Seat belt D-day – those not buckling up to be fined
THIS is D-day for the new rule requiring all vehicle passengers to fasten their seat belts with taxi drivers and other public vehicle operators cheering the government’s move, Thai News Agency (TNA) said today (April 5).
TNA reporters surveyed the situation around Victory Monument this morning and saw that even though police checkpoints had not been set up to spot check whether people had fastened up with those not having done so facing a fine, most taxi drivers and air-conditioned van operators already knew what to do and warned passengers to buckle up or pay the fine themselves if they were caught.
However in other areas checked by TNA reporters such as Rama 9 road heading for Din Daeng, some roofed over pickup trucks were still running on the road carrying lots of people at the rear who had not fastened seat belts and were not stopped in anyway.
According to Ch7News, there are different levels of fines for disobeying this rule with private car drivers and passengers who do not fasten up to be fined not more than 500 baht while the driver faces an additional 500 baht fine for allowing passengers to not do so.
Where taxis are concerned the driver will be fined not more than 1,000 baht and passengers not more than 500 baht and similar to passenger cars the driver faces an additional 500 baht for allowing passengers to travel unbuckled.
Regarding public vans and other types of public vehicles, the fine is heavier with the driver and passengers facing 5,000 baht fine and if not enough seat belts have been installed 50,000 baht fine.
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Top: A woman safely buckled up in a passenger van. Photo: Thai News Agency
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