Confirmed: "Big Bike" riders will need special training from next year

[Peterphuket]

8 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

Why not start with training any motorbike rider and enforcing existing laws? I saw three teenagers riding on Phaholyothin Road at Ari on Sunday. The insanely loud exhaust drew my attention. Three persons on one bike (150cc at most), speeding fast through heavy traffic and not one of them was wearing a helmet. I was expecting to hear a crash.

Believe me, it is all over the country the same big problem, even in the remote area where I live.

In Europe we learn, how smaller there d*ck how more noise they make.

[Kerryd]

Here is the actual notification from the Royal Gazette. Unfortunately it's all in Thai of course and when I use Google to translate it, it comes out in unintelligible gibberish.

http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2563/A/088/T_0006.PDF

From what I can glean, it does refer to new licenses and renewals. So theoretically, you should be able to continue using your current license until it expires. But - this is Thailand - and the cops could decide that everyone (riding a big bike) has to get a new license regardless of when the old one expires.

There's no way to tell how it's going to be enforced at this point in time.

[SS1]

1 hour ago, BKKBike09 said:

 

"Assuming the light changes green, what's wrong with that?" - since the reaction of most road users here is to speed up, not slow down, when approaching a junction where the lights are counting down 3...2...1... and they know that red will be either "275" or, even worse, the dreaded "- - -" no time showing, so could be 5 minutes, dumping the clutch and burning rubber to be first off a green light is asking to be side-swiped. I always let some little guys on their Scoopys go first for that reason.

 

"On average big bike riders ride much better than the small motorbikes" - not really. It's just that it's harder to be an annoying <deleted> in Bangkok traffic on a big bike because many gaps are too tight. 

 

 

 

Yeah those late red light runners are dangerous.. but not the bikers' fault. I always speed off first so I have an empty road ahead instead of having to slalom through dozens of bikes. But of course look carefully left and right before crossing the intersection. 

 "not really. It's just that it's harder to be an annoying <deleted> in Bangkok traffic on a big bike because many gaps are too tight."

I disagree with this one. I ride daily in Bangkok (both big bike and scooter) since 5 years and I've only ever had one big bike cut in front of me, compared to the hundreds (if not thousands) small bikes who mostly don't give a <deleted> where they're going. Most big bikers ride bikes because they want to ride bikes. Most small bike riders ride bikes because they can't afford a car - and therefore have zero interest in actually learning to ride. Sure, there are exceptions but on average the ones riding big bikes behave much better. 

[ianezy0]

9 hours ago, Seismic said:

What about the many big bike riders who have been riding them for years, or even decades?. Again, an ill-thought out idea, with many questions still left unanswered. Another knee-jerk reaction to a problem that does not actually exist, from people with no expertise in the area.

Geez...talk about jumping the gun. Let things settle petal and the outcome will be revealed OK.

[robsamui]

Sigh.

One again, with typically mystical Thai flair, they've addressed a problem by totally sidestepping it and doing something else instead.

Thailand's biggest problem and mortality rate: young riders on little 'motorbikes'. But it's an enormous, out of control,  area with no way of fixing it. So target a smaller sector instead - 'big' bikes - and claim they're doin something positive to bring the accident rate down.

 

The irony is, to anyone with half a brain cell, that this is exactly the sector that has the least problems and accidents. Kids can't afford superbikes, so it's the older age group being targeted. And these are (in the main) experienced riders, most of them in responsible bikers' clubs, and all able to ride with some awareness and expertise.

"Special training"? These guys will probably ride rings around their embarrassed instructors.

Sigh again.

 

Edited October 28, 2020 by robsamui

[Stubby]

3 hours ago, tyga said:

Youth and motorcycles are a dangerous combination and those of us who survived,  can put this down mostly to good luck. I'm all for training and limiting the power/cc  licenses of new riders, especially younger ones. 

Good points, well put, Tyga ????

[ianezy0]

4 hours ago, Joinaman said:

does anyone even watch that video ?

Last time i was waiting in the Land office, i noted about 16 people on their phones and about 12 sleeping, with only a couple looking completely bored

Maybe a little different with the questions this time.

the attached should scare a few people.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AGwbXfP4U1FY9RWHdZrTOWuGJIS2voAVSwskCa0LFHE/mobilebasic#heading=h.3bie6graezwd

[Peterphuket]

22 minutes ago, Peterphuket said:

Believe me, it is all over the country the same big problem, even in the remote area where I live.

