Traffic Cops running amok in Chiang Mai

[opalred]

they like farangs they donnt speak english but know gestures over yers got usual 200 sometimes in cm i took bike trip to camboda going through bangkok

i stopped to eat helmet stolen looking to buy another stopped police wanted 400 took keys next accidently got on freeway stopped and looking around to see where to get off policeman on bike pulled up asked where could get of no reply asked for licence and took then said could have licence back for 2000

after bangkok police pulling everyone up iasked why speeding imposable everyone was travelling slow about 20km again have licence back 1000 good trip cheers

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

What rubs me is that the police are doing next to nothing to discourage bad and dangerous driving but then stopping people like myself at checkpoints and going thru all their paperwork and even motorbike storage.

What if they started pulling over speeders, light runners, people driving in the wrong lane on a blind corner etc etc?

Thailand is objectively a very dangerous place to drive because the drivers have poor skills and commonsense.

I doubt the BIB income would go down that much if they threw the rule book at drivers pulling illegal and dangerous actions.

Those drivers in theory pay bribes also right?

[Nowisee]

After reading all this...

IF, I have violated a traffic law, I will ask for an official ticket and be on my way...go where ever, pay the completely reasonable fine and what ever happens to the money I will never know.

However, IF, I have not violated a traffic law (obviously) and if they even attempt to bully me out of 1 baht, I will immediately take out my iPhone and video everything taking place. Make sure I get close ups of the 'officer' and make him incriminate himself in the video.

I will ask for his official identification (although I have never done that in the US as it's pretty obvious and about 99.9% certain when he roles up on you that he's real).

I will politely refuse to hand over my TDL and politely argue with each and every one of them until they release me or I until I have created enough of a scene where there is some MajGen on the scene and then I believe all to be real....or they mace me, slam me to the ground, cuff me and throw me in the cruiser (or on the back of the Honda Wave...still makes me laugh when I see 2 fats cops on a Honda Wave).
AND THEN, I will report back here and tell you a factual story of abuse and what NOT to do when stopped at the standard issue road block with the funny helmeted 'officers' wearing their funny looking masks concealing their true identity...
I think I'll start wearing one of those masks with the teeth painted on it.

A side comment here:
I would love to see a group of Crips from Compton come here on holiday and watch them group up hommie style on a bunch of thai cops... It's funny to watch them when dealing with U.S. cops... they are the most difficult, disrespectful, lying, dirty fighting, running in every direction, POS...

Edited July 10, 2014 by Nowisee

[FolkGuitar]

What rubs me is that the police are doing next to nothing to discourage bad and dangerous driving but then stopping people like myself at checkpoints and going thru all their paperwork and even motorbike storage.

What if they started pulling over speeders, light runners, people driving in the wrong lane on a blind corner etc etc?

Thailand is objectively a very dangerous place to drive because the drivers have poor skills and commonsense.

I doubt the BIB income would go down that much if they threw the rule book at drivers pulling illegal and dangerous actions.

Those drivers in theory pay bribes also right?

Well said.

This would go a long way to reducing the accident rate in Thailand, as well as improving the flow of traffic here in Chiang Mai!

If they simply stopped the people making illegal U-turns on Heaw Kaew Road traffic flow in town would smooth out by a huge margin. If they ticketed these violators, they'd be collecting far more money than from a 200 baht helmet stop.

Stopping people for helmet violations, document violations, etc. while legal, does nothing to improve the safety of others on the roads. Stopping the drunks, speeders, driving the wrong way on one-way streets, cutting across traffic at the moat gates into the Old City, etc, would be a serious improvement for everyone on the streets.

[japsportscarmad]

I've been stopped a few times and never had to pay 'tea money' or had any problems. Usually they are polite and want to genuinely check something. What I don't like is the cars built in the 1980s you see with police lights on that just do not look right around new year, even though you see them at the official road blocks. However, the last time I got stopped at New Year they didn't check us at all and focused on Thais who were drunk, so not sure what you are doing to attract their attention. Been polite to them always seems fine to me and if you've done something say sorry and a wai best if you can say sorry in Thai as helps, but politeness is a virtue few people seem to have especially many Ferange including on here. As to the comment about 'Crips' earlier I don't think they would do too well in Thailand once the cop asked for back up, and were confronted with more armed cops with less rules than the U.S. and many armed Thais who would step in and help.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[true blue]

just made another donation to the police benevolentfund,the joys of motoring.