New Color Blindness Test ?

[moogradod]

After driving more then 40 years accident free, holding both an international and swiss drving licence I would obviously be required to undergo a color blindness test to get my Thai driving license when we move here. I know that I would not pass the Ishihara test for 100%, only some (few) tables I would recognize.

 

I have heard that there is now a new test in place where points on a dashboard will be pointed at and you have to tell the color. I suspect that I would have a chance to pass this test, for I can see what is red green and orange if it is not too much hidden.

 

We are absolutely dependend on me having a license for we will live a bit far from the city. I would have to undergo the tests in Pattaya.

 

1. Is there somewhere an example where I might train a bit ?

 

2. Besides, my wife would have to take the driving test from scratch. Are there any test questions in Thai with the right answers somewhere available ?

 

Thanks a lot for any hint, thats a crucial one for us.

 

 

Edited January 13, 2018 by moogradod

[giddyup]

I have been driving for close on 60 years, and also colour blind, and have had to pass the colour test in Thailand 3 times, first for the 1 year, then the 5 year, and once again the 5 year. Every time I would have failed but for some help, as in another falang whispering the colours to me as they were pointed out. There is just no way to fake a colour test, you either see the colours or you don't. They use a large circle made up of many smaller coloured dots in Pattaya, which was just a big rainbow blur to me, but like you, I have no trouble distinguishing colours on traffic lights.

Edited January 13, 2018 by giddyup

[irwinfc]

i took that test a while ago. you just look at small colored circles on a horizontal strip on the bottom. a strange test because it doesn't simulate traffic lights at all. i'm not color blind, but i struggled a little with the test. green looks more like yellow, yellow looks like orange, and red looks like dark orange. out 8-10 times i was told to identify the color, the clerk corrected me about 3 times. got my license nonetheless. not much to worry about, really

[dotpoom]

Hardly new....I did it 17 yrs. ago when applying for my first licence.

  If you could get your hands on the " Rules of the road" book it may be helpful for your wife. I know it's available at the licencing office. Google even maybe. If you think it might help I can get one and send it to you.

 My wife says that your wife can always go to a "driving school" could be a small one man/lady set up. They will see to it that she gets the licence, no problem.

  May you and your wife have a lovely retirement in Thailand.

[giddyup]

20 minutes ago, irwinfc said:

i took that test a while ago. you just look at small colored circles on a horizontal strip on the bottom. a strange test because it doesn't simulate traffic lights at all. i'm not color blind, but i struggled a little with the test. green looks more like yellow, yellow looks like orange, and red looks like dark orange. out 8-10 times i was told to identify the color, the clerk corrected me about 3 times. got my license nonetheless. not much to worry about, really

They will fail you in Pattaya if you can't identify the colours, and it's not a strip, it's a large circle made up of many different coloured dots.

[giddyup]

14 minutes ago, dotpoom said:

Hardly new....I did it 17 yrs. ago when applying for my first licence.

  If you could get your hands on the " Rules of the road" book it may be helpful for your wife. I know it's available at the licencing office. Google even maybe. If you think it might help I can get one and send it to you.

 My wife says that your wife can always go to a "driving school" could be a small one man/lady set up. They will see to it that she gets the licence, no problem.

  May you and your wife have a lovely retirement in Thailand.

The colour test can vary from office to office. Some have a set up not unlike real traffic lights, others have the large circle made up of many coloured dots as in Pattaya.

[thaiden1]

I took my renewal 5 year license about two years ago in Pattaya. The color chart was so faded or worn out from the pointer that the Red was Orange. I said Orange and the instructor didn't say anything.

 

[Dogbarker]

Hello,

Yes I renewed my five year driving licence last month at Chiang mai and went through the new test. I have difficulty with the numbers on the cards test but can tell traffic lights. The last test five Years ago were random dots that were pointed at by the user, but they tended to be the sane ones. Being sixth in the line helped. This time the chart had changed and featured a large board with the number test. After concentration  I eventually got the number recognised but was not asked. Instead they  time pointed to the different sized dots on the board . i was successful,however I did see one person being tested on a set of traffic lights that were randomly illuminated. I do not know if he had previously failed ...but he was issued a license.

