Bangkok: First day of wheel clamping campaign nets 80 offenders

[webfact]

First day of wheel clamping campaign nets 80 offenders

BANGKOK: -- In the first day of the wheel clamping D-Day on Monday more than 80 vehicles were wheel-clamped for illegal parking in a single day.

The campaign was part of the operation to return road space for smooth traffic flow under the policy of the National Council for Peace and Order.

The D-Day started in Bangkok first and will be introduced later in the provinces.

The campaign Monday engaged some 230 traffic police with 210 wheel clamps deployed to lock wheels of illegally-parked vehicles throughout the capital.

It followed the crackdown on road users chatting on mobile device while driving, which was first carried out on June 9.

The operation began Monday morning on Praditpat intersection which is among 90 intersections in the capital which is mostly complained of for illegal parking and causes traffic congestion.

The campaign was achieved when traffic flowed smoothly this morning, although some vehicles were still found illegally parked on both sides of the road.

Smoother traffic flow also were reported on Charoen Krung Road heading toward Rama IV Road. It is one of the most congested roads in the capital. Few vehicles were found to break the traffic law there. Traffic on Yoawarat road also flew smoothly this morning.

Advisor to the National Police Commissioner Pol-Gen Wuthi Lptapanlop said wheel-clamping is the most effective measure and is well liked by the people.

He said a survey by the Traffic Police Division has found that over 80 percent of the respondents like the measure.

The survey on the “return roads to the people” campaign found that 82.3 percent supported the wheel-clamping measure as they saw that it could produce immediate result by easing traffic congestion. This is in line with intention of the police. Wheel-clamping is viewed as a heavy penalty and is wanted by the public and the police.

Meanwhile Pol-Maj Gen Adul Narongsak, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau said there would be an evaluation on today’s operation.

“We will see how many roads it helps smooth the traffic and if the people are satisfied with the measure,” he said.

He said the wheel-clamping operation will be carried out during the day and at night, targeting in particular on major and minor roads where entertainment complex is located because they are where cars are parked illegally.

He said that since the police introduced the campaign to return road spaces to the people in June, a total of 8,112 vehicles have been wheel-clamped nationwide.

As for the wheel-clamping operation in Bangkok, more than 80 vehicles were wheel-clamped as of midday today.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/first-day-wheel-clamping-campaign-nets-80-offenders/


-- Thai PBS 2014-08-19

[bkkjames]

Charoen Nakorn was the best I ever saw it last night. Keep it up.....everyday!

[Seastallion]

230 traffic police and only 80 clampings in a day in Bangkok!!??? They were not trying very hard, were they. It would be interesting to know how many clamps went on, then were taken off after a private fine was paid, and were thus not part of the statistics.

[frollywolly]

I applaud this action of not tolerating illegal parking.

The solution is to tow, not wheel clamp.

Wheel clamping leaves the car illegally parked. Towing removes the problem

[robblok]

James too bad they cant clamp bikes. See that cars are the reason for slow traffic and congestion not bikes.

I seriously hope they keep doing this as illigal parking slows traffic down a lot. Same goes for double parking busses and vans for picking up people.

[wxpwzrd]

Yeah, would love to see the 'truth' - how many real fines paid vs. those that make it into the boys pockets.

[terryp]

80 not trying very hard are they

[kimamey]

I applaud this action of not tolerating illegal parking.

The solution is to tow, not wheel clamp.

Wheel clamping leaves the car illegally parked. Towing removes the problem

Towing does remove the problem but it's more expensive, takes longer and is less efficient. If you want to tow a vehicle you have to wait for it to arrive, during which time there either needs to be a police presence to stop it being driven away or you clamp it which is what the're doing anyway. Then the towing vehicle is out of action while it takes the car to wherever they are going to keep it. How many tow trucks have they got?

Towing needs to be kept as an option where just clamping isn't the best option such as a car causing a massive obstruction or the driver not returning.

