Unbelievable Parking Offence

[hanuman1]

Hi everyone

I just had to share with you what happened to me today not far from the main Police Headquarters in Chiang Mai. I was already well aware that when you park a car on this particular street, you park it on one side for all even-numbered dates, and on the other side on odd-numbered dates. This way only one side of the street is ever used for parking, allowing better traffic flow.

Today, though, I observed this rule correctly but came back to my car to find it clamped. After eventually finding the traffic police offices and paying my fine (200 Baht - half price for first time offenders!) I was told that my crime had been to park my car facing the wrong direction! If i'd parked it in exactly the same spot but facing the other way, there would have been no problem, i was told. I was too dumbfounded to make an issue of it with any of the traffic cops, but if someone can explain the evidently deeply hidden wisdom of this law - apparently a new one - i'd be very grateful.

H.

[Maizefarmer]

You are not the first victim - its happened to me and its happeend to others as well.

As to why - wel, I just cant make head or tail of it either, and like you was dumstruck - I actually fell about tlauging when the cop told me why I was clamped, geneuinely think it was a scam to con me for 200 - which down my chance of getting off with a talking too no good at all - as I persisted (in Thai), leaving him in no doubt I thought it was a con, and him in no doubt That I wasnt' going anywhere untill I paid up - which I did ultimately.

Its bizarre - can you anyone share with the forum the thinking behind this reg - which is used in many places/towns/cities in Thailand??

Tim

[kayo]

Before I answer your query, may I ask,

Was the street littered with other parked cars, or were you the only person parking that day?

(Of course I could presume you were not the only parked car, but then again, I wouldn't wish to make an ASS of U and ME ever. hence I ask you. )

[JacknDanny]

Before I answer your query, may I ask,

Was the street littered with other parked cars, or were you the only person parking that day?

(Of course I could presume you were not the only parked car, but then again, I wouldn't wish to make an ASS of U and ME ever. hence I ask you. )

Was it daytime or night time?

The reason I ask that is that back in UK, it used to be law that parking during evening hours had to be in the direction of the flow of traffic. The reason being is that if a cars headlights are on, they would reflect against the rear red lights of the parked vehicle, thus allowing that vehicle to be seen. Parking the other way that would not be the case as the moving cars headlights would shine against a NON reflective light ie the parked cars headlights.

[mosquitoman]

The same law applies in South Africa, and Australia. I got caught out a few times myself

The wisdom behind it is was then explained to me as follows:

• When manouvering in or out of your spot your car is already going with the flow of traffic, and thus reduces traffgic congestion.
  
• Your less lightly to have an accident (head on collision) parking in this manner.
  

[mobile69]

Observed them clamping a similarly parked car. Thought it an odd thing to do, but made a mental note of it, or I'd get caught out in the future.

[naka]

The same law applies in South Africa, and Australia. I got caught out a few times myself

The wisdom behind it is was then explained to me as follows:

• When manouvering in or out of your spot your car is already going with the flow of traffic, and thus reduces traffgic congestion.
  
• Your less lightly to have an accident (head on collision) parking in this manner.
  

Yes ... Makes perfect sense. When you are parking/leaving, you are going against

the traffic flow. This would be rather disconcerting to other drivers.

Naka.

[Donz]

Nothing wrong withthe fine.

And you should park the way the traffic flow is going.

[Sing_Sling]

I'd agree with the last few posters, even Donz !!!

You'll get a ticket, at last, for parking facing the wrong direction anywhere I can think of. To even get to the parking spot you would have had to cross the lines and drive in the wrong direction, wouldn't you?

Are you allowed to drive down the street in the wrong direction anywhere legally?

[taxout]

I've been ticketed for precisely that offense on a one-block dead-end street in New York City.

Couldn't believe it was illegal.

[farangconnection]

That is the law in the UK as well. I thought all drivers knew the highway code. I knew that, and have never driven in England.

[Donz]

I'd agree with the last few posters, even Donz !!!

You'll get a ticket, at last, for parking facing the wrong direction anywhere I can think of. To even get to the parking spot you would have had to cross the lines and drive in the wrong direction, wouldn't you?

Are you allowed to drive down the street in the wrong direction anywhere legally?

We agree on something.

[steveromagnino]

I'd agree with the last few posters, even Donz !!!

You'll get a ticket, at last, for parking facing the wrong direction anywhere I can think of. To even get to the parking spot you would have had to cross the lines and drive in the wrong direction, wouldn't you?

