Advice on teaching someone to drive.

[DrJack54]

So the situation is myself and Thai partner live in Bangkok. Din daeng area. So advice required on the following.

Firstly what are the legal requirements. In Oz the learner would obtain a permit. L plates would need to be displayed etc 

The plan is initially get her to have a basic "feel" for driving in isolated area such as outer roads etc. 

Obviously at some point hand the process over to a driving school.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

 

[richard_smith237]

10 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

So the situation is myself and Thai partner live in Bangkok. Din daeng area. So advice required on the following.

Firstly what are the legal requirements. In Oz the learner would obtain a permit. L plates would need to be displayed etc 

The plan is initially get her to have a basic "feel" for driving in isolated area such as outer roads etc. 

Obviously at some point hand the process over to a driving school.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

I’m not aware of a ‘learner licence here’... 

 

Thus, go to a quiet area, get her to learn the basics. 

Then go to a driving school (if you want)

Then get her a licence (the tests are basic, she should pass !)

 

Then real the real learning starts. Its probably best you don’t do the teaching unless you have the patience and tolerance of a saint and don’t frighten easily. 

[Tropicalevo]

11 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

hen real the real learning starts. Its probably best you don’t do the teaching unless you have the patience and tolerance of a saint and don’t frighten easily. 

 

Go straight to the driving school.

By law, she is supposed to do 'x' hours at a registered driving school anyway.

The worst teachers of learner drivers are usually their partners. (Does she always do what you tell her to do straight away?)

There is no learner permit.

[Thaifish]

Every state in Ozz has different rules. If she already has a Thai  licence she can drive legally in most states including coverage for insurance. The catch is she has to enter Ozz under a Tourist Visa which I do not think is being issued at the moment with covid  stuff. Depending on which state you are going to be in again you need her Thai license translated to English and notarized as a true copy of document. If she does not have a license then Im not sure of the procedure but I think there is a fair bit to it. My missus drives in Ozz like she drives here....f**kin scary.. I had to teach her not to drive over road kill so it would not damage under car.....roundabouts driving Thai style needs big help in training also... wear your seatbelt at all times!! and hope Puddah is with you in the car.....

[DrJack54]

7 minutes ago, Thaifish said:

Every state in Ozz has different rules. If she already has a Thai  licence she can drive legally in most states including coverage for insurance. The catch is she has to enter Ozz under a Tourist Visa which I do not think is being issued at the moment with covid  stuff. Depending on which state you are going to be in again you need her Thai license translated to English and notarized as a true copy of document. If she does not have a license then Im not sure of the procedure but I think there is a fair bit to it. My missus drives in Ozz like she drives here....f**kin scary.. I had to teach her not to drive over road kill so it would not damage under car.....roundabouts driving Thai style needs big help in training also... wear your seatbelt at all times!! and hope Puddah is with you in the car.....

Thanks and that's excellent advice. It's perhaps my fault to not making it 100% clear that we live in Thailand.

[DrJack54]

21 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

 

Go straight to the driving school.

By law, she is supposed to do 'x' hours at a registered driving school anyway.

The worst teachers of learner drivers are usually their partners. (Does she always do what you tell her to do straight away?)

There is no learner permit.

Thanks. As stated she will finalize the process with a driving school.

As stated this is more just the basics and giving her confidence. For what it's worth I am patient when it comes to teaching. No so flash when it comes to queues.

[DrJack54]

37 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

I’m not aware of a ‘learner licence here’... 

 

Thus, go to a quiet area, get her to learn the basics. 

Then go to a driving school (if you want)

Then get her a licence (the tests are basic, she should pass !)

 

Then real the real learning starts. Its probably best you don’t do the teaching unless you have the patience and tolerance of a saint and don’t frighten easily. 

Your post is pretty much my thinking.

One of the reasons for buying her an old car 2003 but at least has very low km was that dings etc won't be a major headache.

You can't beat time behind the wheel, so give lessons is just looking to build confidence.

 

[86Tiger]

 

 

Go to driving school.  they can have her license in 10 days, or did for my Mrs. anyway.

 

 

Next trip I will be sure they teach her to drive rather than just get a license.    She doesn't listen to me so no need trying to teach her myself.

[sirineou]

31 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

 

Go straight to the driving school.

