NomadJoe

Ok, it appears only certain offenses have ranges. Tony's favorite, Section 35, the keep left rule, is 400-1000B.

http://thailaws.com/law/t_laws/tlaw0140_5.pdf

Actually I believe the ACTUAL fine for driving / riding without a valid license in Thailand is only 400 Baht or some such ridiculously low figure... No wonder then why so many choose to drive / ride without a license...

Actually official fines in Thailand are listed as a range and are finally determined by the officer collecting the fine. Bad practice as it invites corruption.

Do you happen to recall what the official fine is for driving without a valid license in Thailand? I know it's laughably small, but can't recall the actual figure.

No I don't. I'd have to look it up.

Edit: Found this, but it only has single amounts. 400B is listed for no license. Interestingly the text that went with this pic stated that the fees were higher here than at a previous station he was at. I know I have seen one of these boards with ranges on it, just have to find it.

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It's definitely not a bicycle dirt track as no way a bike can go up the hill at any speed over those jumps. Motocross for sure.

Wicked. I just hope it's proper dirt bikes and not a bunch of mod'ed Sonics and Dreams with long travel suspension and off road tires!

Yes, as I said, if your license has a photo and is English, it is considered an international license. Until recently UK licenses did not have photos. Many people still have those paper licenses as they were valid until age 70. The info on that site you provided is out of date. I barely got through the first 2 paragraphs before I found 3 inaccuracies.

Firstly, we know "A Thai Driving Licence can be obtained at the Thailand Transportation Department in Bangkok only if you possess a valid International Driving Licence which has been issued in the country of your nationality." to be incorrect. Firstly, I and many others have found that only your home license was needed to obtain a Thai license, no IDP. This is because it's already an international license if in English and with a photo. Think about it, why would insurance, car rental companies, or the cops car about a translation of your license into several languages, none of them Thai, which is exactly what an IDP is.

Secondly, we also know that one does not have to go to the LTD in Bangkok. Any LTD can convert your home DL into a Thai DL.

Thirdly, we know that "....it is not possible to obtain a Thai Driving Licence with a Tourist Visa" is also untrue, as many people have reported this is in fact possible.

Lastly, "Take a written test (in Thai language only) on the rules of driving " is also wrong. It's available in English now.

The most telling evidence is that not one person has ever reported needing an IDP in Thailand for anything, but there are countless reports of people being able to rent, insure vehicles, have accidents, and get though police checkpoints without needing an IDP regardless of what websites will warn you, it's simply no longer the case in practice. Many other countries have begun the same practice. The websites do very little research and are playing it safe, plus they are usually trying to sell you an IDP.

This is my favorite part of the embassy-produced document you provided a link to: "The following has been extracted from the Thaivisa.com website." You've created a circular reference!

I agree with you, I myself had to translate my French DL into English in order to obtain my Thai DL. Now, strictly legally speaking, some solid reference would be appreciated such as regulations/law regarding an English driving License being considered as an international DL in Thailand.

As for the Thaivisa.com website reference in the document I must admit I didn't read all the document through, but it only refers to the second page onward. Next time I will be more careful on what I post, however I did made the effort of sustaining my words by referring to an official website.

The problem was a lot of the info contained in the first portion was clearly taken from the quoted sections that someone at Thaivisa wrote.

Visiting family have rented cars and had accidents while vacationing, all on a US license with no IDP. Never an issue. They don't ask for an IDP at license checks here in Phuket, nor have I ever heard of anyone saying a police officer has asked for one in any other part of Thailand. I have read many posts by people who specifically asked their insurance company if they are legal and not in violation of contract if they drive on just their home license. Not a problem. That is what got me interested in looking into it further.

I obviously have not provided any references to back up what I am sure regular readers here have begun to tire hearing me repeat ad-nauseam. You will find endless references on the internets which claim an IDP is needed in Thailand, but after having boots on the ground here for 11 years I found that to simply not be the case. I did recently find one travel website stating that "generally car rental companies and police accept your home license." Hardly definitive.

