Alert: New point system aims to pick out bad drivers

Alert: New point system aims to pick out bad drivers

Police are working toward a new point-cutting system next month to try to weed out bad driver from the streets. And the first step, a ticketing system with a bar code, will be introduced this Sunday.

In the system, each motorist would start with 12 points that would be shaved down as drivers commit traffic offences. When a driver has lost all points, they would be banned for driving for a certain period of time, said Pol Maj-General Ekkarak Limsangkas, chief of the Police Ticket Management project.

Ekkarak said on Thursday that certain details of the project have yet to be worked out, especially how many points would be cut for each type of traffic law violation.He said his team will create three categories – light, medium and severe offences which would also have a certain number of points associated with them.

Then each of the traffic offences would be assigned to one of the categories. It is that last step that is so far still being worked out, as the police debate which offence belongs in which category with which number of points. As a point is lost for a violation, it would not be returned for a year.

If all 12 points were erased, the driver would be banned from the roads for 90 days. If they are banned three times over three years, the Land Transport Department would be notified, they would have their driver’s license annulled, and they would not be allowed to drive for a year.

If they then get their licence back after a year, but again deplete their points, they may lose their right to drive for life, Ekkarak said. He said his team is still considering a system for retraining drivers before restoring their points. Ekkarak said if all details are worked out in December, the point-cutting system could be introduced as early as next month.

But first they must link the online database hosting driver’s licences to the database of traffic tickets. As part of the new system, police will use new tickets with barcodes, which will be automatically recorded into the online ticket system, Ekkarak said. He said the new barcode traffic tickets will be implemented on Sunday. Source: Asia Nation