Bangkok police want to fight noise pollution in the capital by cracking down on loud, illegally modified vehicles. Police said they will give car and motorbike owners 30 days to ensure their cars are no louder than the legal limit before imposing fines.
According to Thai law, exhaust pipes cannot produce a sound exceeding 95 decibels.
Superintendent of Prachachuen Police Station Pol. Col. Prasopchok Ee-amphinit cooperated with the Pollution Control Department to investigate the problem of noisy exhaust pipes in Bangkok.
The team set up checkpoints around the Bang Sue area. In four hours, police stopped 15 vehicles at a PPT station. Eight of the 15 vehicles were found to be breaking the law. Offences included not carrying a copy of the car’s registration, illegally modifying the car’s engine, and producing noise and smoke above the amount specified by law.
In a one-hour period, police at a toll booth in Bang Sue district found one driver not carrying a copy of their registration and another driver was caught driving an unregistered vehicle.
This time, the offenders were given warnings and told to make the necessary corrections to their vehicles before driving again.
The police said they will give motorists 30 days to correct their modified vehicles to become lawful before imposing fines. They didn’t say how much a motorist would be fined for having a noisy car.
As well as noise pollution, Bangkok is battling rising levels of air pollution as the monsoon season draws to a close. On Thursday, Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health sent out a warning that levels of PM2.5 pollution were reaching dangerous levels in the capital.