I don't just make this stuff up. The basis of my knowledge began with what I was taught about IDP's in a US police academy some years ago, and then much more recently in the big bike highway police volunteer seminar here in Thailand, as well as talking to police officers here. The drivers license sections of the oft-referenced but obsolete UN conventions was to bridge the gap between all the different types of licenses out there, and the different levels of instruction needed to get them which ranged from none at all to a lot. Some DL's had photo's, some didn't. Now a photograph and at least some training is standard and many countries have English as well as the native language on them, like Thailand now does. (Which is why I am able to legally use my Thai DL without an IDP when I visit family back in the states if my US license is expired, as long as I am visiting and not a resident.) It took a lot of searching to confirm my understanding but I did eventually find a quote from an official verifying that a foreign licenses with a photo and in English qualifies as "international" since an IDP would only provide a translation of your home DL into several languages that aren't Thai, thus is pointless. But I don't have the energy or desire to do all the research again to find it. Sorry.

But as I always say, having an IDP doesn't hurt.

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Joe, don't know for sure, but looking at the activities I would say motocross.

Well I hope your right. That would be very cool to watch. I don't think the dirt bikes (bicycles) and motocross riders can use the same track, but I could be wrong.

Is it motocross or bicycles?

The Phuket Games are on. I watched the rowing/crewing/kayaking/dragon boat races yesterday at Nai Harn lake. Was pretty interesting.

Here is the schedule of events and locations.

The schedule says "Off Road Bike" races will be held at "Bang Kon Tee Motocross Racing in Rawai." I am curious if this means mountain bikes or motocross. Anyone know where "Bang Kon Tee Motocross Racing" is?

11 years and will never settle down with a family here. A few crazy gf's cured me of that. (No not bar girls, well not all of them )

If I had kids I would never allow them to be raised in Thailand. Everyday them seeing the lack of respect for laws and lax attitude towards safety, corruption, the environment, cheating in school, etc. etc..no I don't want them learning life the Thai way.

Yet for me, I love it here. The only time I am homesick is when I go home.

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^ There's no logic to that statement. Somebody is charging you to walk across their land to get to the beech. Why would that have any baring on whether there would or should be life guards on the beach?

They are not charging you to go on the beach, they are charging you to go on their land. Why should they have anything to do with the safety of swimmers once they reach the beach? I fail t see any connection I'm afraid.

Oh but they have. There have been numerous reliable reports from people that did not walk across their land but were still approached and asked to pay. Some even arrived by boat.

There is precedent. Try to go to Karon Nui/Karon Noi/Relax Beach someday (it has a different name depending on which map you are reading) which is just around the corner from Freedom Beach. It is completely encompassed by Le Meridian Resort. If you are able to make it through the lobby undetected and get to the beach, you will notice lifeguards on duty every single day even when the other beaches have none. They are paid by the hotel and using kit bought by the hotel. Why? because there is an expectation from the people who have paid to use the property surrounding the beach. Not the exact same scenario, but this example should at least help you to understand the "logic" and "connection" you seem to have missed.

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Do I need two cameras for front and back? i would say so

Where to install? centre front & rear windows

When do I let others know I have footage of actual events? when you are 100% sure you weren't at fault or are about to be attacked by the mob that generally gathers

Should I make a copy before letting others know of footage? if you have time before you are beaten

.heres my set up

Hi,

Just out of curiosity (and because this thread made me think about installing cams in my car), how much did you pay for your set up and where did you buy it ?

Not sure it would help smooth things immediately after an accident, but it surely would be better than nothing, our word isn't worth much sometimes

as someone said before i bought mine from a seller on Ebay from Hong Kong

it was around 5000baht for two shipped

the 32mb cards were 2500 each

so about 10,000 baht

i have since seen them in TukCom Pattaya at around 2000 for the same thing

believe me it makes you feel a lot more secure driving around

in fact, i am thinking of adding two more to cover any side issues not seen by the front and rear setups

i had an incident recently where a motorbike clipped my rear quarter

i stopped the car and confronted them

they called someone and i was soon surrounded by a angry mob in an arriving pickup and the local roadside food vendors who were also anxious to get involved

despite being outnumbered 10 -1 by men. woman and children now armed with sticks they had found in the area

they soon relented when i calmly told them to go right ahead and smile as they were on camera

i had positioned myself so it could see all that what transpiring

after a few minutes they all disappeared, cursing and threatening when they saw it was running (led flashing)

i just laughed at them as they left but they had the last laugh as there is an ugly scar on the paint that will have to sorted eventually

never mind, at least i left unscathed ..........

