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

[Just Weird]

11 hours ago, Moti24 said:

Meanwhile, unlicenced Thais need to be prosecuted, and have their vehicles crushed!

Thais are prosecuted for the same offence so presumably your logic supports rental vehicles being crushed also?

Edited July 10, 2019 by Just Weird

[elliss]

13 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Just tourists? How about locals?

 

 

            No money for pay fines .

              Farang , he can pay , no problem. Welcome Thailand. 555

 

 

[Just Weird]

10 hours ago, sahibji said:

good law. should apply to all including thais.

It does.

[Just Weird]

10 hours ago, cerox said:

One month in jail or a whopping 1.000 THB fine - not sure about how to decide... ????

You wouldn't get a choice, the court decides that.

[Just Weird]

10 hours ago, sweatalot said:

What about locals with no license?

What about locals with no insurance?

 

(normally without both)

Same laws are applied to Thais, there's no special laws for foreigners.

[Just Weird]

10 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?

Why should local foreigners not be stopped and checked, something special about them?

[Just Weird]

10 hours ago, sweatalot said:

discrimination

What's the "discrimination" that you see?

[Just Weird]

9 hours ago, connda said:

Soooo, why are the Pattaya police not 'coming down hard' on vendors who rent motorcycles to 'tourists without a license?'

 

That is a rhetorical question. 

They are, read the OP.

[Just Weird]

9 hours ago, madmen said:

100k plus jail or flicking a ciggie. 1k for no licence to kill 

sounds fair

 

B100k is a maximum it's not mandatory and no one has ever been given that fag fine, the usual amount is B1000.

[Just Weird]

9 hours ago, legend49 said:

hope it gets out on world media . it will put a big hole in TAT tourist numbers.

Why, because driving without a licence gets a small fine?

[Just Weird]

9 hours ago, Emdog said:

"...noisy bikes touring around the resort annoying other road users, other tourists and residents."

Clearly this is a protected profession, Thais only

I see this as a ploy to up the amount that can be squeezed from tourists: "You don't want to pay? Off to jail with you" Who fills out the TM 30? 

"You don't want to pay? Off to jail with you"

Trying to ridicule the Thais for that is ridiculous because the same situation for non-payment of fines exists in every other country .

[Small Joke]

13 hours ago, LazySlipper said:

How about the primary school kids who also don't have a helmet? Or the teenagers also without a helmet.

 

In another post,

 

without wanting to be racist, lots of these guys riding around raising hell... doing no small favor to anyone...

In the sandpit, about the only thing they get to do without in some way breaking sharia law is riding in cars with boys.

 

There used to be some insane video on YT of them racing through highway traffic in Saudi. Could be long gone with all the netnanny BS now.

 

One guy took a video from inside a car and surprisingly, the guy was an insanely skilled race driver, doing suicidal moves in live traffic.

 

Another personal fave was the car full of hoons that rolled at high speed, into a panicked impromptu audience, two pax were thrown out the side windows like ragdolls, and a third guys arm chopped clean off. 

Hectic! }:‑)

[Just Weird]

9 hours ago, petemoss said:

500 baht? My wife was fined 80 baht for not having her licence with her, actually didn't have a licence but told the cop she'd left it at home, cheaper apparently. Reduced to 40 baht for cash.

Your wife didn't pay an B80/B40 fine, she paid a bribe so that she wouldn't have to pay the B1000 official fine.

[Just Weird]

9 hours ago, legend49 said:

Seems like a competition for Dumb and Dumber; which one can think up the stupidest idea of the month?

 

 

Shops renting bikes to tourists could face a fine of up to 2,000 baht for contravening the regulations.  And why do they not a get months jail too?????

 

They do if they don't pay the fine.  The prison term is not mandatory, see the word "or" in the OP.

[Just Weird]

9 hours ago, ttrd said:

RE - The Pattaya police are coming down hard on tourists who rent motorcycles without a licence. 

 

* If they really wanted to solve the problem they should start in the other end and arrest those who rent out to persons without a proper License, but unfortunately it will be less tea-Money and the Money talks … 

Try reading the OP properly..."Rental shops are also on the radar with fines up to 2,000 baht for anyone who rents to tourists who don't show a license". 

