New tactics by traffic police?

[konisaan]

I don't know if this is new. All I can say is that today was the first time I've encountered it in the last 10 years.

 

Pulled over on my scooter at the trap going north on the moat before Tapae Gate (as happens on to me on a regular basis). Pull out my International drivers. Once I pull it out, most cops just wave me on without even looking at. This guy opened it up to the photo page without even looking at the cover to check expiry. He points straight to the section showing vehicle types and says I'm only authorised to drive a car, not a motorcycle. 200B fine with paperwork.

 

I have a question; Does a regular Thai drivers license give you the right to drive both cars and bikes? In other words is there any marking on a Thai licence that says you can drive either a car or a bike or both?

[Briggsy]

Just now, konisaan said:

I have a question; Does a regular Thai drivers license give you the right to drive both cars and bikes? In other words is there any marking on a Thai licence that says you can drive either a car or a bike or both?

No. Thais have separate car and bike licences. Next.

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, konisaan said:

I have a question; Does a regular Thai drivers license give you the right to drive both cars and bikes? In other words is there any marking on a Thai licence that says you can drive either a car or a bike or both?

car licence says cars

m/c licence says m/c

[cornishcarlos]

10 yrs and you don't know that there are separate bike and car licences !! 

[XenZen]

You don't know the rules of the road after 10-years.  Yes, many countries have a different license for cars and bikes, of course they do.  

 

well, hopefully you get this taken care of ASAP.  please do it ASAP.  soon you will get points and then banned from driving, then who knows what else.  

 

very important to know laws in a new country.   it's ok, good luck out there.  

[tifino]

so... 10 years riding around Thailand; all the while with just an International home country Licence, and

a car Licence at that...

 

what happened to the requirement to convert to a local licence after so many months living there? ...let alone 10 years!

 

have you 'ever' had a licence to ride Mcycles? anywhere on Earth?

 

 

and locally...how many times have you escaped potential tea-money losing accidents, especially as an unlicenced rider?

[OneEyedPie]

More to the point I doubt whatever insurance policy you hold, if any, would be valid in the event of an accident.  

 

I'm not suggesting you would but this is where the GoFundMe pages regularly originate.  

[Rama]

Not only do Thais have separate licenses, the international license will say if it is for car, motorcycle(bike), or both.

[konisaan]

Well, lucky for me, the first 100 times I was pulled over by a Thai cop, they didn't know what they were doing!

 

It's funny how pissed off some of them were when they couldn't fine me, and then hunting around the bike for other reasons to try and get some baksheesh. All the while it was there for the taking!!

 

????

[cornishcarlos]

23 minutes ago, konisaan said:

first 100 times I was pulled over by a Thai

 

In 12 yrs I've been pulled over once, for doing an illegal U-turn.. You must be a very average rider ????????

[konisaan]

4 minutes ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

In 12 yrs I've been pulled over once, for doing an illegal U-turn.. You must be a very average rider ????????

 

Think it depend a lot on where you ride. I live very central and once they see my bushy beard they just think $$$. I avoid the well known traps and haven't been pulled over for ages, but today I was in a hurry and I paid the price!

[jackdd]

4 hours ago, tifino said:

what happened to the requirement to convert to a local licence after so many months living there?

Such a requirement did never exist. But the 1949 International driving permit is only valid for a year, so then you need to go back home and obtain a new one (unless in your country it would be possible to obtain a new one while in Thailand). If you are a permanent resident (or Thai citizen) you can not use a foreign license + IDP to drive in Thailand.

[OneEyedPie]

1 hour ago, konisaan said:

Well, lucky for me, the first 100 times I was pulled over by a Thai cop, they didn't know what they were doing!

 

It's funny how pissed off some of them were when they couldn't fine me, and then hunting around the bike for other reasons to try and get some baksheesh. All the while it was there for the taking!!

 

????

What about your insurance. Something to think about going forward?  Or are you more concerned with a 200 baht fine?

 

Consider a major accident and your hospital bill is running to 2 million baht within a matter of days.  What are you going to do then?

 

 

Edited May 8, 2019 by OneEyedPie

[EricTh]

You have been lucky in the past 10 years that traffic police cannot read English to determine whether your international licence is a car or motorbike.

