1 hour ago, lujanit said:

Check your travel insurance. Most policies are void if the person riding has an accident if the rider doesn’t have the appropriate license. Lots of visitors get caught out if they have an accident.

Most policies are void if the person rides a motorcycle.

Full stop.

There.

Fixed it for ya.

As for renting out scooters, 110cc Waves etc, to tourists without a motorcycle license, IMO, no biggie.

Most European car licenses allow a non motorcyclist to ride a small low power auto type moped/scooter.

Travel the Med on holiday, and you will see all sorts of tourists renting scooters out there, that have a car at home and no 2 wheeler, and little to no 2 wheeler experience.

Having said that, Ibeza or Crete are not Samui....

My 2 Bahts worth.

Just now, mickyr55 said:

WOW and you think that's clever makes you part of the problem methinks. Confiscation is the only answer start taking the bikes away and destroying them as they do in the UK would really hurt. 

Destroying is beyond stupid. No sane place would do that.

27 minutes ago, neeray said:

I am quite certain that they are referring to an "actual bike license".

 

A little story: I do not have a bike license. While in CM on several occasions, Xgf and I rented 2 bikes. She would ride fifty or a hundred metres ahead of me and pull over if she saw a spot check (she had an uncanny ability to sense where these would be). I would then dismount and pass through as her pillion rider. She would park just past the spot check and walk back to retrieve my bike.

Think of the money (and time) saved if you had just rented one bike and just let her drive and you had stayed pillion?

What's the betting that you'll still see kids riding to school on motorbikes, 10 years from now; but then, they don't contribute to the economy, do they!

You go first. Show me your politician competency license, and I will show you mine. ????

Because licenses always ensure competency right... this is ludicrous. This of course makes perfect sense when you're either in government or you're a Statist. Government, will forever discover new ways to generate money. Does anyone really think the motorbike rental companies are going to be made to comply? No... you will still be able to rent the bike on your passport or car license and then you will be made to pay the ticket (new tourist tax) when stopped. Consider this however, if Thailand makes it law that you will only need a specific motorbike license for the "big bikes", then insurance will no longer be able to deny you accident coverage when riding the "little bikes"? Hmm...

Edited September 25, 20196 yr by Tounge Thaied

1 hour ago, lujanit said:

Check your travel insurance. Most policies are void if the person riding has an accident if the rider doesn’t have the appropriate license. Lots of visitors get caught out if they have an accident.

Consider this however, if Thailand makes it law that you only need a motorbike license for the "big bikes" as quoted in the article, then insurance companies will no longer be able to deny accident coverage when riding the "little bikes"?? Legit question IMO. 

Edited September 25, 20196 yr by Tounge Thaied

1 hour ago, Just1Voice said:

When that say - have a license - are they talking about a plain old driving license, or an actual bike license. If they mean actual bike license, bike rental shops in Thailand will all go out of business. 

That would be a good thing if it effects the ones that take every parking spot on the side streets between Second Rd. and Beach Rd.

2 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

It is time to stop proposing and start implementing.  

and if they implement who ENFORCES????

5 minutes ago, Tounge Thaied said:

Consider this however, if Thailand makes it law that you only need a motorbike license for the "big bikes" as quoted in the article, then insurance companies will no longer be able to deny accident coverage when riding the "little bikes"?? Legit question IMO. 

You didn't read properly. They plan to implement two levels of motorbike driving license, one for small bikes and one for big bikes.

33 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Think of the money (and time) saved if you had just rented one bike and just let her drive and you had stayed pillion?

No!

Just no!

Nothing looks worse over here on the roads than a 100 kg Felang sitting behind a 45 kg Thai girl riding a scooter.

It makes the Felang look like a complete knOb.

Its embarrassing and screams  N E W B I E !

1 hour ago, meechai said:

What a novel idea? Needing a license to drive a motor vehicle on the road??

 

 

Be fair, they're trying to catch up. 

Whilst its a good idea, it will be another nail in the coffin for tourism. Riding a scooter is one of the things people enjoy when they are in Thailand (avoiding taxi rip-off fares is just one of the benefits of having a scooter).

 

With so much momentum swinging Vietnam;s way on the tourism front, what are the rules there? Surely its better to restrict access by age - you can bet that its the under 23s who get into the most trouble on a scooter. Make them have a motorbike licence, and leave the over 23s at a car licence. Just sayin...

9 minutes ago, jackdd said:

You didn't read properly. They plan to implement two levels of motorbike driving license, one for small bikes and one for big bikes.

and what are the cc's for small and big bikes??

who will check for small bike licences and big bike licences..??

They who have small bike licences will still drive big bikes...we are IN THAILAND....no respect for any LAWS HERE!!

Even though it is dated, this is a great resource for more understanding...

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g293915-c133830/Thailand:Driving.License.Requirements.html

57 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

Most policies are void if the person rides a motorcycle.

Full stop.

There.

Fixed it for ya.

As for renting out scooters, 110cc Waves etc, to tourists without a motorcycle license, IMO, no biggie.

Most European car licenses allow a non motorcyclist to ride a small low power auto type moped/scooter.

