Woman Drives Stranger's Car to Vote in SS Board Election
A Bangkok woman said a stranger gave her his car keys so he could sprint to vote in the Social Security Board election, only to find herself stuck in heavy traffic. Although she and many others missed the vote due to a two‑hour jam, she said the effort felt worthwhile after seeing the Progressive Social Security team take an early lead. She urged officials to add more polling stations to ease congestion in future votes.
Nattanun Palakawong na Ayutthaya, known online as Dao, told Khao Sot Online that on October 11 she and her family drove two cars to the polling station at Rajanuntharach School, Samsen Witthayalai 2 in Bang Sue district, arriving at 1:50 p.m. Because the station sits in a narrow alley with no parking, traffic quickly built up. By 3:28 p.m. she saw people beginning to walk and estimated about 800 metres remained to the entrance, so she decided to switch places with her husband and continue on foot.
While waiting in the line of cars, the driver of a vehicle roughly three spots ahead approached her and said, "Can you watch my car for a moment? I only have a few metres to go and I want to run to vote." Although initially confused, she accepted the keys after noticing everyone around was helping each other with directions and time updates. The car owner immediately ran off empty‑handed, so she took the driver’s seat and recorded the interior of the car for her own reassurance and as evidence.
She said the car’s owner ultimately failed to vote, and many other insured persons also missed the vote—tens to nearly a hundred people—because the jam lasted about two hours in front of the polling station. Along the route she observed voters struggling, some walking and others riding motorcycle taxis.
Nattanun criticised the election setup, noting that the polling station’s location in a tight alley with no parking made it impossible for police and cadet volunteers to accommodate the large crowd, even with their best efforts. She proposed establishing additional satellite polling stations to spread out voters in future elections.
Despite the mishap, she expressed satisfaction with the unofficial results showing the Progressive Social Security team in the lead, saying that walking the 800 metres and rushing to cast her ballot had felt truly worthwhile.
