New traffic laws in effect in Thailand?

[Tomtomtom69]

I am lucky i dont have to worry about traffic laws anymore.

Why not, because you don't drive anymore? Trust me, even those of us who do drive here never worry about traffic laws. Although I try to drive safely, I don't tailgate or anything like that, but one thing I ignore are speed limits, not that they're posted much anyway. I drive whatever is a reasonable speed and rarely ever check my speedo. It's one of the beauties of living in Thailand, never need to check your speedometer because speed cameras are almost non-existent anyway. In the rare instance you get caught, it's a 200-400 Baht fine or sometimes you can just talk your way out of a fine, never much to worry about anyway.

Large fines, demerit points taken off your licence, court cases, potential jail times, all of that nonsense is non-existent in Thailand. Nobody in the history of Thailand has ever been jailed or fined anything more than a token amount for the mere "offence" of speeding, if done in isolation. Traffic laws in Thailand are mere theory, in practice all you need to do is follow what everyone else is doing and use common sense, no need to refer to silly "laws" that are not enforced anyway.

[phutoie2]

I am lucky i dont have to worry about traffic laws anymore.

Why not, because you don't drive anymore? Trust me, even those of us who do drive here never worry about traffic laws. Although I try to drive safely, I don't tailgate or anything like that, but one thing I ignore are speed limits, not that they're posted much anyway. I drive whatever is a reasonable speed and rarely ever check my speedo. It's one of the beauties of living in Thailand, never need to check your speedometer because speed cameras are almost non-existent anyway. In the rare instance you get caught, it's a 200-400 Baht fine or sometimes you can just talk your way out of a fine, never much to worry about anyway.

Large fines, demerit points taken off your licence, court cases, potential jail times, all of that nonsense is non-existent in Thailand. Nobody in the history of Thailand has ever been jailed or fined anything more than a token amount for the mere "offence" of speeding, if done in isolation. Traffic laws in Thailand are mere theory, in practice all you need to do is follow what everyone else is doing and use common sense, no need to refer to silly "laws" that are not enforced anyway.

You appear to know a lot about the traffic laws here, perhaps you should offer your advice to the Thai actress that drove her car into the Police car resulting in the death of the Officer inside it.

[cumgranosalum]

You mean the rich Anglo-Thai actress who is going to live in a monastery? I think she's got it pretty sussed already.

It also shows how Thai traffic laws can be interpreted regardless of any dictums released to the contrary

[Tomtomtom69]

I am lucky i dont have to worry about traffic laws anymore.

Why not, because you don't drive anymore? Trust me, even those of us who do drive here never worry about traffic laws. Although I try to drive safely, I don't tailgate or anything like that, but one thing I ignore are speed limits, not that they're posted much anyway. I drive whatever is a reasonable speed and rarely ever check my speedo. It's one of the beauties of living in Thailand, never need to check your speedometer because speed cameras are almost non-existent anyway. In the rare instance you get caught, it's a 200-400 Baht fine or sometimes you can just talk your way out of a fine, never much to worry about anyway.

Large fines, demerit points taken off your licence, court cases, potential jail times, all of that nonsense is non-existent in Thailand. Nobody in the history of Thailand has ever been jailed or fined anything more than a token amount for the mere "offence" of speeding, if done in isolation. Traffic laws in Thailand are mere theory, in practice all you need to do is follow what everyone else is doing and use common sense, no need to refer to silly "laws" that are not enforced anyway.

You appear to know a lot about the traffic laws here, perhaps you should offer your advice to the Thai actress that drove her car into the Police car resulting in the death of the Officer inside it.

You appear to have missed the part where I mentioned "in isolation" meaning if you merely speed, drink drive, drive the wrong way down a road etc. but DON'T cause an accident, there is basically no law enforcement to prevent you from doing those things. Nobody is going to put the dots together and say "hey, you driving the wrong way down the road is selfish, stupid and downright dangerous, imagine if your actions caused an accident" nor is there going to be a massive fine or court case with jail times to enforce compliance with the law. Coming from one of the most overly regulated countries in the world, where people give you dirty looks for going just 3km/h over the limit and the police will fine you for not wearing a bicycle helmet, the lack of enforcement of road rules in Thailand makes it look like the twilight zone by comparison. Basically the differences in attitude and lack of law enforcement here in Thailand are so divergent from my own country it's simply hard to believe it's actually a reality and yet it is allowed to occur with no movement, no political will to change it.

The fact that this actress crashed and killed a cop, and nothing much will be done to prevent future acts like this from happening just goes to prove my point. At the end of the day it's not what she did that caused an accident, it's the fact she caused an accident, irrespective of how, period. Basically if she wasn't there, the accident wouldn't have occurred. Or conversely, if the cop wasn't sitting in his car at the time, he would still be alive today. The only solution will be to throw money at the perceived "problem" (a dead policeman) by giving a sufficient payout to the deceased's family or estate and that is apparently enough to whitewash the whole incident and move on.

