Dodger
April 1st, 2021, 15:07
Police Checkpoints are due to start again in April 1st. (Bangkok Post link below).
A friend of mine mentioned this to me over coffee this morning, and I immediately felt a sense of disappointment.
According to the Post article, the Boys-in-Brown (BIB) will now be fitted with body cameras to ensure that all "Stops" are transparent, presumably intended to stop the BIB from taking bribes.
I guess there's pros and cons to this practice. For example, if you're caught on camera driving over the speed limit, you'll probably receive a ticket subtracting points from your driving record, and in addition, have to report to the local police station to pay a fine. In situations like this in the past, slipping the BIB 500 baht was always the preferred method of handling this.
On the other hand, the BIB will find it more difficult to take money from drivers (usually farang) when they haven't even violated any law, which of course is a good thing. This happened to me once in 2015. I handed the idiot 200 Mexican Pecos I had stashed in my wallet for this very occasion, and drove off. He thought he won the lotto!...LOL
The only way to win at this, is to always be following the law. I plan to ease up on the gas pedal a bit on long highway drives, and always carry my passport. In the past all they have ever wanted to see at the checkpoints was your drivers license and vehicle tax sticker. I imagine now they'll start covering all bases.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2092559/police-road-checkpoints-to-return-nationwide
A friend of mine mentioned this to me over coffee this morning, and I immediately felt a sense of disappointment.
According to the Post article, the Boys-in-Brown (BIB) will now be fitted with body cameras to ensure that all "Stops" are transparent, presumably intended to stop the BIB from taking bribes.
I guess there's pros and cons to this practice. For example, if you're caught on camera driving over the speed limit, you'll probably receive a ticket subtracting points from your driving record, and in addition, have to report to the local police station to pay a fine. In situations like this in the past, slipping the BIB 500 baht was always the preferred method of handling this.
On the other hand, the BIB will find it more difficult to take money from drivers (usually farang) when they haven't even violated any law, which of course is a good thing. This happened to me once in 2015. I handed the idiot 200 Mexican Pecos I had stashed in my wallet for this very occasion, and drove off. He thought he won the lotto!...LOL
The only way to win at this, is to always be following the law. I plan to ease up on the gas pedal a bit on long highway drives, and always carry my passport. In the past all they have ever wanted to see at the checkpoints was your drivers license and vehicle tax sticker. I imagine now they'll start covering all bases.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2092559/police-road-checkpoints-to-return-nationwide