Police rolls out “warn before fine” nationwide: one warning only, then a ticket

Deputy National Police Chief Pol Gen Samran Nuanma said on Wednesday that the Royal Thai Police (RTP) has introduced a nationwide “warn before fine” measure to boost traffic law enforcement. Under the policy, traffic police across the country will give motorists a warning before issuing a ticket for offences that traffic officers have the authority to fine, using the Police Ticket Management (PTM) system. The campaign also includes public communications to encourage people to respect traffic rules. The measure will run from January to March 2026.

The RTP issued additional guidance to ensure clear public understanding and appropriate implementation, as follows:

1. Traffic officers will issue a warning before a ticket via the PTM system only for offenders who are present and can be dealt with immediately at the time the offence is detected, so that the offender receives the warning directly from the officer.
2. The warning-before-ticket approach applies only to offenders who have no outstanding unpaid traffic tickets. If an offender has unpaid tickets on record, they will not receive a warning before a ticket is issued.
3. Once an offender has received a warning, any subsequent traffic offence—whether the same offence or a different one—will be ticketed as normal. In other words, drivers will have one chance to be warned.

However, offenders who commit the offence of driving a vehicle emitting black smoke above the legal standard will not receive a warning before a ticket is issued. They will be dealt with under the law, as black-smoke emissions are considered a contributing factor to haze and air pollution that affects the public nationwide—particularly at a time when Thailand is experiencing very high pollution levels.

The RTP called on the public to help build a safer driving society by obeying traffic rules, in order to raise overall safety for people’s lives and property.