i knew writing about something like this would be tempting fate

same day i wrote it, i have had another incident !

my wifes driving, she encounters a car slowly weaving all over the road, nearly hitting us as she attempts to pass him

so much so that she aborts and pulls back

this happens a few times and she says he is doing it on purpose

anyway, she manages to get past him eventually and gives him a good blast on the horn while doing so

after which he speeds up, chases her and comes behind us at the next lights blasting his horn

i see a farang get out the car, i see him doing so and get out myself from the passenger side to stop him getting to my wifes window

he is obviously excited, maybe a little high or drunk but i did not smell any booze on him

anyway after a lot of shouting and blathering about what he is going to do to me, he finally lets fly, misses and it culminates in a one sided boxing lesson from me

a passing policeman arrives and my wife tells police what happened to cause such a thing and that the guy tried to draw first blood

this account is backed up by the local shopkeepers and even the motorcy taxi guys!!

the guy is still shouting and screaming, but at the policeman now instead of me

the guy is angry because he has been knocked around and never landed a punch

also that i knocked off his sunglasses and then stamped on them

i laughed when he said, ''he did not need to break my glasses, he did it on purpose!''

anyway the policemen is sick of the guys shouting at him and quickly decides who is at fault

policeman wants to arrest him and asks me what i want to do.

i say i can't be bothered with him, i think he's been humiliated enough but for the sake of not upsetting the policeman, i say i will go along with what the policeman wants to do

policemen gives him a good talking to and eventually tells him to get out of there before he arrests him

the rear camera was not called into play as evidence but it was a comfort to know that all the time this incident was unfolding, it was being recorded

also conversely it kept me on track during the fight and was i careful to behave in such a way that i was not seen to be the aggressor

so that if needed it could be shown later to show who was the guilty party

moral of the story to you boys, get a camera!

maybe after writing this i need to stay at home today, after all he did scream that he was going to kill me .........

I look forward to when you post the vid.

I don't have a current license from my home country Australia, expired long ago. My current drivers license is from Cambodia, Will that be accepted?

I went in with all my papers in order. They would not accept my Khmer Licence & told me to get it certified at the Cambodian embassy. The Cambodian embassy in BKK can not do any certified documents and they told me I must return to Phnom Penh to get this done, it seems they only do visas.

So with out a current licence that will be accepted I will have to do the full test. The officer at TLD tells me I must sit through a Four Hour Video in Thai, Does this seem correct?

My Khmer licence will not be accepted because she has not seen one before, everything on the licence is written in Khmer and English, I walked away scratching my head.

Anyone.

I suspect the problem is that there is no way for them to know what class your Cambodian license is for and thus would not know what license they could issue you. Cambodia uses arbitrary codes to describe the classes.

A1 - able to ride 49-125cc motorbike

A2 - able to rid the above and anything >125cc

B - able to ride any motorbike and car up to 9 seater, 3 tonnes, trailer at the back

In Cambodian law you are authorized to operate some types of vehicles in the lessor included classes. I.E. a class A2 can operate vehicles in A1 and A2, and a class B can operate vehicles in A1 and B, but not A2. This may work in your favor if you were able to get it "certified", (in the khmer440 thread you didn't say certified, you said "translated".) If you hold a class B license, there is a very good chance that if you were simply able to provide a government document explaining the classes, even a printout in English from the Cambodian transport ministry website, they may issue you a car and motorbike license since in Thailand they do not have different classes for different motorbike engine cc's. California also uses arbitrary codes, and a printout from the DMV website explaining the classes I am licensed for (C for car and M1 for motorcycle) is what they asked of me. Unfortunately it does not appear the Cambodian transport ministry has a website, as I see you also discovered via your post over on khmer440.

