Bangkok police want cars older than 10 years off the streets

[Pui]

Should of thought of the congestion before the government installed the first car policy. Then again, it's always patch job with this government or before. Never bother with long term planning!

He must be getting some tea money from the care makers since the sales has dropped

None of the police department ever care about traffic except how to make money from it. case and point is the way they operate the lights, never auto and always give way to motor ways, shopping traffic, etc. etc.

Are you saying that car sales have dropped since the introduction of first car policy?

While i don't have the latest stats, there where some released about 6 months ago which suggest otherwise.

Most people I have spoken to and my experience of driving since the first car policy would absolutely assert that there are a lot more cars on the road than there was 18months. Definitely more traffic, it was very bad idea. Thailand needs infrastructure not discounted cars.

[chadillac666]

Why is it always big talk...I love living here and all that it brings!! But empty threats and promises seem to plague this place..no floods, no lack in tourism........nobody loses face....like a revolving door of bulls##t!! When does it end?? I am blessed to live in this great land with a beautiful partner, but things have changed from when I arrived 11 years ago....just empty talk and increased prices...good luck Thailand!!!

[chadillac666]

Why is it always big talk...I love living here and all that it brings!! But empty threats and promises seem to plague this place..no floods, no lack in tourism........nobody loses face....like a revolving door of bulls##t!! When does it end?? I am blessed to live in this great land with a beautiful partner, but things have changed from when I arrived 11 years ago....just empty talk and increased prices...good luck Thailand!!!

[transam]

Why is it always big talk...I love living here and all that it brings!! But empty threats and promises seem to plague this place..no floods, no lack in tourism........nobody loses face....like a revolving door of bulls##t!! When does it end?? I am blessed to live in this great land with a beautiful partner, but things have changed from when I arrived 11 years ago....just empty talk and increased prices...good luck Thailand!!!

But all the BiB speak English now, they must do cos the six months is past............. ....................

[mayday49]

Great idea! Get the old crappers out of the way so the rich kids in their ferarris have more room to violate traffic laws. Having said that didn't Japan have a law banning all cars over 3 years old? might still have that law... MOT testing (and enforcement) would help but instead of banning older cars why not implement congestion charges (and enforce them) as in London for example? Oh, and teach people how to drive correctly might help too - you know, stopping when the traffic light is red instead of dashing into the middle of the intersection and holding up all the traffic (thus starting or aiding and abetting the traffic congestion)! Start with taxi drivers... mass pogrom on the tuk tuk drivers... happy days

But how does logic overcome inherent laziness and blame transfer skills

Quit Badgering me Ethyl !!!

[stoli]

Well who the hell thought it was smart to licence cars on a sliding scale anyway?????

The United States for one. Still does. Proper method.

[mok199]

a small step,forward,as we see in pattaya the traffic problems and the worst offenders of pollutoin is the ''tour bus''these old mostly outdated pieces of s#$% shouldnt be allowed past sumkimvit road,the small soi's they use after the ''alcratraz''show is done are now so beat up and conjested,most of the small caffe's buisness is now are suffernig due to this problem,but the revenue tours generate is huge,so those of us who live in pattay north or near the beach see this more than others,they sit ideling and wating for the tour groups they are parked now every where,in between runs....end the tour buses and our city will be much better off....leave them parked on sumkumvit road and the limo the passnegers to the hotels...but this will never happen,city officials dont care about fumes and the discomfort of the locals,they care only about the revenue..$$$$

[hansnl]

Good enough, some of these clunkers are a problem, but please include tuk-tuks which create more pollution per kg than anything out there.

True, if the tuktuks were driving on petrol.

As tuktuks can only be on the road if they have LPG there is something wrong in what you think.

LPG fed makes them rather cleanish, being 2-stroke.

Newer tuktuks have 4-stroke engines, and LPG, which makes them as clean as any car, even less if the capacity of the engine is taken into account.

