International driving permits NO longer available by post from The AA in the UK

[Bredbury Blue]

I drive here on my UK licence with an International driving permit (IDP). Every year i apply by post to The Automobile Association (The AA) for an IDP. I do this as i am a touch colour-blind (PROTAN), and to get a Thai Driving Licence there is colour-blindness test which i may or may not fail.

 

I soon need to apply for my new annual IDP. Just looked at the AAs website and it says "The way you apply for an IDP has changed – we can't issue any IDPs at all (including by post or at our Folkestone/Eurotunnel shop) after 31 January 2019". Damn!

 

I'm guessing that there are now no longer any options available to me for applying by post for an IDP?

 

[VocalNeal]

2 minutes ago, Bredbury Blue said:

and to get a Thai Driving Licence there is colour-blindness test which i may or may not fail.

Have you tried going to the local test centre and sitting near the test to see if you can do it?

Maybe you can.

[Bredbury Blue]

1 hour ago, VocalNeal said:

Have you tried going to the local test centre and sitting near the test to see if you can do it?

Maybe you can.

That will obviously be my last option - maybe my only option.

 

If I take a colorblindness (Ishihara) test online I fail. As I understand that the Thailand driving test is based on the official pointing to varying colours and i'd have to say what the colours are, I may or may not fail (good chance I fail).

 

Before the 'you shouldn't be driving if you're colour-blind' crowd arrive, I would add that I have passed driving tests in the UK and Australia (but they have no C-B test), have been driving for over 30 years, have no problem driving with C-B, I see red, amber (yellow) and green traffic lights no problem (though i don't see the colours red, amber (yellow) and green as non C-B people see them), in fact the only real hinderance C-B presents me is clothes shopping, i.e. colour co-ordination (thank you Mrs BB for selecting clothes for me to buy), but i do have a problem with Ishihara tests (colour perception test for red-green color deficiencies) hence my worry trying to get through the driving test.

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, Bredbury Blue said:

I drive here on my UK licence with an International driving permit (IDP). Every year i apply by post to The Automobile Association (The AA) for an IDP. I do this as i am a touch colour-blind (PROTAN), and to get a Thai Driving Licence there is colour-blindness test which i may or may not fail.

If your resident you should have a Thai drive licence, passport checks if it happens could get you done for having no DL but not a big problem in Thailand only if your have voluntary insurance.

 

My son is red/green and he told me he learnt to remember numbers letters in colour blind charts also the top colour is red at traffic lights. ????

https://www.google.com/search?q=colour+blind+people+learn+to+read+colours.&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiPwe-buePiAhUHQ48KHVGNA9cQsAR6BAgAEAE&biw=1090&bih=502

 

[wgdanson]

7 minutes ago, Bredbury Blue said:

That will obviously be my last option - maybe my only option.

 

If I take a colorblindness (Ishihara) test online I fail. As I understand that the Thailand driving test is based on the official pointing to varying colours and i'd have to say what the colours are, I may or may not fail (good chance I fail).

 

Before the 'you shouldn't be driving if you're colour-blind' crowd arrive, I would add that I have passed driving tests in the UK and Australia (but they have no C-B test), have been driving for over 30 years, have no problem driving with C-B, I see red, amber (yellow) and green traffic lights no problem (though i don't see the colours red, amber (yellow) and green as non C-B people see them), in fact the only real hinderance C-B presents me is clothes shopping, i.e. colour co-ordination (thank you Mrs BB for selecting clothes for me to buy), but i do have a problem with Ishihara tests (colour perception test for red-green color deficiencies) hence my worry trying to get through the driving test.

The colour test at the test centres in both Pattaya and Phitsanulok are simply Red, Amber, Green as are traffic lights. Easy.

And as somone else said, you must have a Thai Driving Licence after 6 months here.

[Denim]

I have a similar problem. When I took the test for my Thai driving licence I had no problem with the dummy traffic light.

For people like us, the peripheral vision colour test is impossible to pass. In the end I cheated by looking quickly to the left and right to identify the colour of the lights ( which I could see clearly ) The examiner laughed and let me pass.

 

Licence expires in September and I'm not looking forward to the retest as I will have to cheat again.

 

You could try contacting the AA and speaking to somebody in person. They might make an exception.

[Denim]

4 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

The colour test at the test centres in both Pattaya and Phitsanulok are simply Red, Amber, Green as are traffic lights. Easy.

And as somone else said, you must have a Thai Driving Licence after 6 months here.

 

Unless you leave the country every 90 days on a visa run and reset the clock.

[Just Weird]

2 hours ago, Denim said:

You could try contacting the AA and speaking to somebody in person. They might make an exception.

How could the AA make an exception and provide something that is now only available to UK residents from a Post Office?

[jackdd]

3 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

If your resident you should have a Thai drive licence

He is probably here on a temporary visa / extension, so he can use the IDP.

 

3 hours ago, wgdanson said:

And as somone else said, you must have a Thai Driving Licence after 6 months here.

Such a law / rule does not exist.

[Kwasaki]

3 hours ago, wgdanson said:

The colour test at the test centres in both Pattaya and Phitsanulok are simply Red, Amber, Green as are traffic lights. Easy.

