Ding ding! First item in long list of laws police don’t enforce

A couple of years ago police busted the expat bridge-players’ club in Pattaya. In the past month they arrested 4,700 football gamblers. Now they should look into another breach of the law that has been going on for 40 years and concerns public safety.
Article 80 of Land Traffic Law (2522BE) states that all bicycles must be equipped with a bell that must be audible up to 30 metres away. Yes, you heard me right, 30 metres. That means almost every bike in Thailand is illegal, and cops can fleece, uh, I mean fine virtually every cyclist if they want to. I’ve never seen a bike with a bell, let alone one that can be heard 30 metres away.
Cops can also raid every bicycle shop for selling illegal bikes and confiscate them, fine the owners, or jail them, or both, and close down the shops. Let’s dub it ODD (Operation Ding Ding).
Remember the Royal Thai Police motto: “There is nothing under the sun police can’t do” (unless they don’t want to, of course).
Somsak Pola
Samut Prakan