Thread: Drivers Points System in Thailand Starts Jan 9, 2023

Drivers in Thailand who violate traffic laws will face not only legal consequences but also point deductions beginning January 9, 2023. If their points are reduced to zero, their license will be suspended for up to 90 days.


The point-deduction system, according to National Police Commissioner General Damrongsak Kittiprapas, is intended to promote safe driving. Every year, more than 22,000 people are killed on Thailand’s roads, which has the world’s ninth-highest rate of traffic accidents.

All drivers in Thailand will start with 12 points. These points, however, will be deducted whenever they are caught committing a traffic offence.

One point will be deducted for a minor offence, while four points will be deducted for a serious offence.


Speeding, failing to stop for pedestrians at a zebra crossing, talking on the phone while driving, or driving a vehicle with no license plate will result in a one-point deduction.


If drivers are caught jumping a red light, driving against traffic, or driving while their license is confiscated or suspended, they will lose two points.

The three-point deduction is reserved for illegal road racing, while the four-point deduction is reserved for serious offences such as drunk driving.

fter one year, all points deducted will be credited back to the drivers’ accounts. However, if their points fall so low that they risk a 90-day license suspension, drivers can take a traffic law and safe driving course to improve their score.


If drivers take a course with the Land Transport Department, they may be able to restore some points before the end of the year.


Drivers will be able to check their score on ใบสั่งจราจรออนไลน์สำหรับประชาชน or the Paotang application once the new driving-point system is implemented.


The Royal Thai Police and Land Transport Department systems will be linked to ensure a smooth implementation.

The implementation of the points-based system does not mean that those who violate traffic laws will be exempt from fines or jail time. People will not only lose points, but they will also face legal action.


For example, if someone is caught driving while his or her license is confiscated or suspended, they will face a jail term of up to three months and/or a fine of Bt10,000 under the Traffic Law Act, in addition to having their points deducted.

A suspended driving license is not the same as a confiscated driving license. Traffic officers have the authority to seize a driver’s license if the holder is in danger of driving recklessly, such as when they are tired, sleepy, or emotional.


When drivers are deemed to have recovered sufficiently to drive properly, their driving license will be returned.


The Royal Thai Police state that a driver, for example, could be stopped by officer and have his license revoked if he cuts in front of other vehicles out of stress or a big fight with his sweetheart.


The purpose of this measure is to prevent dangerous driving that endangers not only the driver but also others.


If a driver is caught driving dangerously due to a medical condition, traffic officers may transport them to the hospital and notify their relatives.


Only a police region commissioner or the Central Investigation Bureau can suspend a driver’s license. The license will be suspended for 90 days beginning with the date of the order.

Thailand is improving its driving-license system, according to Mr. Titipat Thaijongrak, director of the Land Transport Safety Bureau, to reflect the fact that drivers are a critical factor in road safety.


Our improved system focuses on promoting conscientiousness, discipline, and road safety awareness, he explained. Above all, to improve accident prevention, our training and tests now include accident prediction and risk analysis.

Drivers Points System In Thailand Starts Jan 9, 2023

Would points system in your driver license ever work in Thailand. As the amount of drivers who did not even get their licenses legally as well.

I mean they've put a date on it and everything...

Driving licence point deductions to start Jan 9

Driving licence point deductions to start Jan 9

What are the criteria for point reductions? and what are the penalties ?

It's a clear signal to make the most of the new year getaway

Well let me tell you, I drove from BKK to Lampang and had to slow or stop at 16 roadside police stops. 1st of the month and bills need to be paid apparently. Some were on AH1 backing up traffic for a mile or so. Others were small little "Pay up and Go" deals. I didn't pay anything and was only asked once to show my Thai drivers license. Not sure how this is all going to work. Most those ticket books get tossed and money pocketed.

Outside of those road blocks netting bikers without helmets and registration infractions, what do they do?

How do they know you are exceeding the speed limit when you get to a road block?