For part two of your question look on the internet there are copies of the question and answers which may be useful for practice aids. If you have an international driving permit  and sometimes a foreign national  one looking for a new thai licence I understand  that will help you through the system although not negate the colour blindness test. 

 Hope this helps .. And I can understand your stress as apparently one in four men have a degree of colour blindness. Some people are confused and think we cannot see individual colours of traffic lights .. That is usually incorrect as single colours can be identified it is just when close together an mixed. And is why I can be a dyslexic dresser with my clothes and gave up matching ties years ago with coloured shirts. If you fail try a different office !

 

[1337markus]

Oh well just means fewer farang complying with the law, drive without a licence and maybe once every 10 years are caught pay 400 baht fine and drive on.

[Denim]

I don't like the term ' color blind '  as it  makes the sufferer appear to have vision on a par with a dog ....no color at all. People with this condition see colors but not in the same way as most people.  

 

Another part of the driving test I found tricky was the peripheral vision color test where you look straight ahead while lights are turned on and off by the side of your head and you have to identify the color.  I saw the lights well enough but not their color . I had to resort to cheating by turning my head in order to pass , much to the examiners amusement.

 

In my group there was a young dolly bird who repeatedly failed the emergency stop test by not reacting at all. They sent her home and told her to re apply after practicing at home.

[Just1Voice]

I just renewed both my car and motorcycle license in Chiang Mai, and the color blindness chart they used for foreigners in large, fairly close, and easy to do.  The one my Thai wife, and all other Thai, had to do was smaller, and a bit further away, but still not difficult. 

 

 

 

[a10ams]

Around the age of twelve I had a medical at school where it was discovered I was slightly 'colour blind' with regards to the Ishihara tests. If it wasn't for this book I would say my colour vision is perfect in as much as I can pick out every colour in day to day life. Only this book gives me problems.

 

To the point .... when I went for my first five year licence here in Thailand I discovered that it is up to the office staff which of the various tests they put you through. They pulled out the Ishihara book on me!

 

Fortunately, being out in the sticks a bit, the examiner didn't speak English so my wife translated. I told her to ignore what I said and just tell the girl what she saw. Worked a treat.

 

On my last renewal about three and a bit years ago they had a big card, about dartboard size, on the wall. It was full of random different coloured, and sized,  dots but not making a number like Ishihara. The examiner pointed to three or four which I got. Hopefully the new test is along these lines.

 

Good luck.

[sammieuk1]

Most Thai drivers are suffering from tunnel vision and or total blindness so passing can't be to tough.

[giddyup]

49 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

Most Thai drivers are suffering from tunnel vision and or total blindness so passing can't be to tough.

Or they never bothered to get a licence.

[Cyclone88]

2 hours ago, giddyup said:

They will fail you in Pattaya if you can't identify the colours, and it's not a strip, it's a large circle made up of many different coloured dots.

They will turn to (blind eye) if you have help from a person behind you

 

[giddyup]

1 minute ago, Cyclone88 said:

They will turn to (blind eye) if you have help from a person behind you

 

That's what happened to me, three times,but I did have an examiner threaten to fail me if he heard anyone giving me any more help.

Edited January 13, 2018 by giddyup

[gintis0604]

3 hours ago, giddyup said:

I have been driving for close on 60 years, and also colour blind, and have had to pass the colour test in Thailand 3 times, first for the 1 year, then the 5 year, and once again the 5 year. Every time I would have failed but for some help, as in another falang whispering the colours to me as they were pointed out. There is just no way to fake a colour test, you either see the colours or you don't. They use a large circle made up of many smaller coloured dots in Pattaya, which was just a big rainbow blur to me, but like you, I have no trouble distinguishing colours on traffic lights.

They had changed that in Pty when I made my test 2 years ago. Now they pointed on some dots which I could see. The old test I didn't had a clue. 

