Public informers get 55,000 baht in first month for reporting footpath violations

[juice777]

I hope this is the first step to sorting the roads out in Thailand. It's a good move if you ask me. Let's hope it goes nation wide for all Traffic offenses. Who knows the roads might even be somewhere near safe one day. Let's face it if there's no consequence for breaking the rules people going to do it in any country. Hit them in the pocket that will stop most of them.

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[juice777]

Can't expats not vent their opinion without having to leave? It's people, who think like you should leave. I agree with Hayduke. Fear is a powerful tool for governments to control society. Same happened during WW II. Thousands of Jewish people were captured, because their neighbours betrayed them. Never read the bible about how Judas betrayed Jesus? 

What utter nonsense. How can you compare getting idiots of the pavement on there motorcycles to the Holocaust. If anything this will save life's. You seriously should think before you post.

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[natway09]

I wanna know how many bashings ?

This is an admission that all that money spent on TV cameras, a bloated police force & we still need 

to rely on "dobbers" ?

[YetAnother]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

and get their rewards for being grasses.

what in the world does that mean ??

[YetAnother]

2 hours ago, Hayduke said:

Another step downward. One of the key tools of any dictatorship is fear. But fear of the government is one thing…fear of being informed on by one’s fellow citizens is much more powerful.

agreed, rewarding members of the public for 'reporting' on other members of the public is a slippery slope

[sinbin]

A policeman receives 95% of any fine he issues. If I was a cop I'd work overtime for free just to issue out the fines. The opportunity is there to make big monies legally so why don't they? 

 

Quote

Under the Article 44 order, the Department of Land Transport will get 5 per cent of each traffic fine and pass on the rest of the fine money to traffic police. The order also authorises traffic police to tow away or lock the wheels of vehicles parked in prohibited spots and vehicle owners must pay the cost of such actions as well as the vehicle parking cost if applicable.

 

[anon789561]

22 minutes ago, InMyShadow said:

"how dare you say one thing negative about the place"

Nonsense, these boards are 90 % bashing. You will struggle to find any positives.

So so many desperately unhappy I'm genuinely curious to know what's the attraction here? Oops of course we know what the attraction is lol

loads of positives actually, perhaps you're just looking for the negatives. by the way , what is the attraction then, do tell. curious?

[SpeakeasyThai]

1 hour ago, Classic Ray said:

Disagree. The most effective and popular police forces are those, like the UK, that rely on community policing. Police officers rely on the public to call them or give them information as they cannot be everywhere at once. And they need the support of the public when they are enforcing the law, not being attacked or criticised. 

 

Nothing worse than women or children being abused in their homes and neighbours "not wanting to interfere" until it's too late.

 

If the public in Thailand need a little bit of incentive, not having been brought up with this concept, then that's OK. Heartening to see some people refusing the reward as they are acting for the good of society, not for money.

Well maybe 'heartening' but Thais are very motivated when it comes to free money and the authorities are bringing out the worst of Thai values buy promoting financial gain in notifying the Police. Agree people should  notify and tip off Police but not in this manner.

[RichardinHuaHin]

Wow reading some comments here.  When will TV have an expat boxing match?  

[Bangkok Barry]

3 hours ago, Hayduke said:

Another step downward. One of the key tools of any dictatorship is fear. But fear of the government is one thing…fear of being informed on by one’s fellow citizens is much more powerful.

Nothing to fear if you're doing nothing wrong. And threatening pedestrians by riding motorcyles on the sidewalk comes under doing something wrong.

[silent]

2 hours ago, SpeakeasyThai said:

Something very wrong about this scheme - grubby and very divisive to the local community. It's an  unhealthy society that encourages and rewards public to inform on neighbours and other fellow citizens. Disturbing values.

Maybe it's just me considers it low on the list of disturbing values 

[Suzy]

I wonder which areas were covered - certainly not the Bang Chan area. It's often impossible to walk down Siam Park Road because of motor bikes and bikes cluttering the pavements. Also very difficult sometimes to park near the shops there due to shop owners stacking chairs, tables and other obstacles at the side of the street to reserve the area for themselves.

