Video: Policeman unfazed as motorist hands over "red Driving License"

[Grubster]

16 minutes ago, wildewillie89 said:

My uncle is boss of police in my city, my cousin is a policeman, another cousin is a policeman down South. My wife is a Director within the municipality portfolio so her project funding comes from these very budgets. So if it was propaganda like you claim, she would not have a job. If that 50% didn't get distributed then your community parks grass wouldn't be cut, your roads wouldn't be built, your rubbish wouldn't be collected etc etc. Really believe a copper in Pattaya? Pattaya, people probably just pay the illegal fine, but we are talking about the 'legal' fine. 

Within the 45% the policemen also gets 60% of that for catching the guy. The 5% of the fine that goes to the central accounting department pays the police lol. Every government officer is paid by that 5%, as well as other taxes that come in. A Mayor, soldiers, nurses etc. I think the 10 level thing you speak of is actually C3 to C11 or 12 (whatever it is). Levels all government officials go by. Within those levels there are different salaries levels also. 

Look, I know we all think Thailand is 100% corrupt, but think about it logically. Even though there is 67 million people in the country, grounds are still watered, rubbish is still collected, government officials are still paid, roads are still built...so if we were to take your line then what is paying for all these things? How is my wife, father, uncles, aunties, cousins all getting paid (they work for government). so where is the money magically appearing from? It is appearing from 50% of legal fines people pay. 

Not a whole lot of people pay tax            Well anybody who buys anything pays tax,  Very high cigarette tax, very high booze tax. very high fuel tax, extremely high tariffs, fees for parks, income tax for those with real jobs etc.   I think you are way off base.

[wildewillie89]

32 minutes ago, Grubster said:

Not a whole lot of people pay tax            Well anybody who buys anything pays tax,  Very high cigarette tax, very high booze tax. very high fuel tax, extremely high tariffs, fees for parks, income tax for those with real jobs etc.   I think you are way off base.

I was referring to income tax obviously...really that high? In terms of the costs of running a country? We all know that cigarette taxes, for example, are big in Western countries but don't even begin to make up for the financial burden on the health care system they cause. Same with booze. Thai do have their 30baht health care system also that needs to be funded (a lot of it from government officials loan repayments). No one has ever wondered why a government office will only pay into a blue bank, otherwise will give you a cheque. Or why officals get better homeloan rates?

There are many things that these apparent taxes are covering? But are they so high that they will cover everything...are we going to continue to believe the country is 100% corrupt lol. Or are we going to use logic and accept maybe it isn't propaganda. Maybe the country does run like a normal country with 'some' things....but obviously not all things. Again, I am talking 'LEGAL' fines, not the illegal fines the copper puts in his back pocket on the side of the road. 

Edited June 12, 2017 by wildewillie89

[Jonmarleesco]

10 hours ago, Dave67 said:

Myself and my wife had the same . Taxi driver had to give policeman a 100 baht the policeman had a right go at the driver. as we pulled of my wife and the driver started laughing. Apparently the policeman told the driver not to give money to him front of a Farang again as they would think all Thai police were corrupt

He was concerned about the remaining 99.999%?

[Khon Kaen Dave]

I suppose the guy paid up, because he thought it was all part of a movie, and the copper that stopped him was Jackie Chan.

[observer90210]

one solution would be to have well visible dash cams all around the car that cover any potential corrupt thaipolice trying to rip you off...this would dissuade the highway outlaws as they obviously do not want to end up on breaking news in any You Tube Channel?

[VocalNeal]

I never hand over anything. Smart police hang their hand on the window ledge so 100/200 baht can be slipped in. 

 

Which would all the nay sayers prefer. 200 baht coffee money or a court appearance? 

Edited June 12, 2017 by VocalNeal

[Grubster]

25 minutes ago, wildewillie89 said:

I was referring to income tax obviously...really that high? In terms of the costs of running a country? We all know that cigarette taxes, for example, are big in Western countries but don't even begin to make up for the financial burden on the health care system they cause. Same with booze. Thai do have their 30baht health care system also that needs to be funded (a lot of it from government officials loan repayments). No one has ever wondered why a government office will only pay into a blue bank, otherwise will give you a cheque. Or why officals get better homeloan rates?