And as somone else said, you must have a Thai Driving Licence after 6 months here.

They show people a board in our DLT and it has numbers in amongst the coloured square as my post before.

 

The UK DL is not valid after a certain time when not having a home address in UK and is why I could not renew mine.

 

Some Thai Insurance companies may use the 90 day time period of stay as a get out if you do not have a Thai DL in the case of a serious accident.

 

There are many statements out there about IDP time stay validity in Thailand too, I for one would take notice and not rely on Thai judge ruling decision if you are unfortunate to be involved in  a serious accident.

 

The consensus is in Thailand if you stay here for any length of time and want to drive get a Thai DL.

[Bredbury Blue]

Yes i reside here. Yes i would love to have a thai licence. I've explained why i do not have. 

[richard_smith237]

7 minutes ago, Bredbury Blue said:

Yes i reside here. Yes i would love to have a thai licence. I've explained why i do not have. 

You have explained, the reasons are quite understandable. But, have you ever tried to get a licence in Thailand? This is now somewhat of a last resort.

 

While your IDP is still valid it may be a simple process and if you have to go into a test room to see the basic traffic light colors, cheat like buggery !!!!

 

It's got to be worth a try right?

 

[VBF]

The only place to get an IDP in UK now is in person at The Post Office  https://www.gov.uk/driving-abroad/get-an-idp .

As the OP said, the AA cannot now issue them, and nor can the RAC or Green Flag who USED to be able to.

 

There is a convoluted way around this:

 

IF the OP has the modern UK photo-card driving licence NOT the older paper version and IF he has a friend in UK who will help.

 

From here (link) it says:

"Bring along your full valid UK photo-card driving licence, a passport standard photograph (see FAQs), and your valid passport as proof of identification if presenting an older paper version licence."

 

So he could mail the photo-card driving licence and photo to a friend in UK who could go to the PO, get the new IDP and mail it and the licence back to the OP.

 

And, if you look down the page to which I linked above, under FAQs it says:

 

Can someone apply for an IDP on my behalf?
Yes they can, providing they have the  correct supporting documents.

 

So it's legal too! However the procedure would need to be repeated annually as IDPs are only valid for 1 year.  I did say it was convoluted!

[Dumbastheycome]

If you have a UK license check out  if  a Thai  conversion has the same  requirements as a "start from scratch " license. From what I have seen/read an IDP is only  valid in Thailand for  3 months despite  at place  and time of issue  being  valid  for  1 year.

[Thomas J]

I got mine from http://aataidp.com/  which is one of two organizations approved to issue international  drivers permits by the USA state dept. I had mine mailed to me, by a friend along with other documents  but they say they will mail to Thailand. 

[jackdd]

15 minutes ago, Dumbastheycome said:

From what I have seen/read an IDP is only  valid in Thailand for  3 months despite  at place  and time of issue  being  valid  for  1 year. 

This information is wrong, but it's spread across many websites.

In this thread i quoted all relevant laws, nobody could ever provide a reference to any law which would limit it to something like 3 months or 90 days, so we can assume that such a law does not exist:

 

[VBF]

8 minutes ago, Thomas J said:

I got mine from http://aataidp.com/  which is one of two organizations approved to issue international  drivers permits by the USA state dept. I had mine mailed to me, by a friend along with other documents  but they say they will mail to Thailand. 

Not entirely relevant!

From the link you posted it says:

"To be eligible you must be a permanent resident of the United States of America or it’s Territories. (U.S. citizenship is not a requirement)"

 

Obviously doesn't help the OP who begins with "I  drive here on my UK licence"!  

[boriga]

Also checked RAC who also used to issue and post IDPs. Their site says the only way to get a new IDP is at a Post Office. 

 

On the Post Office website it states someone else can apply on your behalf if the have the correct supporting documents. These appear to be only the original photocard licence, completed form, cash and a photo.

[Grusa]

19 hours ago, Bredbury Blue said:

That will obviously be my last option - maybe my only option.

 

If I take a colorblindness (Ishihara) test online I fail. As I understand that the Thailand driving test is based on the official pointing to varying colours and i'd have to say what the colours are, I may or may not fail (good chance I fail).

 

Before the 'you shouldn't be driving if you're colour-blind' crowd arrive, I would add that I have passed driving tests in the UK and Australia (but they have no C-B test), have been driving for over 30 years, have no problem driving with C-B, I see red, amber (yellow) and green traffic lights no problem (though i don't see the colours red, amber (yellow) and green as non C-B people see them), in fact the only real hinderance C-B presents me is clothes shopping, i.e. colour co-ordination (thank you Mrs BB for selecting clothes for me to buy), but i do have a problem with Ishihara tests (colour perception test for red-green color deficiencies) hence my worry trying to get through the driving test.

The Ishihara test is extremely sensitive and is used for diagnosis. In a clinical situation it must be used under the correct lighting conditions, otherwise the results can be extremely misleading.

The Thai DL "colour vision test" is simply a very poorly conducted colour recognition test, and as such is about as sensitive as a brick to the back of the head. 

