Corrupt Pattaya Police, International Driver's License and how to avoid being an Asshole

[TotallyOz]

I was driving on 2nd road today on a motorbike. I had my helmet on. I was driving slow. I had not broken any laws. There was a police stop not far past Royal Garden and before Central Festival. They were stopping mostly foreigners. I was motioned to pull over. I did as requested.

 

The officer asked me for my Driver's License. I showed him my International Driver's License and he said in English that he wanted to see my Thai Driver's License. I told him I did not have one. He started to write a ticket. I told him that the International Driver's License was acceptable according to the law. He said he only accepted the Thai Driver's License and said I would have to go to Police Station on Soi 9 to pay the fee of 400 baht or I could give him 2,000 baht and go now. I told him no that I would got o the police station as I wanted to talk to his superiors.

 

I did go to the station and I got my number to wait in line and was told by others it was about a one hour wait. I asked the people at info desk to speak to English Speaking Officer and one came out that was in full uniform but not Thai. He appeared to be either from Norway or Sweden. I showed him my ticket and asked why I was given this and he said I did not have a Driver's License with me. I showed him the International Driver's License and he said sorry but I needed to pay the ticket. I explained that this was a legal way to drive and he said, "yes, but today they need money and it is better for you to just pay the ticket." I asked if there was someone else I could speak to and was told no.

 

There was a group of guys from Australia that were here for 2 weeks and had the International Driver's License as well and they were told the same thing as me. When they refused, one officer took the guy away. As I am not stupid, I was not going to cause a problem. But, the other Australian was yelling at the officer when he paid to ask why and the officer just laughed. He said, "Pattaya sucks. I'll never come back to Pattaya again" to which the officers all laughed and said, "OK."

 

There were others in the place that had a driver's license in Thai and were fined because they "switched lanes" to go over to the officers that were pulling people over. So, if they had not stopped for the officers they would not have broken any laws.

 

The officer I had spoke to apologized to me but said there was nothing he could do when I had a ticket written. I told him that the other office back on 2nd road would not have written if I had paid 2k baht to which he said, "maybe a better choice for you."

 

Needless to say, I am not happy with the situation but I am also not an idiot. I'll not cause a stink in a police office in a foreign country and I paid the fee and went back to get the book they held until it was paid. When I picked up the book, the officer said, "Merry Christmas." I said something very nasty but said it so fast he could not understand. To which all I can say now is:

 

TIT

 

So, regardless of what others tell you, you may need a Thai Driver's License if you don't want to get trapped in one of these money making scams. And, even that would not have helped as they needed money and would then get you for driving reckless and changing lanes without signaling.

[Bob]

Given it's Christmas Eve, I actually can conjure up a bit of sympathy for you.

 

But I'm guessing that the Pattaya cops are convinced that all they did was to give you the very present you were looking for here in the Land of Smiles (i.e., a good scewing! ). Melly Clitmas, Khun Michael.

[Guest fountainhall]

I'm such a stubborn bastard that I would get the email for the 'Letters' editor in one of the Australian newspapers and write a short letter (these guys don't like long letters!) as though you were one of the guys from Australia. Seeing that in the Australian media will certainly not please the Thai Embassy there and maybe - just maybe - they will write to their Foreign Ministry bosses to get them to write to the relevant Ministry to advise the police to lay off farang for a while.

 

Interestingly, there is a longish article in today's Sydney Morning Herald headed "Aussies warned about Phuket Scamsters". So a letter about police scams as a follow up may well have a writer investigate.

 

http://www.smh.com.a...1223-2btzi.html

 

For your info, the email for Letters is letters@smh.com.au

 

If someone screws me, I generally try and screw them! But I'm also a realist and usually know there is point beyond which I have to accept I've been screwed and accept it.

[Guest painai]

This is why I won't drive a vehicle in Thailand.

[Guest timmberty]

i saw some people getting stopped in the self same place as you got stopped earlier this year michael..

they pulled over one farang ... when he stopped he gave out a great big smile .. showed his paper work and off he went .. the ones who seemed none to pleased all got tickets ...

maybe a good idea is a full visor helmet ... and a pair of false thai type eyes on the top of it .. then they wont know you are farang.

[firecat69]

That this is the first time this has happened to you is a miracle. Honestly I have more sympathy for the Thais who were pulled over and can ill afford to pay any amount of a fine at any time.

 

Really just a reminder that no matter how much we might love Thailand, it is still a 3rd world country in many respects.

[KhorTose]

Sorry Michael, I can understand why you would be angry. I know I would be. Nevertheless, you can't let it get you down. It is just one of the added expenses of living in Thailand and it gives you one more story to share on line and with others about Thailand. Look at it this way. There may be a time when you do do something wrong, like driving when you have had a little too much to drink, and the ability to pay off these corrupt bastards can really come in handy.