[ianwheldale]

I got my licence in Chiang Mai a couple of months ago. A large circle full of various splashes of colour used for the colour blind test. I have no problem discerning the colours however the thing I found hard was the official using a transparent plastic pointer which made it difficult to see where the end of it was. 

[giddyup]

3 minutes ago, gintis0604 said:

They had changed that in Pty when I made my test 2 years ago. Now they pointed on some dots which I could see. The old test I didn't had a clue. 

I only renewed my licence in Pats about 3 months ago and they still had the large circle made up of many coloured smaller dots. Why they can't just have a mock-up traffic light beats me, they are the only colours that are important.

Edited January 13, 2018 by giddyup

[KhunAussie52]

I have just renewed my license at Sangkha, near Surin. Had to watch a one hour long video in Thai.

They had a set of traffic lights set up, for the colour test.

 

 

[moogradod]

duplicate - original see below

Edited January 13, 2018 by moogradod
duplicate post - sorry

[moogradod]

I have seen this circle now on the net - ressembles a Ishihara Plate. The sad thing is that I can even identify red and green (with concentration) on the original pricture on the PC screen - especially if told once which is a red one I hit practically 100% red and green afterwards - but if the same pricture is printed out I would name the colors exactly the other way round. Very strange for my wife always  - no matter if on the screen or on the printout names green as green and red as red. I actually see the difference, though. I once had to make a test in Japan. After I failed Ishihara they showed me one big dot in red and one in green - absolutely easy to identifiy. So I am not absolutely green-red colorblind. I see what is green and what is red but under some conditions it is more hard.

 

I must just not take a chance and not pass and then be listed somewhere that I may never try again. I have passed one of the most difficult driving tests of the world I believe (this one in Switzerland is a hard one - believe me - and I even took the Taxi Driver test - even more difficult - to job while I was a student). It would be ridiculous if I would be denied driving in Thailand and I must pass - no matter what the cost.

 

I will bring my wife and I could really train it a bit I believe. Thanks for all those tips.

[giddyup]

3 minutes ago, moogradod said:

 I must just not take a chance and not pass and then be listed somewhere that I may never try again. I have passed one of the most difficult driving tests of the world I believe (this one in Switzerland is a hard one - believe me - and I even took the Taxi Driver test - even more difficult - to job while I was a student). It would be ridiculous if I would be denied driving in Thailand and I must pass - no matter what the cost.

 

I will bring my wife and I could really train it a bit I believe. Thanks for all those tips.

If you fail you can do again, and again, and again. I don't believe there's any limit to how many times you can sit the test, but the colours will always be the same, and there's no way you can memorise a hundred dots.

Edited January 13, 2018 by giddyup

[Formaleins]

I find it absolutely amazing that foreigners here keep harping on and on about the terrible standard of the Thais driving, their lack of road sense, training and the lack of a decent driving test. Then, the first time that a foreigner fails or would fail a basic Thai driving test requirement such as colour blindness, they go off on a tangent and make up a thousand excuses why they have a problem with colours!

If you are colour blind and cannot pass the colour test for the driving license, then tough shit! You harp on about the Thais not having licenses etc. and demand better training, then when you have to do the test you blubber and cheat because you cannot do it correctly....<deleted>!

[MyFriend You]

2 hours ago, gintis0604 said:

They had changed that in Pty when I made my test 2 years ago. Now they pointed on some dots which I could see. The old test I didn't had a clue. 

Then there may be hope for us that can't pass the Ishihara test, have never been able to distinguish more than 2 or 3 numbers on that thing..  I joined the Army when I was seventeen, failed the test the first time, told the guy I was just sleepy, could I take it again, went to the back of the line and remembered the numbers as the guys in front of me called them off.  I passed.     I am ' blue green', 'red orange' color impaired..........

[MyFriend You]

22 minutes ago, Formaleins said:

I find it absolutely amazing that foreigners here keep harping on and on about the terrible standard of the Thais driving, their lack of road sense, training and the lack of a decent driving test. Then, the first time that a foreigner fails or would fail a basic Thai driving test requirement such as colour blindness, they go off on a tangent and make up a thousand excuses why they have a problem with colours!

