List of 13 Traffic Violations that will Get you a Ticket

A few days ago we had some good news that police will start cracking down on taxi drivers. One of the biggest complaints from expats is that taxi drivers often refuse to pick up passengers. This is usually because the passenger wants to go to an area of the city that has bad traffic jam. But don’t make the mistake in thinking that only expats complain. It is well known among Thai people that some taxi drivers will pick up a foreigner in preference to a Thai person. Either because they tip well or because they might want to hire the taxi for a trip out of the city.

Starting from 1st September, the police have announced that “not picking up passengers” will be added to the list of traffic violations that will result in an immediate fine. No warning will be given. So, if you didn’t know already, here is the list of 13 traffic violations that the police are very strict about:

  1. แข่งรถในทาง – road racing
  2. ขับรถเร็ว – speeding
  3. แซงในที่คับขัน – dangerous overtaking
  4. เมาแล้วขับ – drink driving
  5. ขับย้อนศร – driving against traffic flow
  6. ไม่สวมหมวกนิรภัย – not wearing helmet
  7. จอดรถซ้อนคัน – double parking
  8. ไม่ติดแผ่นป้ายทะเบียน – car has no license plates
  9. มลพิษควันดำ – black smoke from exhaust
  10. จอดรถในที่ห้ามจอด – parking in forbidden zones
  11. จอดรถบนทางเท้า – parking on sidewalks
  12. ขับรถบนทางเท้า – driving on sidewalks
  13. แท็กซี่ปฏิเสธไม่รับผู้โดยสาร – taxis refusing to take passengers

I tweeted some of these yesterday and of course I got the expected feedback. Here are some that I re-tweeted:

  • RT @Vexape: Spotted a police officer with no helmet. Pulled up to him at red light. Wife asked for 400 Baht. Brilliant.
  • RT @bangkokpastor: I find it hard to take the ‘parking on sidewalk’ enforcement seriously. It is constant and unenforced near my house
  • RT @KristoferA: Less than 5 hours ago, I saw a policeman drive his motorbike on the sidewalk… …I guess he didn’t get the memo…

4 thoughts on “List of 13 Traffic Violations that will Get you a Ticket

  • August 30, 2012 at 10:16 am
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    What is the speedlimit in Thailand?

    Reply
    • September 1, 2012 at 7:36 am
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      The speed limit is defined by your car (or so it seems, occasionally).

      Reply
    • May 17, 2014 at 7:37 am
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      It is 80 in the city and 90 km/hour in the highway. Motorway is 120.

      Reply
  • August 30, 2012 at 9:51 am
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    Hi Richard,

    The police may be strict about these laws in Bangkok, but not on Samui. Especially the taxi drivers one, the cabs here have meters but NOBODY uses them. They would need more holding cells on the island if they used that law on Samui!!!!

    Reply

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