Traffic police will not be able to seize driving licences of motorists breaking traffic laws after Sept 20, police say.
A Royal Thai Police memorandum dated Aug 19 says the policy stems from an amendment to the 1997 Land Traffic Act.
Originally, Section 140 authorised traffic police to temporarily seize a driving licence when the driver was issued with a traffic ticket.
In future they will no longer be able to seize the licence, though that is because a digital licence is now being introduced.
The amendment also allows traffic police to issue tickets by mail.
Police can mail the ticket to registered car owners found involved in breaches of traffic regulations, according to the memo.
The car owner will be required to pay the fine, said the memo, adding evidence of the violation will also be sent along with the traffic ticket.
Another amendment allows drivers to carry a “digital driver’s licence” instead of a physical one.
A digital licence, according to the memo, could be a photographic image or be drawn from the Department of Land Transport’s app, “DLT QR Licence”.
The system will also allow digital records of wrongdoings and will implement a point deduction system. Losing all 12 points will lead to licence suspension for 90 days, while three suspensions will lead to a one-year suspension