Like most things in Thailand not connected to a higher moral authority, it's the individuals personal responsibility to ensure they remain safe or are able to take care of any problems that may arise from their irresponsible actions. This probably explains, at least in part, why nobody here seems to care about fixing the nation's awful road toll and perhaps attacking it's root causes. It's simply a case of "not my problem that your relative decided to get drunk and kill himself" or something like that.

Now let me get back to driving 170km/h on the expressway without a care in the world because I'm never going to be caught for speeding in Thailand, besides, as I've already stated, traffic laws don't really exist here - they are a mere fragment of the imagination. LOL

Edited July 14, 2015 by Tomtomtom69

[fish fingers]

With the increase in speed cameras, is it illegal to use nail varnish on number plates in Thailand?

[ToddinChonburi]

Have to find someone to enforce them first.

[phutoie2]

I am lucky i dont have to worry about traffic laws anymore.

Why not, because you don't drive anymore? Trust me, even those of us who do drive here never worry about traffic laws. Although I try to drive safely, I don't tailgate or anything like that, but one thing I ignore are speed limits, not that they're posted much anyway. I drive whatever is a reasonable speed and rarely ever check my speedo. It's one of the beauties of living in Thailand, never need to check your speedometer because speed cameras are almost non-existent anyway. In the rare instance you get caught, it's a 200-400 Baht fine or sometimes you can just talk your way out of a fine, never much to worry about anyway.

Large fines, demerit points taken off your licence, court cases, potential jail times, all of that nonsense is non-existent in Thailand. Nobody in the history of Thailand has ever been jailed or fined anything more than a token amount for the mere "offence" of speeding, if done in isolation. Traffic laws in Thailand are mere theory, in practice all you need to do is follow what everyone else is doing and use common sense, no need to refer to silly "laws" that are not enforced anyway.

You appear to know a lot about the traffic laws here, perhaps you should offer your advice to the Thai actress that drove her car into the Police car resulting in the death of the Officer inside it.

You appear to have missed the part where I mentioned "in isolation" meaning if you merely speed, drink drive, drive the wrong way down a road etc. but DON'T cause an accident, there is basically no law enforcement to prevent you from doing those things. Nobody is going to put the dots together and say "hey, you driving the wrong way down the road is selfish, stupid and downright dangerous, imagine if your actions caused an accident" nor is there going to be a massive fine or court case with jail times to enforce compliance with the law. Coming from one of the most overly regulated countries in the world, where people give you dirty looks for going just 3km/h over the limit and the police will fine you for not wearing a bicycle helmet, the lack of enforcement of road rules in Thailand makes it look like the twilight zone by comparison. Basically the differences in attitude and lack of law enforcement here in Thailand are so divergent from my own country it's simply hard to believe it's actually a reality and yet it is allowed to occur with no movement, no political will to change it.

The fact that this actress crashed and killed a cop, and nothing much will be done to prevent future acts like this from happening just goes to prove my point. At the end of the day it's not what she did that caused an accident, it's the fact she caused an accident, irrespective of how, period. Basically if she wasn't there, the accident wouldn't have occurred. Or conversely, if the cop wasn't sitting in his car at the time, he would still be alive today. The only solution will be to throw money at the perceived "problem" (a dead policeman) by giving a sufficient payout to the deceased's family or estate and that is apparently enough to whitewash the whole incident and move on.

Like most things in Thailand not connected to a higher moral authority, it's the individuals personal responsibility to ensure they remain safe or are able to take care of any problems that may arise from their irresponsible actions. This probably explains, at least in part, why nobody here seems to care about fixing the nation's awful road toll and perhaps attacking it's root causes. It's simply a case of "not my problem that your relative decided to get drunk and kill himself" or something like that.

Now let me get back to driving 170km/h on the expressway without a care in the world because I'm never going to be caught for speeding in Thailand, besides, as I've already stated, traffic laws don't really exist here - they are a mere fragment of the imagination. LOL

Jeez, another episode of war and peace. just a few sentences may have been enough.

Consider this, in a lot of civilized countries there is no word for accident, you have broken the law.

[Si Thea01]

phutoie2.

Jeez, another episode of war and peace. just a few sentences may have been enough.

Consider this, in a lot of civilized countries there is no word for accident, you have broken the law.

Just being curious, which civilised countries and what do they call these get togethers?

[Tomtomtom69]

You appear to know a lot about the traffic laws here, perhaps you should offer your advice to the Thai actress that drove her car into the Police car resulting in the death of the Officer inside it.

You appear to have missed the part where I mentioned "in isolation" meaning if you merely speed, drink drive, drive the wrong way down a road etc. but DON'T cause an accident, there is basically no law enforcement to prevent you from doing those things. Nobody is going to put the dots together and say "hey, you driving the wrong way down the road is selfish, stupid and downright dangerous, imagine if your actions caused an accident" nor is there going to be a massive fine or court case with jail times to enforce compliance with the law. Coming from one of the most overly regulated countries in the world, where people give you dirty looks for going just 3km/h over the limit and the police will fine you for not wearing a bicycle helmet, the lack of enforcement of road rules in Thailand makes it look like the twilight zone by comparison. Basically the differences in attitude and lack of law enforcement here in Thailand are so divergent from my own country it's simply hard to believe it's actually a reality and yet it is allowed to occur with no movement, no political will to change it.

