Delay in raising traffic fines, but consistent ticket prices

The deputy director of the Traffic Operations Centre of the Royal Thai Police declared that the new fees wouldn’t start for another three months because more time was needed to properly publicize them. And as usual, the substantial increase in traffic infraction fines that was announced over the weekend and was supposed to take effect yesterday has been rescinded. Yesterday, the modifications to the Land Traffic Act were formally ratified in an effort to deter drivers from participating in risky behavior by increasing the fines for breaking the law. However, when they do take effect, repeat offenders will face harsher punishments, and a new mechanism will guarantee that fines are uniform throughout Thailand.

Teams of police officers will go out at that time to inform people about the new, more severe penalties for traffic offences. The Police Ticket Management database will now be used to issue all fines, which will regulate tickets and guarantee that the same fines are assessed for offenses across the nation.

However, the deputy director stated that police would continue to impose the existing fines and that details regarding the more expensive fees will be released soon. Additionally, the penalty will increase for repeat offenders to deter future criminal behavior. “The recently updated traffic legislation provides fines of up to 4,000 Baht for running a red light or exceeding the speed limit, however during this transition time, officers will issue citations of no more than 500 Baht with a warning that following fines will be significantly heavier.” In Thailand, breaking news typically involves saying one thing, then the next day saying something completely different.