Driver mobile phone ban now in force
From today it is illegal to use a mobile phone while driving a vehicle on a road, unless using a hands-free device. Police want to publicise the ban before getting tough and will probably issue cautions at first.
''First, we'll warn violators to alert them to the danger.
''We will fine the stubborn ones from May 20 onwards,'' said deputy Metropolitan Police Bureau chief Panu Kerdlarbpol.
Police have been told to take pictures of drivers who flout the ban, to serve as evidence.
After the grace period ends, offenders will be fined 400 to 1,000 baht.
They will also receive 10 penalty points.
Sixty points normally results in the suspension of a driver's licence. But drivers who break the phone ban a second time will also have their licence suspended.
They will be told to attend a three-hour driving safety course, and required to sit an exam to get their licence back.
''These penalties are still too light,'' company employee Itipol Kanjanarat, said.
He demanded harsher action after he was nearly involved in a collision with a truck driver who was talking on his mobile phone.
The driver was so preoccupied on the phone that he could not decide whether to go straight or make a turn, he said.
Some countries in the Middle East jail offenders briefly, and impose fines. This would immediately reduce road accidents if it were applied here, he said.
However, Pol Maj-Gen Panu believes if officers enforce the ban strictly, the number of accidents will decrease. Only drivers who use hands-free devices such as Small Talk or Bluetooth will be exempt. Those devices allow users to chat on the phone without using their hands.
In Nakhon Ratchasima, hands-free devices have become popular since news of the ban spread. A local trader said sales had increased by up to 40%
Bangkok Post : General news
i'm sure the cops will be enforcing this with all the blacked out mercs and beemers in town...
-------------------------
and
Police warned not to pocket money from motorists
(BangkokPost.com) – It’s the first day that police will be keeping a close eye on motorists who talk on the phone while driving.
Spokesman of the National Police force, Pol Lt Gen Watcharapol Prasarnratchakij said motorists who violate the new law from now until June 19 will be given a warning. However, starting from June 20 onwards, violators will be fined between 400-1,000 baht. They will also have points taken off their driver’s license.
As for concerns that the new law may give police officers another reason to put money into their own pockets, Pol Lt Gen Watcharapol assured that these officers will face severe punishments. He urged anyone witnessing police officers committing a wrongdoing to immediately report to the National Police force.
Bangkok Post Breaking News
Last edited by zehner; 8th May 2008 at 11:12. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
Dependent on the size of the phone?Originally Posted by zehner
Riddle me this brother can you handle it
Your style to my style you can't hold a candle to it
Equinox symmetry and the balance is right
Smokin' and drinkin' on a Tuesday night
It's not how you play the game it's how you win it
I cheat and steal and sin and I'm a cynic
No, I imagine just another dual pricing scenario.
LoL....never thunk of that naive person that I am
what about people with them black windows on their car how the fook are you going to catch them?
also I don't understand why people are on the phone while driving a motorbike, with the motion wind you create you can't hear fuck all.
Sometimes my mind wanders, sometimes it leaves completely
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I ALWAYS GIVE A 100% AT WORK:
12% Monday
23% Tuesday
40% Wednesday
20% Thursday
5% Friday
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i think thais have a much more acute sense of hearing than us. you never hear them blaring into their mobiles like you do some foreigners
^ I think it's the tone/pitch they use...like them dog whistles
What a load of old bollocks!
The first one I remember was enforceing crash helmets. Any old thing will do, even a construction hard hat. Never mind about motorcyclists being drunk, high or driving the wrong way up a one-way street.
Then it was seat belts. Only if you are in the front seat of a car. Never mind if there are five hundred of you in a pick up!
And now we have the mobile phone law.
Sort out the highway code first.... Another useless Thai law that will be swept under the carpet soon enough.
BTW All of the above ARE useful laws in a civilized country but....... you know the rest.
"What a distressing contrast there is between the radiant intelligence of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult."
Sigmund Freud.
cops like whiskey more than phones anyway.....
Bangkok Post : General news
There is a plague in Thai society and it is called corruption. Now I know this is no big surprise, but it is becoming more and more bold. Yesterday my friend was stopped by a policeman while just coming onto the expressway at Sukhumvit Soi 1. Having done nothing wrong (also not surprising) my friend knew it would probably cost him a bribe of about 100-200 baht.
When the policeman walked up to the window, my friend realised this was the same policeman that had pulled him over previously (also for no reason). The first time the policeman said he merged onto the expressway too quickly. This time he merged too slowly. The policeman said he wanted 1,600 baht because he wanted to go buy a bottle of Johnny Walker whiskey.
My friend refused. He then searched the car, taking his time looking through my friend's possessions. He saw a bottle of Rainex from America, started asking if it was a good product, and wanted that. He wanted my friend to give him a carton of cigarettes. In the end, and 500 baht poorer, my friend was able to drive away.
I understand that corruption is a deep-rooted problem in this country, but tell me, does it have to be so bold?
TIRED OF CORRUPTION
114 people busted for the cell phone thing yesterday between the hours of 5 a.m. and 3 p.m. in something like 4 different checkpoint areas - only warnings given out to begin with though.
200 busted a day since cellphone ban
A week after the ban on using cellphones while driving came into effect, city police found 1,294 violators, or some 200 cases per day, a senior official said Thursday.
Deputy Metropolitan Police Bureau chief Pol MajGen Panu Kerdlarppol said the police did not have additional manpower to effectively reinforce the new rule, because the offense was considered petty.
He also admitted police had some difficulties in imposing the ban including the inability to see through tinted car windows especially in the rain or at night time to check if the motorists were using cell phones.
The Nation
Bangkok's Independent Newspaper
See? All they need to do is impose a new law to line their pockets even more and legally!
I think it's a great law because cycling with those a**holes talking on their cells oblivious to everything really makes for dangerous rides.
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"Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."
I heard that in England there is a ban on using your phone while at the petro pump.
as I drive fast, I always notice that friggin retards driving slowly in the right lane are on the phone...
when I see this I pass them in the left(illegal), and then I hit the brakes (probably illegal too)... I really wanna get out and beat the shit out of them....
road rage, gotta calm down, gotta calm down
"Having sex is like playing bridge. If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand."
- Woody Allen
most of the locals dont know how to operate a phone or a car
if i hear one more shouting into a phone in the BTS or cinema i'll put a boot up their arse, i make it a point to talk loudly to the wife as close to their ear as i can
i'm not even gonna start with the driving
Serial Wolf Bagger
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