The fact that this actress crashed and killed a cop, and nothing much will be done to prevent future acts like this from happening just goes to prove my point. At the end of the day it's not what she did that caused an accident, it's the fact she caused an accident, irrespective of how, period. Basically if she wasn't there, the accident wouldn't have occurred. Or conversely, if the cop wasn't sitting in his car at the time, he would still be alive today. The only solution will be to throw money at the perceived "problem" (a dead policeman) by giving a sufficient payout to the deceased's family or estate and that is apparently enough to whitewash the whole incident and move on.

Like most things in Thailand not connected to a higher moral authority, it's the individuals personal responsibility to ensure they remain safe or are able to take care of any problems that may arise from their irresponsible actions. This probably explains, at least in part, why nobody here seems to care about fixing the nation's awful road toll and perhaps attacking it's root causes. It's simply a case of "not my problem that your relative decided to get drunk and kill himself" or something like that.

Now let me get back to driving 170km/h on the expressway without a care in the world because I'm never going to be caught for speeding in Thailand, besides, as I've already stated, traffic laws don't really exist here - they are a mere fragment of the imagination. LOL

Jeez, another episode of war and peace. just a few sentences may have been enough.

Consider this, in a lot of civilized countries there is no word for accident, you have broken the law.

Doesn't matter - Thailand ain't changing that fast. It is what it is and we take what happens on the roads here for granted. The law in civilized countries applies to those countries - in Thailand you can get away with almost anything on the roads, that is the point.

[cumgranosalum]

You appear to know a lot about the traffic laws here, perhaps you should offer your advice to the Thai actress that drove her car into the Police car resulting in the death of the Officer inside it.

You appear to have missed the part where I mentioned "in isolation" meaning if you merely speed, drink drive, drive the wrong way down a road etc. but DON'T cause an accident, there is basically no law enforcement to prevent you from doing those things. Nobody is going to put the dots together and say "hey, you driving the wrong way down the road is selfish, stupid and downright dangerous, imagine if your actions caused an accident" nor is there going to be a massive fine or court case with jail times to enforce compliance with the law. Coming from one of the most overly regulated countries in the world, where people give you dirty looks for going just 3km/h over the limit and the police will fine you for not wearing a bicycle helmet, the lack of enforcement of road rules in Thailand makes it look like the twilight zone by comparison. Basically the differences in attitude and lack of law enforcement here in Thailand are so divergent from my own country it's simply hard to believe it's actually a reality and yet it is allowed to occur with no movement, no political will to change it.

The fact that this actress crashed and killed a cop, and nothing much will be done to prevent future acts like this from happening just goes to prove my point. At the end of the day it's not what she did that caused an accident, it's the fact she caused an accident, irrespective of how, period. Basically if she wasn't there, the accident wouldn't have occurred. Or conversely, if the cop wasn't sitting in his car at the time, he would still be alive today. The only solution will be to throw money at the perceived "problem" (a dead policeman) by giving a sufficient payout to the deceased's family or estate and that is apparently enough to whitewash the whole incident and move on.

Like most things in Thailand not connected to a higher moral authority, it's the individuals personal responsibility to ensure they remain safe or are able to take care of any problems that may arise from their irresponsible actions. This probably explains, at least in part, why nobody here seems to care about fixing the nation's awful road toll and perhaps attacking it's root causes. It's simply a case of "not my problem that your relative decided to get drunk and kill himself" or something like that.

Now let me get back to driving 170km/h on the expressway without a care in the world because I'm never going to be caught for speeding in Thailand, besides, as I've already stated, traffic laws don't really exist here - they are a mere fragment of the imagination. LOL

Jeez, another episode of war and peace. just a few sentences may have been enough.

Consider this, in a lot of civilized countries there is no word for accident, you have broken the law.

Doesn't matter - Thailand ain't changing that fast. It is what it is and we take what happens on the roads here for granted. The law in civilized countries applies to those countries - in Thailand you can get away with almost anything on the roads, that is the point.

Thailand is changing MASSIVELY fast..... In ways far beyond the reach of government.

To get an impression In regards to traffic, just look at the number of vehicles you pass that were built in th last say 5 or 10 years. They represent mostly NEW TRAFFIC. Older vehicles are for the most part still on the road too.... Due to high value and lax roadworthy checks, older vehicles don't get trashed at a very high rate. Natural wastage is low in Thailand.

Thailand has long pursued a policy of roads against other forms of transport but has failed to support this policy with the appropriate legal and physical infra structures... And basically has chosen to accept the concomitant carnage.

The authorities are only now beginning to accept that this policy actually costs the country more in terms of lost work, social costs and healthcare than it saves in the form of cheap road transport.

However it seems that no-one has the tech know-how or expertise to even begin to put the situation right..... Which is why any dictum concerning traffic law isn't worth the paper it is written on

Edited July 24, 2015 by cumgranosalum