500B on the spot traffic fine

[edwardflory]

I was privileged today to receive a 500B, on the spot traffic fine.

My scooter front wheel was touching the broken white line at a intersection. There were three "OTHER" scooters well into / on the broken white line.

What do you do: the police officer explained my traffic violation, asks for and I give him my license, registration and insurance papers.

He tells me 500B fine. Ok I pay, ask for receipt - whoops he no longer understands English ( the word RECEIPT ). I say thank you, take my license and papers back and walk / drive away

Why did I pay, get my papers and walk away? He had my papers, his word against my word "what I did", So no "paperwork - "either side". and I was on my way in 5 mins. My loss 500B and 5 minutes.

Need I say more? Anyone else have something like this happen?

[Spoonman]

tell him to write out a fine and you will pay at police station.

[JesseFrank]

Call the army

[CharlieH]

Always, sorry not have money, can pay at station later please. He may keep your licence and retrieve that when you pay the proper fine. usually 200 baht.

[chiang mai]

Front wheel touching the white line, vandal, you deserve all you get.

More seriously, next time feel free to tell him to get stuffed, you want a ticket that you can pay at the office, no more, no less, make sure you take his picture also.

[draftvader]

Either ensure you keep a small denomination near to your licence (and WELL away from your actual money). Being foreign I make sure this is B100. The devious will smile and finger the note....its theirs and I ride off. The good ones either smile and let you go or throw the book at you. Then I refer to CharlieH. Sorry, B100 is all I have can you write me a ticket? Which police station will my licence be at?

In 6 years and numerous stops I have had to pay at a station twice B200 and B500 (bus lane near Pratunam). All other times it is a salute and "go away" or they take B100 and I leave with my licence.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

No ticket.

Phone out, take his photo.

[i claudius]

I got stopped the other day in my car ,my wife told him to go forth and multiply ,or something like that ,he did ,you dont argue she who must be obayed.

[kurnell]

The army are stopping these mongrels collecting their end of month bribes so they have to up the 'fine' whenever they get the chance

[wow64]

If you have the time tell him you don't have the money on you.

I have had the same thing happen and after a few minutes he let me go with the fine.

Sent from my c64

[jarrcbb]

Knew a Thai girl with a motorbike who would only leave 20 baht in her wallet in case she got stopped.

[khonlanna]

I'm glad inflation hasn't affected fines...it's still 200 then.

I was on the way to the airport with a girl friend on the passenger seat, when we were stopped by a bunch of officers. One of them quickly approached us then took the ignition key away and said, "She, helmet, she helmet," pointing at her head.

I was curios to see what would happen exactly because Thai friends of mine had often told me how they had to pay off a cop on several occasions.

So I asked about the fine, but he just kept saying, "Oh expensive. Very expensive, " and didn't mention either a ticket or bribery. My friend had a plane to catch, so I said to the policeman, "Can I pay now?" He then said, "You want to pay now?"

I reached for my wallet and produced the only bill in there. It was a 500 Baht bill. I was stupid enough to wait for him to give me 300 Baht change, but he walked away, of course, holding the bill underneath his clipboard for the ticket.

It was like 15 yrs ago and none of the people I knew bothered to go all the way to the police station to pay a fine, at least in Chiangmai except for some assertive Farangs. Thai people simply believed paying on the spot was much more reasonable. Cops are happier and victims are 'happier' if they can settle the matter quickly on the spot, and I remember I found it quite interesting. "It is what they are, " I thought. Besides, paying off a cop is an experience I could never have in my home country.

However, things in Thailand have been changing these days, haven't they?

Sorry about the long story.

[kevc]

Serves you right, you should ride on the pavement like everyone else.

Sent from my GT-P5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Costas2008]

Seriously, the last 6 months, I have been stopped many times by the police.

Either for going fast or driving on the right hand lane.

They didn't ask me for any money but just caution me.

Before, I used to be a regular contributor to the police fund........200 to 400 Baht a time.

Something must have changed.

Did you notice the same?

[Loptr]

Need I say more? Anyone else have something like this happen?

You're joking, right? It's a rite of passage for farang to get jacked up by the RTP in Thailand.

Next time tell the plod that you pay at the police station. That usually sends the grifters into a tizzy and they let you go.

[Marcel1]

jaha thats a good rip off, 500b....

never paid more than 100for normal traffic violations, no plate, no license, too fast, no helmet etc.

once I paid 300 when I drove 65 km too fast on the highway which he had on photo, imo a fair deal

anything more is just plain stupid and I would pay rather 400 at the station than 300 in his hand. 100 is just too easy.

