traffic offence and thai justice

[alrikki]

I got pulled over today was told i jumped the lights.
Asked for my licence, I gave my UK licence,he took it, and didn't speak english
So he gave me a ticket,in thai, I went to the police station to pay
I got pulled over again just outside the police station, but they let me go
when I showed my ticket
They told me the offences were reckless driving,no licence, no tax, no insurance,no papers, fined me 1300 baht
as far as I know, the (rental) bike owner has all the documents, i was never asked for my international drivers licence,(though I had a copy on me). And as far as I am concerned I neither jumped the lights nor as driving recklessly, and certainly no more recklessly than hordes of others there

Yesterday I parked with other vehicles on the road, 15 minutes later there was a lock and chain round the bike. It cost me 700baht for parking by a yellow/white line

Is there much I can do to complain/get my money back?
Would I have got shot if did a runner?

riding a big bike here seems like an invitation to the police to nick you

[tonykiwi]

I would be interested to know where this happened.

Can the guys who live there and ride there regularly clarify just how much of a problem this is? I have read similar reports before but got the impression that these sorts of problems tend to be in the cities and are the exception rather than the rule.

What is your experience?

Does this sort of thing also happen in the rural areas and small village areas?

As for parking on a 'no parking' zone, when others have already done so, it is a mistake that could be easily made by anyone. Is there a guide to the local rules and laws so that we can tread carefully.

Thanks

T

[alrikki]

This is in Pattaya

I think it would be a good idea to have a basic guide to the law on this site,
like what you are required to carry with you all the time(licence etc),
and what your rights are when you're told to sign a form in Thai and pay up

[SilverhawkUSA]

far as I am concerned I neither jumped the lights nor as driving recklessly, and certainly no more recklessly than hordes of others there

Yesterday I parked with other vehicles on the road, 15 minutes later there was a lock and chain round the bike. It cost me 700baht for parking by a yellow/white line

I know they are much stricter with their enforcement in the south than the north. I sympathize with you having to pay but your own posts raises some questions.

If you had an IDL why didn't you show it? Thus no valid license.

Driving "no more recklessly than hordes of others" doesn't say much when the motorcyclists here are notorious for bad driving.

Parking in a restricted area with other vehicles again means they and you were all parked illegally.

Sorry, but I hear many complain about the drivers here and in particular jumping lights and driving recklessly and ask why don't the police do something. Then they complain if the police do take action.

If you didn't do any of the above, you shouldn't have been stopped.

If you were simply "doing as they do" then you're rightfully busted!

When asked questions before about why did the police do something or another, I always answered "I wasn't there so only you know what really happened." Still true.

I think someone has posted a link before to the traffic laws of Thailand. I am too lazy to search for it now, but I think if you look it can be found.

[E3L0]

It sounds like you have been a bit unlucky, even for Pattaya. If he was making funny gestures with his ticket book before he filled one out it was because he wanted you to hand him a couple of hundred Baht to forget about it all. They usually use the ticket book to hide the handover of cash.

I budget for at least one stop per month. Sometimes I am guilty of something, sometimes not; it all evens out in the end and it's better than court > points > ban like at home. I usually get away with 200B but it has been as high as 2000.

[johngooding]

Riding back from Ubon to KK with 3 Thai guys, on highway 23, I and one of the Thai guys was pulled in by two policemen, no suggestion of speeding. I had all my documents available but was only asked for the license, the policeman then kept asking questions about where I was going etc, In the meantime the other two Thai guys who were not stopped had come back and one asked my policeman what the problem was, no problem he said and waved me on. I then found out that the Thai guy infront of me had given his policeman 100 Baht to stop him asking more questions about his non existing registration. The Thais regard this as normal behaviour by the police and are prepared to pay now and then rather than bother with registration plates. This is in Isaarn of course and probably not the same in other parts.

[alrikki]

If you had an IDL why didn't you show it? Thus no valid license.

Driving "no more recklessly than hordes of others" doesn't say much when the motorcyclists here are notorious for bad driving.

Parking in a restricted area with other vehicles again means they and you were all parked illegally.

Sorry, but I hear many complain about the drivers here and in particular jumping lights and driving recklessly and ask why don't the police do something. Then they complain if the police do take action.

If you didn't do any of the above, you shouldn't have been stopped.

If you were simply "doing as they do" then you're rightfully busted!

When asked questions before about why did the police do something or another, I always answered "I wasn't there so only you know what really happened." Still true.

I think someone has posted a link before to the traffic laws of Thailand. I am too lazy to search for it now, but I think if you look it can be found.

