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Experiences with the color-blindness test for a driving license


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4 minutes ago, Oxx said:

 

This is a ludicrously designed test.  The colour-sensitive cells in the retina (known as "cones") are clustered in the centre.  This means that peripheral vision is very bad at identifying colours.

 

If the aim were to determine angle of vision, then simply indicating "right" or "left" would be sufficient.  And if the aim were to evaluate colour perception, something like the Ishihara tests should be used.

I failed this test in CM when I first got a Thai licence.By being forced, verbally, to look straight ahead no way  could I see the colours. When I turned my head I got reprimanded. I explained to the guy the obvious when you are driving you turn your head right or left to see oncoming traffic or pedestrians.I failed 3 times in a row then a Thai guy who worked there stolled across and told the guy to pass me.

 

When I went for renewal this stupid test had been replaced with coloured boards which for me were simple.The hour long video was comical even talked about driving a tank mind you in Thailand thats not such a bad idea.

 

Driven in many Asian countries Thailand is the worst by a mile and reflected in the fact that Thailand leads the world in road deaths but only those that die at the scene of tha accident are recorded.

 

Only way to survive is to treat every other motorist and motor bike rider as a potential killer ,namely defensive driving.

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1 minute ago, Sparkles said:

I failed this test in CM when I first got a Thai licence.By being forced, verbally, to look straight ahead no way  could I see the colours. When I turned my head I got reprimanded. I explained to the guy the obvious when you are driving you turn your head right or left to see oncoming traffic or pedestrians.I failed 3 times in a row then a Thai guy who worked there stolled across and told the guy to pass me.

 

When I went for renewal this stupid test had been replaced with coloured boards which for me were simple.The hour long video was comical even talked about driving a tank mind you in Thailand thats not such a bad idea.

 

Driven in many Asian countries Thailand is the worst by a mile and reflected in the fact that Thailand leads the world in road deaths but only those that die at the scene of tha accident are recorded.

 

Only way to survive is to treat every other motorist and motor bike rider as a potential killer ,namely defensive driving.

 

2 minutes ago, Sparkles said:

Only way to survive is to treat every other motorist and motor bike rider as a potential killer ,namely defensive driving.

 

Absolutely,  defensive driving at all times.

 

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2 minutes ago, Sparkles said:

Only way to survive is to treat every other motorist and motor bike rider as a potential killer ,namely defensive driving.

I take the opposite view, I make it clear to every other driver that I'm a potential killer and they avoid me. Apart from a few minor dings, works for me.

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You''ll have no problem, as long as you remember what the colours of the lights mean here :

Red means stop (except if you want to turn left, in which case you can sneak around the corner in between oncoming traffic) OR you are a very important person, in which case you ignore ALL laws.

Green means go (as fast as you can, dodging in between lanes, including motorcycle lanes, and ignoring the safety of other road users)

Yellow means go faster....

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1 hour ago, VYCM said:

Ha, ha. You’re not that useless English volunteer that I was talking about are you?

 

BTW, I heard on the radio that there has been some changes regarding R.C. for driving licenses’.

Apparently you must present a form from the DLT to receive your R.C.

 

Anyone hear the same?

Why would you think I was a volunteer when I just explained my experience in passing the colour test?

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19 hours ago, naboo said:

I'm colourblind, passed. Test as above. Only problem was a doctor far too keen to do everything thoroughly for the medical. Don't do the medical at a government hospital!

You mean cheat on the color blind test, which might then cause an accident?

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20 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

For me it was just these color bubbles.

Officer points to three different bubbles.

She only pointed to red, yellow, green.

Sometimes they might challenge you and point to blue.

You name the color and that's it.

 

%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%82%E0%

At the Banglamung/Pattaya DLT they use  the above colour test chart

one time there was a foreigner having a hard time distinguishing the colours,

the testing lady said "if you say blue again you go home"  

she then pointed at green he said blue   everyone laughed  and she said ok you pass !!!!

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19 hours ago, Denim said:

I had a different test. No bubble chart.

 

I had to put my chin on a depression that held my head steady and was told to look straight ahead. Next they did a test to determine my peripheral vision by turning on small lights on both the left and right side of my head and I had to say what the colors were.

 

I failed. Could see the lights but not their color. So they did everyone else and I had to repeat the test.

 

Knowing I would perform no better, cheating was called for and I moved my eyes to left and right very quickly to determine the color.

 

They spotted my cheating and laughed but passed me anyway.

 

The only test they were strict on was the emergency stop reaction. Anyone failing was sent home and told to practice honing their reflexes

 

I haven't honed a reflex in years! Remind what kind of whetstone and lubricant to use?

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I renewed my 5 year licence back in August and the man with attitude was in charge of just about everything, he most certainly is on a power kick or has SMS (short man Syndrome) a really nasty piece of work, one of the foreigners in my group one of the Scandinavian countries from his accent had his hirlfriend standing behind the glass panel behind him and whispering him the answers, he passed ????

