News Forum - Thailand introduces fine for not wearing seat belt in the back seat

[Stevejm]

  On 8/10/2022 at 8:51 AM, Grumpish said:

Wouldn't work in Thailand, another amulet hung off the rear view mirror is all the protection that a Thai needs. 

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So they shouldn’t even try? Not everyone has amulets hanging off the mirror so maybe “ they” aren’t as monolithic as you think they are? 

[Pinetree]

  On 8/10/2022 at 9:27 AM, Stevejm said:

Helmet enforcement in Bangkok is much stricter than it used to be.

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Bangkok is not Thailand.  It almost unknown outside of the Cites and not even in most of the built up areas. 

[Stevejm]

  On 8/10/2022 at 9:30 AM, RichardR said:

I wonder if the rule applies to my Nissan navara from 2015. It is has a small back site cabine  and does not have seat belts in the back

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Just buy some old front belts from a junk yard and have your rear seat passengers drape them across their lap when you are approaching a checkpoint

[Stevejm]

  On 8/10/2022 at 9:36 AM, Pinetree said:

Bangkok is not Thailand.  It almost unknown outside of the Cites and not even in most of the built up areas. 

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Maybe in the rural country but when I lived in Si Racha most people wore helmets so to say it’s unknown is an exaggeration. Anyway I can say for sure that there are more people across the country wearing helmets now than in 1990 when I did 5000+km on a bike around Thailand and I was literally the only person wearing a helmet. Any improvement is a good thing IMO

[ronnie666]

  On 8/10/2022 at 7:58 AM, Wanderer said:

So if he is not instructed to enforce a specific law that day, he will not bother and this is general practice.? 

Never knew that, thank you, very interesting. 

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yep, you can easily see this on the streets as well, people even stop to ask something to the police officer and he does not fine them instead he say: Have a nice day

[DoUKnowWhoIAm]

  On 8/10/2022 at 9:28 AM, Faraday said:

I can assure you, the Police do enforce traffic rules.

They get me a few times....

Bless them.

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They cought me once for touching a continuous line, I gave them 500B since I know they otherwise only get poor salaries

[DiJoDavO]

  On 8/10/2022 at 5:42 AM, ronnie666 said:

Lol when I came here 19 years ago they started with all the crap of wear your helmet, look 19 years later... 80% does not wear it (but wear the mask)

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Maybe throw some gross traffic accident pics out in the open and make people look at it 24/7 like they did with Covid. Maybe then people will get the point. 

[TWS60]

Interesting to observe Thailand's progression in the public policy/social development spectrum.

Mid/late70s, seat belts weren't a thing in my little world.  Adults in my orbit typically agreed seat belts were useful in the front seat but not the back; common logic being the front seat would restrict/stop the forward momentum of back seat passengers in a collision.  My Uncle man-splained that fact of life as I helped him stuff the lap belts and fasteners out of the way under/behind the back seat.   Riding in the back of an open pick up truck?  You bet!  It was a magical time, back when America was Great, physics was just a theory, and cigarettes weren't the worst thing in the world, yet.

The evil government kicked off their "Make it Click" seat belt campaign, causing wizened adults to scoff about intrusive government overreach at the behest of educated, coastal elites with their fancy university degrees.  Similar moaning about the helmet law.   

Dr. Evil's government brainwashing campaign worked well though.  By the time I was an early teenage sheep learning to drive, fastening seat belts had been programmed firmly into our collective monkey brain.  

Many decades later here in SabaiLand, loaded the wife's parents and a few siblings into our fancy new modern automobile out in the village bubble.  Nobody did the automatic seat belt routine.  Wife told them to buckle up and they all smiled and tittered as they did.   Poor Old Dad was having a hell of a time with his, grumbling about sophisticated Farang know-it-alls and their "so-called" Safety nonsense. 

It was 1970, all over again. 