[mikosan]

3 hours ago, Hayduke said:

Another step downward. One of the key tools of any dictatorship is fear. But fear of the government is one thing…fear of being informed on by one’s fellow citizens is much more powerful.

Oh so true.

[Ossy]

3 hours ago, hobz said:

They should do the same for incorrect use of the roads, like speeding, driving wrong direction, etc etc.etc  everyone has dash cams.. Why not use them.

Too right, crazy as it sounds. Let's not have an invisible, ineffective and inept police force . . . just a special, 'quick-service' desk at the local Amphoes for dash-cam verifying; the officer, there, passes evidence to Court prosecutor's office and Bob's your uncle. Great idea, Hobz. Oh-oh, just spotted a snag. What if the Amphoe guy can't be trusted . . . he'll be in for shed-loads of brownies.

[Moti24]

1 hour ago, Jonmarleesco said:

So how much do they pocket for snitching on LM 'suspects'?

How much do you want?

[Saladin]

What a stupid idea. I bet most of the claims were from the coppers themselves. If the police have been detailed to prosecute footpath violations they only need to walk down the street, where violations are the rule rather than the exception. In the area where I live in Chiang Mai I could walk out right now into Nimmanhaemin Road and see 100 blatant violations within a ten minute trip and stumble to Huay Keow Road. The Mayor is useless and washes his hands of any responsibility. A few years ago local residents and the media took him (assuming it was the same Mayor) to task about this and he claimed that it was the responsibility of the Roads department, which was untrue. He went on to say that it wouldn't be fair to spend money on the rich people of the Nimman area as poorer areas also needed attention. This is despite the fact that the Nimmanhaemin area is the centre of the booming Chinese tourist market, and where hotels, condos, and shopping centres are going up like mushrooms. This notwithstanding, the condition of the footpaths in Nimmanhaemin Road is the worst of any street I have seen anywhere in Chiang Mai. If public opinion can't get useless bureaucrats to do their jobs perhaps more enlightened government agencies such as Tourism might get something done, as surely this leaves a very bad impression on foreign visitors returning to their country.

[sinbin]

2 minutes ago, Saladin said:

If the police have been detailed to prosecute footpath violations they only need to walk down the street

See post #36.

[Dogmatix]

What about the police offenders riding motor bikes on footpaths?

 

A couple of nights ago in Bangkok I was nearly blinded by a large motorbike with a very bright headlamp riding on the wrong side of the road fast and not bothering to keep in close to the footpath.  I was in the left hand lane and had to swerve partially into the lane on my right, nearly causing an accident, and got hooted at by the vehicle in that lane.  I was about to vent my fury my flashing my headlights and sounding my horn when I saw the bike rider was a policeman exercising his divine right to do as he pleased in any and all circumstances.    

[Tchooptip]

3 hours ago, InMyShadow said:

3 hours ago, Hayduke said:

Another step downward. One of the key tools of any dictatorship is fear. But fear of the government is one thing…fear of being informed on by one’s fellow citizens is much more powerful.

Most expats here will try to find a negative in anything. If you're fearful you know where Suvarnabhumi is, no fear they won't stop you leaving.

If you allow me a little correction, it is probably not "most expats", but here they are let's say a few dozens, yes, always the same by the way, they will find negativeness in absolutely everything in this country, for some of them it is a kind of hatred for what they call Thainess.

On the other hand, TV does have thousands of member whose critics are not pathological at all 

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, RichardinHuaHin said:

Wow reading some comments here.  When will TV have an expat boxing match?  

Great idea, I know who I would want as an opponent.

[maxcorrigan]

14 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

Great idea, I know who I would want as an opponent.

OK, now come on, out with it Who?

[Krataiboy]

Why just Bangkok? Why can't narking be adopted as a nation-wide pastime,  to give us all a share of the action - and the ante?

 

In my town, motorcyclist pavement-parkers are a minor problem compared with vendors of all kinds whose stalls clutter the pavements, forcing pedestrians on to the busy, dangerous roads.