[stevehaigh]

'cars older than that will have to be used in the provinces'

thanks Bangkok, give us all your old pollution machines

[Local Drunk]

I've got a better idea! Let's get people over 60 off the sidewalks (pavement for you Brits) so we can all walk a little faster.

[Basil B]

I can only think the brains behind this idea has a financial interest in importing new cars.

As I read it this would only apply to cars in Bangkok, the thing is where in Bangkok can you drive any faster than walking pace? or is it just to make the city look smarter?

If it is about safety then the route forward is regular safety inspection of vehicles (ever 1 or 2 years), and heavy penalties for inspectors who pass cars which are not roadworthy.

[marstons]

Why don't they have a yearly safety inspection on any vehicle over 5 years old and make a reasonable decision if the vehicle is safe for the road or not. Oh wait this is Thailand and this is too simple of a solution

There is such yearly inspection on all vehicles over 7 years I believe, whereby the vehicle is inspected for all safety and mechanical roadworthiness,

Yes there is such a test, my consisted of etching the engine number and sticking it in the registration book. not a single check on the vehicle. Usual Thai mentality the shop got its money and the officials could tick the right box.

[kannot]

After seeing the pick up in the photo I can see the problem..............Its not loaded up to 10 times its height, that would have ironed out that fold in the chassis

[ajarnpot]

should charge for every road used by all vehicles. that would sort out a lot of difficulties

[gemini81]

should charge for every road used by all vehicles. that would sort out a lot of difficulties

Quite the opposite. Imagine the toll lines, smart passes not working, enforcing it....

[Thai at Heart]

Put the tax on the fuel, them that do more miles should pay more. It's not how old the car is BUT how many miles you do in a year. Why should a car that covers 5k a year pay the same as a car that does 150k in a year.

Both I think.

What both should pay the same in tax, when one does 30 times more mile's. that's like saying when you are in Tesco and have 3 items in your basket, you should pay the same as the man next to you that has a full basket.

Huh? You think there is no tax in the pump prices of fuel?

[BuriramRes]

Why don't they have a yearly safety inspection on any vehicle over 5 years old and make a reasonable decision if the vehicle is safe for the road or not. Oh wait this is Thailand and this is too simple of a solution

There is such yearly inspection on all vehicles over 7 years I believe, whereby the vehicle is inspected for all safety and mechanical roadworthiness,

Yes a friends corolla went through the test only last week. Running on three cylinders, indicators didn't work, couple of bald tyres. Absolute joke and NO money changed hands for the pass.

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Pleasedon't send all the old clunkers out to the provences. We have more than enough here already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lucjoker]

Should of thought of the congestion before the government installed the first car policy. Then again, it's always patch job with this government or before. Never bother with long term planning!

So if the owners of old cars pay the tax of a new car ,nothing changes.

Still the same amount of cars in the street.

Why not simple : you can only drive a car if you have a driver licence for your class of vehicle AND an insurance AND a numberplate AND the paper of the car-control.

This will more than half the number of cars !(probably we will see only farang driving in cars ,busses,or motorcycles ?

So no new rules needed .

ps i must be very intelligent ?

[lee b]

If they look like that thing in the picture, they should be taken off the streets

[tetleythedog]

Should of thought of the congestion before the government installed the first car policy. Then again, it's always patch job with this government or before. Never bother with long term planning!

It's every govt !!. Even if they introduce new legislation it will be ignored. Better if they made it compulsory that the drivers had a brain !!! Everywhere you go vehicles are overloaded to such a degree that they are nearly twice as wide as they should be, unserviced cars, trucks, and lorries belching out volumes of black smoke. Bald tyres, inadequate brakes, defective lights, etc etc. It doesn't really matter what mandatory checks are brought in, the authorities will pass the vehicles for the appropriate backhander. It's a joke !!!

[brfsa2]

I've been praying for this day to come... also should go for motorcycles.

I ride motorcycles and those old cars emitting huge pollution is so bad.

specially those 20 year old pickups screaming smoke out. I really hate them. they should be sent for recycle.

