A Chinese tourist has warned other travellers after claiming a Bolt driver in Bangkok tried to charge her 1,000 baht for an alleged seatbelt fine during a ride, despite her saying she saw no police officers.
The tourist shared the story on Threads, saying it was the first time she had encountered such a driver despite visiting Bangkok many times. She wrote:
“Unbelievable! I’ve been to Bangkok so many times, and this was the first time I encountered such a strange driver. I booked a taxi through Bolt, and halfway through the trip, the driver suddenly stopped the car.
“Then he got out and walked towards the back of the car. There was a lot of traffic at the time, and from where I was sitting, I couldn’t see what he was doing. When he got back into the car, he was holding some old piece of paper. When I asked to see it, he refused.
“He said that because I was not wearing a seatbelt, the police had just issued a ticket, but I didn’t see any police officer at all! Then he tried to charge me 1,000 baht to pay the fine. What a scam!
“In the end, I did not pay him any extra money, and I got out of the car safely!!!! To women travelling alone: if something happens, don’t panic. Don’t let them see that you are naive or easy to trick. If it isn’t raining, I usually only take motorbike taxis in Bangkok. This was too ridiculous.”
She also attached a photo of the ticket that the driver allegedly claimed to have received during the journey.
The post gained attention from many netizens. One user said they had experienced a similar case in which a driver stopped halfway and refused to continue unless they paid extra.
TravelNews reported that under Thai law, passengers who do not wear seatbelts can be fined. However, netizens questioned this case because the tourist said she did not see any police officers at the scene.
Commenters also questioned why the Bolt driver allegedly tried to collect the money himself instead of leaving the matter to the police.
Similarly, a Japanese tourist said he booked a return flight home immediately after being overcharged nearly 2,000 baht by a Thai taxi driver at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok.
The story Bolt driver accused of conning Chinese tourist with 1,000 baht ‘fine’ as seen on Thaiger News.