Edited August 10, 2022 by TWS60

[ronnie666]

  On 8/10/2022 at 11:06 AM, DiJoDavO said:

Maybe throw some gross traffic accident pics out in the open and make people look at it 24/7 like they did with Covid. Maybe then people will get the point. 

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I do not think so the pictures on cigarettes do not help either

[Stevejm]

  On 8/10/2022 at 11:17 AM, TWS60 said:

Interesting to observe Thailand's progression in the public policy/social development spectrum.

Mid/late70s, seat belts weren't a thing in my little world.  Adults in my orbit typically agreed seat belts were useful in the front seat but not the back; common logic being the front seat would restrict/stop the forward momentum of back seat passengers in a collision.  My Uncle man-splained that fact of life as I helped him stuff the lap belts and fasteners out of the way under/behind the back seat.   Riding in the back of an open pick up truck?  You bet!  It was a magical time, back when America was Great, physics was just a theory, and cigarettes weren't the worst thing in the world, yet.

The evil government kicked off their "Make it Click" seat belt campaign, causing wizened adults to scoff about intrusive government overreach at the behest of educated, coastal elites with their fancy university degrees.  Similar moaning about the helmet law.   

Dr. Evil's government brainwashing campaign worked well though.  By the time I was an early teenage sheep learning to drive, fastening seat belts had been programmed firmly into our collective monkey brain.  

Many decades later here in SabaiLand, loaded the wife's parents and a few siblings into our fancy new modern automobile out in the village bubble.  Nobody did the automatic seat belt routine.  Wife told them to buckle up and they all smiled and tittered as they did.   Poor Old Dad was having a hell of a time with his, grumbling about sophisticated Farang know-it-alls and their "so-called" Safety nonsense. 

It was 1970, all over again. 

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The amazing thing about USA ( as an observer looking in) was that some states even repealed the helmet laws for motorcycles.

[palooka]

  On 8/10/2022 at 5:16 AM, WilliamG said:

So a dwarf 13 year old doesn't need a belt    555

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And they exist here in Thailand, this evening spoke to a lovely thai lady that didn't reach my waist.

Lovely lady, supervisor at Big C.

[DesperateOldHand]

Who's gonna be monitoring these new back seat regulations?

Newly acquired citizen snitching task forced? 

Comforting.

[Stevejm]

  On 8/10/2022 at 11:43 AM, palooka said:

And they exist here in Thailand, this evening spoke to a lovely thai lady that didn't reach my waist.

Lovely lady, supervisor at Big C.

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It said as below so the only exemptions are children under 6 who must be in a seat and medical exemptions

Passengers under 135 centimetres must wear a seat belt at all times while travelling to prevent injuries

[Marc26]

  On 8/10/2022 at 9:27 AM, Stevejm said:

Nothing stays the same forever. They started introducing radar speed cameras on motorways  a while back which allow enforcement without personal contact with the police. I believe red light cameras are also on the cards. You can be cynical and claim that everything will always stay the same but that isn’t true. Helmet enforcement in Bangkok is much stricter than it used to be. It just takes time. I view every incremental improvement as a step in the right direction.

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Come on Steve, being rationale and looking at things as an adult is not allowed on this forum, I believe

We will let you off with a warning this time, please be more negative in the future   :)

[AdvocatusDiaboli]

  On 8/10/2022 at 5:36 AM, Giltee said:

It’ll be Interesting to see if it’s enforced like the requirement to wear helmets, children riding motorcycles and be a licensed driver. 

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Oh ….. @Giltee these laws are strictly enforced with heavy fines ……. But only for Tourist Farang that can afford to pay the Bribe. Been a long time in Chiang Mai where a concerted effort to carry out road stops for ALL law breakers on the road. 

[DesperateOldHand]

Too many rules.

They're watching.

[Thommo]

  On 8/10/2022 at 9:27 AM, Stevejm said:

Nothing stays the same forever. They started introducing radar speed cameras on motorways  a while back which allow enforcement without personal contact with the police. I believe red light cameras are also on the cards. You can be cynical and claim that everything will always stay the same but that isn’t true. Helmet enforcement in Bangkok is much stricter than it used to be. It just takes time. I view every incremental improvement as a step in the right direction.

