Traffic Ticket

I was talking to a friend today who was recently pulled over by the police for some random and probably non-existent traffic offence. Although it only cost her about $10, she was pretty put off by the whole thing.

The Thai government does not pay policemen very much here. They make about 6,000 baht per month (less than $200), which is less than my maid(who also gets room and board) and barely half of what our nanny makes. Its not really a livable wage.

Thai police supplement their income through collecting bribes on traffic offenses. The way it works is that a policeman will pull over a motorist for a real or concocted offense. The driver will then be given the option to receive a ticket or pay the officer a fee to look the other way. Not only is receiving the ticket more expensive, but the officer will confiscate your license. You have to drive to the police station to pay the fine and retrieve your license. Most drivers quickly pay the bribe rather than deal with the hassle and extra expense of a ticket.

Bribing a police officer is illegal here, but like a lot of illegal activities (prostitution for example), everyone knows it goes on, accepts it, and looks the other way. Still, in typical Thai fashion, you have to be discreet about it.

My friends experience is similar to one I had a few years back. We were visiting her family, and Tim drove her mother and I somewhere. A police officer pulled her over. Not only did Tim lack a valid driver's license, but she also did not have a valid citizen ID card. Now, in the U.S. that might be a bit bad news for my lovely wife, but in the land of smiles anything is possible with a baht and a smile.

Tim asked the officer if he could "help", and he named his price (I think it was $10 or $15). Tim takes the money and thrust it out the window. The cop started waving his hands, telling her to put the money back. She misunderstood and did it again. Finally, he told her to put it under a business card and give it to him. She did, and he sent us on our way.

Incidentally, my friend had the same experience with thrusting the money out. She was a bit irate, and thought that if he was going to take a bribe, he should be willing to do it in the open. Apparently that's the way they do it in Kuwait where she lived before coming here.

This is Thailand, however, and its all about face. To save face is to avoid embarrassment or the loss of personal honor. Thai people do not like when you point out that they did something wrong. Its not considered polite. When you do, both people lose face.

It doesn't matter to Thai people that he actually takes the bribe, that's actually expected. Heck, is welcome in that it keeps down the cost of police salaries. Since most people in Thailand don't drive, they are not really subject to the shakedown. At least not that particular shake down. And make no mistake about it, they are not pulling you over for public safety, rather to put money in their pocket.

What is important is that he does not appear to openly take bribes. It is against the law for him to pull you over to solicit a bribe, and its probably against the law to pay it. Even though putting the money under the driver's license is a thin veil that doesn't fool anyone, it provides the cover to save face. He can pretend like he is looking at your license and decided not to give you a ticket. Passers, although they know with virtually certainty that you are paying him a bribe can pretend he is not. If his supervisor saw him, he could safely ignore what was going on, because it appears to be a normal stop. If he sees money thrust through a window, he might have to act or lose face himself.

I also take a pragmatic view of it. Traffic tickets in the U.S. are largely to generate revenue. Most of the arguments that it is about safety are largely smoke screens to hide the desire to get more cash. Part of the reason for the need for money is to pay police salaries. Here, they just cut out the middle man.

Incidentally, bribes are the norm in more than traffic stops. If for example, you want to win a government contract, you will almost certainly have to pay out money to key government individuals. Certain positions in government can make you quite wealthy.