Travel the Med on holiday, and you will see all sorts of tourists renting scooters out there, that have a car at home and no 2 wheeler, and little to no 2 wheeler experience.

Having said that, Ibeza or Crete are not Samui....

My 2 Bahts worth.

A European driving licences cover upto 50cc after that you need the same licence as 1200cc motorcycle.
There's a big difference between 50cc and 110cc, 50cc top speed is not much more than 50 Kmph most 110cc will do 100kph and over.
My car licence would cover me for up to 50cc which is why I had to do a motorcycle licence in Thailand.

8 minutes ago, Tounge Thaied said:

Even though it is dated, this is a great resource for more understanding...

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g293915-c133830/Thailand:Driving.License.Requirements.html

It's not only dated, but many things there are just wrong or incomplete, so this should not be recommended by anybody.

1 hour ago, ChipButty said:

I do actually know a lady who has lots of bikes for rent and for a long time now, No License No Bike simple as that and really they should have the International driving permit

Thailansd is a signatory to the Geneva convention therefore no IDP required. Police often not aware of this. Give them credit for mentioning something needs to be done. I suspect pressure from China. China probably sick of losing their children. When the Giant talks things will change.

Makes a change to hear some good news hope they can implement it but I doubt it.

1 hour ago, thaiguzzi said:

Most policies are void if the person rides a motorcycle.

Full stop.

There.

Fixed it for ya.

As for renting out scooters, 110cc Waves etc, to tourists without a motorcycle license, IMO, no biggie.

Most European car licenses allow a non motorcyclist to ride a small low power auto type moped/scooter.

Travel the Med on holiday, and you will see all sorts of tourists renting scooters out there, that have a car at home and no 2 wheeler, and little to no 2 wheeler experience.

Having said that, Ibeza or Crete are not Samui....

My 2 Bahts worth.

 

This is a fairly valid point. 

 

Perhaps with the use of a regular Driving Licence from another country the hiring of and riding low displacement motorcycles <150cc (the small, low power, auto type, moped/scooter you describe) is ok - Its a realistic outlook. 

 

Then anything above 150cc motorcycle requires a Full Motorcycle License - anyone not complying by this law is dealt with strictly. i.e. Confiscation of bike, substantial fine. 

 

I suspect this is the intention of the article.

 

Riding an auto moped/scooter is not tricky although I see plenty getting themselves into difficulty - its not the major issue with road safety. Controlling tourists is just another way of 'announcing a crackdown' and Thailand just loves a crackdown.

 

I would like to see that checks on rental places and anywhere else where there are checks ensure that anyone (Thai, Tourist) are licensed for a vehicle and penalized with equal treatment across the board for both Thai and Tourists. 

 

 

I've just returned home from the shops - a 30 minute return journey in central Bangkok.

Without any doubt in my mind whatsoever there are 3 motorcyclists on the road right now who are not hurt or injured because I hit my brakes to avoid hitting them as they virtually played chicken with me on my side of the road as they overtook queueing traffic - I was expected to stop while they were on the wrong side of the road - its this careless mindset of the motorcyclists as to why the RTA's are so high. 

 

 

1 minute ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

This is a fairly valid point. 

 

Perhaps with the use of a regular Driving Licence from another country the hiring of and riding low displacement motorcycles <150cc (the small, low power, auto type, moped/scooter you describe) is ok - Its a realistic outlook. 

 

Then anything above 150cc motorcycle requires a Full Motorcycle License - anyone not complying by this law is dealt with strictly. i.e. Confiscation of bike, substantial fine. 

 

I suspect this is the intention of the article.

 

Riding an auto moped/scooter is not tricky although I see plenty getting themselves into difficulty - its not the major issue with road safety. Controlling tourists is just another way of 'announcing a crackdown' and Thailand just loves a crackdown.

 

I would like to see that checks on rental places and anywhere else where there are checks ensure that anyone (Thai, Tourist) are licensed for a vehicle and penalized with equal treatment across the board for both Thai and Tourists. 

 

 

I've just returned home from the shops - a 30 minute return journey in central Bangkok.

Without any doubt in my mind whatsoever there are 3 motorcyclists on the road right now who are not hurt or injured because I hit my brakes to avoid hitting them as they virtually played chicken with me on my side of the road as they overtook queueing traffic - I was expected to stop while they were on the wrong side of the road - its this careless mindset of the motorcyclists as to why the RTA's are so high. 

 

 

If a Regular Car driving licence covers upto 150cc then yes but it doesn't it covers up to 50cc in Europe in any case and for good reason.

45 minutes ago, jackdd said:

You didn't read properly. They plan to implement two levels of motorbike driving license, one for small bikes and one for big bikes.

I get you... good point. But why? The current law already has a requirement for license from your home country. What would be the point of separating the two? 

Edited September 25, 20196 yr by Tounge Thaied

11 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

This is a fairly valid point. 

 

Perhaps with the use of a regular Driving Licence from another country the hiring of and riding low displacement motorcycles <150cc (the small, low power, auto type, moped/scooter you describe) is ok - Its a realistic outlook. 

