I read an article about cameras being set up at traffic lights in Bangkok to catch those who obviously are colour blind.
There has been a drop in the number of drivers caught running red lights in the nearly nine months since the Metropolitan Police Bureau installed its camera system at 30 intersections around Bangkok.
The cameras went up at intersections on Dec 30 last year.
About 2,000 vehicles a day were still caught running the lights up until June. But in the past three months, as motorists have noticed the cameras more, the number of offending vehicles snapped at the lights has fallen to about 1,400 a day, the police say.
"Some vehicles ran a red light two or three times in a stretch," said metropolitan police deputy chief Phanu Kerdlarppol.
The 500-baht fines have brought in revenue of up to 50 million baht, which has been shared equally between the metropolitan police and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
A driver also loses 40 demerit points, deducted from a total of 100 on his licence
It was the last bit that really puzzled me. Do you know anyone in Thailand who have lost their licence through this system? The points system in the UK works, because it's centralised and computerised, and everyone has a driving licence. I had no idea that they had a points system in Thailand. How the heck do they control it? From what I've seen they haven't got a national computerised system for visas or 90-day reporting, so I don't think for one minute that they have one for driving licences.
Our daily run into work involves a pretty hairy junction with traffic lights. They turn from green to red in about 2 seconds - with a little splash of orange in the middle. Mr.VS would probably have about 600 points on his licence by now. He's not a dangerous or reckless driver, but when you're driving about 40kph it's impossible to slam on the anchors in such a short time (bearing in mind, of course, that we've usually got some tw*t about 2 inches from our back bumper!).
VS
Running a red light...
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Vital Spark
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Running a red light...
"Properly trained, man can be a dog's best friend"
At least it's an improvement on the system they had in Jakarta where the police just stopped you and told you that you had gone through a red light whether you had or not and then demanded some money.
Mind you, at that time they had no drink driving law, so I suppose they had to do something to get you on the way home from the pub.
Mind you, at that time they had no drink driving law, so I suppose they had to do something to get you on the way home from the pub.
I have the honor of navigating my way along PK road everyday right in rush hour, and one thing I know, is that all the traffic lights and cameras in the world wouldn't make a difference.....lol. What a carry on it is.......like playing a bloody arcade game, only the stakes are higher. What really gets me is when some fart comes past you, pulls in front of you, slams on the brakes and then turns. Could they not just wait that extra 10th of a second, seeing that they're turning in any case?
I know many people moan about all the bikes, but when you spend most of your time on a bike, you soon get pissed of with those in cars who think they own the road (Thai and some farang). The worse culprits, in my opinion, are the Thais in big pickups, and the ones who are driving what they perceive to be modified dream racers ie. 1982 Toyota Cressida with dark windows and an exhaust pipe big enough to park a bus in....lol. They tend to think they have the greatest and fastest car out there, even though you wouldn't give the 100 baht for the thing...lol.
Strangely enough though, it's been quite a few years now since I last got worked up about the driving over here. Nowadays I tend to find it quite amusing....
I know many people moan about all the bikes, but when you spend most of your time on a bike, you soon get pissed of with those in cars who think they own the road (Thai and some farang). The worse culprits, in my opinion, are the Thais in big pickups, and the ones who are driving what they perceive to be modified dream racers ie. 1982 Toyota Cressida with dark windows and an exhaust pipe big enough to park a bus in....lol. They tend to think they have the greatest and fastest car out there, even though you wouldn't give the 100 baht for the thing...lol.
Strangely enough though, it's been quite a few years now since I last got worked up about the driving over here. Nowadays I tend to find it quite amusing....
Don't try to impress me with your manner of dress cos a monkey himself is a monkey no less - cold fact
The problem here is the attitude of the drivers, which is just the usual cultural rules extended to the roads, and the lack of a driving culture in the past mixed with an arrogantly over inflated opinion of how important they are. Strange how some idiot that sells onions at the market gets in a pickup and suddenely thinks that he's Jenson Button. I suppose it's the cultural "If you are driving four-wheeled transport then you are somehow better than others" sort of thing.
To condense it down, and this could be applied to many situations here like people in malls/7-11s/driving etc, there seems to be little situational awareness shown by your average Thai in their imeadiate surroundings, or perhaps, they just don't give a toss.
