Pattaya police get tough on licences: Fines for tourists AND rental companies AND confiscation of vehicle

[DPKANKAN]

On 09/05/2018 at 9:17 PM, Darren palmer said:

I think its a good idea to fine the hire company to they make sure the tourist has a license , ive seen tourists hire bikes and not even get 100 yards up the road before they smash them selfs up, then the hire companies are rubbing there hands and ripping them off with the cost of bike repairs, how many times have we seen tourists with no insurance on these fund me pages asking for money for medical bill's because they decided they didn't need the £20 - £30 extra charge on there package holiday....?..... 

What they are also seeming to suggest is that you have to go and get a Thai license first before driving!! That is never going to happen for tourists... Kerching...

[Hooliganzone]

On 09/05/2018 at 8:38 PM, snoop1130 said:

he said that the reason for the change is that many tourists don't know the highway code and have not had any training leading to accidents.

 

We have no idea about the Highway code and we have never had any training, i've never heard so much bullshit, but the Thais have.

So how do they explain the 418 dead on the road at Songran 99.99% of them wereThais...

[Wallander4]

Bla bla bla and then some hot air from authorities ... This will never be enforced - extortion money will be lost

[Hooliganzone]

On 09/05/2018 at 9:26 PM, richard_smith237 said:

 

Not nearly as many times as I see Thai guys to dangerously idiotic stuff on their motorcycles....   the only outstanding question is whether they are licensed or not.

 

Of course, being licensed won't stop these guys from doing dangerous and idiotic stuff on their motorcycles, but the heavy fines might.

 

Stringent and consistent enforcement of the regulations with impacting and consistent penalties for all who use Thailands roads is the primary solution to many of Thailands traffic woes.

 

In targeting foreigners the intelligent and common sense approach to road safety has been kneecapped by greed.

Renting motorbikes in Thailand are not covered by insurance companies. They are in the dangerous sports category.

[cornishcarlos]

6 minutes ago, Hooliganzone said:

Renting motorbikes in Thailand are not covered by insurance companies. They are in the dangerous sports category.

 

That's all insurance companies, is it ??

[DefaultName]

8 minutes ago, Hooliganzone said:

Renting motorbikes in Thailand are not covered by insurance companies. They are in the dangerous sports category.

Because I had a full bike licence from my home country (UK), any holiday insurance I ever used covered me for accidents on a bike as long as it wasn't used for sports.  Normal road use was fine - for me anyway, the bike and other people/things damaged would be covered by the rental insurance - if they had any of course..  

[torrzent]

19 minutes ago, Hooliganzone said:

Renting motorbikes in Thailand are not covered by insurance companies. They are in the dangerous sports category.

Do you have proof of this?

[torrzent]

13 hours ago, Franko666 said:

I gave up m/bike riding nearly 2 years ago, I dont have a death wish. People from first world Countries have no excuse, they know the story, they are educated and are at least semi literate and just because they are in a third world Country doesn't mean they have to dumb down. Forget the dodgey 100 THB guy,  go proffessional or better still forget m/bikes altogether. If you dont expect much then you dont get much.

Yes I agree.  If you are not capable of handling the conditions you should not be out there.  Think of it as a black diamond ski run.  Some people need to stick to the bunny hill.

[johnny2times]

I come to thailand for 3 or 4 months a year and ride my friends  motorscooter so i dont rent one  but i dont have a motorcycle license. I have my car license and international driving permit from  australia but thats for a car only. 

I dont really have a problem with getting a motorcycle license  as it is their law but it would be alot easier and cheaper to do it in thailand so im wondering can you sit for the motorcyle test/license in thailand if you have a metv?

Anyway if any australians are  interested   this is what i know about getting a motorcycle license in australia from 1 registered license provider but im sure they are all similiar prices.

2 day learners course ( mandatory )$ 445 to $545 depending on weekday or weekend and is valid for 15 months.

The  check ride test which is mandatory if you got your learners permit after 2 april 2016 and is $200 weekday or $250 weekend plus $50 if you dont have your own bike/scooter and takes 3.5hours.

The License assessment is $200/plus $50  bike hire if need to and takes 1 hour and gives you a restricted license for 3 years..... all up your looking at between$800 to$1000...

[johng]

You can get a "temporary" 2 years driving licence with a tourist visa...if you want a full.5 year licence you'll need a long term visa or extension of stay
The motorcycle test is very easy,most poeple say not falling off the long raised narrow strip is the hardest bit....I had to have 3 goes at the computerised theory test which they have made more stringent lately...I failed because some of the questions where non sensical in the English langue version maybe they where equally daft in the Thai version...I also noticed that questions I answered wrongly where often repeated in later questions...so before clicking the final submit the answers and finnish button....go back and review the questions ...ohh and remember Tanks are perfectly legal to drive on the road.

[johnny2times]

cheers johng thats good news and i appreciate your reply.  I will look into on my next trip.

[pacovl46]

23 hours ago, tropo said:

That may be so, but you're discussing this on a forum where most people are a bit older and wiser and may have had accidents to learn from.

 

I was well trained, as was the normal practice to get a licence in my home country, but I was still crazy on the roads in my younger years despite that. The roads in Australia used to be like speedways in the 70's and 80's, until speed cameras (and heavy fines along with loss of licence), became hard to avoid...

 

I don't think the training makes a lot of difference. It's more about maturity and how the laws are enforced. Pattaya is a VERY young town with a large percentage of them on 2 wheels.

I agree, but if you’ve been trained properly and you speed or don’t drive the way you’re supposed to, then you know you’re doing the wrong thing! I’m not so sure if this is true for a lot of Thais. Having said that, though, I think the Thai traffic is more predictable than the traffic in Germany for example because in Thailand you have to expect everything at any given moment which makes you pay more attention.