My next suggestion...it may be worth the time to contact a few of the many companies in PP which provide assistance in obtaining licenses for foreigners to see if they can provide you with some kind of document explaining the classes in English. The Cambo tests and texts are available in English, so the info you seek must also be.

The excuse that they won't accept your Khmner license because they haven't seen one before is absolute bullshit, but of course this being Thailand they can say whatever they want. I think the point they were making was they weren't familiar with it.

Any license from anywhere can be fake. The burden is on them to prove it is, not on you to prove it isn't. This was likely told to you because they were tired of talking to you. Putting you in an impossible position is very common for government official once they realize you are going to continue arguing because what they are telling you is utter nonsense. A translation of a fake document doesn't make it any less fake. Try a different person or a different LTD.

Good luck.

Here is what you need to find from some semi-official source and present to them.

ARTICLE 40:

There are 5 types of driving license for the road vehicles of the Kingdom of Cambodia as follows:

Type A: For motorcycle and tricycles

A1 - For the motorcycle with the cylinder size from 49 to 125 cc

A2 - For the motorcycle with the cylinder size over 125 cc

The vehicles with trailers and tricycles.

Type B: - For the vehicles transporting the passengers not over 9 passengers including the driver.

- The goods loading vehicles with total weight in maximum not over 3.5 tons.

- The vehicle in type B can tow the trailers with total weight not over 0.75 tons.

ARTICLE 41:

Other conditions involving the driving license will be defined as the following:

1- The drivers can only drive the vehicles based on the types of driving licenses they are holding.

4- Those who have the driving license type A2 can drive the vehicle in type A1

5- Those who have the driving license type B can drive the vehicle in type A1, agricultural vehicle or vehicle equipped with usable tools with the maximum speed not over 40km/h, but cannot drive the vehicle in Type A2

More info:

Cambodian Traffic Law

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2081127

...You will as minimum need a international licence.

Untrue. If your license is in English and has a picture on it, it already is an "international license." You don't need an IDP.

Well, I wanted to be sure what you were saying was correct/wrong. I googled and fell on this link from the Royal Thai Consulate in Hull in the UK: http://www.thaiconsu...d=499bO6KhnvQPg

You need an International Driving License.

Yes, as I said, if your license has a photo and is English, it is considered an international license. Until recently UK licenses did not have photos. Many people still have those paper licenses as they were valid until age 70. The info on that site you provided is out of date. I barely got through the first 2 paragraphs before I found 3 inaccuracies.

Firstly, we know "A Thai Driving Licence can be obtained at the Thailand Transportation Department in Bangkok only if you possess a valid International Driving Licence which has been issued in the country of your nationality." to be incorrect. Firstly, I and many others have found that only your home license was needed to obtain a Thai license, no IDP. This is because it's already an international license if in English and with a photo. Think about it, why would insurance, car rental companies, or the cops car about a translation of your license into several languages, none of them Thai, which is exactly what an IDP is.

Secondly, we also know that one does not have to go to the LTD in Bangkok. Any LTD can convert your home DL into a Thai DL.

Thirdly, we know that "....it is not possible to obtain a Thai Driving Licence with a Tourist Visa" is also untrue, as many people have reported this is in fact possible.

Lastly, "Take a written test (in Thai language only) on the rules of driving " is also wrong. It's available in English now.

The most telling evidence is that not one person has ever reported needing an IDP in Thailand for anything, but there are countless reports of people being able to rent, insure vehicles, have accidents, and get though police checkpoints without needing an IDP regardless of what websites will warn you, it's simply no longer the case in practice. Many other countries have begun the same practice. The websites do very little research and are playing it safe, plus they are usually trying to sell you an IDP.

This is my favorite part of the embassy-produced document you provided a link to: "The following has been extracted from the Thaivisa.com website." You've created a circular reference!

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Here are the forms you need including unofficial English translations. Transfer of title and power of attorney.

As mentioned you will need tabien baan or WP or letter confirming residence from immigration or your embassey. You also need signed copies of sellers Thai ID card or passport including current stamps. If you are transferring name using the power of attorney form, the sellers passport copies must show a valid visa/visa exempt stamp in order to change name.

drl6_.pdf

regcar5_.pdf

Power_of_Attorney_EN.pdf

Vehicle_Transfer_Form_EN.pdf

Constantly: Ka-Ka-Ka

And have not once Krap'd on you.