There are many things that these apparent taxes are covering? But are they so high that they will cover everything...are we going to continue to believe the country is 100% corrupt lol. Or are we going to use logic and accept maybe it isn't propaganda. Maybe the country does run like a normal country with 'some' things....but obviously not all things.

What a crock, So who costs the system more a guy who dies of lung cancer, or liver cancer at 60 or a guy who lives to 95. Do you know that in 1900 the US governments only source of income from the people was booze tax?   The ticket money from the cops would pay for much less than 10% of government expenditures in my estimation.

[observer90210]

1 hour ago, wildewillie89 said:

My uncle is boss of police in my city, my cousin is a policeman, another cousin is a policeman down South. My wife is a Director within the municipality portfolio so her project funding comes from these very budgets. So if it was propaganda like you claim, she would not have a job. If that 50% didn't get distributed then your community parks grass wouldn't be cut, your roads wouldn't be built, your rubbish wouldn't be collected etc etc. Really believe a copper in Pattaya? Pattaya, people probably just pay the illegal fine, but we are talking about the 'legal' fine. 

Within the 45% the policemen also gets 60% of that for catching the guy. The 5% of the fine that goes to the central accounting department pays the police lol. Every government officer is paid by that 5%, as well as other taxes that come in. A Mayor, soldiers, nurses etc. I think the 10 level thing you speak of is actually C3 to C11 or 12 (whatever it is). Levels all government officials go by. Within those levels there are different salary sub-levels also. 

Look, I know we all think Thailand is 100% corrupt, but think about it logically. Even though there is 67 million people in the country, grounds are still watered, rubbish is still collected, government officials are still paid, roads are still built...so if we were to take your line then what is paying for all these things? How is my wife, father, uncles, aunties, cousins all getting paid (they work for government). Not a whole lot of people pay tax so where is the money magically appearing from? It is appearing from 50% of legal fines people pay. 

I know it doesn't fit into peoples line of thinking of the country, but just look at it logically lol. Not what people say, as its less than 10% of the population who actually ever get any sort of benefit from these sorts of things. So the ones who do not, just spread a lot of crap. For example, the fine/tax truck drivers have to pay in rural areas. People think that is corrupt money, it isn't, it is the tax that goes to fix the pot holes the trucks cause. Thailand is incredibly corrupt, I am not disputing that, however, they do still have your usual systems all countries have also....that is helped funded by LEGAL fines. 

A majority of farangs who live and have invested money in property in Thailand love the country and are respectful of it's culture. But it just gets very annoying when a farang is regularly targetted by corrupt officials on the road or within the counters of Thai bureaucracy and are asked for tea money to get the job done. If people get fed up and start to leave the country, no one will benefit.

[Grubster]

6 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

one solution would be to have well visible dash cams all around the car that cover any potential corrupt thaipolice trying to rip you off...this would dissuade the highway outlaws as they obviously do not want to end up on breaking news in any You Tube Channel?

Yeah this will work great, the problem is that the bribe is one or two hundred baht, and the ticket is four or five hundred baht.

[richard_smith237]

4 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

A majority of farangs who live and have invested money in property in Thailand love the country and are respectful of it's culture. But it just gets very annoying when a farang is regularly targetted by corrupt officials on the road or within the counters of Thai bureaucracy and are asked for tea money to get the job done. If people get fed up and start to leave the country, no one will benefit.

 

It may not annoy you so much when you realize its 'anyone' who is targeted, not just Johnny Foreigner.

 

It almost seems as though there is an angle for someone everywhere, and, if there isn't an angle they will try and find one until the realization that its futile.

[observer90210]

Just now, Grubster said:

Yeah this will work great, the problem is that the bribe is one or two hundred baht, and the ticket is four or five hundred baht.

Makes sense what you say, but if the driver is all by the law (correct licence, seat belt etc.) , perhaps the cams would dissuade some disneyland fantasy infringment by the honorable officer of law? Or am I wrong?

[Khon Kaen Dave]

3 minutes ago, Grubster said:

Yeah this will work great, the problem is that the bribe is one or two hundred baht, and the ticket is four or five hundred baht.

And that is why corruption is a double edged sword. We use it to our advantage, but cry when we have to pay.Take your drunk driver. What would his punishment be in the UK or where ever? Astronomically crippling. BUt 4000 baht in the cozzers sky, and its all over..Make up your minds.

