Crackdown! Tourists in Pattaya face jail for riding motorcycles without a licence

[milesinnz]

Red Bull and dead policeman comes to mind..........

 

[Crustyhk]

This is why Thailand is dropping down the list of places to visit. 

This report doesn’t state that you need a motorcycle license just that you now need and international driving permit. 

Currently I do not require a permit for Thailand as they recognise my Australian car and bike license. This has now changed without any warning to travellers and the result could be a month in a Thai jail. 

It just feels like they’ve run out of ways to get into your wallet so now they chop and change laws without notice to trap you. Not at all inviting. 

[bkk6060]

7 minutes ago, manarak said:

WHAT ABOUT THAIS

If you cannot figure out the answer I suggest you set up a meeting with Major Arut and ask.

[gerritkaew]

98% off Thai drive drunk and without license but this no problem, tourist have money so they will pay..

so we will see a lot off shop owners leave couse no tourist will be renting a bike anymore..

bathsold wil be flooded with used m.bikes soon !!!

[nickmondo]

yeh, thats right.

its the pesky farangs that are causing all the road kill.

ha ha

the comedy continues

[mike787]

7 hours ago, BestB said:

In the mean time , thai are allowed to ride and drive without a license with a 500 baht fine.

 

such measures needed to be introduced because it is foreigners who are the source of all road fatalities in Thailand????

 

Not knocking the decision just curious why same law does not apply to locals 

...and thais can maintain Thailand's highest international road fatality stats...that's great!

[RichardColeman]

 i take that this will apply to all thai kids too ?

[Traubert]

3 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

No it is going to piss off ALL the foreigners who will now be stopped regardless of whether they live here or not.

How will plod tell the "local" foreigners from the tourists?

Easy.

 

The tourists won't be the ones ticking and moaning about everything Thai and lecturing the copper about how they keep the Thai economy afloat single handed.

[Percy P]

7 hours ago, petermik said:

Face jail or 1000 baht fine.....10,000 baht would be more of a deterrent.....as for loud exhausts are they seriously suggesting it`s only tourists to blame.....the mind boggles here sometimes

WHO classify noise as a health problem . In UK a vehicle test is required every year after the vehicles are more than two years old. Exhaust  noise is a failure. It's about time exhaust noise was taken seriously.Last year China ordered over a million vehicles off the road because of their noise it was classed as environmentally unfriendly. 

[CGW]

So, after 30 years that I am aware off will the rental motor cycles finally be moved out of the prime parking spots on beach road?  

[transam]

2 minutes ago, Percy P said:

WHO classify noise as a health problem . In UK a vehicle test is required every year after the vehicles are more than two years old. Exhaust  noise is a failure. It's about time exhaust noise was taken seriously.Last year China ordered over a million vehicles off the road because of their noise it was classed as environmentally unfriendly. 

It is three years old....But, if you have a car that is 40 or more years old it is exempt, doesn't need an MOT...

[DeathShroud]

3 hours ago, johng said:

They already are doing that...a report here the other day about being stopped 4 times in one day !!!

I got stopped 3 times in one day in CM... 2 days ago.

[hotchilli]

8 hours ago, BestB said:

Not knocking the decision just curious why same law does not apply to locals 

Because their not foreigners.

[dallen52]

8 hours ago, BestB said:

In the mean time , thai are allowed to ride and drive without a license with a 500 baht fine.

 

such measures needed to be introduced because it is foreigners who are the source of all road fatalities in Thailand????

 

Not knocking the decision just curious why same law does not apply to locals 

And Pattaya monkey house is used for overstays at the rate of 500 baht = one nights stay.

9 days over is 9 days incarceration. 

 

What about the supposed 6 million unpaid fines this year already? 

 

Double pricing and double standards raises it's head again. 

 

The message is loud and clear, "farangs are bad people".

[Marley01]

Is it just me that thinks it is a good idea? 

How many go fund me pages have we seen for tourists having an accident and finding out that those horrible insurance companies won’t pay because the rider doesn’t have a license.

 

[BestB]

55 minutes ago, Crustyhk said:

This is why Thailand is dropping down the list of places to visit. 

