Police checkpoints in Hua Hin

[PBbeacher]

I was in that jam yesterday thinking how thick headed it is that they block the entire access to Bangkok hospital for any vehicle travelling south bound. There's no way an ambulance could get through that in a hurry if it had to, i can't believe they are "allowed" to do that.

[HHTel]

The police chief in BKK has recently banned the police from setting up these 'checkpoints' as they cause greater traffic problems than the norm. He's basically told the police to get off their backsides and tackle moving violations but of course that would mean they have to do real police work.
A shame it wasn't copied here.

[Big Boy]

Most Thais, if riding illegally have the good sense to do a u-turn and avoid being stopped.

And cause a bigger danger to everyone else on the road by swerving around then going up the wrong way. I'd say that was more cause for a fine than someone riding on a Swedish license. Sorry mate but that statement is just plain stupid.

I don't condone their actions - I think I've mentioned that a few times on this forum. However, if you notice, these roadblocks are nearly always set up just after an official u-turn, so nothing illegal. If there is no official u-turn, yes, Thais will ride the carriageway in the wrong direction, but that is nothing new for Thais. After all, you're all saying the traffic moving in the right direction is at a standstill, so risk is minimal - I've never seen an accident under these circumstances.

[Big Boy]

I was in that jam yesterday thinking how thick headed it is that they block the entire access to Bangkok hospital for any vehicle travelling south bound. There's no way an ambulance could get through that in a hurry if it had to, i can't believe they are "allowed" to do that.

I have seen this scenario a couple of times. Police will fast stream vehicles through the checkpoint (no stopping) to let the ambulance through.

[buksida]

So you're confirming it is a farang targeted roadblock, giving the menaces a chance to escape with no lid on and probably no license, and the tourists a chance to get stung because they have the wrong piece of paper. I almost hit one coming the wrong way doing just that, laughing away like a loon. I still have no idea how you can possibly justify thinking that this is a good thing.

Road law should be enforced and applied to all road users on the road - not by hiding under a bridge waiting for it to come to you (or those stupid enough not to have pulled a u-turn which I guess includes moi).

Only in Hua Hin.

[Big Boy]

I'm confirming nothing. However, if you're asking whether I'm happy that the seasonal loonies (including some good friends of mine) are being targetted, yes, I'm delighted. You can usually anticipate how a bad Thai will drive, but the seasonal loonies are the proverbial pain.

Problem is, the penalties are a lot lower than what you were scammed out of, and rather than deter them, it becomes a game. I've seen the game played both ways - who can get away with it most times, and who gets caught most times. One group I knew in Pattaya a few years back even took it a stage further - who could argue and spend the most jail time

[Dannie Boy]

I can’t believe that many people would argue with the principle that the BIB should target every violator irrespective of nationality, but of course that would be expecting too much. The BIB know that the farang community are easy pickings so they can appear to be getting results, whereas the underlying problem is that the majority of locals flout the law with low risk of being caught and even if they are, the penalty is insufficient deterrent.

We can talk until we are blue in the face, but unless somebody at the top enforces regime change, we might as well not waste our fingers typing!!

[HHTel]

I wonder what will happen if the government get their way and move most of the police powers to agencies as announced! It will rob the police of most of their 'earners'. I'm sure the police are going to fight this one.
Traffic control to the municipalities.
Economic crime to Customs and Excise.
Environmental crime to the Forest Dept, National parks dept, etc
Food and drug related offences to Office of Consumer Protection board, Public Health ministry....
Highway, transportation and vehicle offences to the Transport Ministry.
Tourism crime to Sports and Tourism Ministry.
Plus a few more.....

All these agencies are expected to take over these duties within 3 years and will all have the power to seek arrest warrants etc.

It does appear on the face of it that the police will be nothing more than a uniform with no power!

[buksida]

You can usually anticipate how a bad Thai will drive, but the seasonal loonies are the proverbial pain.

The seasonal loonies on pink finos don't kill 24,000 people per year on the roads here, Thai drivers do. I guess I have different priorities on the roads to you and the Hua Hin police, and we'll have to leave it at that.

[HHTel]

[Big Boy]

A farang gets killed/injured, it's reported everywhere - bad publicity. How many times do we hear of a Farang struggling because they were injured riding a motorcycle they weren't insured to ride in the first place.

Yes, Thais do it every day, but it doesn't attract the same bad publicity.

It doesn't make it right, just trying to explain Thai logic. They need tourism.

[Pleng]

I really wouldn't get hung up on the 80% farang, 20% Thai statistic of a single checkpoint on a single day.

I'm sure there was a thread recently when somebody asked the police about this and they openly said that they target Thais and non-Thais on different days. There's nothing wrong with that. As somebody who gets stopped regularly I can confirm that most of the time I'm either the only farang, or amongst a small group of other farang while the majority of those stopped are Thai.

Hell most of the year I don't think there'd even be enough farang passing these checkpoints to make up a 80/20 split if favour of whitey.

[johnjar]

The main thing is keep legal and don’t show attitude, just pay your fine with a smile, and the fine is usually a few hundred baht the price of a few beers no big deal, its all part of living in Hua Hin, and much better than the points system they have in uk

If you're legal then DON'T pay a fine with a smile. Challenge it and demand a ticket.

The points system does exist in Thailand but only if you get an official ticket to pay at the police station. At a police station you will get penalty points (I think you have 40 to play with before your licence is taken from you.)

The police authorities are encouraging the public to report on-the-spot fines but as we all know, it's the easiest option.

If your riding legal or not,just pay the fine and be on your way, its only the price of a few beers and for sure don't challenge it, that will only cost you a lot more time and money. Life is too short.By the way 40 strikes is better than 3 strikes and your out as in the uk system

[HHTel]

I did say that paying the fine was the easier option.
The points system in Thailand is loosely based on other countries. Penalty points vary from 10 to 40 points depending upon the severity. Hitting 60 gives you a 90 day ban.
I do believe the system may have changed where a licence starts off with 100 and points are taken away. Hit zero and your licence is taken. Haven't looked for verification of this but there is definitely a points system in place. I was given 30 points in BKK some years ago (for turning left at a red light!) but because I was driving on a British licence, there was no way to record the points.

[europtimiste]

I can confirm that Thais as well farangs are checked and fined the same way. Unless a tourist who doesn't know the amount of the fine and pay the amount asked by the cop. I am happy that here we don't have the point license.