If you are protanomalous it is highly unlikely you will not recognise the primary colours they use - picked out from a pseudo-ishihara plate. If you are protanopic you are only possibly likely to fail! Then, the memory trick works as a back-up. So does a folded 500 baht note, correctly applied.

[giddyup]

19 hours ago, wgdanson said:

The colour test at the test centres in both Pattaya and Phitsanulok are simply Red, Amber, Green as are traffic lights. Easy.

And as somone else said, you must have a Thai Driving Licence after 6 months here.

Since when has it been like that in Pattaya? I did the test last year and they had a big chart made up of multi-coloured dots and the tester pointed to a colour and asked you to name it. Any colour test is easy if you aren't colour blind. I would have failed every time but for help from another falang who whispered the colours to me.

[Just Weird]

12 hours ago, VBF said:

The only place to get an IDP in UK now is in person at The Post Office  https://www.gov.uk/driving-abroad/get-an-idp .

As the OP said, the AA cannot now issue them, and nor can the RAC or Green Flag who USED to be able to.

 

There is a convoluted way around this:

 

IF the OP has the modern UK photo-card driving licence NOT the older paper version and IF he has a friend in UK who will help.

 

From here (link) it says:

"Bring along your full valid UK photo-card driving licence, a passport standard photograph (see FAQs), and your valid passport as proof of identification if presenting an older paper version licence."

 

So he could mail the photo-card driving licence and photo to a friend in UK who could go to the PO, get the new IDP and mail it and the licence back to the OP.

 

And, if you look down the page to which I linked above, under FAQs it says:

 

Can someone apply for an IDP on my behalf?
Yes they can, providing they have the  correct supporting documents.

 

So it's legal too! However the procedure would need to be repeated annually as IDPs are only valid for 1 year.  I did say it was convoluted!

"So it's legal too!"

Yes, that would work but it would not be legal as to have an IDP the applicant (even if someone applies on his behalf) has to be a UK resident and from what he's said the OP cannot comply with that.  Once he's got it though, if he's never in the UK, no one would ever know.

[Kwasaki]

12 hours ago, jackdd said:

This information is wrong, but it's spread across many websites.

In this thread i quoted all relevant laws, nobody could ever provide a reference to any law which would limit it to something like 3 months or 90 days, so we can assume that such a law does not exist:

Yes the 60 day & 90 day validity is always an "up to you" subject.

Some requirements can be in small print which everybody reads before signing an agreement of coarse. ????

 

Mostly these day limits, law or no law are requirements and maybe enforced like when hiring from car hire company or taking out voluntary insurance where a persons DL needs to fully comply with their terms. 

 

e.g. OP drives in Thailand his CTPL ins will be OK his voluntary insurance cover may well be worthless in an accident claim.

[NoshowJones]

2 hours ago, giddyup said:

Since when has it been like that in Pattaya? I did the test last year and they had a big chart made up of multi-coloured dots and the tester pointed to a colour and asked you to name it. Any colour test is easy if you aren't colour blind. I would have failed every time but for help from another falang who whispered the colours to me.

That is shocking, no one should ever cheat at anything. You should do the right thing and always obey the rules.????

[Alex2554]

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/notarial-and-documentary-services-guide-for-thailand#certified-copies-of-british-driving-licences

[giddyup]

58 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

That is shocking, no one should ever cheat at anything. You should do the right thing and always obey the rules.????

When in Thailand.....

[NoshowJones]

8 minutes ago, giddyup said:

When in Thailand.....

It does not matter whether it's Thailand or anywhere else, when any authority makes

rules they must be obeyed.????

[cornishcarlos]

1 minute ago, possum1931 said:

when any authority makes

rules they must be obeyed.

 

Why ??

Plus, have you not driven in Thailand ? Because not very many rules are obeyed ????

[gamini]

23 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

If your resident you should have a Thai drive licence, passport checks if it happens could get you done for having no DL but not a big problem in Thailand only if your have voluntary insurance.

 

My son is red/green and he told me he learnt to remember numbers letters in colour blind charts also the top colour is red at traffic lights. ????

https://www.google.com/search?q=colour+blind+people+learn+to+read+colours.&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiPwe-buePiAhUHQ48KHVGNA9cQsAR6BAgAEAE&biw=1090&bih=502

 

An international driving permit is not valid in the country you reside

[VBF]

3 hours ago, Just Weird said:

"So it's legal too!"

Yes, that would work but it would not be legal as to have an IDP the applicant (even if someone applies on his behalf) has to be a UK resident and from what he's said the OP cannot comply with that.  Once he's got it though, if he's never in the UK, no one would ever know.

Yes that is true - IMO this is one of those areas where "bending the rules" actually harms nobody - up to your own moral compass I suppose.

Personally, I believe in the adage that "Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools" (attributed to Harry Day, the Royal Flying Corps First World War fighter ace.)

[NoshowJones]

25 minutes ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

Why ??

Plus, have you not driven in Thailand ? Because not very many rules are obeyed ????

Just because other people don't obey rules there is no excuse for us not to obey them'

Rules are made because authorities want us to obey them so we should respect their wishes.