Thai transportation officials doubt over farang family dumped by taxi

[JOC]

All you posters love jumping on the Thai taxi bashing bandwagon.

They weren't even in a taxi, they voluntarily got out of a mini van, haha now you all look like fools!!

All?

FAIL.

Taxi, Minivan still paying for a service. Both sectors equally poor in service.

They got in a mini van going from Sa Kaeo to KSR, when asked to get dropped off at Suk 71 the driver said not possible but they could get taxi from KSR. They decided to get out during a toilet stop. Where is the bad service?

Oh that doesn't fit the popular Thai bashing theme in this forum!

Thai bashing beats pure nonsense any day of the week!!

Plenty of toilets on the Tollway??

[Lupatria]

Many other news sites have reported what really happened. It will disappoint taxi driver haters!

I don't care much about the different versions to the story unless the family speaks. However, if you are a "taxi driver lover" you must feel veeeery lonely in this country. Any chance that your wife or girlfriend owns or drives a Tuk Tuk -Taxi- Mini Van?

[Sydebolle]

Look it up on CCTV - or is that not working either?

[Equalizer]

Do they actually believe that their explanation seems more rational than the farangs story? Now they are saying. Taxi dumping family with baby on highway? Infant-toting family stopping on highway to get directions to TAT? Neither sounds particularly believable. Really!! They said the family did not seem distressed when they approached on March 16 to ask how to reach the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s head office on Petchburi Road. After landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport, the family is believed to have approached the Asoke 4 toll booths for help, at which point officers took them off the highway and put them in a taxi. The picture clearly shows they are through the toll booth making their way back to the toll booth. So how did they miss them walking through there in the first place 55555 what a bunch of not rights.

[oneday]

The family were not the ones complaining. It was another taxi driver if my memory serves me correctly or at least another motorist.

I was going to write a similar derisive comment, but after reading the article is sounds like the Transportation department did their homework and that original poster may have been lying...may have been.

[peptidebomber]

@JOC Don't use tollways much?? Toilets usually just after tollbooths, which I think you will find is where this pic is taken.

[peptidebomber]

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

Many other news sites have reported what really happened. It will disappoint taxi driver haters!

I don't care much about the different versions to the story unless the family speaks. However, if you are a "taxi driver lover" you must feel veeeery lonely in this country. Any chance that your wife or girlfriend owns or drives a Tuk Tuk -Taxi- Mini Van?

Not a taxi driver lover, but after catching over 3000 on the last five years I think they do a pretty good job compared to lots of other countries.

[Strangebrew]

Wait I know they got there it was a UFO are there Illegal alien's, or a ghost gave wrong directions. now let me guess they walked to the toll booth from swampy with out being stopped or seen by other drivers right? then toll booth got them a cab, and there spaceship beamed up out of cab that toll booth got them which the police say they weren't in and were beamed back down to to Asoke exit on the tollway. Ok Now I believe that.

[SuwadeeS]

Every day there are bad stories about unprofessional taxi driver.

I can only ask you, to download one of these apps, and star complaining,

till they get the picture and see the real face of these bad guys.

The apps are called: "Taxi reporter", which is not so difficult to undersand and handle, because bi-lingual or you download "DLT Check in", here you can switch to English.

so and now, get out and start using these apps.

[webfact]

UPDATE:

Tourist family abandoned on expressway untrue



BANGKOK: -- Expressway police today dismissed as untrue a report which went viral on the social network last week that a farang couple and their baby were abandoned on the expressway by a taxi.

“It’s totally untrue after our investigation. The quick post on the social media without questioning of what really happened had tarnished the tourism image of the country as well as the image of Thai taxis,” said Pol Lt Col Surachat Suwannasri, deputy superintendent of tourist police subdivision today.

According to Thaivisa, A Facebook user, Surachai Hiranpradithkul posted a picture of a farang man, his wife and their baby on his Facebook’s Wall on March 16 saying the unidentified family had been abandoned on the elevated expressway near the Asoke 2 tollgate.

Surachai claimed his friend, who is an expressway police, helped transport the family to the ground.

