More than 200 touring motorcycle riders on a philanthropic mission to help poor schoolchildren were arrested while travelling in the north-central province of Phetchabun after they broke several traffic laws and caused a public nuisance.
The altruistic group, called the No Shower Trip (ทริปน้ำไม่อาบ), revealed they gathered to ride to a school in a rural area and deliver classroom equipment to a poor school in central Thailand.
Since November 12, various videos of the No Shower Trip have been circulating on Thai social media. The videos capture more than 500 motorcycles committing several traffic violations, such as riding on the wrong side of the road, breaking the speed limit, and noise pollution.
A vendor selling grilled chicken on a roadside announced a bad experience on his Facebook account.
The man said one rider crashed into his shop and stationary pickup after losing control of his bike. The vendor added that he wants travellers to visit the province so he can get more customers, but wished they would follow the traffic rules.
After dozens of videos went viral on social media police set up checkpoints on every main road in the province to stop the group. Police revealed that 542 motorcycles were investigated, 295 were charged for breaking the Vehicle Act, and 257 were charged for breaking the Land Traffic Act.
Seventy-two riders did not wear helmets, 135 riders did not have driving licenses, 84 riders did not have registration plates, 42 riders did not pay yearly taxes, 93 riders modified their motorcycles without permission, and over 100 riders broke traffic laws like driving dangerously and driving on the wrong side of the road.
This is not the first time residents suffered from the riding group’s antics. The No Shower Trip did similar things last year. Members of the group came together from different provinces across Thailand after advertising their mission on social media before setting off together.
The majority of their trips are planned for charitable purposes, such as donating to students in rural areas. Unfortunately, their good deed turned into a public nuisance.
The officers banned every rider in the group from visiting the province and urged them to obey traffic laws on trips back to their hometowns.
Officers also added that 3,000 baht will be rewarded to anyone who gives useful information or evidence about the nuisance motorists. People can contact the police via hotline numbers 1599 and 191 or send incident information via the official Facebook page ศูนย์โซเชียลมีเดีย ศปก.ตร – The Social Media Centre of the Command Centre, Royal Thai Police Forward Post.