[NBD]

I think better driving standards would do more to improve traffic flow than anything else:

Not blocking junctions when stopped

Not using all 3 lanes to do a U turn

Not parking on lane 1 of Sukhumvit at rush hour to go and eat noodles

Not taking up the whole road to turn a tight corner

Motorbikes not driving the wrong way up a dual carriageway to save going 100 yards in the wrong direction

Not feeling the need having a bus donkey derby up Sukhumvit, continually overtaking each other rather than waiting the 20 seconds for the bus in front to move

Not going up the middle or even left lane of a queue for right turn/U turn then pushing in at the last minute

Not blocking oncoming traffic because your lane is blocked. Wait until there's a gap

Not thinking that a red light doesn't apply to you if you stay close enough to the car in front.

The list goes on, but if there was such a thing as a prize for the most selfish idiot in the world you wouldn't need to look much further than a typical Bangkok traffic jam. And you could have the best cars, the biggest roads and the slickest lights in the world, it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference.

[easybullet3]

Cars older than 10 years??? that's impractical!! The age of a car has nothing to do with its road-worthy condition!! Whoever came up with that idea has a screw-loose!

How about just introducing an MOT, (Road-Worthy test) that every car has to pass each year to be able to use in on the road. The test doesn't need to be as rigid as our tests in the West, but at least exhaust fumes, brakes, etc... seat-belts in the back seats!!

Also, police should pull over ALL cars that are producing smoke or noise from their exhaust and give them "x-amount of days" to have it fixed (else be fined heavy and/or lose the cars license/ownership or something).

but simply banning all cars over 10 years old is pathetic!!

PS: Government Buses are pretty much the worst offenders on the road!! I hope the buses are INCLUDED in this clean-up.

but in truth, I cant ever see any of the above ever happening... !

[whiteman]

Why don't they have a yearly safety inspection on any vehicle over 5 years old and make a reasonable decision if the vehicle is safe for the road or not. Oh wait this is Thailand and this is too simple of a solution

There is such yearly inspection on all vehicles over 7 years I believe, whereby the vehicle is inspected for all safety and mechanical roadworthiness,

So I take it your 14 year old Benz banger has a check up yearly or are you like the rest and pay under the table to get the pass

[capt_canada42]

Good enough, some of these clunkers are a problem, but please include tuk-tuks which create more pollution per kg than anything out there.

What your brain dead just like the government some of us like old cars and drive and restore them and provide work for thousands of trades people by restoring cars and trucks .. if the government hadn't put all the new cars on the road with the tax decrease this would not have come about ...

[Chrisswe]

Very good idea ! Not only BKK all over Thailand !

[Chrisswe]

Very good idea ! Not only BKK all over Thailand !

[chaiyapoon]

It could make some sense if properly applied and it would likely reduce the value of older vehicles which are grossly overvalued at present.

[Songhua]

So much for getting that mint '75 XJ6.

[ratcatcher]

Another populist idea that no action will follow....

Unfortunately,this is a "populist" policy that is designed to affect the very people PTP supposedly represents. It is a sledgehammer reaction rather than a well thought out plan.

This is only about reducing the number of clunkers in Bangkok and many of them are owned by working class Thais using them for transporting tools, goods etc. The article did say 'cars' but illustrates a perfect example of the sort of vehicle that should be removed from any road, anywhere.

There are thousands of vehicles between 10 and 20 years old or older that are in perfectly good roadworthy condition that have been well maintained and serviced etc.

Bangkok is over twice the area of Singapore (714 sq km vs 1569 sq km) and has over twice the population 5.3mil vs over 11mil)

The significant difference is the Singaporeans are more affluent, but huge numbers of Bangkokians are too poor to own a vehicle other than a motorbike.

Far more thought and planning must go into this idea than has been given. Maybe the police chief was just flying a kite to test public reaction.

Strangely enough the serious accidents over the past few years have involved Porsche, Ferrari, Mercedes and Honda, none of which were over 10 years old, however the drivers were all to blame.

People living outside Bangkok need not worry.