It is their bad Karma and not yours so forget it and enjoy the rest of your holidays.

[mahjongguy]

The only thing I find unusual about this episode is that the cop asked for 2,000 baht. Generally it would be 400 baht, and I'm quite sure he would have accepted an offer for that amount.

 

I dunno how long those Aussies had been in Thailand but even though you come & go from Thailand the cops could make a fair case that your IDL is not valid. They may only be used for 90 days.

[Guest thaiworthy]

This is why I won't drive a vehicle in Thailand.

 

I agree, same-same me. However, I DO have a Thai driver's license for emergency purposes, in case of a long trip and the bf can't drive. But an International Driving Permit is supposed to be valid for 3 months and should have been acceptable.

 

I don't like trouble, would've offered 500 baht and tried to be as happy as I could. (But of course, I really wouldn't be driving in the first place, and on a motorcycle of all things for fear of getting killed!). For all the trials and tribulations there are in Thailand, it is still a pretty good place to live, all things considered, and I wouldn't trade it for anywhere else.

[Gaybutton]

an International Driving Permit is supposed to be valid for 3 months and should have been acceptable.

 

It is valid only if you are also carrying a valid driving license from your home country. You are required to have both.

 

People can say what they want, but I learned a long time ago - if you drive in Thailand, you might as well expect to periodically be a victim of these scams. You can raise hell, use flawless logic, prove you are correct about the law, prove you did nothing wrong, or anything else you want to try. You know where it will get you? Nowhere. You're not going to get out of it and if anything, you'll only make things worse. Do what you want, but my advice is just pay it and go on and don't even try to argue about it.

 

You're either going to have to accept it as part of living in Thailand or, if you can't, then you're better off following painai's advice and refrain from driving in Thailand at all.

 

That's just the way things are, folks.

[Guest]

I'm amazed Thailand lets this carry on. They could set up an armed anti-corruption unit and introduce the death penalty for any police caught taking bribes.

However, I suppose all the bars full of prostitutes only exist due to bribes paid, so there are some benefits....

[Guest fountainhall]

Sorry, Rogie - it would never work! Corruption is endemic in Thailand. It goes on everywhere at almost every level of society. The anti-corruption body is a farce, a paper tiger with no powers. When Thaksin as Prime Minister 'engineered' his paying no tax on the sale of his company's telecoms shares to Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, Temasek Holdings, and walked away with US$1.9 billion tax-free, was there any groundswell of anger and resentment around the country? After all, it was the taxpayers who would suffer! Nope! The view seemed to be: everyone is corrupt, everyone gets away with it, why target Thaksin?

 

With that mindset, this country will never make even a dent in reducing corruption.

[Rogie]

Sorry, Rogie

 

Not me, but might just as well be! I've been anti-capital punishment (in my home country Britain), for a long time but I do have to admit the old hang 'em, flog 'em attitude appeals more and more when I read what some people get away with in Thailand.

 

Despite that, although Thailand carries out executions by lethal injection, there is a groundswell of 'expert' opinion that Thailand should abolish the death penalty.

 

Experts call for end to death penalty in Thailand

 

The event, organised by the Union for Civil Liberty with support from the European Union, the French Embassy and others, brought together participants from across Southeast Asia to Thammasat University in Bangkok. There was talk of progress made in the region and a call for Thailand to speed up the abolition of the death penalty.

 

"We sincerely urge Thailand to take the lead" in abolishing the death penalty in the region, said Debbie Stothard, deputy secretary-general of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). Two countries in the region, the Philippines and Cambodia, no longer have the death penalty, she said.

 

In Southeast Asia, Thailand's death-row population is second to that of Malaysia, where about 900 prisoners are awaiting execution.

 

In Thailand, the number of inmates on death row is around 600 - about half of them drug-trafficking convicts, according to Amnesty International Thailand.

 

Thailand last executed two inmates in 2009, said Pol Colonel Aeknarat Sawettanand, director-general of the Department of Rights and Liberty Protection. He reported that department will engage in two phases of work in order to gain more knowledge from abroad and in Thailand and enable the public to better understand and be sensitised to the fact that death penalty doesn't help reduce severe crimes.

 

However, the director-general admitted that Thai society is "addicted to violence" as reflected in the popularity of gruesome photos splashed on newspapers' front pages. "The mass media breed revenge and retribution," he said, adding that what Thailand needs is rehabilitation of people who commit crimes so they can become productive citizens.

 

Ultimately, it's up to Parliament to end the death penalty, Aeknarat said.

 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Experts-call-for-end-to-death-penalty-in-Thailand-30196019.html

[Rogie]

That's just the way things are, folks.

 

That may be so, but I am a great believer in using Message Boards such as this one as each time we hear about this sort of thing, written from personal experience - thank you Michael - helps us form our own opinion about how things are done in Thailand. Those of you who are ex-pats will in many cases have learned the hard way, so you already have plenty of experiences to form your own opinions. Visitors however are often unaware - the Australians mentioned in the OP are a good example of that - and run the risk of doing or saying the 'wrong' thing and ending up in hot water.