[retell]

A special police teAm that does nothing more than clamping and towing would be nice , specialy in big cities

So there is no need for a clampdown action

[ezzra]

A prominent local news paper speaks of 2,000 cars having been clamps on first day, to this I say

that new broom (rule) sweeps well.. and that as time will wear on, so the numbers will tapers

off to very few clamps... same 'al, same, al...

[dinger]

80 clamps in 1 day? That should have been in the first 30 min. I agree with towing. Yes it is more expensive: Pass that cost on to the driver. Make the fine hurt, tow it to a central location and set up a very transparent system for paying the fine so no under handed dealings. Once the word gets around that it the fine is pretty steep I think you will get some attention.

[kimamey]

80 clamps in 1 day? That should have been in the first 30 min. I agree with towing. Yes it is more expensive: Pass that cost on to the driver. Make the fine hurt, tow it to a central location and set up a very transparent system for paying the fine so no under handed dealings. Once the word gets around that it the fine is pretty steep I think you will get some attention.

You're going to need a lot of tow trucks which will cause disruption of their own. Far better to clamp some cars first and then as you say the message will get round. You can clamp cars far quicker than you can tow them and you can still impose a high fine but bare in mind that the effect of a fine for either removing a clamp or getting a towed vehicle back will depend on the financial status of the driver involved. You'll still need to tow on some occasions but not all. Going in and towing huge numbers of cars will get complaints that the military are being too authoritarian so a more measured approach is the best option to start with then if it doesn't work it can be stepped up.

Other people have mentioned the problem of police corruption. If there are 80 vehicles clamped then it's fairly obvious how much money should come back from that. There's the possibility that the 80 weren't the only ones and that's where the tea money comes from. The military need to keep a check on this which will be more difficult the more claps and tow truck are used.

The reason for the parking problems is the same as for most of the violations of laws here, a view that laws and regulations don't need to be obeyed and it will take time to change that view. Trying to sort it all in one day isn't going to work.

[rubl]

In a moment i'll go to work and will pass soi Yothi into PhayaThai. Nearly every day I see a dozen cars with wheelclamps there and that for more than a year already. So, what's this 'first day' stuff ?

Edited August 19, 2014 by rubl

[AlphMichaels]

I could have easily pointed enforcement to 80 such violations on my run this morning. Ekamai and Thonglor between Sukhumvit and Petchaburi roads.

[bkkjames]

James too bad they cant clamp bikes. See that cars are the reason for slow traffic and congestion not bikes.

I seriously hope they keep doing this as illigal parking slows traffic down a lot. Same goes for double parking busses and vans for picking up people.

Rob, I saw quite a few bikes parked perpendicular to the flow of traffic - essentially blocking traffic as well. Kinda like taxis and buses that think they are being helpful by pulling over half way and still taking up two lanes.

But as I said, it's a start. It will only work if this is systematic and not a one week "clampdown" then back into the aircon.

[bkkjames]

80 clamps in 1 day? That should have been in the first 30 min. I agree with towing. Yes it is more expensive: Pass that cost on to the driver. Make the fine hurt, tow it to a central location and set up a very transparent system for paying the fine so no under handed dealings. Once the word gets around that it the fine is pretty steep I think you will get some attention.

You're going to need a lot of tow trucks which will cause disruption of their own. Far better to clamp some cars first and then as you say the message will get round. You can clamp cars far quicker than you can tow them and you can still impose a high fine but bare in mind that the effect of a fine for either removing a clamp or getting a towed vehicle back will depend on the financial status of the driver involved. You'll still need to tow on some occasions but not all. Going in and towing huge numbers of cars will get complaints that the military are being too authoritarian so a more measured approach is the best option to start with then if it doesn't work it can be stepped up.

Other people have mentioned the problem of police corruption. If there are 80 vehicles clamped then it's fairly obvious how much money should come back from that. There's the possibility that the 80 weren't the only ones and that's where the tea money comes from. The military need to keep a check on this which will be more difficult the more claps and tow truck are used.

The reason for the parking problems is the same as for most of the violations of laws here, a view that laws and regulations don't need to be obeyed and it will take time to change that view. Trying to sort it all in one day isn't going to work.