[richard_smith237]

1 minute ago, observer90210 said:

Makes sense what you say, but if the driver is all by the law (correct licence, seat belt etc.) , perhaps the cams would dissuade some disneyland fantasy infringment by the honorable officer of law? Or am I wrong?

You are not wrong, and from personal experience, pure and simple stubbornness has also worked.

 

Fortunately, in Thailand the BiB are not ones for 'making up infringements'.... there may be daft and odd regulations some of us are aware of, but once we've been here driving for a while and have learnt the idiosyncrasies we hardly get pulled over because there is nothing to pull us over for. 

 

I think its different for motorcyclists who seem to get pulled over for just 'riding', but in a car, the BiB are not interested in anyone unless they are breaking a regulation they are specifically targeting at that time. 

[wildewillie89]

19 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

A majority of farangs who live and have invested money in property in Thailand love the country and are respectful of it's culture. But it just gets very annoying when a farang is regularly targetted by corrupt officials on the road or within the counters of Thai bureaucracy and are asked for tea money to get the job done. If people get fed up and start to leave the country, no one will benefit.

Thai get stopped just as much, they just dont get asked for as much money. 

I have no issue fighting corruption with corruption if i havent done anything wrong. I get stopped as much as any other farang, but i dont pay fines obviously. Police dont target government officials if i am with my wife (one flash of her card and it's bye bye), dont target if you say youre a teacher at a government school (has worked many times with me - but i am 28 so it is believable), my car is the father-in-laws so has army paraphernalia (officer hats and stickers) and if all that fails, i can call a family member (police are onto name-dropping now, you have to physically call their phone these days). 

What I recommend, which is what i do with the Highway police as they are a bit tougher (slightly different department), is just argue. Say show me the camera where I was speeding, show me the evidence of whatever the problem is. They lose so much corruption money fighting you as Thai cars just pass them one after another (who are willing to pay). After about 2-3 minutes of fighting you can see their eyes looking at all the cars driving past. Then they let you go. Secondly, dont ever say yes when they ask if you can speak Thai (not even a little bit). They get nervous about having to speak English...or just ask for the fine paper and pay it at the station. Goes back into the country at least (if you believe what has been wrongly labelled as propaganda lol). 

Edited June 12, 2017 by wildewillie89

[Grubster]

1 minute ago, observer90210 said:

Makes sense what you say, but if the driver is all by the law (correct licence, seat belt etc.) , perhaps the cams would dissuade some disneyland fantasy infringment by the honorable officer of law? Or am I wrong?

I think you are right, but it will take a trip to court with your film to maybe get your 400 baht back. I have never had one make up an offense before, but I sure have shook my head at what some of the offenses are. I don't think they single out farangs either, at least not up here where I live.

[observer90210]

6 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

It may not annoy you so much when you realize its 'anyone' who is targeted, not just Johnny Foreigner.

 

It almost seems as though there is an angle for someone everywhere, and, if there isn't an angle they will try and find one until the realization that its futile.

Thanks for your comments, Corruption to the common man be it farang or a local is disappointing. I was aiming at situations of Thai Police roadblocks that only stopped farangs and generously let pass the locals without helmets or seat belts etc...

[Grubster]

6 minutes ago, Khon Kaen Dave said:

And that is why corruption is a double edged sword. We use it to our advantage, but cry when we have to pay.Take your drunk driver. What would his punishment be in the UK or where ever? Astronomically crippling. BUt 4000 baht in the cozzers sky, and its all over..Make up your minds.

You ain't lying there, my mind has been made up a long time ago, I like the corruption on the lower end here as opposed to the massive corruption we have at the top end in the west.

[Khon Kaen Dave]

1 minute ago, Grubster said:

You ain't lying there, my mind has been made up a long time ago, I like the corruption on the lower end here as opposed to the massive corruption we have at the top end in the west.

It works for us all mate.

[Grubster]

4 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

Thanks for your comments, Corruption to the common man be it farang or a local is disappointing. I was aiming at situations of Thai Police roadblocks that only stopped farangs and generously let pass the locals without helmets or seat belts etc...

I think it only appears that way because these cops decide what infractions they are looking for on a daily basis, when they do helmets they wave every car and truck straight through.

[Khon Kaen Dave]

3 minutes ago, Grubster said:

I think it only appears that way because these cops decide what infractions they are looking for on a daily basis, when they do helmets they wave every car and truck straight through.