The post was widely shared by Facebook users, who strongly criticized the unknown taxi driver.

Several Thai online news websites played up the issue, with headlines like Suvarnabhumi airport taxi did it again.

The tourist police officer said tourist police and land transport officials have investigated and examined video footages at all gates at Suvarnabhumi airport on that day to find out the abandoned family if they boarded any taxi there.

But they spotted no family as shown on Facebook took the taxi from the airport at all, he said.

Meanwhile Land Transport deputy director general Suchart Klinsuwan said he had talked to Surachai’s friend who found the family and who took the picture and the friend said he was not sure that the family had been abandoned by a taxi.

The officer said Surachai’s friend spotted the family walking to the Asoke gate at about 5:50 pm so he offered them a ride and pointed them out how to get out of the expressway. The friend admitted that he did not see any taxi at the spot.

The tourist police officer said latest check with the expressway police confirmed the family came with a chartered van from Sra Kaew to Khao Sarn road, and not from the airport.

As the van arrived at Asoke 2 toll gate, the driver stopped to allow all the 13 foreign passengers to go to toilets.

But the family came to the driver with the map and asked how to get to Sukhumvit 71 from the toll gate.

However the driver asked that they should go there after he drove all to Khao Sarn road.

The family insisted to get out there and took their luggage out of the van.

The family then walked towards the gate and was helped by expressway police to guide them out safely.

The police also took photos of the family walking on the tollway, he said, adding that posting any untrue could damage the image of the good taxis and the image of the country.

Checked with an official of the Asoke 2 gateway also showed that the farang couple did not cry foul that they had been abandoned, he said.

They simply said calmly that they wanted to go to the Tourism Authority of Thailand head office on the Phetchaburi Road to get more tourist information.

They walked along the expressway looking for an exit and that was when they were photographed and the pictures appeared on social networks, he said .

Later, expressway police guided them off the expressway, Pol Lt Col Surachat said.

The officer would like people who saw pictures and read messages through social media to use their judgement and find out the facts before jumping to conclusion or sharing pictures.

Meanwhile a lawyer said damaged party could file libel charge against the poster and demand compensation.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/tourist-family-abandoned-on-expressway-untrue


-- Thai PBS 2015-03-23

[Strangebrew]

Even the van story sounds fishy I take vans a lot yes they stop usually when half way there.

[JOC]

The irony is, that the family probably are enjoying their holiday, completely unaware of the storm, they have created on social media....................

Hope they have a good time!

Edited March 23, 2015 by JOC

[SuwadeeS]

Just download one of these apps,

"Taxi Reporter" or "DLT Check in"

The first one is bi-lingual, and the second one can be switched from Thai to English.

So and now get out, and show them with your reports, the real face of the unprofessional and bad taxi driver.

[kkerry]

This is getting like the Koh Tao murder threads. Some people have so much invested in this being some taxi driver gone feral incident they refuse to accept any other possible explanation.

Links to the Bangkok Post cannot be posted here so you need to click on over to the BP site and read the article posted there..

[JOC]

>>Meanwhile a lawyer said damaged party could file libel charge against the poster and demand compensation.<<

There goes 90% of the Thaivisa membership.....................

[Rorri]

""We're investigating the fact. We cannot give any answer at the moment,” Natthapong said. “However, we should leave out the idea that they were left by their taxi because we didn't even know if it was a taxi or which vehicle dropped them there.”"

Yeah, right.

You would think someone would think about using footage from the CCTV cameras....oh wait, that would require thinking and worse still, could prove the farangs are telling the truth, now we can't have that now, can we. Thainess, yes, a word that means a lot more than a Thai wants to believe.

[givenall]

Of course Thai taxis are truly excellent drivers. They never do anything wrong. NOT.

[Morakot]

Is this story supposed to make any sense?

[maidee]

farang family tought it was a safe way to travel alongside an expressway ?

i don't think so

but, TIT

blame it on the farang

[TechnikaIII]

"Thai transportation officials doubt ... " Well so what!!