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it is not time it takes it is action which the RTP are not well known for. 

[Bluesofa]

  On 8/10/2022 at 4:45 AM, DoUKnowWhoIAm said:

  On 8/10/2022 at 4:09 AM, Thaiger said:

Passengers under 135 centimetres must wear a seat belt at all times while travelling to prevent injuries in the event of an acciden

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Wrong. Passangers over 135cm must wear a seat belt while those under 135cm must use a child carseat ( Unless they're over 12y)

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Do you have a link to this? Need to know for my wife's nephew.
Was it a Ch3 mistranslation?

[DoUKnowWhoIAm]

  On 8/11/2022 at 12:13 AM, Bluesofa said:

Do you have a link to this? Need to know for my wife's nephew.
Was it a Ch3 mistranslation?

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I don't know about the Thai rules, but my kids will be in their carseats until they reach 135cm.

https://www.roadwise.co.uk/in-car-safety/seatbelts/passengers-over-three-years-and-under-135cm/

[WilliamG]

  On 8/11/2022 at 12:36 AM, DoUKnowWhoIAm said:

I don't know about the Thai rules, but my kids will be in their carseats until they reach 135cm.

https://www.roadwise.co.uk/in-car-safety/seatbelts/passengers-over-three-years-and-under-135cm/

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Yes, I agree, but how many car seats are suitable for a new-born up to 135 cm. You'd need three different sizes, and at the prices they want over here......

Look on Facebook Marketplace.

[DoUKnowWhoIAm]

  On 8/11/2022 at 4:00 AM, WilliamG said:

Yes, I agree, but how many car seats are suitable for a new-born up to 135 cm. You'd need three different sizes, and at the prices they want over here......

Look on Facebook Marketplace.

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You're right, you'll probably need atleast 2.

My son had a convertible Chicco Nextfit from newborn until he reached about 110cm, now he got my daughers old  Graco which is slightly bigger and it can also be modified to a backless booster.
Quality carseats aren't cheap, but it's the last thing I'd cut back on.

[WilliamG]

  On 8/11/2022 at 4:29 AM, DoUKnowWhoIAm said:

You're right, you'll probably need atleast 2.

My son had a convertible Chicco Nextfit from newborn until he reached about 110cm, now he got my daughers old  Graco which is slightly bigger and it can also be modified to a backless booster.
Quality carseats aren't cheap, but it's the last thing I'd cut back on.

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I suppose the economical thing to do would be to produce another child just as the previous one is getting to the 110 cm mark, then buy a bigger seat and carry on like that ad infinitum. Never need to buy another one after that !  555

[DoUKnowWhoIAm]

  On 8/11/2022 at 4:48 AM, WilliamG said:

I suppose the economical thing to do would be to produce another child just as the previous one is getting to the 110 cm mark, then buy a bigger seat and carry on like that ad infinitum. Never need to buy another one after that !  555

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I doubt it would be economical, but I wouldn't mind go on producing

[Guest1]

  On 8/10/2022 at 11:06 AM, DiJoDavO said:

Maybe throw some gross traffic accident pics out in the open and make people look at it 24/7 like they did with Covid. Maybe then people will get the point. 

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If I am remember right (not watching Thai TV anymore, dont have to ;-), they do have a TV show about traffic accidents. Like they have about crimes. All that got caught on any camera or looks interesting enough to reenact it for TV.

And it is popcorn time for the locals.

Just there seems no thought about "could be my brain on the road/my car in the ditch and me going through the window."

[Guest1]

  On 8/10/2022 at 11:37 AM, ronnie666 said:

I do not think so the pictures on cigarettes do not help either

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Oh, they do help. A Thai male never take the one that shows, eh, makes impotent. Always asking for other side effect pic for his package.