Yield way to ambulances or be fined

By The Nation

 

 

Police have fined a Bangkok pickup driver Bt500 for failing to make way for an ambulance last month, confirming that the same fate awaits any motorist who doesn't yield the right of way to emergency vehicles.

The action had caused a stir after video of the incident circulated on social media.

 

The driver has apologised and paid the fine, but lost his job when the incident became public.

 

Bang Khun Thien Police Station deputy superintendent for traffic Pol Lt Colonel Pawat Wattanasupat said the citation issued on August 17 subjected the pickup driver to a Bt500 fine. 

 

He pointed out that the law has been in place for some time and motorists should be aware of it.

 

Pawat said someone recorded video of the truck driver failing to get out of an ambulance's way on Kanchanapisek Road.

 

Police determined that the offender was a delivery driver for a private firm and issuedd him the ticket.

 

Pawat said the driver claimed he had music playing loudly in his truck cab and couldn't hear the ambulance's siren and horn blasts.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30325487

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-09-01

Not before time. Shame it wasn't a 5000 baht fine. Totally despicable behavior.

Surely it is common sense to give way?

But .......

the driver claimed he had music playing loudly in his truck cab and couldn't hear the ambulance's siren and horn blasts.

 

So he had no rear view mirrors as well? Maybe he needs another fine for driving without due care and attention and one more for playing loud music in a public place.

3 minutes ago, Phuket Man said:

Surely it is common sense to give way?

But .......

Therein lays the problem 

He lost his job when the incident became public !! good !!

Only 500 baht fine? the scum should have lost his licence.

Many people here refuse to move over for ambulances, and seeing it disgusts me.

6 minutes ago, Phuket Man said:

Surely it is common sense to give way?

But .......

Thais have absolutely no concept of giving way. Every second seems to count. It is way past time that motorists here learned to get out of the way of emergency vehicles, though I am not sure a 500 baht fine is going to cut it. make it 5,000 and we might begin to see some compliance.

It's a beginning. They should also be telling Thais that not getting out of the way will get you a massive load of karma.
And if a person dies you will get haunted.

16 minutes ago, Phuket Man said:

Surely it is common sense to give way?

But .......

 

But I/ we don't know that family, so don't stop, don't move to let the ambulance through....

 

This comment from several of my Thai sons in-laws who have no respect for the law and no morals, all displayed on many occasions.

11 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

Thais have absolutely no concept of giving way. Every second seems to count. It is way past time that motorists here learned to get out of the way of emergency vehicles, though I am not sure a 500 baht fine is going to cut it. make it 5,000 and we might begin to see some compliance.

 

Or put it another way 'I have to be first no matter what'.

Only 500baht? That isn't even considered as a fine but, only an annoyance.

 

Thais truly don't understand the concept of fines in order to stop people from keeping doing the wrong things. Add a zero or two at the end of these fines and maybe, just maybe, the Thais will finally understand what is a "fine" and start to drive like normal people.

13 minutes ago, ezflip said:

Only 500baht? That isn't even considered as a fine but, only an annoyance.

 

Thais truly don't understand the concept of fines in order to stop people from keeping doing the wrong things. Add a zero or two at the end of these fines and maybe, just maybe, the Thais will finally understand what is a "fine" and start to drive like normal people.

Actually, my Brother in Law works as a delivery driver for a major company and 500 bt would hurt him. I reckon it would seriously affect his yaba intake for that month!!

I,m not defending the delivery driver for one minute but how often do I see all manner of vehicles with flashing lights speeding down the road,its difficult to tell sometimes whether it actually is an ambulance or a police escort for nothing more than a few coach parties/dignitaries  on a jolly

The Thai knockers will be out in force on this one!

The law has been in place a long time? really, its only in the past few years I have actually started to see genuine ambulances! what constitutes a genuine ambulance, flashing lights and driving like you own the road, are the body snatchers also considered to be ambulances? & most importantly can you overtake them if you consider they are slowing down traffic?