 

Then anything above 150cc motorcycle requires a Full Motorcycle License - anyone not complying by this law is dealt with strictly. i.e. Confiscation of bike, substantial fine. 

 

I suspect this is the intention of the article.

 

Riding an auto moped/scooter is not tricky although I see plenty getting themselves into difficulty - its not the major issue with road safety. Controlling tourists is just another way of 'announcing a crackdown' and Thailand just loves a crackdown.

 

I would like to see that checks on rental places and anywhere else where there are checks ensure that anyone (Thai, Tourist) are licensed for a vehicle and penalized with equal treatment across the board for both Thai and Tourists. 

 

 

I've just returned home from the shops - a 30 minute return journey in central Bangkok.

Without any doubt in my mind whatsoever there are 3 motorcyclists on the road right now who are not hurt or injured because I hit my brakes to avoid hitting them as they virtually played chicken with me on my side of the road as they overtook queueing traffic - I was expected to stop while they were on the wrong side of the road - its this careless mindset of the motorcyclists as to why the RTA's are so high. 

 

 

That would be reasonable IMO. But Thai law already requires a motorbike license from your home country for any motorbike. As others have pointed out, a car license will cover you for up to 50cc, beyond that you require a specific motorbike license. I don't see them relaxing this. 

8 minutes ago, Tounge Thaied said:

I get you good point. But why? The current law already has a requirement for license from your home country. What would be the point of separating the two? 

Because a bigger bike requires more skill than a small bike.

I don't know where you are from, but for example in Germany there are 5 different classes of motorbike driving license: Mofa (this first one is not really considered a "license") / AM / A1 / A2 / A

I would expect that most western countries have more than one level of motorbike driving license

Edited September 25, 20196 yr by jackdd

30 minutes ago, monkfish said:

A European driving licences cover upto 50cc after that you need the same licence as 1200cc motorcycle.
There's a big difference between 50cc and 110cc, 50cc top speed is not much more than 50 Kmph most 110cc will do 100kph and over.
My car licence would cover me for up to 50cc which is why I had to do a motorcycle licence in Thailand.

I believe the UK is 125cc and has been for decades.

But i could be wrong and i don't really care.

My OP was just giving the gist of things, not being pedantic.

I believe pretty much every housewife on the planet who can ride a bicycle, can ride an auto scooter.

7 minutes ago, jackdd said:

Because a bigger bike requires more skill than a small bike.

I don't know where you are from, but for example in Germany there are 5 different classes of motorbike driving license: Mofa / AM / A1 / A2 / A

I would expect that most western countries have more than one level of motorbike driving license

Wow. I am from the states. To my knowledge their is no breakdown like this. You simply need to take your bike, any size over 50cc, to the department of motor vehicles, take a written test, a vision test and then a road competency test. You receive an "endorsment" adding a "motorcycle" classification to your car license or some states issue a separate license. But it is catch all license as I understand it. The states do have a breakdown for "Commercial" vehicles like the lorries, large trucks etc. 

Edited September 25, 20196 yr by Tounge Thaied

Good luck with enforcing that...

You know it gets to me that 75 percent of road deaths are motorbike related and most because no crash helmet, that must be the easiest law in Thailand to enforce riding down a road in plain sight and they can't do it.




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8 minutes ago, Tounge Thaied said:

Wow. I am from the states. To my knowledge their is no breakdown like this. You simply need to take your bike, any size over 50cc, to the department of motor vehicles, take a written test, a vision test and then a road competency test. You receive an "endorsment" adding a "motorcycle" classification to your car license or some states issue a separate license. But it is catch all license as I understand it. The states do have a breakdown for "Commercial" vehicles like the lorries, large trucks etc. 

 

This may go some way to explaining why the USA leads the Developed world in traffic deaths (per 100,000ppl)

 

USA has a death rate on the roads of 12.4 people per 100,000 people. More than 50% higher than Western European Nations, Canada, Japan, Australia.

 

 

 

 

6 minutes ago, Tounge Thaied said:

Wow. I am from the states. To my knowledge their is no breakdown like this. You simply need to take your bike, any size over 50cc, to the department of motor vehicles, take a written test, a vision test and then a road competency test. You receive an "endorsment" adding a "motorcycle" classification to your car license or some states issue a separate license. But it is catch all license as I understand it. The states do have a breakdown for "Commercial" vehicles like the lorries, large trucks etc. 

Yes, this sounds easy, Europe is way more sophisticated. The only freebie you get is the license for class AM when you get a car driving license, then you are allowed to drive bikes up to 50cc and 45km/h.

In for example Germany you have to start with class A1 (up to 125cc), after two years you may take another exam to get class A2 (up to 35kw), then another two years and an exam later you can get class A (no limitations). If you happen to be 25 or older you may directly apply for class A instead of going through A1 and A2.

44 minutes ago, jackdd said:

It's not only dated, but many things there are just wrong or incomplete, so this should not be recommended by anybody.

I am sure there some things that are wrong... but I would still recommend this. IMO it does have some useful information for anyone looking into the issue. Validation on your part is still required.