I've also not heard of that points system, maybe it's just enforced through that sort of medium as a cop is always going to go for the cash. Any improvement is welcome on road safety though.
Must say though Takiap that my dislike on the roads are the public transport drivers like songtows/buses/tuk-tuks along with the Fortuna drivers of course.
The one that makes me laugh is the Thai dolly bird in a Honda City/Accord or something that is on the phone with so many fluffy toys on the dash and back window she can't see out the car and has "Snow White" written in stickers on the back window.
To condense it down, and this could be applied to many situations here like people in malls/7-11s/driving etc, there seems to be little situational awareness shown by your average Thai in their imeadiate surroundings, or perhaps, they just don't give a toss.
I've also not heard of that points system, maybe it's just enforced through that sort of medium as a cop is always going to go for the cash. Any improvement is welcome on road safety though.
Must say though Takiap that my dislike on the roads are the public transport drivers like songtows/buses/tuk-tuks along with the Fortuna drivers of course.
The one that makes me laugh is the Thai dolly bird in a Honda City/Accord or something that is on the phone with so many fluffy toys on the dash and back window she can't see out the car and has "Snow White" written in stickers on the back window.
The driving here is more than annoying ... so I'll inject a little humour into this thread with a few tips from the Thai Highway Code:
1) Signaling: When approaching a junction (bit in the road where another road crosses it) turn both blinkers on at the same time. Not only does this look cool but it also gives you the last minute opportunity to change your mind without warning and go in a different direction simply by turning off the appropriate yellow light.
2) Trucks: Never bother using lights especially when travelling at speed on the highway after dark. Everybody knows they make your battery go flat.
3) Motorbikes: When on a motorcycle always pull off the most dangerous maneuver when your kids are squeezed in front and behind you hanging for dear life onto the handle bars. This will show them what brave parents you are and train them how to drive properly when they themselves grow up and become menaces on the roads.
4) Benz & Fortuna drivers: Ignore all rules, signs and anything else to do with driving, only you exist, nobody else, only you.
5) Road Markings: Take your time and marvel at the pretty patterns the local tessabahn have painted on the roads. To think, they have gone to all this trouble to entertain you so swerve across the roads at random intervals to make sure you don't miss any!
6) Parking: Whenever you need to leave your car or pickup anywhere for more than 5 minutes always leave the engine running. The cabin will stay at that icy cold temperature you've been acclimatized to your whole life and you wont have to waste energy turning the key when you get back in. The added bonus is that you get to choke half the street with your carbon monoxide fumes. Ensure you park in the road also, this will give all of the other drivers a chance to marvel at your lovely vehicle and show them how affluent you are.
7) Waiting: When on a motorcycle and waiting at a railway crossing or for a traffic light to change, always switch the engine off, this will save fuel as we all know it doesn't use twice as much gas to start the damn thing again.
8 ) Minivans & Pickups: There are big cash prizes on offer for doing your journey quicker than an F1 driver could. To win these coveted payouts you need to take no heed whatsoever of traffic, road signs or road conditions when you're behind the wheel. On receipt of your prize should you win, enjoy a nice bottle of whiskey a good hour before commencing the return journey.
9) Spatial Awareness: Always drive as close as you can to the vehicle in front, this way you'll be caught in his slipstream and save your self fuel, however there is one drawback, your vehicle may suffer slight discolouration as the vehicle in front's exhaust fumes will start to oxidise on your bumper.
10) Traffic Lights: When at traffic lights be sure to take the inside turning left lane, this way you can knock over those pesky motorbikes and get a rolling start on the rest of the traffic. Make sure you spend at least 75% of the journey talking on your mobile, everybody knows it takes more skill to drive at 130kph with one hand, you will get extra kudos for this.
11) Constabulary: Ensure your day is spent in the office with your feet up watching TV except for the last week in the month when you are to congregate on corners with your mates and lie in wait for all those hardened criminals on motorbikes with no licenses. Never under any circumstances pull over any traffic offenders no matter how heinous their crime ... unless they are on a motorbike and it happens to be the last week of the month.
You have to laugh ...
1) Signaling: When approaching a junction (bit in the road where another road crosses it) turn both blinkers on at the same time. Not only does this look cool but it also gives you the last minute opportunity to change your mind without warning and go in a different direction simply by turning off the appropriate yellow light.