I have been dumped in such a place by a passenger van, .. the driver simply stopped and said "Get out" ...

I was travelling from Chon Buri To Victory Monument, and quite reasonably expected that we would be ending up at the usual van station area. But I was ordered to "Get out" in totally unfamiliar territory, with luggage, walking back to a freeway exit road, then down that, hugging the concrete wall, ... it was horrible.

[oxo1947]

All you posters love jumping on the Thai taxi bashing bandwagon.

They weren't even in a taxi, they voluntarily got out of a mini van, haha now you all look like fools!!

Don't tell me BKK Coconuts got it wrong---that would be a first---NOT..................

[catterwell]

I can believe that the van driver stopped for a toilet break, for himself and for any passengers interested. There is a rare expressway-side toilet at that point.

I can also believe that these visitors opted to disembark at that point; it seemed closed to where they were heading (Soi 71 or TAT, I can't say), but the only way from that point to any exit is along the side of the expressway. Their GPS smartphone would probably have told them to head for Asoke-Dindaeng, and then turn left.

From the loo to to Asoke-Dindaeng is about 200 metres, but there's no easy way down.

Apparently help arrived.

At the end of the day, no big deal.

[catterwell]

>>Meanwhile a lawyer said damaged party could file libel charge against the poster and demand compensation.<<

There goes 90% of the Thaivisa membership.....................

And another one! You exaggerate outrageously. It's probably only 89%

[BuckBee]

I have seen tourists dumped from taxis so no surprise really, Had a japanese tourist raped & dumped near hua lampong temple last year so nothing surprises me when no real taxi standard or policing exists. Taxis in Singapore are a breath of fresh air quite literally :-P do miss thailands 7/11 but that about it really ...

[CapeThai]

However, where are they? What's their side of the coin?

If you ask me I think they got right back on the plane and got out of there...

[KamalaRider]

All you posters love jumping on the Thai taxi bashing bandwagon.

They weren't even in a taxi, they voluntarily got out of a mini van, haha now you all look like fools!!

Please, show some proof of that, just don't utter "They weren't ev.....", PROOF when giving an absolute statement.

At least Khaosod had the decency to say "Foreign Tourists Allegedly". So I wonder who looks like a fool now, give proof and I will retract my opinion about you.

Edited March 23, 2015 by KamalaRider

[catterwell]

I have seen tourists dumped from taxis so no surprise really, Had a japanese tourist raped & dumped near hua lampong temple last year so nothing surprises me when no real taxi standard or policing exists. Taxis in Singapore are a breath of fresh air quite literally :-P do miss thailands 7/11 but that about it really ...

After close to 40 years using them, I don't have any problem with Bangkok taxis. Occasionally, you meet an old and well-informed driver, with whom conversation can be pure delight. Also occasionally, you'll meet a grumpy one, but that's life.

Personally, I find the Bangkok oscillation between delight and grumpiness more lively than Singaporean standards. But I suppose it's a matter of taste.

[cookee68]

Give the poor guy a break!!

His brother, the Czech busker/beggar didn't send him taxi money!!

possibly same trade, who knows

[bapoboy]

I have seen tourists dumped from taxis so no surprise really, Had a japanese tourist raped & dumped near hua lampong temple last year so nothing surprises me when no real taxi standard or policing exists. Taxis in Singapore are a breath of fresh air quite literally :-P do miss thailands 7/11 but that about it really ...

population in Bangkok is much higher than in singapore, it is much more traffic in bangkok than it is in singapore, singapore is just a small republic the size of a nothing, then give it the meaning.

[cookee68]

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

All you posters love jumping on the Thai taxi bashing bandwagon.

They weren't even in a taxi, they voluntarily got out of a mini van, haha now you all look like fools!!

Please, show some proof of that, just don't utter "They weren't ev.....", PROOF when giving an absolute statement.

At least Khaosod had the decency to say "Foreign Tourists Allegedly". So I wonder who looks like a fool now, give proof and I will retract my opinion about you.

Where did he get they voluntarily got out of a mini van, I missed that post somewhere, please direct me to that news