16 minutes ago, petermik said:

I,m not defending the delivery driver for one minute but how often do I see all manner of vehicles with flashing lights speeding down the road,its difficult to tell sometimes whether it actually is an ambulance or a police escort for nothing more than a few coach parties/dignitaries  on a jolly

That is the heart of the problem here in Thailand. Since the fines are so low and Thai people do not respect the police - thay think it's cool and perfectly OK for them to put flashing lights on their vehicles. Which in turns confuses all the other drivers that know to respect "right of way" laws.

There's absolutely no custom in Thai driving to make way for emergency vehicles, including ambulances. In Bangkok, all the time, I see real hospital ambulances with lights and siren blaring stuck in traffic, and none of the vehicles in front of them make any effort to get out of the way.

 

I'd be amazed if the police here actually start enforcing this in a serious way. Of course, they SHOULD. But when has that ever made a difference in the past.

 

Moving over for the ambulance also requires somewhere to move.  Which is tough to find when the shoulders and emergency lanes are full of special people who deserve to get to their destinations 30 seconds quicker.  And people parking.

 

Most of the time I see an ambulance, their emergency lights are on. Therein lies the rub. 

7 minutes ago, missoura said:

Most of the time I see an ambulance, their emergency lights are on. Therein lies the rub. 

The rub being what exactly? It's not up to you, or anyone else to judge whether that ambulance is on an emergency or not. Get out of the way. End of...........................

Ambulances are not always on an emergency run. But they usually keep their lights on. Other drivers eventually ignore this warning  as they see the blinking lights on all the time.

7 minutes ago, missoura said:

Ambulances are not always on an emergency run. But they usually keep their lights on. Other drivers eventually ignore this warning  as they see the blinking lights on all the time.

I repeat my previous post. Just how do you judge and do you have the right to?

 

Besides which, from the observations I have made, ambulance crews make it pretty damn clear when they are on a genuine shout!

Very, very occasionally a valid regulation/rule/law is introduced.

But I fear this will go the same way as the others - selectively enforced or not enforced at all unless it appears on the internet.

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, CatCage said:

the driver claimed he had music playing loudly in his truck cab and couldn't hear the ambulance's siren and horn blasts.

 

So he had no rear view mirrors as well? Maybe he needs another fine for driving without due care and attention and one more for playing loud music in a public place.

Exactly.

The police here are so incompetent that they cant even get it right when the offender volunteers to give a confession... 

51 minutes ago, missoura said:

Ambulances are not always on an emergency run. But they usually keep their lights on. Other drivers eventually ignore this warning  as they see the blinking lights on all the time.

Boy who cried wolf syndrome. But guess what, we simply have to assume it's  a wolf 100% of the time. 

Why? Because of the stakes.

If you're right you lose like a 10 seconds or something?? 

If you're wrong, someone could die because of you.

The answer is extremely easy. If you fail to come to the correct solution here you must be a horrible person or just dumb.

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

There's absolutely no custom in Thai driving to make way for emergency vehicles, including ambulances. In Bangkok, all the time, I see real hospital ambulances with lights and siren blaring stuck in traffic, and none of the vehicles in front of them make any effort to get out of the way.

 

I'd be amazed if the police here actually start enforcing this in a serious way. Of course, they SHOULD. But when has that ever made a difference in the past.

 

The police never enforce anything in thailand except for helmets on tourists in patong i guess.

Who is going to police another new law....?

Yes the massive 500B fine is sure to change driving habits! And how are they actually going to catch the offenders?

 

Maybe ambulances should have a dash cam and this can be used as evidence to find and punish offenders?  

7 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Thais have absolutely no concept of giving way. Every second seems to count. It is way past time that motorists here learned to get out of the way of emergency vehicles, though I am not sure a 500 baht fine is going to cut it. make it 5,000 and we might begin to see some compliance.

I moved over for an ambulance 2 days ago, and the <deleted> behind me passed me, but blocked the ambulance from a clear road, stopping at a red light.  These <deleted> should be charged with driving with the mentality of a retarded buffalo.  Five thousand baht fine isn't enough, they should be locked up.

3 hours ago, Phuket Man said:

Surely it is common sense to give way?

But .......

In most countries it is.

2 hours ago, Moonlover said:

The rub being what exactly? It's not up to you, or anyone else to judge whether that ambulance is on an emergency or not. Get out of the way. End of...........................

Exactly