2) Trucks: Never bother using lights especially when travelling at speed on the highway after dark. Everybody knows they make your battery go flat.
3) Motorbikes: When on a motorcycle always pull off the most dangerous maneuver when your kids are squeezed in front and behind you hanging for dear life onto the handle bars. This will show them what brave parents you are and train them how to drive properly when they themselves grow up and become menaces on the roads.
4) Benz & Fortuna drivers: Ignore all rules, signs and anything else to do with driving, only you exist, nobody else, only you.
5) Road Markings: Take your time and marvel at the pretty patterns the local tessabahn have painted on the roads. To think, they have gone to all this trouble to entertain you so swerve across the roads at random intervals to make sure you don't miss any!
6) Parking: Whenever you need to leave your car or pickup anywhere for more than 5 minutes always leave the engine running. The cabin will stay at that icy cold temperature you've been acclimatized to your whole life and you wont have to waste energy turning the key when you get back in. The added bonus is that you get to choke half the street with your carbon monoxide fumes. Ensure you park in the road also, this will give all of the other drivers a chance to marvel at your lovely vehicle and show them how affluent you are.
7) Waiting: When on a motorcycle and waiting at a railway crossing or for a traffic light to change, always switch the engine off, this will save fuel as we all know it doesn't use twice as much gas to start the damn thing again.
8 ) Minivans & Pickups: There are big cash prizes on offer for doing your journey quicker than an F1 driver could. To win these coveted payouts you need to take no heed whatsoever of traffic, road signs or road conditions when you're behind the wheel. On receipt of your prize should you win, enjoy a nice bottle of whiskey a good hour before commencing the return journey.
9) Spatial Awareness: Always drive as close as you can to the vehicle in front, this way you'll be caught in his slipstream and save your self fuel, however there is one drawback, your vehicle may suffer slight discolouration as the vehicle in front's exhaust fumes will start to oxidise on your bumper.
10) Traffic Lights: When at traffic lights be sure to take the inside turning left lane, this way you can knock over those pesky motorbikes and get a rolling start on the rest of the traffic. Make sure you spend at least 75% of the journey talking on your mobile, everybody knows it takes more skill to drive at 130kph with one hand, you will get extra kudos for this.
11) Constabulary: Ensure your day is spent in the office with your feet up watching TV except for the last week in the month when you are to congregate on corners with your mates and lie in wait for all those hardened criminals on motorbikes with no licenses. Never under any circumstances pull over any traffic offenders no matter how heinous their crime ... unless they are on a motorbike and it happens to be the last week of the month.
You have to laugh ...
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
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dtaai-maai
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Dual Carriageways: The fast lane is for constant use regardless of your speed - you may only switch to the slow lane (without indicating) just as the person behind who has been flashing his lights at you for the last 10 minutes decides to pass you on the left.
Turning right (motorcycles): Approximately 100 metres before turning right, move across to the oncoming lane (signalling is optional), so that any vehicle making a left turn towards you is likely to have to take drastic avoiding action.
Town Driving (motorcycles): Ride safely in the knowledge that all car drivers have eyes in the backs of their heads, as well as on both sides, and will anticipate even your daftest attempts to get knocked to kingdom come.
Anticipation: This is strictly verboten under any circumstances. Long, gently curving bends in the road should be ignored as they are approached, causing a panic application of brakes only when you cannot find the middle of the road.
Turning right (motorcycles): Approximately 100 metres before turning right, move across to the oncoming lane (signalling is optional), so that any vehicle making a left turn towards you is likely to have to take drastic avoiding action.
Town Driving (motorcycles): Ride safely in the knowledge that all car drivers have eyes in the backs of their heads, as well as on both sides, and will anticipate even your daftest attempts to get knocked to kingdom come.
Anticipation: This is strictly verboten under any circumstances. Long, gently curving bends in the road should be ignored as they are approached, causing a panic application of brakes only when you cannot find the middle of the road.
This is the way
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Wanderlust
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d-m,dtaai-maai wrote:Dual Carriageways: The fast lane is for constant use regardless of your speed - you may only switch to the slow lane (without indicating) just as the person behind who has been flashing his lights at you for the last 10 minutes decides to pass you on the left.