This report doesn’t state that you need a motorcycle license just that you now need and international driving permit. 

Currently I do not require a permit for Thailand as they recognise my Australian car and bike license. This has now changed without any warning to travellers and the result could be a month in a Thai jail. 

It just feels like they’ve run out of ways to get into your wallet so now they chop and change laws without notice to trap you. Not at all inviting. 

100% incorrect. Whoever they are just being nice to accept it, legally you must produce your home country DL along with international driving permit.

 

IDP cost around $50 from memory and nothing but a piece of paper but it is still a formality which one must follow when want to drive in a foreign country 

[Flemo]

Yeah well, a farang without a licence is still better than a Thai with one.

[nikov]

They could start accepting EU wide licences just like the US does. It would be easier for everyone.

 

There doesn't seem to be a lot of other countries which require an IDP.

[spidermike007]

And they are doing this in coordination with the TAT, to boost tourism!

 

How many tourists would be lost from the negative PR generated from just one single tourist bring locked up for this incredibly minor non offense? This is beyond inane. 

 

In the US a Thai drivers license is acceptable to drive. Why not here? Surely these people have licenses from their home country. 

 

Just another heinous example of the franchisees working the hugely lucrative franchise. 

 

This nation has so much to learn. It is moving backwards. 

[Arkady]

I believe that anyone of any race or nationality caught driving any motor vehicle without a licence should be dealt with harshly in accordance with the law.  In the case of tourists who often have no experience driving motor bikes at home, it is for their own good. The problem with this police announcement is that it is not up to the police to decide on jail sentences or fines.  That is the job of the courts.  It is unlikely that the courts would impose a jail term on a first time offender for driving without a licence and the police know this well. 

 

It seems to be bluster and grandstanding as well as racism, more than anything else.  If he had said that all unlicensed drivers will be dealt with to the full extent of the law and that traffic policemen will also be dealt with according to the law, if they take bribes instead of enforcing the law, that would have made more sense, even though there would have been some skepticism about his ability to enforce police compliance.  

[Cereal]

I drive our car over to Thailand and my Laos license is fine. 

 

I was in Phuket for Song Kran and went to a motorbike bike rental place close to my hotel by Patong Beach and they said my Lao license was only good for Isaan and wouldn't rent me a bike. They said I'd get in big trouble by the cops. I was impressed by their honest and thanked them.  

[Tim K]

I don't know about big cities and towns, but in small villages outside Phuket-town (thalang area) everybody knows everyone.

I know one 40+ year old Thai lady, who got her DL taken by police to the station until she pays 500b fine for not wearing helmet.

She said f*** you cops and just kept on driving her scooter for 20+ years. And police can't do nothing about it.

 

Workers need bikes to get around everyday, almost everyone is driving here, from school kids to old grandmas going to market.

This lady works as a chef in high-profile villas, she must buy food herself and drive in rain or sun (sometimes) up the hill to the villa.

If guests order a lot, maybe even 2 or 3 times. If police takes her, and maids and other staff bikes away...

 

I come from the capital of Russia, Moscow. And here everyone walks if it's not too far, or uses well-developed public transport system, buses and subway.

And only if you are rich enough you buy car and enjoy private trip to your destination. Not so much fun nowadays because of ever growing traffic. Subway looks more and more appealing everyday. Motorcycles are not popular due to the need of having a garage (very expensive) to store bike during harsh winters. So only few people have a motorcycle license.

That I think is the main cause why tourists from Russia (and maybe other cold northern countries) come to Thailand and have to drive bike without license, not many alternatives here.

 

In Thailand (except bkk with subway/bts and regular buses) the necessity of having a bike trumps everything else.

 

I would like everyone to have a DL and a helmet, yes of course. This lady has 3 children, two of them adults (no license).

Why no license? - later mom, later. I bet the third one will not bother to get it too.

 

I got my license 1 month (had to wait 2 weeks after exam in private school) after I came to thailand, because russia is very strict on that, and i just can't let myself drive without license. Russian car license gives the right to drive small mopeds under 50cc only.