[i claudius]

Big police blockade on sukhumvit today

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[wgdanson]

3 hours ago, johng said:

You can get a "temporary" 2 years driving licence with a tourist visa...if you want a full.5 year licence you'll need a long term visa or extension of stay
The motorcycle test is very easy,most poeple say not falling off the long raised narrow strip is the hardest bit....I had to have 3 goes at the computerised theory test which they have made more stringent lately...I failed because some of the questions where non sensical in the English langue version maybe they where equally daft in the Thai version...I also noticed that questions I answered wrongly where often repeated in later questions...so before clicking the final submit the answers and finnish button....go back and review the questions ...ohh and remember Tanks are perfectly legal to drive on the road.

Not if it doesn't have a windscreen.

[Thaidream]

2 minutes ago, i claudius said:

Big police blockade on sukhumvit today

And to what end- stop every car and cycle being driven by a foreigner to determine if they are driving a rental vehicle while every vehicle driven by a local is not stopped. Talk about racial profiling.

[i claudius]

And to what end- stop every car and cycle being driven by a foreigner to determine if they are driving a rental vehicle while every vehicle driven by a local is not stopped. Talk about racial profiling.

Well i was driving our car i am a foreigner and i was not stopped. But i have tax and insurance

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[mommysboy]

On 10/05/2018 at 9:20 AM, newnative said:

Umm.  1000 baht fine?  Not too tough.  10,000 baht would be a bit better but still not a lot of sting.  But taking away the bike is a plus. Now, let's keep at it all year and not just for a few days.

You forgot something.......and apply it in equal measure to Thais!  That's what you forgot to add, isn't it?

[Rimmer]

Some more off topic posts also posts with incorrect quotes have been removed

[gk10002000]

On 5/10/2018 at 1:47 AM, cookieqw said:

Tourists must now have an international licence, their passport and home country driving licence when renting a vehicle in Pattaya. They must carry their documents with them to show to the police if stopped. 

 

I know that.  but as I said, the article does not specify that they driver must have a motorcycle driver license

[transam]

2 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

I know that.  but as I said, the article does not specify that they driver must have a motorcycle driver license

You don't understand to drive a m/cycle you must have a m/cycle license...? 

[gk10002000]

1 minute ago, transam said:

You don't understand to drive a m/cycle you must have a m/cycle license...? 

In one's home country yes. In thailand, I bet there is not even such a distinction, and as I said, the article just says the foreigner must present a driver license.  It does not explicitly say it must show a motorcycle driver license, and I bet the local Thai bike dealer would not know the difference.  You are free to assume what you want as to what is going to be really required.

[stud858]

8 minutes ago, transam said:

You don't understand to drive a m/cycle you must have a m/cycle license...? 

I think the point being made is IDP is available for car or motorbike seperately. If you intend on riding a motorbike you need your own country's motorbike licence and a motorbike version of the IDP.

 

[transam]

1 minute ago, gk10002000 said:

In one's home country yes. In thailand, I bet there is not even such a distinction, and as I said, the article just says the foreigner must present a driver license.  It does not explicitly say it must show a motorcycle driver license, and I bet the local Thai bike dealer would not know the difference.  You are free to assume what you want as to what is going to be really required.

I have a license for a car and a license for a m/cycle....Both issued on the same day because my farang license showed I had past the test for both...

Mrs.Trans also has TWO licenses, one for car, one for m/cycle...

[mauGR1]

2 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

In one's home country yes. In thailand, I bet there is not even such a distinction, and as I said, the article just says the foreigner must present a driver license.  It does not explicitly say it must show a motorcycle driver license, and I bet the local Thai bike dealer would not know the difference.  You are free to assume what you want as to what is going to be really required.

Well, a car license could be ok for the bike dealer, could be ok for the Police too, but , would it be ok for the insurance in the case of an accident ?

[transam]

1 minute ago, stud858 said:

I think the point being made is IDP is available for car or motorbike seperately. If you intend on riding a motorbike you need your own countries motorbike licence and a motorbike version of the IDP.

 

My IDP showed what I was licensed to drive in my home country..

[Peterw42]

37 minutes ago, stud858 said:

I think the point being made is IDP is available for car or motorbike seperately. If you intend on riding a motorbike you need your own country's motorbike licence and a motorbike version of the IDP.

 

IDP has endorsements, car, motorbike, heavy vehicle etc. (the same as what your home license says)

 

 

Most licenses (Australia for example ) are a single card with endorsements car, motorbike, heavy vehicle etc.

 

[Peterw42]

20 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Well, a car license could be ok for the bike dealer, could be ok for the Police too, but , would it be ok for the insurance in the case of an accident ?

A car license is not legal to drive bike in Thailand. Thats what the thread is about, because rental shop have been illegally accepting a car license or no license.

[jackdd]

36 minutes ago, gk10002000 said:

In one's home country yes. In thailand, I bet there is not even such a distinction, and as I said, the article just says the foreigner must present a driver license.  It does not explicitly say it must show a motorcycle driver license, and I bet the local Thai bike dealer would not know the difference.  You are free to assume what you want as to what is going to be really required.

If you look on the IDP there is a picture of a car and a picture of a motorbike (and trucks and bus and other stuff), everything you may not drive is covered with xxxxxxx. Even the most retarded person understands what it means.

[mok199]

sure avoid pattayas real lawless problem,''thai youths with their insane loud scooters ,racing down one ways the wrong way''..

[johng]

3 hours ago, gk10002000 said:

I bet there is not even such a distinction,

 

There is certainly a distinction and  a separate physical licence for car/truck/van  and motorcycle