I have to assume that you have never taken a drive south, as if you want your vehicle and yourself to arrive in one piece, then driving in the 'fast' lane is the only way to do it; the 'slow' lane is so rutted from all the heavy vehicles you can only stand about the time an undertaking manoeuvre takes before you need to get off it! It is also the only way to avoid people who pull out from side roads without looking - when you are doing around 100km/h that can be quite hazardous. If the road is smooth on the slow lane then no problem with the above, but that is so rarely the case that I actually think it is safer driving in the fast lane regardless of speed.
Red light cameras – bad news. One of the things that pisses me off about Australia is the over regulation of evertything you do. With driving, we are flooded with red light and speed cameras. On some highways they even average your speed between cameras and book you on the average speed.
Having seen the prolific growth of these cameras my opinion is that they have very little to do with traffic safety and a lot to do with revenue raising in a quasi totalitarian society. One of the things I like about Thailand is that it is far less totalitarian than Australia, the US and the UK.
The latest crap from the fascist powers that be is that as part of bushfire safety they are planning to introduce tracking of all mobile phones. Supposedly this is to keep track of persons in danger and any anti social arsonists and will not be used except for such emergencies. The trouble is that most people in western societies are totally unconcerned about the erosion of their civil liberties and the gradual creeping of the friendly fascist state.
In many areas of law enforcement in Australia you can be hauled in for questioning. It is an offence not to answer, it is an offence to give a false answer, it is an offence to talk to anyone about the examination, you can have lawyer provided he is not vetoed by the powers but who is not allowed to interrupt the examination, and best of all you have no right to know what it is that you are being examined about.
If you are charged with certain criminal offences, your assets are confiscated before you are tried let alone convicted, and in many cases you cannot access these assets to fund a defence and have to rely on a legal said lawyer.
Free speech is a thing of the past. Heaven forbid if you want to publish an article critical Muslims. News is manipulated in a way that Goebbels could never have thought possible.
The Aust. government doesn’t like the biggest Telco, Telstra, so guess what, it insists on the Telco splitting up and selling off certain assets without any compensation for the shareholders. If the company does not accede to this highway robbery, then it will not be granted new spectrum licences. Expropriation without compensation let alone fair compensation.
Sorry for digressing from red light cameras, but I don’t like fascist/communist totalitarian governments. My observation is where I live that the cameras are being abused by the state.
I’m sorry for the rant, and shall bid farewell by reproducing from the Guardian the following story about UK police abusing anti terrorist powers:
Paul Lewis guardian.co.uk, Thursday 10 September 2009 13.27 BST
Two police officers are under investigation after using anti-terror stop-and-search powers against a man and two young children in a south London street.
The 43-year-old man had his mobile phones, USB sticks and a CD seized by the officers, who were in plain clothes, and was asked to stand in front of a CCTV camera in order to have his photograph taken. The undercover Metropolitan police officers also took the man's photograph with their own camera and searched the two children he was walking with – his 11-year-old daughter and his neighbour's daughter, aged six.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said today it would "manage" the investigation into the incident in July, meaning that an independent investigator will control the inquiry conducted by the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards.
It is unusual for the IPCC to manage an investigation into an incident of this kind, and the decision comes amid mounting concern over police use of stop-and-search and surveillance powers. The commission has received dozens of complaints relating to the use of stop-and-search powers, but the nature of this complaint is understood to have concerned investigators.
In a statement today, the IPCC said: "The complainant states that, when he asked under what legislation his property was being seized, he was told it was under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000. He also complained that he was given no information as to when he could retrieve his goods or who to contact in order to do so, and that there was no communication from police despite assurances that he would be told when he could collect his things."
The Met's complaints bureau is known to have received a number of complaints relating to alleged misuse of anti-terror powers. Two months ago, Gemma Atkinson, 27, a film-maker from London, said she would challenge the Met at the high court after she claimed she was handcuffed, detained and threatened with arrest for filming officers on her mobile phone.
Lawyers for Atkinson said the Met's complaints bureau has been slow to respond to their complaints. Atkinson was detained at Aldgate underground station one month after Section 58(a) – a controversial amendment to the Terrorism Act – came into force, making it illegal to photograph a police officer if the images are considered "likely to be useful" to a terrorist.