 

When the video finished, everyone thought it had, and got up to back into the main office he went mad and herded everyone back in to watch the credits and out takes, the place is crazy. 

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2 hours ago, jgarbo said:

How does a potential killer make it clear? Sign? Loud speaker on roof? Lights flashing? Crashing into walls?

It's a game you might have heard of. It's called "chicken". Drive straight at a Thai, accelerating, the Thai always backs down.

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On 10/25/2018 at 3:33 PM, Exploring Thailand said:

As I understand it, different test stations use different tests. I thought I'd try to get a feel for the range of different tests before I choose which station to attend.

OK, I gather from that you have an Elite visa or some other long-term stay enabler?

 

Seriously? You want to play the field in LOS when it comes to cherry-picking your optimum, best-fit test station? People don't even bother to try that with Immigration offices and most of those have known unknowns.

 

I recommend choosing a low-volume test station and get on with post #6.

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16 hours ago, Denim said:

Same when I went.

A pretty young woman, who looked neat , tidy and well educated also failed 4 times but did not get a fifth chance. Same for an old man in scruffy clothes.

 

It was amazing to watch her. Almost no reflex action at all.

The red light came on and it was a good long 2 seconds before she braked.

...color blind.

 

Next?

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8 hours ago, Oxx said:

 

This is a ludicrously designed test.  The colour-sensitive cells in the retina (known as "cones") are clustered in the centre.  This means that peripheral vision is very bad at identifying colours.

 

If the aim were to determine angle of vision, then simply indicating "right" or "left" would be sufficient.  And if the aim were to evaluate colour perception, something like the Ishihara tests should be used.

And if you need to move your eyes to see the color, that simply means the "cones" aint as good as they used to be. They are checking for impaired eyesight after all.

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4 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Not always. Not in deepest Isaan anyway.

That's true, I find Issan men a completely different breed to Thai men. I have a lot more respect for them.

 

Pretty much all of my Thai male friends are from Issan.

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18 hours ago, giddyup said:

I have sat for the colour test 3 times, first for my initial 1 year licence, and then two 5 year renewals. I would have failed every time but for help. I have been lucky enough to have had a falang standing next to me on the 3 occasions who whispered the colours to me as the tester pointed at the dots. There is no way in hell I could pass without help. It's a joke anyway, I doubt that many countries in the world insist on a colour test, and I have been driving near on 60 years and never gone through a red light yet, unlike the Thais who do it regularly and with fatal consequences.

The color test with the dots is actually quite easy. I'm color blind and can easily determine the colors on that. However, they have other tests in BKK, such as traffic signal with different color lights appearing in the different position on the traffic signal. A little more difficult. The most difficult test of all for me was the color peripheral vision test. Which I failed. Repeatedly

Incidentally, you should take extra care if you can't pass the color test, because in thailand the lights are often not vertical and often there maybe other background lights (advertising signs/shops etc) that may make it difficult to determine what the traffic signal is at nighttime. 

People who boast how good a driver they are compared with thai drivers do not fully appreciate how dangerous the road conditions (not necessarily the drivers) are in Thailand.

 Drive safely my friends! 

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33 minutes ago, Time Traveller said:

The color test with the dots is actually quite easy. I'm color blind and can easily determine the colors on that.

There are degrees of colour blindness, it's impossible for me to distinguish the colours mixed together with the dots, yet I have no problem identifying red, yellow and green separately. However, as I said, it has never affected my driving skills, and it isn't part of the driving test in most countries, so how important can it be? It's not used in my home country Australia.

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On 10/25/2018 at 7:11 PM, Exploring Thailand said:

So he shows you a bubble, and you have to say what colour it is. If you get it wrong, you can try again. Is that the way it works?

In my experience it also checks peripheral vision too.  You have to look straight ahead but indicate where you see the light, in the extreme of your visual field, left or right etc.  Some of the lights are brighter or fainter so you might miss a faint yellow one for example.  Yes you seem to be allowed a few mistakes especially at the beginning till you get the hang of what you are supposed to be seeing. 

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Yes I had the same chin colour test, passed it (with flying colours 5555) but it did show me something I was not aware of that my peripheral left side vision was weaker than my right side. Take a wetone to wipe the chin plate, all sorts of stuff on it.................

 

I kept calling the yellow light (amber) and the testing officer keep correcting me (yellow), and laughing... habit I guess from Aus traffic signals........55555 

 

What was so funny was the number of applicants that failed the reaction test in front of me...........none of them apparently spent any time outside the testing room looking at the video runs of all the test stations and what to do before taking the tests..............

 

Dam, the woman running the reaction test station screamed and tore those that were failing a new one....................it was a complete "Dummies R US" on display.................she kicked them out of the test room...................I made sure I was going to pass first effort.............I did not want to incur her abuse...........

 

Summary, no brainer............go watch the test station training videos and you will fly though it successfully ......... 

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