In Europe we learn, how smaller there d*ck how more noise they make.

People with a to big motorbike, or to much noisy have an inferiority complex.

[Advocatus Diaboli]

The new license should be for all bikes above pedal power..... this may give or make all have better training. But in reality the only way to make the roads safer is better policing, and the only way for that to happen is better police. So the police are the ones that need better training, better knowledge, and spend more time enforcing the road rules that already exist.

[bipper]

Pretending they care...

 

Replace the U-Turns with roundabouts!!! There you are. Road death halved at least but you don't care that much do you! No.

[Robin]

As with all powerful vehicles, it is not the vehicle at fault, it is the idiot riding, or driving.

No point in stricter driving test or licence laws unless they are enforced, which we all know they are not and will not be

In a test of m/c riding skill, I would back a big bike rider against the average Thai rider any day.

[bipper]

8 hours ago, cjinchiangrai said:

I think 300 may the largest Thai built bikes, the PCX and Forza, so protect the industry. That might be different now.

 

You are right, age matters.  The kids with their 1000cc crotch rockets are a menace to themselves and others. Not much better with a 125 Click.

 

The training would be easy for an experienced rider, so not a real problem. How much could it cost?  In the US it is about 7000 baht and they provide the bikes. It was really good and even for my little electric scooter, provided insights that have saved my life.

Cb500x is Thai built.

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, ICELANDMAN said:

Only 3 ? I guess you haven't traveled extensively in Thailand because the list would go up to at least 50

 

Just apply genuine common sense and you can forget these three areas. Oh! Wait! Common sense from Thais????

[pacovl46]

9 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

So lets take a look at the Yamaha MT-15, it is only a 155CC bike, yet can do 140 Km/H. Enough torque and 6 speeds to accelerate as fast as a larger bike and yet would not be considered a big bike.  You really have to wonder at what level of thinking the country is doing when it comes to calling a 400CC and over a big bike.

 

Even the Kawasaki Ninja 400 would not be considered a big bike as it is only 399 CC and a top speed of 191 km/h.  Yet still not a big bike either according to the new law, just makes one kind of laugh at why the decided 400 cc's and above was a big bike.

I hate to break this to you, but if you think that a 155cc bike has the same acceleration as one with 600 and above then you’ve never ridden a big bike! There’s a MASSIVE difference in acceleration as well as top speed! 

[patman30]

All any of this means is they looked to see how many bikes registered, multiply that by 500 baht (is it?)

and woohoo extra bucks coming

on another note
Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki and suziki may all soon announce plans for new 399cc bikes available next February...????

i was actually joking above with 399cc

but it seems there are a few bikes already on the market which are 398cc (not sure if any here)
although named xx400 etc
i wonder how these would be dealt with at traffic stops?

Edited October 28, 2020 by patman30

[pacovl46]

9 hours ago, Seismic said:

What about the many big bike riders who have been riding them for years, or even decades?. Again, an ill-thought out idea, with many questions still left unanswered. Another knee-jerk reaction to a problem that does not actually exist, from people with no expertise in the area.

Well, how about you go get a drivers’ license for it then, just like you’re required back home/in just about any country in the world?! 
 

The global expertise is that you need a license to drive or ride a motorized vehicle. Thailand is just catching up to that now and rightfully so! Even at age 18 in a lot of countries you’re not allowed  to get a license for a big bike right away. You have to get two years of riding experience first and then get the actual big bike license. Why do you think that is? Bike bikes are no joke and I don’t want to see little “kids” riding them on the streets anywhere in the world! 
 

Do you also bitch and complain that you have to wear a helmet and get insurance for your big bike or do you happily skip on those, too?

[essox essox]

1 hour ago, Kerryd said:

Here is the actual notification from the Royal Gazette. Unfortunately it's all in Thai of course and when I use Google to translate it, it comes out in unintelligible gibberish.

http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2563/A/088/T_0006.PDF

From what I can glean, it does refer to new licenses and renewals. So theoretically, you should be able to continue using your current license until it expires. But - this is Thailand - and the cops could decide that everyone (riding a big bike) has to get a new license regardless of when the old one expires.

There's no way to tell how it's going to be enforced at this point in time.

ENFORCED ?????!!!!!!!!!!