Are you allowed to drive down the street in the wrong direction anywhere legally?

We agree on something.

Law in the hi so section of Australia as well, also known as New Zealand.

Seems like some people need to read the road code... :-)

[Sing_Sling]

Yes, but it is easier to feel 'wronged' by the authorities.

taxout, you're taking the piss, right?

I've been ticketed for precisely that offense on a one-block dead-end street in New York City.

[taxexile]

Yes ... Makes perfect sense. When you are parking/leaving, you are going against

the traffic flow. This would be rather disconcerting to other drivers.

do the police ever prosecute motorcycles for driving on pavements , driving the wrong way on one way streets , car drivers for driving the wrong way on the hard shoulders so as to avoid the long drive to the next u-turn , or any of the other million disconcerting driving modes that are genetically imprinted into thais ?

the fine was just another shakedown.

would be interesting to actually take a look at road laws as written in statutes in this country.

[Tywais]

do the police ever prosecute motorcycles for driving on pavements , driving the wrong way on one way streets , car drivers for driving the wrong way on the hard shoulders so as to avoid the long drive to the next u-turn , or any of the other million disconcerting driving modes that are genetically imprinted into thais ?

The car was standing still so was an easier target.

[mosquitoman]

That is the law in the UK as well. I thought all drivers knew the highway code. I knew that, and have never driven in England.

This law does not apply in the UK, you can park either side of the road facing either way, unless it is a one way sreet or after lighting up time and before dawn, in an area where there is no street lighting, in which case you do have to park in the same direction as traffic flow.

MM

[taxexile]

The car was standing still so was an easier target.

good point !

[hanuman1]

Before I answer your query, may I ask,

Was the street littered with other parked cars, or were you the only person parking that day?

(Of course I could presume you were not the only parked car, but then again, I wouldn't wish to make an ASS of U and ME ever. hence I ask you. )

Was it daytime or night time?

The reason I ask that is that back in UK, it used to be law that parking during evening hours had to be in the direction of the flow of traffic. The reason being is that if a cars headlights are on, they would reflect against the rear red lights of the parked vehicle, thus allowing that vehicle to be seen. Parking the other way that would not be the case as the moving cars headlights would shine against a NON reflective light ie the parked cars headlights.

It was in the middle of the day and there were other cars parked on my side of the road. I know the car parked next to mine was facing opposite to me, but that still didn't suggest that there was a law behind it. Having read the other posts which have explained the reasoning behind the law, I can understand the thrust of the argument, but if someone wanted to park on such a street and had to turn around either by doing a u-turn or crossing over oncoming traffic to/from a side street to turn around, wouldn't those extra manoevres in themselves present a statistically higher chance of an accident happening? wouldn't that cancel out the potential benefits of following this law?

Maybe i'm missing something here....someone is.

H.

[meadish_sweetball]

The law as such applies in Sweden as well.

Which goes to show, yet again, that if you want to be safe from shakedowns, you do your best to apply the same standards of behaviour as back home...

Of course legislation is randomly applied which makes it irritating when they suddenly start applying it again - the famous "crackdowns" - but that's the way it works.

[h90]

same same in Austria and Germany,

Pretty stupid law, but in many countries.

Hi everyone

I just had to share with you what happened to me today not far from the main Police Headquarters in Chiang Mai. I was already well aware that when you park a car on this particular street, you park it on one side for all even-numbered dates, and on the other side on odd-numbered dates. This way only one side of the street is ever used for parking, allowing better traffic flow.

Today, though, I observed this rule correctly but came back to my car to find it clamped. After eventually finding the traffic police offices and paying my fine (200 Baht - half price for first time offenders!) I was told that my crime had been to park my car facing the wrong direction! If i'd parked it in exactly the same spot but facing the other way, there would have been no problem, i was told. I was too dumbfounded to make an issue of it with any of the traffic cops, but if someone can explain the evidently deeply hidden wisdom of this law - apparently a new one - i'd be very grateful.

H.

[hanuman1]

Which goes to show, yet again, that if you want to be safe from shakedowns, you do your best to apply the same standards of behaviour as back home...

