Angry woman taxi driver fined for racing a bus in Bangkok
An emotionally-charged taxi driver appeared to lose her mind and forget her responsibilities as she turned into a joyriding thrill seeker as she played a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a bus coach.
A video of three university students in the back of the crazed taxi driver’s car was posted last Friday, August 19, and went viral on the Thai TikTok platform.
The video features three petrified students sitting in the back while the taxi driver raced against the coach, honking her horn repeatedly in anger along Phahonyothin Road in Pathum Thani province near Bangkok. The video caption said…
“Did you forget that you are a passenger service? A hot-headed taxi driver. The registration plate number is ทห629. We took it in front of Bangkok University. Please try to avoid this car because the driver’s behaviour is inappropriate. She shouldn’t be a driver of public transport. She couldn’t control her emotions and didn’t care about the passengers.”
In the video, one female student told the driver, “Sister, calm down, don’t forget that we are in your back seat.” Watch the video here.
The three students informed the media that they took a taxi from Bangkok University, in the Khlong Luang district of Pathum Thani, to the shopping mall Future Park Rangsit, last Friday night.
The students explained that the driver started driving dangerously, racing with the bus suddenly after they got into the car. The woman cut in front of the bus, and the bus driver returned the compliment, making the taxi driver angry.
They asked the driver to stop and drop them off immediately, but the driver ignored their request and continued her race. So, the students recorded a video as evidence.
They finally arrived safely at their destination and decided to post the video on TikTok and report it to the Land Transport Department.
Yesterday, the Department of Land Transport announced that they had already investigated the incident and found that the driver was 27 year old Suphattra Yuenra.
The department explained that her actions violated the Thai Law Vehicle Act, Section 5 (15/1): a regulation for the safety of public transport employment and passengers. The department also added that the woman didn’t have a license for driving public transport.
Due to the violation, the taxi driver would face a penalty according to Penalty Provisions, Section 58/1: any driver in public transportation who violates or fails to comply with the requirement prescribed in the Ministerial Regulation issued under Section 5 (15/1) shall be liable to a fine of up to 5,000 baht.
As a result, the driver was fined 1,000 baht and asked to attend a three-hour training programme for driving consciously. More charges could be issued later as she didn’t have a license for public transportation.
