Patong Police swooped on street racers on Monday evening, following the area’s numerous problems with international bike racers. Officers had been stationed throughout Patong after 10pm.
Meanwhile, Patong Traffic Police arrange a checkpoint on the bottom of Patong Hill. Patong Police didn’t specify how many people were caught dangerously rushing, The Phuket News reported.
Last week, the Thai government started offering cash rewards of three,000 baht to individuals who report avenue races. Deputy spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek mentioned that if individuals see unlawful street racing, they’ll take movies and send them to the police. People can even send any data they may have about road racers, Rachada mentioned.
She added that informants could contact hotline numbers 191 and 1599, or send their information to the Royal Thai Police Forward Post Facebook account.
The crackdown on road racers comes after Phuket’s vice governor last week reported that over 500 motorbike accidents involving tourists had occurred in Phuket prior to now two months. Priceless said…
“Eighty p.c of them do not have driving licenses, some had been carrying swimsuits, driving at high velocity, and not familiar with routes. From January to February there were more than 500 accidents involving overseas tourists.”
On the evening of Wednesday, February eight, cops busted a big group of French bike racers in Patong. Footage of the racers went viral on local social media platforms, causing outrage among residents. The residents complained that the racers had been disturbing them when they had been attempting to chill out, and potentially posing a menace to the security of the individuals. Most of the riders were not carrying the required protective bike helmets as per Thai legislation, the residents added.
The incident turned so extremely publicised that on February 10, the Head of the French Consulate in Phuket met with Patong Police and Phuket Tourist Police to handle the issue. During the assembly, the Head of the French Consulate acquired a letter of cooperation from the Patong Police, which requested the consulate to inform French tourists visiting Phuket and Thailand about the country’s visitors legal guidelines and the requirement for valid driving licenses.
The Head of the Consulate promised to pass the letter to the French Embassy in Thailand and request higher communication of those rules and rules to French vacationers.
But the problem didn’t cease there. On the evening of February 15, a video went viral of a fight involving foreign motorcycle racers on Bangla Road. Patong Police arrested 5 folks in reference to the struggle, including two Swedish nationals and three Thais.
One of the boys arrested admitted that he received concerned in the struggle after he warned a group of international motorcycle racers that they weren’t allowed to ride on Bangla Road besides with permission from law enforcement officers. The man stated the offended racers verbally insulted the Thai males with dangerous language, which led to a bodily fight..