Speaking about the case of the 43-year-old man, the IPCC commissioner, Mike Franklin, who leads on the issue of stop and search, said: "The use of section 44 stop-and-search powers is a very sensitive issue and it is right that complaints of this nature are taken very seriously. It is particularly worrying that two young children were allegedly searched in this way. This investigation will look at whether the use of these powers in this case was lawful, reasonable and correctly carried out."
Having seen the prolific growth of these cameras my opinion is that they have very little to do with traffic safety and a lot to do with revenue raising in a quasi totalitarian society. One of the things I like about Thailand is that it is far less totalitarian than Australia, the US and the UK.
The latest crap from the fascist powers that be is that as part of bushfire safety they are planning to introduce tracking of all mobile phones. Supposedly this is to keep track of persons in danger and any anti social arsonists and will not be used except for such emergencies. The trouble is that most people in western societies are totally unconcerned about the erosion of their civil liberties and the gradual creeping of the friendly fascist state.
In many areas of law enforcement in Australia you can be hauled in for questioning. It is an offence not to answer, it is an offence to give a false answer, it is an offence to talk to anyone about the examination, you can have lawyer provided he is not vetoed by the powers but who is not allowed to interrupt the examination, and best of all you have no right to know what it is that you are being examined about.
If you are charged with certain criminal offences, your assets are confiscated before you are tried let alone convicted, and in many cases you cannot access these assets to fund a defence and have to rely on a legal said lawyer.
Free speech is a thing of the past. Heaven forbid if you want to publish an article critical Muslims. News is manipulated in a way that Goebbels could never have thought possible.
The Aust. government doesn’t like the biggest Telco, Telstra, so guess what, it insists on the Telco splitting up and selling off certain assets without any compensation for the shareholders. If the company does not accede to this highway robbery, then it will not be granted new spectrum licences. Expropriation without compensation let alone fair compensation.
Sorry for digressing from red light cameras, but I don’t like fascist/communist totalitarian governments. My observation is where I live that the cameras are being abused by the state.
I’m sorry for the rant, and shall bid farewell by reproducing from the Guardian the following story about UK police abusing anti terrorist powers:
Paul Lewis guardian.co.uk, Thursday 10 September 2009 13.27 BST
Two police officers are under investigation after using anti-terror stop-and-search powers against a man and two young children in a south London street.
The 43-year-old man had his mobile phones, USB sticks and a CD seized by the officers, who were in plain clothes, and was asked to stand in front of a CCTV camera in order to have his photograph taken. The undercover Metropolitan police officers also took the man's photograph with their own camera and searched the two children he was walking with – his 11-year-old daughter and his neighbour's daughter, aged six.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said today it would "manage" the investigation into the incident in July, meaning that an independent investigator will control the inquiry conducted by the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards.
It is unusual for the IPCC to manage an investigation into an incident of this kind, and the decision comes amid mounting concern over police use of stop-and-search and surveillance powers. The commission has received dozens of complaints relating to the use of stop-and-search powers, but the nature of this complaint is understood to have concerned investigators.
In a statement today, the IPCC said: "The complainant states that, when he asked under what legislation his property was being seized, he was told it was under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000. He also complained that he was given no information as to when he could retrieve his goods or who to contact in order to do so, and that there was no communication from police despite assurances that he would be told when he could collect his things."
The Met's complaints bureau is known to have received a number of complaints relating to alleged misuse of anti-terror powers. Two months ago, Gemma Atkinson, 27, a film-maker from London, said she would challenge the Met at the high court after she claimed she was handcuffed, detained and threatened with arrest for filming officers on her mobile phone.
Lawyers for Atkinson said the Met's complaints bureau has been slow to respond to their complaints. Atkinson was detained at Aldgate underground station one month after Section 58(a) – a controversial amendment to the Terrorism Act – came into force, making it illegal to photograph a police officer if the images are considered "likely to be useful" to a terrorist.
Speaking about the case of the 43-year-old man, the IPCC commissioner, Mike Franklin, who leads on the issue of stop and search, said: "The use of section 44 stop-and-search powers is a very sensitive issue and it is right that complaints of this nature are taken very seriously. It is particularly worrying that two young children were allegedly searched in this way. This investigation will look at whether the use of these powers in this case was lawful, reasonable and correctly carried out."
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Wanderlust
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