City police expect to launch a new service for the payment of traffic fines next month involving an over-the-counter system similar to household bills.
Deputy chief of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, Pol Maj Gen Adul Narongsak said the Council of State had approved a Royal Thai Police proposal to make it more convenient for motorists to pay their fines. The plan will be forwarded to the National Legislative Assembly, and if approved, it could be launched within the next month.
Traffic violators will be able to easily pay their fines at any place that offers over-the-counter payments through a new type of traffic ticket that has a barcode that can be scanned.
This would save people time in travelling to the police station which issued the ticket.
It was also expected that the service will cut down on the problem of offenders failing to pay fines.
Pol Maj Gen Adul said of about one million tickets issued, only 40% of offenders had paid their fines. The major reason is that they do not have the time or are too busy.
The RTP earlier proposed barring traffic offenders who fail to pay fines from renewing their annual vehicle registration, but this was rejected by the Council of State which said it would be unconstitutional. It advised police to increase traffic fines instead.