Seeing as so many underage kids ride motorbikes, would it not be a good idea to issue driving licences starting at say 12 years old when they go to 'big school' , pass a test maybe at school, so that then they can have legal insurance. I hate think the process if a kid drove his bike into my truck and damaged it. Who would pay? 

Edited April 22, 20188 yr by metisdead
All caps edited out of topic title.

Interesting proposal. That then beggars the question, what about the kids riding around on bikes younger than 12, cos as you have probably noticed, there are more than a few of them too. The more you lower the legal age, the less of a gap kids are going to see between them and the legal age. Kids of 10 will want to have a practice, so they are ready when they get their license.

To my mind 15 is a reasonable age. The problem as with all other road laws in this country that none of them are ever enforced. Kids in England would drive around on Motor bikes if they weren't so scared of the cops there, who do enforce the laws. If the cops here could get off their fat, lazy backsides and enforce the laws, confiscating bikes of anyone under age, we would see the numbers out there drop dramatically. But you know the cops will pull over the farang for no license, while 3 or 4 young kids on one bike sail by, without a helmet between them.

It's not about the age, it is about a culture where road laws are seen more as guidelines than laws. This is where the problem begins and ends and no amount of changing the legal age will alter that.

Seeing as so many underage kids ride motorbikes, would it not be a good idea to issue driving licences starting at say 12 years old when they go to 'big school' , pass a test maybe at school, so that then they can have legal insurance. I hate think the process if a kid drove his bike into my truck and damaged it. Who would pay? 

Your insurance. happened to me.their mother tried to get money off me i was turning left and they tried to undertake. Just threatened to call the police.they went on their way cost me my no claims bonus.thats why i always have 1st class insurance.nobody has a bloody licence over here.lol

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

2 minutes ago, ThreeEyedRaven said:

To my mind 15 is a reasonable age

But their Mum or Dad will still have to take them to school on the bike, but yes, I agree.

16 minutes ago, i claudius said:

cost me my no claims bonus.

& did your premium go up if having received it yet

This is what i mentioned before - Let's say the mother said OK ring the Police & is still demanding money (so of down to the station ) 

Since you have Class 1 Insurance you leave it up to Ins. Company to decide to pay or not. If forced to make that claim to cover all, why don't these Ins companies go after the illegal person

 

EG. I had just got my full license in Auss ( not sure how long I had it for ), involved in small accident (charged ). The other party claimed on Ins & the Ins. Company sent me the bill since other party proved who was in the wrong, hence other party losing no claim & premium hike

Rightly or wrongly perhaps the Thai parents are allowed a little scope on when they think their offspring are capable of riding a motorsi to school. I guess the parents can calculate the risk. No doubt some will insist their children use less personal transport if available.

My daughter (15) has traveled to school in our rural area on her own motorsi for over a year now. I consider it good practice with only one busy road to cross right alongside the school. She drives confidently and carefully.

Soon she changes school and goes into a busy town some 10 klms away. My wife will not allow daily travel and my daughter will board with a friend near to school. Not sure if she will take the motorsi and use it in the town, probably will, but at least I know she has driven for a while and will be much better equipped to handle the bike than a new learner starting out.

I do agree training and education would be beneficial and certainly the enforcement of the compulsory helmet law. Surely the place for this is right outside the school, catch them young make wearing a helmet habit.

Even if they have a license and are thus covered by "insurance". If they have insurance, it's just the compulsory insurance anyway, and this insurance only pays for medical treatment, not for damage to your truck. So you would be in the same situation, with or without insurance (their insurance).

Edited April 22, 20188 yr by jackdd

But you know the cops will pull over the farang for no license, while 3 or 4 young kids on one bike sail by, without a helmet between them.

Why bother stopping them? They have no licence to confiscate and no money for a fine/bribe.

11 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

Why bother stopping them? They have no licence to confiscate and no money for a fine/bribe.

So, take the bike then !