By law, she is supposed to do 'x' hours at a registered driving school anyway.

The worst teachers of learner drivers are usually their partners. (Does she always do what you tell her to do straight away?)

There is no learner permit.

I could not agree more. The quickest way to stress a relationship, is to try and teach a loved one to drive. As suggested. Take her to a driving school, they  will both be happier. 

[Natai Beach]

Take her to an empty carpark. To get a feel for it. Brakes steering etc. 
 

I used to take girls that I had just started seeing and teach them to drive at the sports center carpark in Soi chairapruek dark side Pattaya. 
 

Exciting first or second date for them if they had never driven a car before. 
I had a 100% success rate doing it. 
 

 

[Lacessit]

 

I'd suggest getting her license through the driving school route, then teaching her to drive competently.

Things like using the rear vision mirrors, handbrake starts on a hill, three point turns, and parking between cars. How to use an auto or manual gearbox in hills.

None of which was ever demonstrated to my GF by the useless <deleted> that called himself a driving instructor.

[Kelsall]

They learn just enough to pass the written and driving tests, then that gets them the license.  After that they practice, sometimes having a decal in the rear window indicating they are a new driver.  The license is basically a learners permit at this stage.  This also explains why many licensed Thais appear to be unable to drive a car; they can't.

 

One person here on TVF years ago said he sent his wife to a commercial driving school where she *really* learned how to drive.  Could drive large trucks with the best of them. If I were again teaching a Thai woman to drive (did it once), I'd look into doing it that way.

Edited January 28, 2021 by Kelsall

[PFMills]

29 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Your post is pretty much my thinking.

One of the reasons for buying her an old car 2003 but at least has very low km was that dings etc won't be a major headache.

You can't beat time behind the wheel, so give lessons is just looking to build confidence.

 

Out of interest what is the third party cover on the insurance for the year 2003 car you have?

[DrJack54]

11 minutes ago, PFMills said:

Out of interest what is the third party cover on the insurance for the year 2003 car you have?

Currently car uninsured however will be obtaining third party cover shortly.

I was given good advice previously and it was not that expensive. My guess is 3rd party is not related to age/value of the car. I want protection from rear ending a Porsche.

[OneMoreFarang]

Back home I used to drive a lot. When I arrived in Bangkok many years ago I thought I would never want to drive here with all those crazy people on the road.

Then I used motorcycle taxis for about two years. And that helped me a lot to get a feel about how people drive and ride in Bangkok. Like don't look just left and right, look front and back and better up and down as well. People come here (illegal) from strange directions where "western" drivers would not expect them to come from.

And after riding on motorcycle taxis for a long time I learned all the shortcuts around my area.

 

Obviously there is more to driving than that. But I think the actual process of accelerating, braking and steering is not really that difficult. The difficult part is to manage this in the middle of chaos. 

[teacherclaire]

1 hour ago, Thaifish said:

Every state in Ozz has different rules. If she already has a Thai  licence she can drive legally in most states including coverage for insurance. The catch is she has to enter Ozz under a Tourist Visa which I do not think is being issued at the moment with covid  stuff. Depending on which state you are going to be in again you need her Thai license translated to English and notarized as a true copy of document. If she does not have a license then Im not sure of the procedure but I think there is a fair bit to it. My missus drives in Ozz like she drives here....f**kin scary.. I had to teach her not to drive over road kill so it would not damage under car.....roundabouts driving Thai style needs big help in training also... wear your seatbelt at all times!! and hope Puddah is with you in the car.....

Advice on teaching someone to drive.

 

It's not about Ozz. 

[Upnotover]

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

Thanks and that's excellent advice. It's perhaps my fault to not making it 100% clear that we live in Thailand.

Quite right, not everybody knows Bangkok is in Thailand.

[Catkiwi]

Many years ago I paid a qualified driving instructor to teach the Mrs. to drive. Local quiet roads, around the local golf course perimeter roads, and then graduating into the city. She then accompanied the Mrs. through a defensive driving course in Map Ta Put. They went together to the Rayong licensing dept. and Mrs. sat the theory and practical with flying colours. Has never (touch wood) had any incidents on the road and still driving incident free after 25 years. Although she has learnt ( not from me, honest) some fairly graphic expressions of derision to hurl at any fellow road users who have the stupidity to infringe on her road space. ????. 

