Hua Hin Police Traffic Stops

[jumusman]

I have been here around 3 months now, moved from Pattaya where I lived for a year and a half. Love it here, would not even consider going back but I am a little confused about the situation with the police here. Are their salaries not the same as other parts of the country ?

The reason I am asking is that I have been pulled over a total of 6 times in a 3 month period by the police, obviously not caring about my drivers license situation, just being corrupt and wanting money from me. I have an International License arriving in the mail in approx 2 weeks so I won't have to keep paying them 200 baht every time but in a year and a half in Pattaya I was pulled over ONCE, no joke. This is something I was not expecting in Hua Hin.

I am aware of where the checkpoints usually are now, one being outside the police station close to Subway and Mc Donald's but do I really have to deal with this everytime I want a Big Mac or 6 inch Subway Melt... There is also a checkpoint they like to use on both sides of the road over by the Catholic School close to Village Market, I guess they assume that there is only one way in or out on that road so they can maximize their profit!

Even after I get my international drivers license and won't have to pay the fine its still going to be an inconvenience to be stopped over and over again.

Is this a high season thing ? Or are the police just more corrupt here and I need to deal with it ?

(And btw - those 6 times I mentioned above don't include the 2 other times they wanted to pull me over, noticed I had a Thai girl on the back - then waved me by... Guess that's the exception.)

[Frank Hovis]

Get a Thai driving license - simples.

[Pleng]

While you're waiting for your Thai/International licence it's pretty easy to avoid getting pulled over so long as there's a steady flow of traffic. Keep to the inside of your lane, and don't make eye contact.

[Big Boy]

I've been pulled over a few times now - simply showed them my licence, and have been on my way again. I see no problem with it, and hopefully it will encourage those without licences to do the right thing. Certainly no attempt to unnecessarily extort money from me.

The one thing I don't like is the positioning of these road blocks. You can often see them a fair distance before you're there. As you approach, the illegal drivers (Thai and Farang) are making crazy manouvres to avoid being caught.

[dozer]

Are they pulling over cars or only bikes?

[jumusman]

It's only bikes. Due to the size of a bike you can maximize your profits by pulling over maybe 4 of them into the same parking area as one car. Plus its easier on a bike to see if a falang is driving, they are certainly not going to pull over a Thai on a motorbike (who, for example might not be wearing a helmet). With a motorbike the person can handle the entire transaction without even getting off.

I agree with the steady flow of traffic and eye contact comment. In the past I have hidden at the side of buses and stayed out of view. And being in the furthest lane from them also has worked for me in the past. But seriously, how dangerous is it on a main road such as Phetchakasem to try to signal falangs on bikes to pull over. Most people are doing 40-70 kph in that area, there could be a terrible accident, someone could hit their brakes very hard, the hard shoulder gets congested.. the list goes on.

But of course giving a sh*t about safety is not the purpose of the exercise is it...

[Irish big-kev]

I got an international driving licence about 4 years ago. Every year I travel to Thailand I get a date stamp from work, re-stamp it with a new year, sign it and off I go. It works

[chopsticks]

I got an international driving licence about 4 years ago. Every year I travel to Thailand I get a date stamp from work, re-stamp it with a new year, sign it and off I go. It works

They're officially called permits and cost about GBP 7 from the larger UK post offices valid for 1 year. Supposed to be used in conjunction with an overseas licence.
Police in most countries seem to accept them without asking to see the accompanying licence though.

[Big Boy]

Are they pulling over cars or only bikes?

Cars and bikes in the roadblocks I've been stopped at.

[MrPlum]

Until I got my Thai licence, two years ago, Soi 88 felt like a toll road. Since then I can't recall being fined. In fact, as far as the Police and Immigration are concerned, there seems to have been a reining in of the levels of corruption. At least in my experience.

Today I was stopped 3x going up and down the road to Makro. Each time waved on. Sometimes the cry is that foreigners are being targeted. I don't see this, since Thais are also stopped.

This commendable diligence falls down when the schools empty.

[ste860]

they do pull thais as well ive seen many pulled up for no helmets , even tonight on railway road i witnessed several thai pulled over ,it not just a farang only policy ,but there are richer pickings get a licience and tax up to date no worries .

[jumusman]

[quote="MrPlum"]Sometimes the cry is that foreigners are being targeted. I don't see this, since Thais are also stopped.

So what do you think the point is of doing it every day ? If they are pulling Thai's over for the so called "enforced" helmet law, it does not seem to be making any difference. Is it really only about money ?

7pm tonight I was driving by the Railway Station, very busy of course... there they were AGAIN, pulling people over, I veered as far away as I could from them and did not make eye contact - maybe they waved me over, maybe they didn't, I don't know. As I said, I would have expected this level of corruption living in Pattaya before but not here in Hua Hin. Doesn't seem to fit...

[Big Boy]

If you are legal, you have nothing to worry about. If you're illegal, you shouldn't be driving anyway.

Where is the supposed corruption in that?

[lindosfan1]

I used to get stopped regularly in my pick up, it was on a back road which I think must have been a short cut for drug runners as they always looked for drugs, never once paid a fine, I always had valid documents with me.
BB is spot on if there is no fine there is no corruption.

[Frank Hovis]

If they are pulling Thai's over for the so called "enforced" helmet law, it does not seem to be making any difference.

And that's because you've only been here a few months.
A few years ago no-one wore a helmet (unless it was raining) these days I'd say at least fifty percent of motorcycle drivers wear a helmet during the day, less so at night.
It is making a difference, it might be making money for the police but as Big Boy says, if you're driving legally it's a just a wave of the license and you're on your way, if you are driving illegally well... can you really complain at a couple of hundred baht rather than a visit to the station and a proper fine and points on your future Thai driving license?