'New Year's gift' for traffic violators questioned

Many in the social media are questioning the reduced fines during the New Year period in Bangkok for "minor" traffic violations โ€“ like driving without a license or not wearing a helmet.

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'New Year's gift' for traffic violators questioned

It sounds like a nice gesture for the New Year period, but if you think about it, it may not be a very good idea after all.

Acting Metropolitan Police Bureau chief Pol Lt Gen Sanit Mahathaworn said on Tuesday that traffic violators have been given until Jan 15 to pay a flat-rate fine of 100 baht for all minor traffic offences committed in Bangkok as a "New Year gift"

He said the idea to offer discounts on the normal fine was originally implemented by Lam Phak Chi police station in Nong Chok district, which began on Dec 15 and would end on Jan 15.

He thought the project was good public relations and moved to extend it to cover traffic lawbreakers across the capital. Metropolitan Police divisions 1-9, the Traffic Police Division and all 88 police stations in the city had been ordered to implement this policy.  

Pol Lt Gen Sanit said people who were given tickets with a fine not over 500 baht and had their driving licences seized by police between Dec 21 and Jan 15 could pay 100 baht at the police station which issued the ticket to reclaim their documents.

Social media critics quickly slammed the idea, saying it would only encourage people to break traffic laws. They were particularly upset when they found out "minor traffic offences" included driving without a licence, not wearing a crash helmet or failure to fasten a seat belt.

These were deemed minor, Pol Lt-Gen Sanit said, because they did not endanger the general public or cause traffic problems.

Pol Lt Gen Sanit acknowledged that some legal experts had expressed concerns that the campaign may encourage people to pay less respect for the law and breach traffic regulations continuously.

He stressed, however, that police were fully enforcing the law against anyone found to have committed serious traffic offences and caused distress to the general public.

Adapted from a story by our online reporters

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