Edited July 10, 2019 by Just Weird

[Just Weird]

8 hours ago, Basil B said:

Yes, 10,000B. impound the bike and make the owners pay 20,000B to get it back, danger is the owners are likely to say the bike was stolen, and anyone foolish enough to leave their passport as security with the owners can kiss it goodbye... 

 

But should be same for Thai's as well.

It is the same for Thais!

[Jonmarleesco]

Wow! So how many Thai motorcyclists - particularly taxis - actually have a licence?

[Just Weird]

8 hours ago, outsider said:

Kudos for finally doing some enforcement, but it should be applied across the board, not just foreigners, while Thais continue to ride (and drive!) without licenses, helmets etc. 

It is applied across the board, fines for driving without a licence apply to Thais, too.

[Hooliganzone]

But it's okay for 10 year old Thai kids to ride them without a license or helmet and a danger to everyone. 

[AloisAmrein]

Another racist fart of the Thai Police. How many Thais are driving without a licence? It seems to be the majority when I look at the driving of Thais.

[MBFC1960]

Maybe its because Thais would fail to make licence for Bicycle in western countries, i understand their frustration in bigger penalties for foreigners they dont want ^lose face^

[KhaoYai]

9 hours ago, katatonic said:

I can also drive 7 tonne trucks without having any extra test, which I did for years as a student job back in the 80's

Not now you can't - well unless you are using it to move house etc. i.e. not for reward. Since September 2014, to drive a 7.5 tonne truck in the UK for a living or any other form of reward you now also have to have a Driver CPC - Certificate of Professional Competence.  That entails taking a five day course. Your CPC lasts for 5 years during which time you either have to continually keep it up to date by sitting 1 day courses or take the entire course again. That applies to both those who were able to drive 7.5 tonnes through 'grandfathered' rights and those who took a test to drive such vehicles. You will also almost certainly need a tachograph card - time moves on.

Edited July 10, 2019 by KhaoYai

[KhaoYai]

8 hours ago, Percy P said:

after the vehicles are more than two years old.

3

[KhaoYai]

I take it this new law will also apply to the 14 year old schoolkids that ride 3 up with no helmets on the main road (Mitraphap) through Korat city centre every day?

[KhaoYai]

1 hour ago, Just Weird said:

It is applied across the board, fines for driving without a licence apply to Thais, too.

I think you are stretching things more than a little to say that law/fine is applied across the board. Yes, it may apply across the board but will it actually be applied equally to everyone - Thai's and foreigners?  Highly doubtfull.

 

Thai's will still claim they've left their licence at home and pay the 200 baht (or less it seems) fine/bribe - foreigners in the major centres and bike rental businesses are likley to be the only ones paying the new fines.

 

Jeez, there's been a law requiring crash helmets to be worn for many years and the Thai's ignore it on every street of every town, every day. They ain't going to be worried about any new law requiring them to have a licence because they know how it will actually be dealt with (for them at least).

[balo]

18 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Just tourists? How about locals?

Maybe because they don't have to rent the bike since they already own it? This story was about rental companies and tourists. 

[KhaoYai]

12 minutes ago, balo said:

This story was about rental companies and tourists. 

Correct, this story is but the regulation being applied is country wide.

[fullcave]

Not to mention 10 year old Thai children, do they have a license? UCMTSU!

[metisdead]

Posts bickering about providing a link or not have been removed.  If you cannot provide a link to support your claims, don't make it a problem for others to find the link that you are not willing to provide. 

[Crustyhk]

10 hours ago, BestB said:

Incorrect one can only drive with his home country license IF there is a direct treaty between his home country and Thailand, otherwise IDP is required.

Section 42-2
In case there’s a treaty between the Thai government and a foreign government regarding mutual acceptance of driver’s license, an alien who doesn’t have an immigrant visa may drive a motor vehicle with a driver’s license issued by such a foreign government, or an automobile association authorized by such a foreign government.

Arguing for the sake of arguing. My original post was about my situation and I’m in Australia. Australia has a treaty with Thailand.