If you are colour blind and cannot pass the colour test for the driving license, then tough shit! You harp on about the Thais not having licenses etc. and demand better training, then when you have to do the test you blubber and cheat because you cannot do it correctly....<deleted>!

Signor, Carme Te  -  I haven't read anyone making excuses, color impairment is a common ailment  -  we see the lights and can tell all the colors individually, its when you get a bunch of colors all mixed up together that they somtimes blur, I've been driving 65 years, never missed a light because I couldn't see the colors yet!!    The test is not fair when you are color impaired, i have passed more stringent tests in Hawaii then they have here, computerized tests, you had to push a button when a certain light showed up  red, yellow, green, yellow, red, green, flashing red, flashing green, flashing yellow............take a chill pill.

[giddyup]

51 minutes ago, Formaleins said:

I find it absolutely amazing that foreigners here keep harping on and on about the terrible standard of the Thais driving, their lack of road sense, training and the lack of a decent driving test. Then, the first time that a foreigner fails or would fail a basic Thai driving test requirement such as colour blindness, they go off on a tangent and make up a thousand excuses why they have a problem with colours!

If you are colour blind and cannot pass the colour test for the driving license, then tough shit! You harp on about the Thais not having licenses etc. and demand better training, then when you have to do the test you blubber and cheat because you cannot do it correctly....<deleted>!

Explain how I have managed to drive for the best part of 60 years with only one accident, caused by a young speeding, drunk hoon, and yet I'm colour blind? AFAIK very few countries have a test for colour, usually just an eyesight test, so the colour test is meaningless. Doesn't mean colour blind people can't distinguish between the colours of a traffic light, but if you were better informed you would know this.

[SteveB2]

9 hours ago, moogradod said:

1. Is there somewhere an example where I might train a bit ?

The color blindness test disk is located up on the second floor out in the open at the Pattaya test center...

There were hundreds of people milling around when I was there for my own tests a couple of months ago.

 

It should be relatively easy to visit and sneak a photo of the test disk for practice.

The colours stand out really well - A test subject would have to be quite colour blind to fail the test.

 

As would be expected, they want to check you can discern the colour of traffic lights, so (from memory) they appear to use a modified RED, ORANGE, GREEN  Ishihara Circular test plate #45.

 

Unlike the correct use of the Ishihara test plates where the subject is asked to identify the hidden number on the plate, the Pattaya test center simply uses the one plate with the official running the test pointing to an individual color blob and wants the test subject to shout out the colour of the blob.

 

An example of a reverse red/orange/green test plate is given below.

If you want to investigate your color blindness further, check out the video stream beginning here 

 

 

 

 

[Autonuaq]

Just went last week.

Color test is not easy to prepare.

random selection.

 

First test left and right of your eye to see the angle and the colors the led are on the edges and you head is stabilized so can move to turn

Red, green and mix of red and green.

Several times left and right tested.

This is a one test where you sit behind a table in a chair in my case

 

 

Then the second test

Traffic light as on the street with three lights that each have the color red, orange and green.

 

And the select randomly the top middle or bottum light.

Each randomly red, orange or yellow

 

The foreigners where separated. And thai where put in between.

This is a test where was standing. In a small queue in batches of 5 people.

 

And then the famous reaction test.

this one had an extra color.Red and green. 

Break only by red.

The time of changing to red is random.

Below the bar you pass. On or above you fail.

 

Foreigner have in general a much quicker reaction time the thai is saw.

 

So how to train or cheat in this tests I not know.

 

The traffic light is not a real situation and confuses. Because the order if the light is such that everyone know

top red light, middle orange light and the lowest is always green.

This is standarised around the world. So color blind people know the meaning of the light and also when the light cap is broke everyone know the order and meaning.

 

 

 

 

[hkt83100]

21 hours ago, 1337markus said:

Oh well just means fewer farang complying with the law, drive without a licence and maybe once every 10 years are caught pay 400 baht fine and drive on.

I hope you will never have an accident without a valid license, otherwise the insurance won't pay.