[arthurwait]

Got stung for 3000 at the bang na toll booth last monday after 3 days on the beer wasn't thinking to quickly. Tax was 2 months out of date and apparently he could tell i was speeding by standing hiding behind a booth. Like someone else has said the army have taken their usual mercedes/mia noi payments away with many worried they will be kicked out the force with the corruption clean up picking up as much as they can while they can.

[Datebayo]

Damn 500Baht. You must look very Caucasian...

[edwardflory]

I sorta look at it this way: Since I want to get my Thai Drivers License, right now, there is no paperwork on file. I think that is worth 500B in the long run.

Besides, ONE """traffic ticket""" in 54 years of driving is not that bad - have driven in 9 countries - not to say I have never deserved a ticket.

[marko kok prong]

Easy,'i do not understand Thai,now be off with you my little brown shirted chap",worked for me a few times,of course you have to be able to speak public schoolboy english to carry it off,and not on a motorbike,no but seriously,i really hope the Police are reformed by the junta,they are not all bad,but they need to scrape out the rotten apples.

[MrWorldwide]

The army are stopping these mongrels collecting their end of month bribes so they have to up the 'fine' whenever they get the chance

Anyone in Patts who can verify that the going rate for a local to get out of the lockup after being caught riding a motorbike whilst intoxicate is 5k baht ? If the tale I heard on Saturday night is accurate, the local cops may have decided they'd like to revise their fee structure. If they are prepared to try it on with a local (first number out of the chute was 30k baht ... eventually haggled it down to half that number), God help a Farang. Makes me happy to remain a pedestrian.

[cgphuket]

500 baht is the normal police station fine, he would have settled for 200, the normal street bribe. I got stopped and issued a ticket for 500 for immediate payment, when I went to the payment table I said no have 500, have 200. told: no problem... Need to learn to negotiate.

[Spoonman]

500 baht is the normal police station fine, he would have settled for 200, the normal street bribe. I got stopped and issued a ticket for 500 for immediate payment, when I went to the payment table I said no have 500, have 200. told: no problem... Need to learn to negotiate.

So they wrote you an official ticket for Bt.500 for an actual Bt.400 fine (In Pattaya pretty much all official fines are Bt.400, obviously different to where ever you are) and you negotiated it down to Bt.200.

Something smells fishy.

Edited June 8, 2014 by Spoonman

[TheFishman1]

After reading ur post 500 bht 5 mins so that's 6000 bht per hour say 10 hours a day that's 60000 bht per day guess not bad he just trying to get his investment back what he paid to be a police man here

[draftvader]

My favourite fine situation here was about 3 years ago. I was riding down Phibun Songkran towards Rama 7 bridge when I got "Jit Sai"ed! The man who pulled me pointed towards the desk. I headed over and joined the queue.

When it got to my turn the policeman looked up, smiled and said "B400".

I said "Fine, write me a ticket, I only have B100".

"No, B400"

"Yes, that's fine, write me a ticket. I'll have to go home and get my money"

"No, there are 2 of us. B200 for me, B200 for him"

"Yes, but I only have B100"

Meanwhile a queue is forming behind me.

"B200, B100 for me, B100 for him"

"Please, write me a ticket, I only have B100 for fuel. I should have enough to get home. I'll bring the money to your station".

"NO, B200"

Pulling pockets out "I really only have B100"

"OK, B100, you go now!"

As I walked away I heard him say "B200" to the next man. All I heard after that was

"Farang, Roy Nung Baht" from everybody in the queue. That was worth B100! I wish I could have hung around to watch the scene unfold but I knew I was riding my luck so I left!

[jayjayjayjay]

welcome to Thailand

[kjhbigv]

I am just getting fed up of receiving photographs in the post of me in my truck speeding at 500 baht a pop!

Before the "speed kills" brigade say "serves you right".... they are always taken in middle of nowhere on some empty dual carriageway where speed does not kill.

Good to see the speed camera has arrived in Thailand.....not.

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

[marko kok prong]

Really hope the regime change will clean up this bunch of jokers in brown shirt's as suggested before,if they had a decent salary this would help.

[namdocmai]

Next time you make a pic of the policeman and post it here. We can make a thread for those pics. Once they know they will be posted on a website they might stop with that way of collecting income.

500 baht is a huge fine, so they play a different game now. It was 1-200 before.

What will happen if we can't speak english at all and also no thai? Will they call a translator? I might go for that next time.

[Chao Lao Beach]

Edward, where was this ?