Buy some tow truck - trade in the fire trucks sitting in mothballs.

By the way, ever seen a car get towed in the west in a big city. Can't take more than a couple of mins.

Edited August 19, 2014 by bkkjames

[craigt3365]

A prominent local news paper speaks of 2,000 cars having been clamps on first day, to this I say

that new broom (rule) sweeps well.. and that as time will wear on, so the numbers will tapers

off to very few clamps... same 'al, same, al...

I found that quite interesting. Big difference between 80 and 2,000.

[Fab5BKK]

No need for "announcements"... just enforce the law...

I know, I'm demanding ;-)

[surinderek]

80 not trying very hard are they

must of missed the other 5080 . not enongh clamps?

[kamahele]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

80 clamps in 1 day? That should have been in the first 30 min. I agree with towing. Yes it is more expensive: Pass that cost on to the driver. Make the fine hurt, tow it to a central location and set up a very transparent system for paying the fine so no under handed dealings. Once the word gets around that it the fine is pretty steep I think you will get some attention.

You're going to need a lot of tow trucks which will cause disruption of their own. Far better to clamp some cars first and then as you say the message will get round. You can clamp cars far quicker than you can tow them and you can still impose a high fine but bare in mind that the effect of a fine for either removing a clamp or getting a towed vehicle back will depend on the financial status of the driver involved. You'll still need to tow on some occasions but not all. Going in and towing huge numbers of cars will get complaints that the military are being too authoritarian so a more measured approach is the best option to start with then if it doesn't work it can be stepped up.

Other people have mentioned the problem of police corruption. If there are 80 vehicles clamped then it's fairly obvious how much money should come back from that. There's the possibility that the 80 weren't the only ones and that's where the tea money comes from. The military need to keep a check on this which will be more difficult the more claps and tow truck are used.

The reason for the parking problems is the same as for most of the violations of laws here, a view that laws and regulations don't need to be obeyed and it will take time to change that view. Trying to sort it all in one day isn't going to work.

Towing works well in my hometown of Honolulu but they have contracts with private tow companies to do the work. I doubt that Bangkok has enough tow vehicles to get the job done.

[dinger]

Clamp a car and it sits in the same place blocking traffic until the owner returns. Tow the car and the blockage is gone. The tow trucks will pay for themselves in short time, provided no one skims money off the top. (it sounded good until i got to the last part)

[firefox999uk]

So, does anyone know what the penalty is for illegal parking, and getting the

wheel clamp removed?

Have a Nice Day.

[alfalfa19]

Finally, an actual clampdown. But I don't understand, what is the punishment if the car is not towed away? Do they have to pay some small fine to get the clamp released?

[retell]

Didnt the do the same crackdown a few months ago ?

Edited August 19, 2014 by retell

[chotthee]

A prominent local news paper speaks of 2,000 cars having been clamps on first day, to this I say

that new broom (rule) sweeps well.. and that as time will wear on, so the numbers will tapers

off to very few clamps... same 'al, same, al...

I found that quite interesting. Big difference between 80 and 2,000.

80 with official fine receipt.

1920 just goes into someones' pockets.

Where is Prayuth's anti-corruption squat when you need them.

[glasswort]

Only 80!!!!!

[ChrisY1]

A prominent local news paper speaks of 2,000 cars having been clamps on first day, to this I say

that new broom (rule) sweeps well.. and that as time will wear on, so the numbers will tapers

off to very few clamps... same 'al, same, al...

Yes...read the same......80 probably is the right number....with 1920 tea fund exchanges!

[bkkjames]

On my way home I saw a guy being ticketed while the clamp was still on the car. He sat in his car waiting for the ticket to be handed over by the traffic policeman. It obviously wasn't the hand through the window routine.

[Cake Monster]

What is the fine imposed for illegal parking, and do you pay for the actual tow vehicle charges ?

Does anybody know ? - just asking

[farangroby]

Easy job the wheel clamping, just cash, but why nobody check the criminal's driver who race all the time on every road???????????

Edited August 19, 2014 by farangroby