Ban on passengers in loading back pickup trucks is postponed
From now on, drivers who transport passengers in the back of a pickup truck will only receive a verbal warning. This was agreed on Friday during a meeting of Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu and representatives of the Royal Thai Police (RTP), the Land Transport Department (LTD) and other relevant services.
From now on, the police will take strict action against exceeding the speed limit and driving under the influence. In addition, the police will check more intensively for compulsory helmet use and the use of seat belts (also on the back seat).
Wittaya says more study is needed before the law can be changed about the dump truck ban. He said no decision has been made on the maximum number of people in the cargo bed. In the event of accidents, the drivers are always liable because they use a vehicle for passenger transport that is not suitable for this purpose. That is and was already banned in Thailand.
The truck body ban went into effect on April 5, but has already been suspended after one day under pressure from protests from poor Thai people in particular. It seemed that there would be some kind of compromise for a maximum of six people, but that also seems to be out of the question.
The measure was taken according to Article 44 of the interim constitution, Wittaya now says that the government should have explained the measure better to the population first.
Source: Bankok Post
Good.
A government that takes into account the needs of the population and does not respond directly to the o-so-fashionable Western call for 'security'.
Since when do the needs of the population take precedence over safety not only for themselves but also for other road users like you and me?
Fully support the Inquisitor's reaction, the man has fully adapted to a life in Thailand, read the beautiful stories here, that's enough.
Think most bloggers here come to Thailand for a few weeks of vacation, I recommend booking an "all inclusive" hotel close to the beach, preferably without having to cross a street, then venture into the Thai world don't complain, don't forget Thailand has a civilization centuries older than the Netherlands or Belgium, so don't always raise the finger, we don't have the right.
We are guests here, and we will always be guests, Thailand does not excel in perfection but is a beautiful country with many nice people, we must cherish this, let Thailand be as it is.
Roy
Roy,
The comment “oh so fashionable Western call for “safety” is a gut feeling and not based on anything. Moreover, safety is also in quotes, which suggests that it is not really safety. The link between a safety and what would be a "fashionable Western call" eludes me completely. I think everyone, anywhere in the world, would like to live safely. Also the Thais.
It is therefore also tragic that there are so many victims in Thailand, while there is no need for it. To label that as a “fashionable Western call” I find demonizing the truth! Yes, Thai boys and girls, put your fingers in the socket! Just walk onto the highway! Security is just a stupid Western term with no basis in it! Thai civilization is ancient and Newton and Darwin are just Western quacks, their claims are just made up.
En passant, opponents of your view (that's it, no more and no less!) are dismissed as people who come on vacation for a few weeks a year. Or if you can't beat them with arguments, just dismiss them as a bunch of Western whiners.
The more I think about it, the more I am annoyed by your response. Unfortunately I can't give a "-1".
Hey, since when must a minister first explain a long-standing law to the population?
Shouldn't everyone be aware of the laws and regulations, even foreigners visiting another country (Thailand, etc.) should be aware of the laws and regulations.
The Thai knows the rules but does not care about them and does what they think is right. It's a mess, especially in traffic. Oversight of this type of violation has been lacking for years for various reasons, such as the poor Thai who know no other solution for the transport of groups of workers and family than in this way. In the Netherlands, customary law has no law except that it is referred to by written law. (General Provisions Act). I don't know how this is legally regulated in Thailand. A transitional period would be appropriate, so that the people can adapt to this. Ultimately, this type of transport can no longer take place if you want to keep road safety serious and let common sense prevail.
What does it cost to buy off a warning? 50 Baht?
What the government should have done is check and verbalize the ban on the transportation of people in the cargo bed and at the same time announce an action requiring all owners of luxury cars whose catalog value exceeds 4 million Baht to prove that the car as a whole (and not in parts) has been imported, that tax has been paid on it and how the car in question has been financed.
Why buy off a warning for passengers in the cargo bed? It's not checked anyway.
The consequence of enforcing the ban on transporting people in the back of a truck is that large groups of (poor) people and entrepreneurs are forced to pay for themselves. Then wages and prices have to go up.
I think it would be a good idea if the government, as a transitional measure, sets a maximum speed of, for example, 50 km/h for vehicles with (a limited number of) people in the loading platform.
But as always and everywhere in the world: compliance with laws and regulations stands or falls with enforcement and the likelihood of being caught.
I do not understand what the paid or unpaid tax on luxury cars imported or not in parts has to do with this topic. (For 4M฿ you can buy 5 luxury 4-door pickup trucks, I thought.)
It looks amateurish, introducing a ban based on Article 44 of the interim constitution, while there is already a legal ban on passenger transport in a vehicle that is not suitable for this purpose.
Introducing a restriction seems to me to be a good thing, its announcement should be accompanied by a transitional period so that people can respond to the new rules.
Nico B
Good news for my mother-in-law, now she can get back in the truck, better than with the in-law in the front of the cabin with air conditioning on max, she couldn't stand it!
Slowly but surely people are discovering that the main solution lies in more control of the existing rules and less stacking of rules.
Dear God, what a joke. It was written in the stars.
More trousers from the same cloth.
As for the "inquisitor's" reaction... during the past weekend, an innocent 12-year-old child died in such a truck bed. It was still the father who was at the wheel and drove much too fast on the wet road surface. Is that also a fashionable Western call for safety?
If people in Thailand want to increase VAT by 1 percent, the whole country will immediately be turned upside down and it will be canceled within a day. It remains 7%. That is now also the case with the pick-ups. Nothing changes, just pay attention.
There is also no solution for this, should all those construction workers take a taxi or come by bus? Sorry for all those victims.
We who live here must realize that a Thai will always flout the rules. One just does something.
Just adapt those pick-ups for passenger transport.
Mandatory benches in the back with seat belts and proper roll bars for when it flips over.
No more passengers than seat belts, but that is actually already an existing law.
This traffic law = from 1979. Now the government is proposing to postpone enforcement. Start by enforcing a speed limit as a provisional rule first! For example: In built-up areas 50km on highways 80km for these pickup trucks and drink controls! That could prevent a lot of accidents.
One could start by installing seats that can be removed after passenger transport and also build a transparent dome, also removable. This would already be a lot safer.
Maybe I see it too simple, but just everyone has to wear a seat belt.
Those who don't have a seat belt on and ticket the driver twice.
Because he has to keep an eye on things for safety.
Why make it difficult when it can be done easily.
People sitting in the back will not fly out and see this as a transitional arrangement.
Kind regards, Rob
Last Saturday we toured around for two hours on the touring big bike.
I do this more often because of the current heat during the day.
Start around six o'clock with the break of dawn .
Overtaken many pickups packed with people.
Even a Mazda family, certainly known to bloggers who have been staying here for quite some time.
Was completely packed with Burmese .
And how many police or police vehicles have you seen Jan , around this time .
Zero point zero .
Jan Beute.