News Forum - Driving licence point deductions starting next year in Thailand

[Thaiger]

Driving licence point deductions will start next year in Thailand to help curb traffic violations and dangerous driving. Starting January 9, 2023, the Royal Thai Police and Land Transport Department will enforce the demerit point system. Each driving license holder will be given 12 points to start with but will be deducted for each violation they are caught committing. The point deductions are divided into four levels, depending on the severity of the violation. According to Thai PBS World, one point will be deducted for those caught using a cell phone while driving, not wearing a helmet on a motorcycle, […]

The story Driving licence point deductions starting next year in Thailand as seen on Thaiger News.

Read the full story

[Skip]

Who's fooling who... can I buy more points... of course you can.

[Guest1]

While they are at it:

"one point will be deducted for those caught [...] riding a motorcycle on the pavement,"

How about deducting points for parking on the pavement? Cars, trucks, motorcycles? At least, in case pedestrians have to walk the road, to get around them! 

[Mandy]

They can't put points on a licence if they haven't got one, that's a very large %  what then??

[Faz]

33 minutes ago, Mandy said:

They can't put points on a licence if they haven't got one, that's a very large %  what then??

Obviously, they'll be politely informed to obtain a licence, so the law can be exercised ........ that is of course unless you've got a couple of hundred baht to spare. 

[Augratin]

Under this system you won't lose your license until you're caught drunk-driving four times.

 

[Ivo_Shandor]

In my home country, you get 24 points at the beginning. Penalties are much harsher than these (which are ridiculous as presented in the article) but if one does not commit any violation, earns 2 points/year up to a maximum of 30. Why don't they also award those who drive correctly (albeit a minority on the Thai roads)?

Two points for driving on the wrong side? three points for hit and run? four point for DUI? These are criminal offences in civil countries. And what does "not staying in the correct lane while driving" mean? Nobody respect and drive slowly on the righmost lane. There is no mention on penalties for overtaking on the left (which is, unknown to almost everybody, illegal under the road traffic act). And this sponge blow of points returned after 1 year? Geez.

Mind blowing. All traffic officer should automatically get 3 points deducted for incompetence.

[Manu]

Quote

Driving licence point deductions starting next year in Thailand

Won't be many left with a driving licence by the end of next year.

[Soidog]

This is a great article to stimulate comments. It’s so mind blowing in its stupidity that it’s outrageous.
 

Once again the Thais have taken an idea from outside of Thailand, washed it through so many cycles of bureaucracy and vested interests and it’s come out the machine looking like this. What a total waste of time in terms of reducing accidents.

The one purpose it does have though, is that when some future NGO or UN department checks which countries have enforceable points systems for traffic offences, Thailand gets a tick in the box and scores a few points. It’s what’s referred to as Grin Fu**ing  

[HolyCowCm]

5 hours ago, Guest1 said:

While they are at it:

"one point will be deducted for those caught [...] riding a motorcycle on the pavement,"

How about deducting points for parking on the pavement? Cars, trucks, motorcycles? At least, in case pedestrians have to walk the road, to get around them! 

 

Article Quote: Other offences will see one point deducted, such as driving with unpaid traffic tickets, failing to produce a driving license when asked by police, failing to obey traffic signs, parking in a no-parking zone, and not staying in the correct lane while driving.

That may or may not cover the parking thingy-dingy. But not sure.

 

[Soidog]

11 minutes ago, HolyCowCm said:

Article Quote: Other offences will see one point deducted, such as driving with unpaid traffic tickets, failing to produce a driving license when asked by police, failing to obey traffic signs, parking in a no-parking zone, and not staying in the correct lane while driving.

That may or may not cover the parking thingy-dingy. But not sure.

It probably does. But the good news is that as long as you’re not caught more than once a month doing these things then you can keep your license. That includes being asked 11 times in the year to produce your license that you don’t have. What a joke

[Faz]

9 minutes ago, HolyCowCm said:

That may or may not cover the parking thingy-dingy.

The whole idea is 'thingy-dingy'.

You have to enforce holding a driving licence to legally drive, before you can enforce a penalty points system.