[Truth Will Set You Free]

How did this guy get so high in the force? Here goes another great idea of a non researcher of what motorbikes are involved in the majority of accidents killing people. It’s not the big bikes.......it’s the 50 - 155cc motorbikes. 
 

It those bikes the police look the other way when they see three or more on holding a child.  It’s those bikes that’s stolen and sold in the province to people with no driver license, so insurance and the stolen plates still being used.  

See the police across from the lady on a motorbike with no hamlet. I could not get my recorder on fast enough to film how many times he look at her. 
 

And they wonder why the new generation wants change. ...????????????????

 

 

 

[BKKBike09]

1 hour ago, Kerryd said:

Here is the actual notification from the Royal Gazette. Unfortunately it's all in Thai of course and when I use Google to translate it, it comes out in unintelligible gibberish.

http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2563/A/088/T_0006.PDF

From what I can glean, it does refer to new licenses and renewals. So theoretically, you should be able to continue using your current license until it expires. But - this is Thailand - and the cops could decide that everyone (riding a big bike) has to get a new license regardless of when the old one expires.

There's no way to tell how it's going to be enforced at this point in time.

 

The bit about big bikes just says that anyone wanting a license for a bike with an engine cylinder capacity more than 400 cc or power output more than 35kW [about 47 hp) will have to show they passed training as specified by the Director General and approved by the Minister. So, no-one knows what the 'training' will be ...

 

กรณีผู้ขอรับใบอนุญาตขับรถจักรยานยนต์ส่วนบุคคลชั่วคราวมีความประสงค์ จะขับรถจักรยานยนต์ที่มีกาลังเครื่องยนต์ตั้งแต่สามสิบห้ากิโลวัตต์ข้ึนไป หรือมีขนาดความจุของกระบอกสูบ รวมกันตั้งแต่สี่ร้อยลูกบาศก์เซนติเมตรข้ึนไป ต้องมีหลักฐานผ่านการอบรมและทดสอบการขับขี่ ตามหลักเกณฑ์และวิธีการที่อธิบดีประกาศกาหนดโดยความเห็นชอบของรัฐมนตรี เป็นการเพิ่มเติมด้วย

 

 

[Morty T]

What's the point here ? My neighbor's 12 year old drove his bike to school everyday. No license, but as his mother would proudly exclaim, " he's wearing a helmet. "

[mattpatt]

36 minutes ago, bipper said:

Cb500x is Thai built.

CB650 - Made in Thailand

CBR1000 - Made in Thailand (I think)

Loads of Kawasakis, big and small have been made in Thailand for years. Except maybe the ZX10, but not sure on that.

[lungbing]

10 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

Why not start with training any motorbike rider and enforcing existing laws? I saw three teenagers riding on Phaholyothin Road at Ari on Sunday. The insanely loud exhaust drew my attention. Three persons on one bike (150cc at most), speeding fast through heavy traffic and not one of them was wearing a helmet. I was expecting to hear a crash.

I bet they had their Covid masks on though!

[jambesobrien]

10 hours ago, Seismic said:

What about the many big bike riders who have been riding them for years, or even decades?. Again, an ill-thought out idea, with many questions still left unanswered. Another knee-jerk reaction to a problem that does not actually exist, from people with no expertise in the area.

I passed my test in Thailand and have had an er6n for over 3 years, no speeding fines, no accident's. I tried a couple of smaller bikes, thought I might change down! but I find them harder to handle, slow jerky and frankly dangerous. What is this extra test? have we got different road rules for different vehicles now? The test is understandable if it's for constant offenders and newbies, as for most big bike owners of more than say a years ownership of a big bike, just upgrade for a fee? make sense to anyone else??

[gunderhill]

More  cretinous  ideas from the govt of stupidity, never  ceases to amaze me, any fool can see the bulk of accidents involving bikes  will be under 150cc it will make not even the slightest dent in their failed statistics by forcing "big  bike" duh, riders to take a  more stringent? test.

Want to see a real test  look at the UK big bikes tests, it'll take you years and cost a lot to get through those.

The facts are you have a nation of people unwilling to follow any rules and a  Police farce unwilling to  enforce any of the unbelievable  amount of <deleted> laws you produce like endless verbal diarrhea on a daily  basis.