And for kids over 14y old we have special Moped category license.

After 16 they can get light-bike license under 200cc, and at 18 full bike license and car license.

Bus and trucks at the age of 21.

 

The problem is complicated, as always, thai people are lazy, police can't do anything, government and education system don't care.

So I ask all of you foreigners, let's show them how it's done. Let us give them proper example.

So that the police would say later to a thai driver:  look, all farangs have a DL, only you are still lazy to get it, shame on you.

[GalaxyMan]

9 hours ago, BestB said:

In the mean time , thai are allowed to ride and drive without a license with a 500 baht fine.

 

such measures needed to be introduced because it is foreigners who are the source of all road fatalities in Thailand????

 

Not knocking the decision just curious why same law does not apply to locals 

It's called discrimination, pure and simple. No effort whatsoever to disguise it for anything but what it is.

[from the home of CC]

2 hours ago, White Christmas13 said:

CC stands for Canadian Club ????

born a few miles from Hiram Walkers, now the brand is owned by the Japanese lol

[Seeall]

6 hours ago, toenail said:

Have you ever seen a Saudi or Kuwaiti drive back in their own country ( I unfortunately have had the experience) They arrogantly drive as they please since the police are afraid to arrest the delinquent Arab drivers since there is actually a “caste” system- depending what tribe you come from. They ignore speed limits in the city, tailgate you because Abdul is in a hurry to eat his chicken shawarma, common to drive through red traffic lights , drive on sidewalks and the narrow shoulder of an expressway and will park their car anywhere as if they’re riding a camel. I can see how this particular group would go “crazy” on rented motorcycles... For Westerners, alcohol isn’ a good mix with these “holiday toys” while buzzing around. 

Agree, I worked in an Arab country 9 years .. still have their license... and it is so scary these expert drivers can legally drive anywhere!

 

[Arkady]

15 minutes ago, nikov said:

They could start accepting EU wide licences just like the US does. It would be easier for everyone.

 

There doesn't seem to be a lot of other countries which require an IDP.

IDPs must have been pretty useful when they came out in 1949 when many countries issued domestic licences only in their own language, often without a photograph.  I remember having to get one to rent a car in Europe when UK licences still had no photograph.  Since more and more countries, including Thailand, now issue licences with the details in English and with photographs, IDPs are increasingly redundant and, with falling demand, they are harder to get hold of in many countries. Time was in the UK that you can get one in a high street AA shop on the spot for a 5 pound fee but you have to send off for them now. 

 

Unfortunately it is unrealistic to expect Thailand to update its law on this any time soon, particularly if you look at the history.  Thailand has to date only ratified the 1949 Geneva convention on IDPs and has not yet got around to ratifying the current 1968 Vienna convention (amended in 2011).  That means that IDPs are only valid in Thailand for the first three months after they are issued, whereas the 1968 convention provides for them to be recognised for 12 months.  That means that you can be arrested for driving with an IDP that is more than three months old.  Insurance companies are also entitled to decline to honour claims where the driver only had an IDP that was more than three months old.  It was this information from my company's insurance company that persuaded me to apply for my first Thai licence after years of driving on IDPs.  I am glad I did because I applied in time to get an all of life licence before they stopped issuing them.  

[rodknock]

so when are they going to have a crack down on Thai's, most do not have a license!!! how many police have a license???

another joke of the day.

need more in the brown bag!!!!

horse and pony show.

it never ends!!

[Russell17au]

The official reason why it does not include the locals is because it might upset them and that is exactly what Prayut said when the LTD wanted to increase the fines for riding/driving without a licence and that was before the election. IMHO he did not want to upset the people because if they did get upset they would not vote for him. That was even reported here on ThaiVisa.

[Jimbo2014]

Another Crackdown, another day in Thailand.  As others have said - when the same applies to Thais the extreme carnage that is Thailand's roads may abate slightly.

[Chazar]

9 hours ago, essox essox said:

SURELY a tourist (or anybody in FACT) dould not be able to rent any vehicle IF THEY CAN NOT provide a driving licence....it is as simple as that!!!!

heres "anyones" licence