[HolyCowCm]

23 minutes ago, Soidog said:

It probably does. But the good news is that as long as you’re not caught more than once a month doing these things then you can keep your license. That includes being asked 11 times in the year to produce your license that you don’t have. What a joke

Well I am all for it being semi lenient to the ones who only make a small mistake now and then and then after one year the slate is wiped clean. The real offenders will pile up the points. 

Now speeding is the biggest worry of people being not in or on their vehcile but found guilty with having someone else driving/riding their vehicle. My kids ride the bikes in our names and drive our cars as well. How will they enforce this to be given to the correct driver? There are a lot of holes in this point system.

[HolyCowCm]

21 minutes ago, Faz said:

The whole idea is 'thingy-dingy'.

You have to enforce holding a driving licence to legally drive, before you can enforce a penalty points system.

That's where the slap of the hand comes in.

[Faz]

11 minutes ago, HolyCowCm said:

Now speeding is the biggest worry of people being not in or on their vehcile but found guilty with having someone else driving/riding their vehicle. My kids ride the bikes in our names and drive our cars as well.

It's the vehicles/motorcycles that are Insured in Thailand, not the drivers, provided they have valid licences.

[Soidog]

30 minutes ago, HolyCowCm said:

There are a lot of holes in this point system.

Agree to that. More holes than a colander 

[HolyCowCm]

41 minutes ago, Faz said:

It's the vehicles/motorcycles that are Insured in Thailand, not the drivers, provided they have valid licences.

Yeah but the points go to the registered owner if caught on camera. Not the one who is driving it.

[HolyCowCm]

24 minutes ago, Soidog said:

Agree to that. More holes than a colander 

[HolyCowCm]

31 minutes ago, Soidog said:

Agree to that. More holes than a colander 

Only thing that can hold is a lot of fat.

[Grumpish]

1 hour ago, HolyCowCm said:

Well I am all for it being semi lenient to the ones who only make a small mistake now and then and then after one year the slate is wiped clean. The real offenders will pile up the points. 

Now speeding is the biggest worry of people being not in or on their vehcile but found guilty with having someone else driving/riding their vehicle. My kids ride the bikes in our names and drive our cars as well. How will they enforce this to be given to the correct driver? There are a lot of holes in this point system.

In the UK the registered keeper is responsible for the kind of stuff that gets picked up by traffic cameras -  speeding, jumping red lights, that kind of thing - unless they can prove that it wasn't them driving, Four strikes before your out for DUI is crazy - but then so is the whole scheme.. 

[Guest1]

5 hours ago, Ivo_Shandor said:

Nobody respect and drive slowly on the righmost lane.

Wrong country! The right side, in TiT, is the wrong side, the left side. :-)

[Guest1]

5 hours ago, Ivo_Shandor said:

There is no mention on penalties for overtaking on the left (which is, unknown to almost everybody, illegal under the road traffic act).

As long the road has minimum 2 lanes for every direction, Section 45, it is legal.

 

Just not to cross a solid line for overtaking reasons, but that lane changing is covered by " ... has to drive on the left lane"

;-)

 

Illegal is overtaking on the left in the same lane. Or lane splitting. But it can't, cause there are this "boxes" in front of traffic lights, with "bike" written in it. How to get there, without driving left, right, lanesplitting?

Also driving over a solid yellow or white line only for overtaking reasons is a "not allowed". Just no one cares, not even the BiBs. Even with the chance to make lots of money, they don't care.

[HolyCowCm]

57 minutes ago, Guest1 said:

Wrong country! The right side, in TiT, is the wrong side, the left side. :-)

Well in CM when they had a lot of Chinese toursist here on motorbikes they sure did. Slow and completely topped on the right hand near curb, talked to each otehr and checked their GPS. Can't count how many times saw this happen.

[Grumpish]

5 hours ago, Guest1 said:

As long the road has minimum 2 lanes for every direction, Section 45, it is legal.

That explains it - several times in Pattaya earlier on this year I had near misses with motorbikes overtaking on the inside while getting on or off baht buses.