 

Your experiences is a proof of this low English proficiency. English is as tough for them to read as Thai is as tough for you to read.

 

Thai people do have two separate licences for car and motorbike.

Edited May 8, 2019 by EricTh

[EricTh]

5 hours ago, tifino said:

 

 

and locally...how many times have you escaped potential tea-money losing accidents, especially as an unlicenced rider?

 

Many Thai people don't have motorbike licence either. I meet quite a lot of them doing a sudden u-turn just before a police block.

 

They nearly crashed into my bike.

 

Either they are too young or it's too tough to get one. That's why accident rates in Thailand is the 2nd highest in the world. LOL

Edited May 8, 2019 by EricTh

[OneEyedPie]

1 hour ago, konisaan said:

Think it depend a lot on where you ride. I live very central and once they see my bushy beard they just think $$$. I avoid the well known traps and haven't been pulled over for ages, but today I was in a hurry and I paid the price!

Soon enough you'll pay the ultimate price and still no response to the potential insurance implications if involved in an accident. 

 

You appear more interested in getting one over the BiB. 

 

Again, what would you do if you seriously injured an innocent party or were fortunate enough to survive an accident but faced a massive medical and repatriation bill?

 

 

Edited May 8, 2019 by OneEyedPie

[HaleySabai]

The fine come down?...my Moto-friends who didn't have a motorbike endorsement in their Inter-permit were fined 500b last year. Another friend who had all the driving classes checked in his permit impressed the BiB so much that they took a photo of him..twice!

I do believe they know what to look for in a permit. For 10 yrs you have just been lucky. On the other hand they have really only been checking for a license in the last couple of years.

[MickeyDelux]

You really bring up an excellent example that many if not all farangs are guilty of (including yours truly)... Thinking they know it all.

[Date Masamune]

16 hours ago, HaleySabai said:

The fine come down?...my Moto-friends who didn't have a motorbike endorsement in their Inter-permit were fined 500b last year. Another friend who had all the driving classes checked in his permit impressed the BiB so much that they took a photo of him..twice!

I do believe they know what to look for in a permit. For 10 yrs you have just been lucky. On the other hand they have really only been checking for a license in the last couple of years.

They should have bought fake IDPs like the Chinese do.

[sharktooth]

20 hours ago, EricTh said:

 

Many Thai people don't have motorbike licence either. I meet quite a lot of them doing a sudden u-turn just before a police block.

 

They nearly crashed into my bike.

 

Either they are too young or it's too tough to get one. That's why accident rates in Thailand is the 2nd highest in the world. LOL

No license, no helmet and no tax = a lot of U-turns

[naboo]

On 5/8/2019 at 9:54 PM, EricTh said:

 

Either they are too young or it's too tough to get one. That's why accident rates in Thailand is the 2nd highest in the world. LOL

If you've ever sat the test, you'd know that having a Thai driving licence doesn't make you any more likely to be able to drive. It just means you've completed some obscure TV gameshow activities and driven around in a circle.

 

Accident rates are high because road laws are poorly enforced.

[HaleySabai]

On 5/9/2019 at 4:04 PM, Date Masamune said:

They should have bought fake IDPs like the Chinese do.

A fake IDP might be risky now,like I said the Traffic BIB do seem to know what they are looking at and for having no doubt seen more than a few legit IDP's over the pass few years.

 

[EricTh]

20 hours ago, naboo said:

If you've ever sat the test, you'd know that having a Thai driving licence doesn't make you any more likely to be able to drive. It just means you've completed some obscure TV gameshow activities and driven around in a circle.

 

Accident rates are high because road laws are poorly enforced.

I haven't set for the test. I just converted my international driving licence to a Thai.

 

The only thing I know is they do watch the videos, reaction test and color test.

[ravip]

On 5/8/2019 at 7:19 PM, konisaan said:

 

Think it depend a lot on where you ride. I live very central and once they see my bushy beard they just think $$$. I avoid the well known traps and haven't been pulled over for ages, but today I was in a hurry and I paid the price!

bushy beard = $$$ ?

A brand new formula?