When I was stopped I heard him say "licence" so I took ou the first oneI found, which was my UK one he took it, and said no more about papers etc. t was only at the station i was told that i had to pay x00 baht for not showing my IDP, and that aa copy was not enough

I was waiting for a gap in the traffic to cross sukumvit at the lights, then I crossed into pattaya tai, not fast, then the cop showed up as I was poodling along

I had no idea that yellow/whitecurbmeant no parking

As a stranger in this land I have only the actions of others to go by(within reason) .
So I hire a bike for 30 hours and get stopped 3 times and fined2000 baht, like everybody else.
Now the renter doesn't want to pay his part of the fine so I have to drag him down the police station and waste even more of my time.
I could understand if I got stopped doing 150 on the highway

[SilverhawkUSA]

I received this link from BobS Traffic and Other Laws

[mikerust]

Hmm. The cynic in me says that if it is a rental bike in Pattaya that ALL policemen know the bike and thus will extort "tea money" from whomever (farang) they see riding it.

As for parking thing. Probably the same story. They knew it was parked by the renter. But two wrongs don't make a right so just because others park by any marking on a street does not mean.....

[alrikki]

I mostly been riding a scooter etc so never thought bout where I can/not park
except when the moto taxis won't let you park somewhere, I had some argument about this

[beddhist]

I've been in Thailand about 9 months now. I only got stopped in traffic check points about twice, but it seemed the cops didn't speak any English and just sent me on my way. Oh yes, there was the incident where I turned into a minor road at a traffic cop shop (nobody wearing uniform here) and they wouldn't let me proceed. I had to wait about 15 mins until a pretty young lady on a bike turned up and explained to me that this was a dead end road. They didn't want me to go there and find out for myself...

Never had to show any paper whatsoever.

But I'll bear this in mind and will carry papers from now on, just in case.

Here in Mae Sot people only get busted for not wearing helmet or running a red light. A Burmese friend even got a ticket for that on a bicycle. I don't think he got a receipt...

There are lots of unregistered big bikes here. I think many of them are owned by cops and other officials.

[alrikki]

Now the rental guys won't give me back the money for the fines I had to pay

I asked them specifically before I rented was everything OK if I got stopped,they told me not to worry,call them and they would sort the police out
So I called them, they told me to pay the fines, but now they won't pay up

so to name and shame, Saroh , and Don, on Beach rd,soi 13/4
they lie to you and steal your money

[nakedAIR1300]

i was reading the traffic laws here in Thailand for the first time ever!

this one was funny:

Title 12: Taxis

Section 93 (1000B)
Driver of a taxi shall not refuse to accept employment to convey passengers, except when such conveyance is likely to cause danger to himself or the passengers.

[Marco]

i was reading the traffic laws here in Thailand for the first time ever!

this one was funny:

Title 12: Taxis

Section 93 (1000B)
Driver of a taxi shall not refuse to accept employment to convey passengers, except when such conveyance is likely to cause danger to himself or the passengers.

Trent

You are really BORED at work,if you have time to read that book,,,if there would be more pictures, it would make nice cartoon book

[monsterman]

without doubt you have been scammed , by the rental company as they should have given you copies of insurance and that means the bike obviously has no current tags and is probably an illegal unregistered bike . the police have also scammed you.they know the bike and the rental company may even be ownd by a friend or relative of the cops.

[penetrator]

Stopping when requested to by the police is very much a last case scenario with me, I generally prefer either the keep head facing straight ahead and dont notice them or the pull throttle back and swerve round them approach.

[alrikki]

Sure, I got scammed again
Anyone recommend a rental compny there with good bikes?

Hopefully my "look straight ahead and accept that they were looking at someone else" technique is improving, and I've yet to be convinced that hanging around to help them out was ever a good idea.

[monsterman]

Sure, I got scammed again
Anyone recommend a rental compny there with good bikes?

Hopefully my "look straight ahead and accept that they were looking at someone else" technique is improving, and I've yet to be convinced that hanging around to help them out was ever a good idea.

Penetrator knows some reliable rentals .

[penetrator]

I'll repeat what I said in my pm reply to you alrikki:

I use a very nice lady name of Porn who rents bikes from a beer bar on Beach Rd between Soi 8 and 9, cant remember the name of the bar but you'll see the bikes. I always take a CRM250 off her and I'm not sure what other bikes she has although I know she has some Transalps and I think she has some sports bikes. There is about 3 people that rent from the same bar and I've only ever dealt with her. The service I've had from her has always been excellent, any problems with the bikes and she gets it sorted as soon as possible. Her and her husband own the Petronas petrol station on the Sukhumvit near Pattaya Klang and if you take the bike there her husband or son will take care of any problems. I've never had to involve her in any problems with the police so cant vouch for that side of her service. Her phone number is 0890950061. If you go see her tell her Andy from England recommended her to you.