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

I agree,
IMO , it would be another revenue encasement scheme by the cops.
On my way back home from Chiang Mai , I noticed the same as you, at one of those checkpoints I was pulled over and was told I was going 120k , which I probably was , but so was everyone else, (it is a big highway and who does not go 110--120)
how could I prove I was not anyway, and arguing would had been pointless.
anyway, it was only 400 baht, not worth my time,
I would had given the 800 to give me a get out of jai l card for the next one LOL
I left and continued driving 120

Yeah. That entire thing guessing you were going 120 is funny. Have you ever checked your speed with the overhead speed monitors? Not even close. The other ticket I laugh at is the "Driving in the fast lane to long" nonsense. Prove it. My wife absolutely will not pay those road sign fines. She gets in their face. Sadly BB what you do is what they expect. Just pay up and go on your way. What I have found is the longer you make it a problem for them the sooner they will let you go because easy money is passing by their checkpoint. . Also NEVER speak Thai to the police. Speak English and they usually send you on your way.

As for the point system, I think the only way that it can be enforced is by the camera tickets that go into a system data base. Short of that, the road side checks are just what we live with.

Originally Posted by misskit

How do they know you are exceeding the speed limit when you get to a road block?

MK, So this is how they do it. As you know they have speed cameras. Those are reasonably accurate. What they are doing now is about 2kms before a checkpoint they have guys hiding in the tress or behind the road barrier walls with radar hand devices and they catch you on speed then send picture ahead to the road side stop. It's why they wave some on and look at their phones and pull other overs. They actually tagged you earlier back. Chai Nat is notorious for this stunt. If you are going to speed (Like I do) you have to know where the cameras are and where they play stunts.

Thanks for that. I had no idea.

Originally Posted by misskit

Thanks for that. I had no idea.

You are welcome. Its becoming a practice used more and more. This trip back yesterday I saw 3 separate teams with hand held radar set ups. By Lop Buri, Chai Nat and a big one by Nakhon Sawan. I also noticed a lot more speed cameras installed along the route. Couple of tricky ones hidden. Most are always on walk overs and over passes because they have power there to run the camera's. Being I am in the Optical, Lidar, IR industry the range and field of view of the cameras is short and small. Most are set up for the fast lane so go fast in the slow lane . Also the distance that it can determine your speed is about 150 to 200m so if you see the camera you can slow down very fast and it will not detect you.

Once again Stumpoid is talking complete bollocks.

A LIDAR gun operates at the speed of light and the transaction time between firing it and receiving the speed data is within .30 to .35 of a second. It is impossible for a driver to ‘dodge’ a hit. Furthermore, most devices can select you with a beam width of a metre within a distance of 300-400 metres. Your only chance of avoidance is to slow down before you are within speed trap range amd that will require prior knowledge of the location. Most intelligent folk, certainly those travelling on Thai roads, concentrate on driving to the exclusion of all else and scanning for possible speed traps is not therefore realistically feasible.

Automation is the way forward and this will happen in time particularly when the Thai realise the revenue potential. Additionally, with the Toll regime operating on motorways it is also inevitable speed averaging as one passes through them will come into force one day and if one has exceeded the speed limit then a ticket will ensue.

Technology left to its own potential can police far better than any human but given this is Thailand they will no doubt fuck it up like they do with everything else.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

I'm not sure how it would apply here, but back in the sandpit when they started rolling out Personal Data Protection legislation, it banned collecting data, including images, from people without their (implied) consent: You had to have signs saying "There is a camera here watching you".

As a result, they put the locations of all speed cameras on a website so then only the terminally stupid would get nicked.

Thailand has a - not fully implemented - PDP law, and some smug lawyer may well catch onto it sooner or later.

Similarly, in the UK all static fixed cameras are plotted for all to find and are signalled by the fluorescent yellow colouring. But police officers are not so constrained and can entrap the unwary from their vehicles. Speed reduction is also contracted out by local authorities who announce in press releases where and when their enforcement officers will be stationed but of course that will not assist the vast majority who either will not read them or will ignore or forget the information.

If they want to get you speeding they will. And of course the inbuilt speed limiter installed as a prerequisite to roadworthiness is only a matter of time and will function in accordance with prevailing speed restrictions enforced on the highway without any input from the driver.

Speeding, like smoking, will soon be a thing of the past.

