DLT to give cops access to e-data

[Nereus]

DLT to give cops access to e-data
The Royal Thai Police (RTP) and the Department of Land Transport (DLT) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on sharing electronic data to bolster law enforcement against those who fail to pay fines by the due date.

The move follows instructions by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to boost road safety and implement measures to install more road discipline.

National police chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas said on Wednesday the MoU will boost two measures -- the recently introduced point-based penalty system and the deferral of vehicle tax renewals due to overdue fines.

Information such as a person's driving licence, vehicle model and details regarding overdue fines will now be shared between the agencies, giving them more access to real-time data.

Pol Gen Damrongsak said vehicle tax renewal will be suspended for motorists who fail to pay up in time.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... -to-e-data

[Big Boy]

It actually all sounds very sensible until you think of Thailand's desire for free money, and their record regarding corruption. When you go to renew your tax, and you get told you can't because you have an 11 month old fine outstanding. If you were not aware of the offence, how will you feel about paying it?

At least when I received a ticket for an offence that I was totally unaware of, I had the opportunity to investigate/work out what it was all about. If you're in the office trying to pay your tax, there will be little opportunity to work out what has happened. Wide open to abuse IMHO.

I guess it'll either work very well and we'll hear no more of it, or we will hear a lot of people crying foul, having to pay fines for offences they have no recollection of.

[Gregjam]

Although ultimately it will be the simple case of no tax until the fines are paid there are some interesting scenarios due to the system here and the way it works (which as usual are not always the same). A car can be owned by a driver or non driver who may not know who was driving it at the time of the offence. It may be registered at an address owned by the owner who lives elsewhere which would delay any fines sent in the mail reaching him/her/etc. Not sure how long the fines take to reach the owner but it may ring alarm bells for small local bike/car rental places as the renter may well have left the country and getting the money may be an issue.
Or perhaps like many things here a bit of tea money will sort it out or it will all die down after a few months.