Young Kids who know they shouldn't be riding are rather good , i find, its the Oiks on those skinny wheel moped looking things are the idiots.

problem is that at their ages they are too immature & they dont stop to realize how dangerous some of their riding habits are, speeding while swerving in and out of traffic chasing each other doesnt help. Parents that say they are good enough to ride does not make it so, they need to know the road rules and be licensed, its not up to parents but to the laws when it all boils down to it. Like the 12 year old driving herself to school through Surat Thani in her fathers car for a long time with no accidents, does that mean all 12 year olds should be ok to do it, that is not the answer. The laws are there for a reason even if the police dont enforce them, maybe when their kids have an accident or die they will realize that they are wrong, police need to enforce the law, parents need to be held responsible and fined a big amount or lose the bike, maybe then when it starts to cost them money they will stop their kids from doing it but again that would require the police to get out and do their jobs, will never happen. I am so over having to swerve or break suddenly due to under age kids riding habits, many are simply too stupid in their thinking to be on the road but then again so are many others

Edited April 22, 20188 yr by seajae

1 hour ago, RichardColeman said:

So, take the bike then !

They do for twenty minutes.

40 minutes ago, seajae said:

problem is that at their ages they are too immature & they dont stop to realize how dangerous some of their riding habits are, speeding while swerving in and out of traffic chasing each other doesnt help. Parents that say they are good enough to ride does not make it so, they need to know the road rules and be licensed, its not up to parents but to the laws when it all boils down to it. Like the 12 year old driving herself to school through Surat Thani in her fathers car for a long time with no accidents, does that mean all 12 year olds should be ok to do it, that is not the answer. The laws are there for a reason even if the police dont enforce them, maybe when their kids have an accident or die they will realize that they are wrong, police need to enforce the law, parents need to be held responsible and fined a big amount or lose the bike, maybe then when it starts to cost them money they will stop their kids from doing it but again that would require the police to get out and do their jobs, will never happen. I am so over having to swerve or break suddenly due to under age kids riding habits, many are simply too stupid in their thinking to be on the road but then again so are many others

Well  improve your own pooe driving habits , treat them all as bad, preempt them and stop swerving around as if your a Kid.

Thai kids' motorcycle licenses are their birth certificates

 

Whats with all the westernised ideas and thinking on here, Thailand wouldnt be Thailand if they followed the way of western thinking, rules and regulations

So, take the bike then !

It probably doesn't belong to them anyway.

Whats with all the westernised ideas and thinking on here, Thailand wouldnt be Thailand if they followed the way of western thinking, rules and regulations

Some of us like rules and order and civilised behaviour.

25 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

Some of us like rules and order and civilised behaviour.

Ah!  If each of us was allowed to design a Thailand with our chosen mixture of Western & Thai characteristics we would have about 5,000 Thailands.  My choice of things I love or tolerate here and the other things I miss from "back home" will likely be different from yours or anyone elses.

 

At 12 years old a few, very few Thai kids would be mature enough to behave responsibly on a bike.  And their parents would usually be the least reliable person to make that call.  Ask any one who has taught school here about what they think of most Thai parents, parenting skills   At 15 there are probably not many more mature minds than those we qualified emotionally at 12.     At 18 we may be getting somewhere but wait.  This is Thailand.  Have you seen how 40 & 50 year olds drive their trucks?  Imagine what those guys were like at 20 or 25 on a 110-125cc bike.  All alcohol & testosterone with not even 2 grains of self responsibility.   And still not any different at 40 - 50!  But we are here and have to drive defensively, much more so than at home.  There are so many more irresponsible, borderline suicidal idiots on the road here than the countries where most of us come from.

Edited April 22, 20188 yr by The Deerhunter

The factory of death!  who is going to teach these kids?  the traits are pass down right now from their peers obtaining a license is just a obstacle when they actually get one they fly out of the department like a bat out of hell which is the same way they got there. 

I think westerners like myself voice our opinion because we care and maybe those seem to criticize us are just too afraid things might change for the better for Thai people.  Yes, Thais are dying the great resource of their country 25,000 per year, over a million injuries, thousands hurt to the point they can't take care of themselves, billions in baht lost to a problem that can be control if they just ask for help from the outside.  I'm not trying to change this country I fully understand not every Thai can buy a car, insurance etc..  but there is got to be exceptions to even their rules and that is do it safely. How do you try to enforce a grown up to wear a helmet get a license and let kids go around all day without one breaking every law they have set forth to prevent the problem?  Every solution by every Thai goes against all logic. You can't say a red light is stop and proceed with caution then allow a person to fly through one and kill themselves and do nothing about it? The concept was to allow gets young so they can get to school but has created a larger problem allowing parents in their culture to just let them take care of themselves once they are allowed to go to school they can now free to do whatever they like instead of actually going to school? 