Originally Posted by Buckaroo Banzai

how could I prove I was not anyway, and arguing would had been pointless.

Do what I did. Let them prove to you that you were speeding. Let them show you evidence. In my case, they could not. They told me a cop had a speed gun. I asked to see it. We drove back a few hundred metres to a couple of cops. One had a radar type gun. I asked to see it. They showed it to me. It had a number on it. I asked for the proof that it was my vehicle doing that speed. They could not. OK. No problem. On you go.

Another similar discussion with another cop (different place, different time) but this time they didn't even have a speed gun. They were just chancers. After a few minutes discussion between us, they said I could go. As Stumpy mentioned, time is money and talking to me was wasting the time they could have beeen using to make money from easier marks.

Originally Posted by Neverna

As Stumpy mentioned, time is money and talking to me was wasting the time they could have beeen using to make money from easier marks.

It has a huge impact, especially if you speak only English to them. Time is money. Its much easier for them to pilfer money from the Thai folks at those stops. I travel a lot of miles around Thailand for work from Lamphun to Korat to Rayong to Chonburi. While some might argue why speed, the issue is open roads in the middle of AH1 where you can easily do 140 and its safe. If I drove the absolute speed limit from say CB to Lampang it would take me 10 -11 hours. I can make the trek in 7 to 8 the trick is knowing where the cameras are and the certain areas where they do the handheld radar

Great Afternoon Entertainment. Keep rumbling. Now for another cold one. Beer Lao IPA if I can find one.

Originally Posted by misskit

fter one year, all points deducted will be credited back to the drivers’ accounts.

Ohh good.
If speeding is only one point and I have 12 points per year available to me, it means I can get 11 speeding tickets per year and still be good

Some use those 100/500 baht vouchers like my wife

Diverse pints usual drive the point home with low paid BiB

Originally Posted by Ryan Baan

Would points system in your driver license ever work in Thailand. As the amount of drivers who did not even get their licenses legally as well.

I like the part where
" If drivers are caught jumping a red light, driving against traffic, or driving while their license is confiscated or suspended, they will lose two points."

Which means if they are stopped while driving with a suspended license six times , their license gets suspended.

Some other comedic bits:

At present, motorists may challenge traffic police tickets via subdistrict courts. However, the process is quite complicated.
Pol Maj-General Ekarak Limsangkad, who helped to draft the Traffic Bill, said the process would be simplified once the bill was enacted. The draft law has already been given a green light by the Cabinet and is being reviewed by the Council of State, the government’s legal experts.
“The bill stipulates that a traffic police officer who loses in a court challenge will face disciplinary action. This way, traffic policemen will be more cautious about issuing tickets,” Ekarak said.

*titter*

The points reduction will be carried out electronically through the Police Ticket Management (PTM) system, which records all traffic offences, he said.

*guffaw*

The points system for motorists is based on the principle of transparency and equality under international standards.

*chortle*

A confiscated driving license is different from a suspended driving license. Traffic police are empowered to order the seizure of a driving license if its holder is at risk of driving dangerously – for example, because they are too tired, sleepy, or emotional.
“When drivers are deemed to have recovered enough to drive properly, their driving license will be returned,” Ekkarat said.
He added that a driver, for example, may be flagged down by police and have his driving license confiscated if he cuts in front of other vehicles out of stress or perhaps a big fight with his sweetheart.

I can't take any more.




ใบสั่งจราจรออนไลน์สำหรับประชาชน

Not withstanding the fact that a substantial number of motorists have no license, an attempt was made here in Bali, to remove the temptation of corrupt practices for police officers.
The net result was that Indonesian police officers no longer stop, or intervene in motoring offenses, unless death or serious injury results from it.

All drivers currently have a free pass from motoring offenses under normal circumstances.

Originally Posted by Switch

Not withstanding the fact that a substantial number of motorists have no license, an attempt was made here in Bali, to remove the temptation of corrupt practices for police officers.
The net result was that Indonesian police officers no longer stop, or intervene in motoring offenses, unless death or serious injury results from it.

All drivers currently have a free pass from motoring offenses under normal circumstances.

Which is not that different to Thailand when you consider it.