Edited October 28, 2020 by gunderhill

[gunderhill]

31 minutes ago, Truth Will Set You Free said:

How did this guy get so high in the force? Here goes another great idea of a non researcher of what motorbikes are involved in the majority of accidents killing people. It’s not the big bikes.......it’s the 50 - 155cc motorbikes. 
 

It those bikes the police look the other way when they see three or more on holding a child.  It’s those bikes that’s stolen and sold in the province to people with no driver license, so insurance and the stolen plates still being used.  

See the police across from the lady on a motorbike with no hamlet. I could not get my recorder on fast enough to film how many times he look at her. 
 

And they wonder why the new generation wants change. ...????????????????

 

 

 

And the policeman's helmet is  not done up!

[richard_smith237]

13 minutes ago, jambesobrien said:

I passed my test in Thailand and have had an er6n for over 3 years, no speeding fines, no accident's. I tried a couple of smaller bikes, thought I might change down! but I find them harder to handle, slow jerky and frankly dangerous. What is this extra test? have we got different road rules for different vehicles now? The test is understandable if it's for constant offenders and newbies, as for most big bike owners of more than say a years ownership of a big bike, just upgrade for a fee? make sense to anyone else??

 

I expect little will come of it...  as with most things, announcements, crack downs, hubs of, etc etc its all a lot of hot air and pretence for the media to report on. Effecting actual change requires effort which is wholly contradictory to the general overwhelming apathy the any official body employs. 

 

This is nothing to worry about until we start reading of people getting fined 200 baht for riding a 'big bike’ on a regular bike licence - we are years away from that happening. IF it does happen, we just meet whatever requirements at the time. 

 

Nothing much to worry about, nothing much to see - just a load of hot air at the moment. 

 

All this issue does is highlight the juvenile thinking of those in positions of power - side step genuine difficult issues and deal with smaller easier to target things (in this case ‘bikes over 400cc) and look like they are trying to do something - its a complete farce. 

[gunderhill]

1 hour ago, bipper said:

Pretending they care...

 

Replace the U-Turns with roundabouts!!! There you are. Road death halved at least but you don't care that much do you! No.

Wouldn't  work , they haven't a  clue how a roundabout works.

[Dene16]

7 hours ago, Stubby said:

A few years later, learner riders could only ride 125cc (I think), and they had capped speeds.

1983 was the year ,prior to that you could also rider a bike up to 1000cc on L plates as long as it had a sidecar. My brother got one but forgot about the sidecar when turning the corner, went straight into a parked car

[Ddbanksy]

3 hours ago, JesseHumphry said:

The response here is pretty weird. People calling him 'unhinged' and 'unstable'. Like...

What is he supposed to do? Nothing? Keep his mouth shut? Harm someone else? 

He took an action that would get eyeballs looking at him and ears listening. That's the point of a protest. That's the point of an action like this. And the only person he hurt was himself.

We're talking about an absurdly corrupt government that has shown a total lack of interest in the concerns of its citizens. This seems like an MP that pulls a stunt to try to do something to change something. 

The problem is that people who don't want to listen will make up excuses on why his actions were wrong, but it doesn't matter what action he takes; it would always be wrong in their eyes. Speak up? Wrong. Hurt someone? Wrong. Hurt yourself? Wrong. Protest peacefully? Wrong. Protest violently? Wrong. 

The only 'right' answer for these authoritarians is full, total, willful compliance. And that's not an option in a society that wants to be free. 

Totally agree,be a martyr without physically harming anyone!

[ThailandRyan]

1 hour ago, pacovl46 said:

I hate to break this to you, but if you think that a 155cc bike has the same acceleration as one with 600 and above then you’ve never ridden a big bike! There’s a MASSIVE difference in acceleration as well as top speed! 

Glad you missed the point.  6 gears and acceleration is still enough to walk away from a general scooter, and the way these young teens ride these bikes they accelerate as fast as they can off of the line trying to race the bigger bikes. A 125, or 150 cc scooter does not have the top speed the MT-15 has either.  But I digress.  The point is that it is enough torque to toss someone off of the bike who is an in-experienced rider.

 

Ridden many big bikes in my lifetime.  No need to ride fast if you know how to ride.  I rode Police Enforcement bikes for a living for many years.  Harley, Kawasaki, and BMW.  No  need to ride a large bike anymore.  Sold my Harley Road Deleted before I moved here.  If you can not ride properly and safely then one does not need to ride a MC, but that does not stop the Thai's, most of who are unlicensed.