It is a epidemic one day Thai leaders might recognized is leading to many of their other problems which they have used Section 44 to try to fix.

Edited April 23, 20188 yr by thailand49

12 hours ago, KittenKong said:

Some of us like rules and order and civilised behaviour.

So nip to Singapore its only down the road. 

16 hours ago, 473geo said:

Rightly or wrongly perhaps the Thai parents are allowed a little scope on when they think their offspring are capable of riding a motorsi to school. I guess the parents can calculate the risk. No doubt some will insist their children use less personal transport if available.

My daughter (15) has traveled to school in our rural area on her own motorsi for over a year now. I consider it good practice with only one busy road to cross right alongside the school. She drives confidently and carefully.

Soon she changes school and goes into a busy town some 10 klms away. My wife will not allow daily travel and my daughter will board with a friend near to school. Not sure if she will take the motorsi and use it in the town, probably will, but at least I know she has driven for a while and will be much better equipped to handle the bike than a new learner starting out.

I do agree training and education would be beneficial and certainly the enforcement of the compulsory helmet law. Surely the place for this is right outside the school, catch them young make wearing a helmet habit.

The parents  "Can Calculate The Risk" !!! They couldn't calculate 1+1 let alone weigh up any sort of risk. If you wanted a better example of risk calculation, ask a caterpillar or a slug.

Noticable that your only concern was about  the damage that could be done to your pick up....no worries for the damage the kid could sustain?

Would you let your 12-year-old ride a motorbike in a country that is rated number one in motorcycle fatalities? Would you feel responsible if your 12-year-old child was killed even though it was not her fault because you let her borrow the motorbike? Who then, the Buddha? 

13 hours ago, Jdiddy said:

Thai kids' motorcycle licenses are their birth certificates

 

Whats with all the westernised ideas and thinking on here, Thailand wouldnt be Thailand if they followed the way of western thinking, rules and regulations

But the west has waaaaay less kid funerals...

14 hours ago, HAKAPALITA said:

Well  improve your own pooe driving habits , treat them all as bad, preempt them and stop swerving around as if your a Kid.

Rubbish.

Whadson.

Well that's the price you pay, driving in Thailand. Most of the Thai adults do not have insurance, that's why  I have insurance.

As a kid in 1950's England my dad had the only car in the street which he used for work, mum's did their shopping on foot and kids got to school on foot or walked to the nearest public bus stop...

Thinking back, there were not many fat mum's or kids back then, wonder why...

14 hours ago, Jdiddy said:

Thai kids' motorcycle licenses are their birth certificates

 

Whats with all the westernised ideas and thinking on here, Thailand wouldnt be Thailand if they followed the way of western thinking, rules and regulations

So Thai parents don't want their kids to survive into adulthood and are prepared to risk them dying on the roads to avoid having to arrange safer transport for them?

 

Actually, I know they don't care/think nothing can go wrong as even the rich ones don't waste money on child safety seats. They would rather pay for a sportier exhaust. That's why you see so many unrestrained kids standing between the front seats in cars and so many underage kids riding motorcycles without helmets. When I was young, we walked to school, or cycled if it was a bit too far. If you lived really far away, you used a bus. Those alternatives are very underused here. 

The Nanny State Control Freaks are loose here these days. We fit in with Thai Ways. Westerners are bloody useless drivers in general here.They know the safety side is bad, in all aspects,yet drive as if there in their homeland. Fit in, shut up, and enjoy being here.Or at least just moan about the awfull Hotel Breakfast Buffets like i do..

1 hour ago, dotpoom said:

Noticable that your only concern was about  the damage that could be done to your pick up....no worries for the damage the kid could sustain?

Hey!!! I was gonna say that.555

Just now, HAKAPALITA said:

The Nanny State Control Freaks are loose here these days. We fit in with Thai Ways. Westerners are bloody useless drivers in general here.They know the safety side is bad, in all aspects,yet drive as if there in their homeland. Fit in, shut up, and enjoy being here.Or at least just moan about the awfull Hotel Breakfast Buffets like i do..

It's OK to have the Easy Rider mentality until it's one of your friends or relatives that's crushed to pieces on the tarmac, or you look at another child's broken body and think how easily they could and should have been protected. Hope you never have to do that, I have.