Traffic regulation violators who are issued tickets by police and fail to pay their fines must do so before July 1 or authorities will suspend renewal of their annual vehicle licence registration, making the vehicles ineligible to drive on the road.
Motorists are required to pay fines within seven days of receiving tickets.
The Royal Thai Police (RTP) have shared their ticket database with the Department of Land Transport (DLT) so that the latter can temporarily suspend the payment for those who fail to pay the fines, Pol Maj Gen Jirasant Kaewsaengake, deputy chief of the Metropolitan Police Bureau said after a meeting of a committee responsible for tackling traffic congestion in Bangkok.
He said that Sarawut Songsivilai, director of the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning, had told the RTP and the DLT to roll out a campaign to publicise the measure throughout the month of June before initiating action against those who fail to pay their fines from July 1.
Pol Maj Gen Jirasant said that the RTP and the DLT have already linked their databases, though there were some details that need to be thrashed out. As a result, the two agencies agreed at a meeting in April that they will work "offline" for the time being to deal with those who fail to pay their fines, Pol Maj Gen Jirasant said.
Pol Col Ekkarak Limsangkas, deputy chief of the Highways Police, explained the offline system between the two agencies.
When DLT officials receive fine payments from offenders, they will forward the details on a weekly basis to the RTP.
For motorists who are fined but wish to appeal, the RTP will provide forms at DLT offices nationwide for them to send to the police stations that issued the tickets, Pol Col Ekkarak said, adding that police will investigate any reported mitigating circumstance within 15 days.
According to the RTP, more than 6.2 million tickets have been issued to traffic law violators since Jan 1. Only about 887,000 or 15% have so far paid their fines.