 

I've been stopped in Surin riding a motorbike, didn't have my docs (IDP and UK driving licence) on me so told the copper I'd go back home and fetch them. He said ok, I came back later and wasn't given a ticket. In fact the thought of getting a ticket never even entered my mind . . . I hate to think what I might've said or done if he'd tried to do that. Reading the experiences of others is very useful - next time I'm pulled over in a car or motorbike and threatened with a fine I'll try and be a wee bit more phlegmatic.

[Guest thaiworthy]

It is valid only if you are also carrying a valid driving license from your home country. You are required to have both.

 

Good point. That could explain why Michael got the ticket. I re-read the post and it only says Michael produced the Permit. Michael, did you have your US state-issued driver's license with you?

[TotallyOz]

Good point. That could explain why Michael got the ticket. I re-read the post and it only says Michael produced the Permit. Michael, did you have your US state-issued driver's license with you?

 

I had both with me. I also had my Passport with me. I had everything required to drive in Thailand.

[Bob]

I had everything required to drive in Thailand.

 

Including, of course, those little colored pieces of paper with the King's picture....hehe.

 

But I'm still wondering......was the cop wearing those skin-tight brown pants and did he have a nice ass?

[TotallyOz]

Including, of course, those little colored pieces of paper with the King's picture....hehe.

 

But I'm still wondering......was the cop wearing those skin-tight brown pants and did he have a nice ass?

 

He was and he was cute but a bit too old for me. If I were looking for a "daddy" he might have been perfect.

[TotallyOz]

That may be so, but I am a great believer in using Message Boards such as this one as each time we hear about this sort of thing, written from personal experience - thank you Michael - helps us form our own opinion about how things are done in Thailand. Those of you who are ex-pats will in many cases have learned the hard way, so you already have plenty of experiences to form your own opinions. Visitors however are often unaware - the Australians mentioned in the OP are a good example of that - and run the risk of doing or saying the 'wrong' thing and ending up in hot water.

 

I totally agree with this. I have learned so much from these boards and gotten some great information. I still learn from them and think that the more people post their experiences, the more we all learn.

 

I know that I would NEVER be an asshole like the Australian guy but I also knew I could not just pay without asking for a supervisor. I knew from the instant I got the ticket that I was on the "hook" for the money but I had to give it a try. I would never do anything disrespectful to have problems in the Kingdom.

[Up2u]

If I have an IDL and a drivers license from my home country I can rent and drive a car legally here in Thailand but I can not legally rent or drive a motorcycle since I do not have a motorcycle license from my home country. The officer probably wanted to see some kind of legal motorcycle license, preferably Thai, that shows you can operate a motorcycle.

[TotallyOz]

If I have an IDL and a drivers license from my home country I can rent and drive a car legally here in Thailand but I can not legally rent or drive a motorcycle since I do not have a motorcycle license from my home country. The officer probably wanted to see some kind of legal motorcycle license, preferably Thai, that shows you can operate a motorcycle.

 

Nope, I have a motorcycle license as I own 3 choppers in USA. It was not that either. He simply wanted money. He did not want any license. As I said in the original post, if they didn't get you on the license, they would get you for reckless driving for not signaling when you went over to see them. To me, that says that no matter what you did or didn't do, you were going to get a fine.

[Up2u]

Well, he was out to get you but, just curious, if you had your motorcycle license and IDL with the motorcycle option clearly marked with you. I would have shown both documents at the police station too.

[TotallyOz]

Well, he was out to get you but, just curious, if you had your motorcycle license and IDL with the motorcycle option clearly marked with you. I would have shown both documents at the police station too.

 

The officer at the police station KNEW I had the license. I showed him my International Driver's License and had my NYS and my Passport all ready for him. We discussed it. He agreed with me that it was legal. He also said there was nothing he could do. In other words, Pay Up.

[mahjongguy]

Michael is entirely right. Being 100% compliant is irrelevant. On our last trip up to Surin we came upon a checkpoint. My Thai friend was driving. The cops checked the registration, the insurance, his license, my passport. In the end they fined him 200 baht for driving in the daytime with his headlights on. Seriously.

 

In my experience, checkpoint cops don't care about the fine details of International Driving Licenses. If it looks okay at a glance they'll just pick the next infraction on their list, often the "driving in the fast lane" joke. The real importance of having a valid IDL and a matching valid foreign license and obeying the 90 day limit is that otherwise you won't have any insurance coverage. That could cost you a whole lot more than tea money.

[Guest]

There's an article on the front page of "The Nation" today, about tackling scammers who prey on tourists.

That mentions jet skis and so on, but nothing is said about the scammers in brown.