Police stops and traffic tickets: what officers may do and how to pay properly

Sections 140–142 of the Road Traffic Act B.E. 2522 (1979) govern the stop-and-ticket process. An officer who sees (or captures on camera) a violation may warn you or issue a traffic ticket stating the fine; for camera tickets the notice is posted to the vehicle owner, who is presumed liable unless they prove someone else was driving. Officers may order you to stop and, with reasonable grounds, test you for drink or unfitness. Serious offences (drunk, reckless, hit-and-run) cannot be settled with an on-the-spot ticket fine at all — they go to the investigation officer and usually a court.

Section 141 gives lawful payment routes: at the place stated on the ticket (police station), by post, and today through the channels on the ticket's barcode — Krungthai Bank and its NEXT app, post offices, CenPay counters, or the Royal Thai Police e-ticket portal (ptm.police.go.th), where you can also look up outstanding tickets. Every lawful payment produces a receipt; cash pressed into a hand at the roadside does not. Ignore a ticket and section 141 bis lets police summons you and have the registrar hold up your annual vehicle-tax renewal until it is resolved.

Since 9 January 2023 a demerit system runs alongside fines: every licence holder has 12 points; offences deduct 1–4 (helmet or speeding 1, red light 2, hit-and-run 3, drunk driving 4). At zero points the licence is suspended 90 days — driving anyway risks three months' jail or 10,000 baht. Points return after a year, or through a DLT retraining course.