NomadJoe, I'll bet I'm the only guy in Phuket who has actually been chased down !

Signal at Viset and Sai Yuan, rainy day, no traffic, I'm sitting out in the middle and decide "what the hell" and run the light, turn onto Sai Yuan.

Up by the Lanna Som Tom restaurant (which BTW has some great somtam) I hear a beep-beep, and here is a cop on a bike in an orange rain slicker, pulling me over !!!! Unbelievable !

Even funnier when I ask what the fine is he says between 300-1000thb. Get to the Chalong fine window, same deal, the guy says between 300-1000thb. O.k. chop 300, he says it'll be 500, done!

And I bet your the only person in Phuket to ever be fined for running a red light period! It's so commonplace that I have always assumed that it wasn't a crime.

I think the law is that you must have a valid international licence, not just a licence from your own country.

If your home license is in English and has a photo, it is already an "international license."

Even then, some of the cops won't accept the International licence

Untrue.

and also be aware that after 3 months in Thailand the International licence is no longer valid.

Also untrue. There is no time limit. If you are a visitor then you can use your home license in English with a photo or get an accompanying IDP. You can only drive the class of vehicle that you are licensed for despite the fact that cops at checkpoints particularly in tourist areas almost always accept a car license if you are on a scooter. If you are a resident then you need a Thai license.

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...You will as minimum need a international licence.

Untrue. If your license is in English and has a picture on it, it already is an "international license." You don't need an IDP.

if in accident and you have licence still your fault if Thai is blind drunk on wrong side of road no lights still your fault, you not here accident not happen.

Urban myth. That is simply not true.

I know a few people(farang) here that have had accident that was not their fault and they paid not one baht, the Thai had to pay for everything.

In many cases police show favouritism to thai citizens when ascessing who was at fault

many cases maybe that the farang cant explain himself properly anyway due to language skills

Ive often heard when two thais have an accident ,the richer pays for the poorer or the car driver

pays for the motorcyclist injuries etc

This does often happen but it is only true when the richer person offers it, it's not obligatory. This is due to the deeply engrained patronage system in Thailand and the concept of Kharma.

I have had two wealthy by Thai standards farang riding buddies of mine each have this happen. Each on 800,000B+ bikes, one a Harley, one a BMW. Police found the Thai at fault but both cases the farangs did not ask anything from the Thai's, and one even helped with some of the Thai's medical bills. All voluntarily. It's the Thai way.

if in accident and you have licence still your fault if Thai is blind drunk on wrong side of road no lights still your fault, you not here accident not happen.

Urban myth. That is simply not true.

I know a few people(farang) here that have had accident that was not their fault and they paid not one baht, the Thai had to pay for everything.

+1

+2

The only way to dive in Burmese waters that I am aware of is on a live-a-board out of Thailand and they only operate between November and April due to the seasonal monsoons. I haven't been yet, but I hear the Mergui Archipelago and Burma Banks have really fantastic dive sites.

1 unhelpful post deleted, as ws a reply to it.

No need to discuss pople staying continously on toruist visas, we had quit a few of those threads already, so let's stay on topic.

But aren't most of these "helpful" posts suggesting ways of circumventing or subverting the authority of Thai Immigrations?

Perhaps yes, but not illegally.

Attol, I'm still curious what you meant by "expired Intl for car and bike." Can you elaborate? Are you talking about an IDP?

LOL Grumpyoldman...at least they are polite unlike seagulls who tend to be slightly more abusive.

Seagulls....rats with wings.

....wait...thinking of raven/sex joke.....

hahahahaha cant believe that all you 'long timers' dont get it.krup krup krup

Oh, we got it. I just couldn't think of a follow up bird/gender/thai language joke.

That's hilarious, often wanted to do that a helmet checkpoint.

That vid was obviously staged. Here is a real one by BigBikeBkk where the BIB didn't high five him, he smacked him in the head with his ticket book! lol.

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