I was driving my car down soi kaotolo, one time. I was coming down the hill.A guy on a motor bike was coming the opposite way. As he approached us, he tapped his head twice. Its an international sign, telling you that here are old bill down the road a piece. I flashed him in thanks.Sure enough, over the hill were coppers doing drive in's. We were belted up, sober and had a Thai drivers licence, no problem.What a nice guy, to warn us.

[ericthai]

11 hours ago, observer90210 said:

The junta should implement the following:

 

- increase the salary of street police officers

- any cop caught for corruption should be straighforward sacked and not just transferred

- use foreigners as informants to trap corrupt officials

 

Corruption will destroy Thailand on the short run as tourists and expats who bring in money are getting really fed up with being asked for tea money to get the job done! Thailand will loose millions as foreigners will take their money to other. It's really time to put a Stop to all this corrupt shit!

This is nothing new and Thailand is still going strong.  I agree tourists complain but those same tourist brag about paying a cop 100B for speeding or grease the wheels of a govt official etc, so I dont see this stopping anytime soon. I dont care where in the would you go there is corruption, just Thailand it's right in your face. 

[Displaynameinusebyanotherm]

Im a fan. I have had 2 m/c drivers licences for 1 year term each but they expired both. Meanwhile im here 8 ongoing years and was fined once 200thb officially for not wearing helmet (expired dl was ignored by the lovely copper who also ignored the fact that i had no id, no tea money involved, just humble apologies on my side). My point: a new dl costs me 500thb at immigration (proof of residence) plus visit at doctor plus visit at transportation office to renew eye test etc plus another 150 thb or so for the actual dl. 100 thb is fair and square imo??? if it can save you some hassle!

[Displaynameinusebyanotherm]

13 minutes ago, ericthai said:

This is nothing new and Thailand is still going strong.  I agree tourists complain but those same tourist brag about paying a cop 100B for speeding or grease the wheels of a govt official etc, so I dont see this stopping anytime soon. I dont care where in the would you go there is corruption, just Thailand it's right in your face. 

Not only right in your face. Also PETTY fees involved. In the civilised west the starting fee is 15.000 eur and when caught these clowns will cry and say it was all a big misunderstanding. Anyone in charge, every single ones, accepts presents or money or pussy. In my country the situation is unseen but the spinning and lawyers afterwards will twist the blatant corruption into philanthropy!

[SiamBeast]

Stop complaining about corruption.

 

1) When you pay the police on the spot, the money goes pretty much to the same place - it just spares you a trip to the police station and a waste of time.

2) When you get caught doing something wrong, you'll be happy that the police takes your bribe.

3) It's all part of Thailand's charm.

4) Your Western country is just as corrupt, it's just not at the same level and peasants cannot benefit from it like they do here.

 

I just failed a DUI checkpoint last week - blew 0.057. That's not even HALF A GLASS over the limit - but the so-called "corruption" saved me a night in the slammer and a court appearance. Call it like you want, but when you know how to make it work, it's wonderful.

Edited June 12, 2017 by SiamBeast

[stanleycoin]

I love smart phones,  social media  and  the internet

It brings the best of Thailand to the top of the list.

Good job

[daiwill]

The recording was caught on tape.  Really????

[Bangkok Barry]

16 hours ago, fruitman said:

I remember last year or so they announced a new law where the one who tried to bribe a policeofficer on duty would get a very hefty fine if caught. It was one of the crackdowns from last year.

 

And now this guy even puts his own movies of bribing a policeman on internet?

 

Did they already forgot their own new laws?

Come on! When did laws ever get enforced in Thailand.

[williamgeorgeallen]

9 hours ago, wildewillie89 said:

My uncle is boss of police in my city, my cousin is a policeman, another cousin is a policeman down South. My wife is a Director within the municipality portfolio so her project funding comes from these very budgets. So if it was propaganda like you claim, she would not have a job. If that 50% didn't get distributed then your community parks grass wouldn't be cut, your roads wouldn't be built, your rubbish wouldn't be collected etc etc. Really believe a copper in Pattaya? Pattaya, people probably just pay the illegal fine, but we are talking about the 'legal' fine. 

