A viral video of a pick-up truck transporting, what appears to be, construction material that’s easily twice its size strapped to the top has sparked a debate amongst Thai netizens.
The video that was posted by traffic news reutter Facebook page, Here on Board, on Wednesday has since received over 300,000 views and almost 2,000 shares.
“Chill Thailand. Anything goes,” captions the video.
In the clip, a white pick-up truck can be seen struggling to exit a parking lot to get onto the main road, evidently due to the long columns of cargo strapped to its roof.
A small red flag can be seen sticking to the end of the columns in an apparent attempt to comply with the law.
According the 1979 Land Traffic Act, when a vehicle is carrying something that’s longer than the vehicle itself, a red flag must be fastened to the end of the protrusion during the day and red light signal at night. The flag must be large enough to be visible from a distance of at least 150 meters.
There is, however, no listed maximum limit of how long the overhang can be.
If a driver is seen violating the act, any official is authorized to seize and hold their driver’s license for up to 60 days at a time.
The video drew contrasting points of view from netizens. While some said they believed this to be an example of why the traffic law needs to be amended, others didn’t seem to mind while others blamed it on the driver’s selfishness.
“Ministry of Transportation, my government, having a license does not mean a driver will comply with the law or drive well. What’s the reason for making the driver’s test so hard then?” wrote one commenter.
Meanwhile, another netizen attached his own photo of a memorable overhaul attempt. He added: “I think this is normal because I’m so used to it. I see this all the time.”