Hi sweet

I've never made it a habit of mine to park opposing the flow of traffic, but if the chance presents itself - ie absolutely no oncoming traffic and huge spaces on side of the road - and there are no other obvious alternatives, then i'll take it. In 15 years of applying this philosophy in London UK and at various times all over Europe, i've never once heard of such a rule. In that time I haven't had a single accident or insurance claim, so i don't think i'm a particularly reckless driver. I accept i may not know every last syllable of the highway code in any given country, and of course we can't all share the same definition of common sense...

Cheers

H.

[Maestro]

In order to reach the parking space on the other side of the road, did you by any chance have to cross a continuous white line?

--------------

Maestro

[kayo]

Before I answer your query, may I ask,

Was the street littered with other parked cars, or were you the only person parking that day?

(Of course I could presume you were not the only parked car, but then again, I wouldn't wish to make an ASS of U and ME ever. hence I ask you. )

Was it daytime or night time?

The reason I ask that is that back in UK, it used to be law that parking during evening hours had to be in the direction of the flow of traffic. The reason being is that if a cars headlights are on, they would reflect against the rear red lights of the parked vehicle, thus allowing that vehicle to be seen. Parking the other way that would not be the case as the moving cars headlights would shine against a NON reflective light ie the parked cars headlights.

It was in the middle of the day and there were other cars parked on my side of the road. I know the car parked next to mine was facing opposite to me, but that still didn't suggest that there was a law behind it. Having read the other posts which have explained the reasoning behind the law, I can understand the thrust of the argument, but if someone wanted to park on such a street and had to turn around either by doing a u-turn or crossing over oncoming traffic to/from a side street to turn around, wouldn't those extra manoevres in themselves present a statistically higher chance of an accident happening? wouldn't that cancel out the potential benefits of following this law?

Maybe i'm missing something here....someone is.

H.

Unfortunately, the cops aren't missing a beat, regardless

Which goes to show, yet again, that if you want to be safe from shakedowns, you do your best to apply the same standards of behaviour as back home...

Hi sweet

I've never made it a habit of mine to park opposing the flow of traffic, but if the chance presents itself - ie absolutely no oncoming traffic and huge spaces on side of the road - and there are no other obvious alternatives, then i'll take it. In 15 years of applying this philosophy in London UK and at various times all over Europe, i've never once heard of such a rule. In that time I haven't had a single accident or insurance claim, so i don't think i'm a particularly reckless driver. I accept i may not know every last syllable of the highway code in any given country, and of course we can't all share the same definition of common sense...

Cheers

H.

with all due respect, but our meatypaws is generally not considered "sweet". Although I'm sure he's a nice chap. We generally call him Meat or Balls.

[meemiathai]

same same in Austria and Germany,

Pretty stupid law, but in many countries.

I disagree. It is not stupid.

It confuses a driver if he is new to the road and sees 10 cars pointing this direction and 10 cars pointing at another. And also it is a matter of road discipline(yes, a bit ironic, road discipline in Thailand).

One can say one has been passing through red lights without any accidents for the last 15 yrs.

[steveromagnino]

One can say one has been passing through red lights without any accidents for the last 15 yrs.

I agree.

I have been drunk driving without accident since I was born.

And also I have been driving under the influence of the crack pipe without accident since 1812.

My late father (he was never on time) drove a horse drawn chariot down the M25 (oh you don't want to take the M25) without accident since the Tet Offensive (and it was very offensive too).

Edited October 20, 2006 by steveromagnino

[stickman]

You'd get a ticket for that in NZ - you have to park the car facing the way traffic is going.

[dgoz]

I'd agree with the last few posters, even Donz !!!

You'll get a ticket, at last, for parking facing the wrong direction anywhere I can think of. To even get to the parking spot you would have had to cross the lines and drive in the wrong direction, wouldn't you?

Are you allowed to drive down the street in the wrong direction anywhere legally?

We agree on something.

Law in the hi so section of Australia as well, also known as New Zealand.

Seems like some people need to read the road code... :-)

Hope my Kiwi bro-in-law doesn't hear that one.

[steveromagnino]

Hope my Kiwi bro-in-law doesn't hear that one.

He probably with the Whanu and knows about it already from youse anyway aye

[Sing_Sling]

I think the general consensus is that this is an offense elsewhere as well . . . Asia and Europe, NZ and Australia . . .

One thing one notices among non-Thais here is that they do things they would never contemplate doing at home, like braeking the road rules and then complining when they receive the penalty for it.

People, we are not God's gift to Thailand , just like anywhere else we are visitors (albeit long term for many) and should behave as such. (Of course without accepting discrimination)