him over or anything.

A little story to show that not all the BiB are bad.

[Matthai]

Does anyone happen to know if there is a way underneath the expressway? So if I would ride my motorcycle down until the last soi before the expressway, and then turn left and later to the right to cut underneath and come back on sukhumvit somewhere before nana?

[brummiebob]

Does anyone happen to know if there is a way underneath the expressway? So if I would ride my motorcycle down until the last soi before the expressway, and then turn left and later to the right to cut underneath and come back on sukhumvit somewhere before nana?

It's called Petchburi Road, you make a left at the big intersection where the UK embassy used to be, then take a right, there you can go under the expressway and on to the back of NaNa.

Actually if you dismount and push your bike through on the sidewalk, this is technically legal too, but count on the boys in brown to start manufacture or look for faults to do with your vehicle. I've seen the Thais do it when coming upon checkpoints while riding against traffic or without helmets and get away with it by getting out of the bike and start pushing.