 

If anybody should be bubbled and banned it is these selfish squatters. But I'm not holding my breath. You can bet someone with clout is being bunged to make sure the authorities turn a blind eye.

 

[dave moir]

Why do people rabbit on on these forums?  It's people reporting inconsiderate people who park on FOOTPATHS!!!!! Only thinking about themselves and no consideration for others ie. People with pushchair or wheelchair I wish they would do the same in Chiang Mai! I'm sick of having to walk onto the roads to get past 4x4s and song tauws and also motorcycles that are parked on the FOOTPATHS which are continually being damaged by the weight of the bigger vehicles! 

[HerbalEd]

5 hours ago, Hayduke said:

Another step downward. One of the key tools of any dictatorship is fear. But fear of the government is one thing…fear of being informed on by one’s fellow citizens is much more powerful.

Yes -- the horrible fear of having to pay a few-hundred baht for a minor traffic offense. 

[Srikcir]

5 hours ago, Card said:

Most of the reporters didn't want money

17 out of 188 informers is not "most."

While nations' law enforcement do pay informers it's for criminal violations (drugs, murder, theft) and not for misdemeanor violations like footpath violation.

[Yann55]

6 hours ago, Hayduke said:

Another step downward. One of the key tools of any dictatorship is fear. But fear of the government is one thing…fear of being informed on by one’s fellow citizens is much more powerful.

 

I totally agree. Yet, as you can see in the thread (the post right after yours for a start), a lot of people do not see the problem in reporting their fellow human beings for doing something 'wrong'.

 

Europe as a whole is divided on that question, and the division is reflected here. It's interesting to note that the sanctimonious attitude is more common in the Northern part of the continent, probably due to the protestant background, which tends to produce more law abiding citizens. Their stance is "I'm not breaking the rules in any way so why should others feel free to do so?". It makes sense, there's no denying that, but when it leads to reporting other people to the authorities, knowing full well that it will cause them trouble, the attitude becomes contentious, and rather unpalatable.

 

In Southern European countries, on the other hand, everyone is busy bending the law in one way or another, which tends to temper the urge to rat out on other people's wrongdoings.

 

In Thailand (as in most of Asia) we see yet a different pattern. People from all layers of society bend the rules constantly, and the general atttitude seems to be 'if no one catches me doing it, then it's OK to do it'. The tendency to grass up, nevertheless, is also very common, and I see 2 possible causes for that interesting paradox :

 

1/ Most Asians are fascinated by gambling, and breaking the rules is part of that game. Ratting on others also becomes part of the game.

 

2/ The very heavy Confucian influence on all South Asian cultures and the way it shapes Asian minds into a rather subservient behaviour towards any form of authority.

 

 

[pattayadon]

7 hours ago, InMyShadow said:

7 hours ago, Hayduke said:

Another step downward. One of the key tools of any dictatorship is fear. But fear of the government is one thing…fear of being informed on by one’s fellow citizens is much more powerful.

Most expats here will try to find a negative in anything. If you're fearful you know where Suvarnabhumi is, no fear they won't stop you leaving.

Negative?  Fearful?  Not sure about that.  Personally I do not fear the police since, like most expats, I abide by the law.  HOWEVER... Turning in your neighbor to authorities for a few measly baht is ten steps backwards for any free society.  Definitely the wrong approach to fixing minor infractions. How about hiring an effective POLICE force to enforce safety and traffic laws!!!!  

[Gillyflower]

9 hours ago, Happy enough said:

nice little earner, might give it a go. oh no, that's a job reserved for thais. need a work permit for that. there you go. got that one out of the way nice and early for ya 555

Dash it!!  I was just getting ready to putmyself on the list.  Then YOU had to come along and dash all my hopes.  People like you should be informed against.

[pattayadon]

I'm telling on myself and collecting 100 baht!      Woo Hoo 2 San Miggy's with manao please.

[Nemesis7]

Its really entertaining...more to see...new rules, new fines, new pay out methods.