Public backlash as Thais slam new pick-up passenger rules

[NoshowJones]

4 hours ago, fforest1 said:

No more arresting criminals,beach road riff raff,or thieving ladyboys

because they now cant ride in the back of a police pick-up to be taken

to jail....

 

I thought traffic laws in Thailand did not apply to the police.

[eeyang wah]

2 hours ago, Kasset Tak said:

death tools

Fantastic description of Thai drivers

[manarak]

Quote

And additionally a key police spokesman has clarified that people will not be able to travel in the back row of seats in a pick-up's cab either.

now they've gone nuts.... again !!

 

[4MyEgo]

5 hours ago, thequietman said:

GK, any ideas where we could buy restraints?

Try the wreckers, should be able to pick up seat belts there, then all you have to do is install them, shouldn't be too hard.

[Jonmarleesco]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

And they are shocked that the moves are not just for Songkran - they are for keeps.

These people are stupid beyond belief. But I'll be shocked if they enforce it for Songkran. I'll be still more shocked if it goes beyond that. 

[Jonmarleesco]

7 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

I thought traffic laws in Thailand did not apply to the police.

That's because they don't know them, any more than the common or garden driver.

[FitnessHealthTravel]

6 hours ago, colinneil said:

For years police have been trying to enforce the wearing of helmets on motorbikes.

That hasnt worked, neither will this 1.

Um...enforce?  Not where I live here in the South. It's every man for himself on the roads here! The Police turn up after the damage is done.

[malt25]

2 hours ago, bangrak said:

What about a next regulation: no more than 2 persons on a motorbike...?

I think if you care to check the road regs, it's been illegal for more than 2 on a motorbike for quite some time.

I seem to recall the wording goes something like .....   the motor bike can only legally transport the number of people as stipulated by the manufacturer ....  or words to that effect.

[darksidedog]

15 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

6 hours ago, thequietman said:

GK, any ideas where we could buy restraints?

 

 

15 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

Try the wreckers, should be able to pick up seat belts there, then all you have to do is install them, shouldn't be too hard.

And even though the vehicle they came out of is utterly wrecked, the seat belts will still be effectively brand new and unused!

[FitnessHealthTravel]

Direct opposition to safety is usually the measure of a person's self worth....STOP...I can hear you typing a rebuttal to this already hahaha

 

I'm old enough to remember the huge debate about seat belts, crash helmets etc.  Personally I use both when I'm either in the car or on the bike, Not because it's the Law but because I like myself and my life and I have a responsibility to my Family. Just as I don't ride in the back of my pickup or any pickup. I've seen people get launched out of those things in accidents, it never ends well.

 

However, I know this is a developing country and many can't afford to ferry people around in Vans with seat belts etc. I get the opposition to it and maybe they should just let people do what they want. It definitely culls the population down that's for sure...

[DSJPC]

this law? was written by affluent politicians who have never  been poor enough to have to use this form of transportation...riding in a pickup bed is simply a very efficient and inexpensive way of life for poor rural Thais...requiring them to ride sitting down and not standing up might be a more reasonable law...but then when was reasonableness ever a criteria for legislation here???...T.I.T.

[Black arab]

If this gets enforced it will take a while for things to change, thais cant see how dangerous this practise is .I pointed this out to my wifes family only last week , did they take any notice.What do you think!

[Assurancetourix]

5 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Will transportation of 30+ Burmese slaves workers standing on the cargo area of big trucks also be forbidden?

Parts of the economy would come to a halt.

 

Completely unrealistic that the pickup ban will be enforced nationwide.

Also I doubt that there is something new about it.

I am quite sure it was always forbidden as so many other dangerous practices.

U are right; it was always forbidden ;

The answer is here

 

http://www.thephuketnews.com/is-it-legal-to-carry-people-in-the-back-of-pickups-and-large-trucks-53427.php

[CGW]

1 hour ago, Miaow said:

  Especially when they decide to switch lanes.....

Which is pretty rare! preferring to stay in the "fast" lane plodding along at a sedentary speed! Usually with a passenger leaning in to the front from the rear so they can maintain focus on talking, not driving!!

[janpharma]

Give them fines and confiscate their pick-up's...That's the only way to make them understand...

[sommsomm]

All for saving lives, however, this is going to cause mayhem come holidays where millions from the sticks want/have to travel to and fro back home. Train and bus stations won't be able to handle a huge increase in people traffic, and not being able to sit in the back of the cab, well that's not going to sit well, no pun intended.

 

It's a way of life and a necessity for the rural Community in particular. The main reason to buy a pick up is because of the flexibility of bein able to carry people and goods at the same time, pickup sales will no doubt drop off.