Within the 45% the policemen also gets 60% of that for catching the guy. The 5% of the fine that goes to the central accounting department pays the police lol. Every government officer is paid by that 5%, as well as other taxes that come in. A Mayor, soldiers, nurses etc. I think the 10 level thing you speak of is actually C3 to C11 or 12 (whatever it is). Levels all government officials go by. Within those levels there are different salary sub-levels also. 

Look, I know we all think Thailand is 100% corrupt, but think about it logically. Even though there is 67 million people in the country, grounds are still watered, rubbish is still collected, government officials are still paid, roads are still built...so if we were to take your line then what is paying for all these things? How is my wife, father, uncles, aunties, cousins all getting paid (they work for government). Not a whole lot of people pay tax so where is the money magically appearing from? It is appearing from 50% of legal fines people pay. 

I know it doesn't fit into peoples line of thinking of the country, but just look at it logically lol. Not what people say, as its less than 10% of the population who actually ever get any sort of benefit from these sorts of things. So the ones who do not, just spread a lot of crap. For example, the fine/tax truck drivers have to pay in rural areas. People think that is corrupt money, it isn't, it is the tax that goes to fix the pot holes the trucks cause. Thailand is incredibly corrupt, I am not disputing that, however, they do still have your usual systems all countries have also....that is helped funded by LEGAL fines. 

interesting. good to see some of the money gets used for good. sounds like you have better sources of information than me. when a cop collects cash for a fine is he putting it in his pocket or collecting it to take back to the police station?

[wildewillie89]

1 hour ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

interesting. good to see some of the money gets used for good. sounds like you have better sources of information than me. when a cop collects cash for a fine is he putting it in his pocket or collecting it to take back to the police station?

Everyone has the option of paying a legal or illegal fine (as nearly all police will accept a illegal one lol). Many stops have the police tables set up. You can pay a legal fine there, which goes back into the country.

However, if you just hand over money on the side of the road he is putting it in his pocket and then distributing it to his seniors as well - none of that goes into the country. Some cities actually have competitions against each other about who can get the most money in a given month. It is the police wives who run the illegal high interest loaning schemes generally. That is what I mean, I am fully aware of the extent of the corruption that occurs in some cities (that is general public knowledge anyway), I am not denying there is some serious corruption problems. It just isn't with every tiny little thing like us farang like to believe. 

When you ask for your fine paper and they take your license, and you go to pay the fine at the station to get your license back, 50% of that fine goes back into the country to develop it. Many Thai refuse to pay on the side of the road illegal fines to police for this very reason. They either hate corruption, or they hate police. So they happily will go to the station and pay a bigger fine as they know where at least half the money will go. 

The one thing I learnt very fast here, is that there is a lot of uneducated Thai who do not understand the systems. A lot of my Thai friends back in Australia also had no idea. They will call corruption for everything as they are not in positions to either be corrupt or to understand why something is not corrupt. Corruption is one reason why being an official is so difficult. The majority of university educated people in general fail the Thai language component of the official test. Pass the English believe it or not, but fail the Thai part..as a result the general population have no understanding of how to comprehend the difficult systems or how to use them also due to not understanding above bachelor level Thai language. It is why police do not target other officials.

It is why I dont bother learning Thai, I know I will never be able to comprehend a level of Thai that is actually useful. It is why most Thai talk about pretty mundane things, they dont have the education to talk about anything more interesting, which is very sad...but after all 80% of Thai students only pass 1 out of 5 exams they sit. It is the other 20% that make up the big private jobs and government officials. 

So, sure, always be skeptical, but also remember that Thai is very complicated.

Edited June 12, 2017 by wildewillie89

[bandito]

18 hours ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

well i am sure many of us have done the same. i handed over 1000thb on the express way when a cop said my pickup was overloaded due to a single box tied down in the back. god knows where i would have gone to pay the fine to get my licence back. the system of paying the cops directly is far more efficient and the money all goes to the same place. problem is where some people seem to think it is corrupt and are making a bigger job for everyone.

Off topic?

All fines on the expressway are Baht 1000-.

I got a Baht 1000- fine there, directly paying to the motorcycle cop, for forgetting to turn off my left indicator and going straight and yes I got a receipt.

This after explaining that I was going the wrong way and had to get off and take another ramp on the other side.

What happened next is true.

The cop said 'no problem, follow me' turned on his siren and brought us to the other side going to Bang Na.

Arriving at the tolbooth did he tell the attendant that I not had to pay because I paid allready one time.

Wished me a good journey and home I went.