 

I see an economical and social implosion coming on over this during curtain periods of the year.

 

 

[Muhendis]

5 hours ago, Cuchulainn said:

OK then, leave it. Let them kill themselves!!

Ha Ha

 

They already do this.

 

The new rules are seen by some as a nice little earner for the BiB, but that is a side issue. The Thai govt. has recognised the position of Thailand as number two in the world for RTA deaths and is trying to fix this problem by the application of new rules aimed at preventing deaths caused by ridiculous disregard/naivety of personal safety by passengers and drivers. People need to be protected from themselves and I am of the opinion that this is a good rule because it will save lives.

[chainarong]

Like it or lump it the amount of cost to the community in road trauma and cost to the nation is unreal , Thailand is just coming out of the 17 th centaury into the 21st ,]and  like seat belts and helmets, it will take time, and the whingers in the population will whinge,  just like they did in the land of OZ many years ago when they introduced Helmets, seat belts, highway speed limits,  radar guns and no riding in the back of Utes.......................................................................... 

[PeVee1st]

Here in Udon today. Same same.
Ur kidding yourselves. Nothing will change.

[Toscano]

Highway police do little more than check road tax payment , they don't patrol the road day and night and tax checks are on rare occasions .  There is a great need for improved road safety in Thailand .  One regularly sees motor cycles on major roads at night without a rear light and sometimes no lights at all , cars and motor cycles with incorrect coloured lights , vehicles that are grossly overloaded , rust bucket pickups that certainly haven't passed a roadworthy test and are likely uninsured .  What about motor cycles with 3 or 4 passengers , ridden by a youth or girl under age , or parents with children .  When I go to the city early morning there are many pickups with the back full of workers , are they going to be stopped too .  I see the police turning a blind eye to these new safety laws.  Thais are not concerned with safely , children stand up in the back , there are no special baby or child seats , babies can sit on someone's knee in the front .  I have tried to remonstrate , but with no success , Thais do what they like .  

[The Deerhunter]

7 hours ago, AGareth2 said:

the worrying thing is that the Thai community reads Thai Visa!

also how does this relate to 4 door pick-ups?

If they have proper seats and seatbelts as most of them will have, and people have them fastened correctly one would assume no problem.

[The Deerhunter]

1 hour ago, manarak said:

now they've gone nuts.... again !!

 

Surely he means squashed in behind the two front seats with the seats fully forward in a conventional 2 door pickup.

[fullcave]

7 hours ago, thequietman said:

Are smart cabs to be excluded. The back doors do open?

Only two seats have belts. At least a single cab has three sets of saftey belts. 

[The Deerhunter]

26 minutes ago, sommsomm said:

All for saving lives, however, this is going to cause mayhem come holidays where millions from the sticks want/have to travel to and fro back home. Train and bus stations won't be able to handle a huge increase in people traffic, and not being able to sit in the back of the cab, well that's not going to sit well, no pun intended.

 

It's a way of life and a necessity for the rural Community in particular. The main reason to buy a pick up is because of the flexibility of bein able to carry people and goods at the same time, pickup sales will no doubt drop off.

 

I see an economical and social implosion coming on over this during curtain periods of the year.

 

 

Or an increase in the sales of 4 door or smart cab pickups with one or other proper back seat system.

[MikeN]

4 hours ago, ThaiCitizen said:

Maybe their work should get them private health insurance!

 

 

And buy a songtaew instead of a pickup to legally transport those workers ? Same vehicle but a few baht extra for the roof !

[whatawonderfulday]

1 hour ago, eeyang wah said:

Fantastic description of Thai drivers

I would say about time too but we all know nothing will change.  The BIB will just get a bigger "fine" from the driver and off they go again

[muzmurray]

7 hours ago, colinneil said:

For years police have been trying to enforce the wearing of helmets on motorbikes.

That hasnt worked, neither will this 1.

 

No they have not, and that is the problem. Do not confuse a poster with actual policing.

[Miaow]

2 minutes ago, little mary sunshine said:

You sound like someone that has difficulty 

with comprehension 

..I  don't comprehend which right you have to come to a foreign country and despise its population, you chose the easy Thai bashing way to express your logic.. Which says enough about you...I'll leave name calling aside, since i believe it is the tool of a fool ..

[NormanW]

I remember the outrage of compulsory seatbeltsin England in 1979 I think. 

 

Great move to ban people sitting in back of a pick-up. And seatbelts all round  (if fitted). 

 

You watch some people will actually remove them now!!!

[JAG]

Give them fines and confiscate their pick-up's...That's the only way to make them understand...

Trying to start the revolution are you?