My advice, keep well away from trying to teach her and get the professional drivers in.

[kingofthemountain]

3 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

So the situation is myself and Thai partner live in Bangkok. Din daeng area. So advice required on the following.

Firstly what are the legal requirements. In Oz the learner would obtain a permit. L plates would need to be displayed etc 

The plan is initially get her to have a basic "feel" for driving in isolated area such as outer roads etc. 

Obviously at some point hand the process over to a driving school.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

 

I did it in the past with 2 of my thai girlfriends (Not at the same time lol)

my advice, be patient, very patient

 

the progress is usualy very slow and you need to repeat everyday the same thing

untill you are sure it's well understand, it can take weeks even for something basic

so be sure you both have a lot of time on your hand.

 

Consider you start a task like to learn to read to a 3 years old child

 

don't use irony or derision, and don't be upset, never, it doesn't works at all with a Thai girl

in a learning process. When you can not handle anymore the whole circus or if she can not (Usualy she gives up first lol)  just stop for one day or two and start again when everything is ok and back to normal.

 

Of course your is probably different and it should be more easy

i remember the time it takes to me with one of the 2 only for her to understand

the difference between the right and the left

 

good luck anyway

 

nb: don't expect any thank you or even her being grateful

she should consider you are just doing what is normal

(And after all, it was your idea no? 55)

Edited January 28, 2021 by kingofthemountain

[Dagfinnur Traustason]

3 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

So the situation is myself and Thai partner live in Bangkok. Din daeng area. So advice required on the following.

Firstly what are the legal requirements. In Oz the learner would obtain a permit. L plates would need to be displayed etc 

The plan is initially get her to have a basic "feel" for driving in isolated area such as outer roads etc. 

Obviously at some point hand the process over to a driving school.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

 

Sorry to be rude, but the good advice is to not get involved in teaching somebody to drive.

[PFMills]

9 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Currently car uninsured however will be obtaining third party cover shortly.

I was given good advice previously and it was not that expensive. My guess is 3rd party is not related to age/value of the car. I want protection from rear ending a Porsche.

Not exactly our experience. Because of the age of the car they cut the third-party down from 500,000 to 100,000. So I’m looking for another Insurance company Even 500,000 is not a lot.

[ramrod711]

9 hours ago, Catkiwi said:

Many years ago I paid a qualified driving instructor to teach the Mrs. to drive. Local quiet roads, around the local golf course perimeter roads, and then graduating into the city. She then accompanied the Mrs. through a defensive driving course in Map Ta Put. They went together to the Rayong licensing dept. and Mrs. sat the theory and practical with flying colours. Has never (touch wood) had any incidents on the road and still driving incident free after 25 years. Although she has learnt ( not from me, honest) some fairly graphic expressions of derision to hurl at any fellow road users who have the stupidity to infringe on her road space. ????. 

My advice, keep well away from trying to teach her and get the professional drivers in.

I tried to teach my wife to drive. Not for long. Sent her to a driving school. Now she has a license and we are still married, which seemed to be an unlikely outcome when I was teaching her.

[DrJack54]

1 hour ago, PFMills said:

Not exactly our experience. Because of the age of the car they cut the third-party down from 500,000 to 100,000. So I’m looking for another Insurance company Even 500,000 is not a lot.

Thanks. If possible could you advise later which insurance you decide to go with.

So yes the car is old 2003 civic but only 110k Kms 

[Lacessit]

11 hours ago, Catkiwi said:

Many years ago I paid a qualified driving instructor to teach the Mrs. to drive. Local quiet roads, around the local golf course perimeter roads, and then graduating into the city. She then accompanied the Mrs. through a defensive driving course in Map Ta Put. They went together to the Rayong licensing dept. and Mrs. sat the theory and practical with flying colours. Has never (touch wood) had any incidents on the road and still driving incident free after 25 years. Although she has learnt ( not from me, honest) some fairly graphic expressions of derision to hurl at any fellow road users who have the stupidity to infringe on her road space. ????. 

My advice, keep well away from trying to teach her and get the professional drivers in.

You were lucky, IME not all Thai driving instructors are competent. Getting taught defensive driving was a bonus.

[canthai55]

5 hours ago, PFMills said:

Not exactly our experience. Because of the age of the car they cut the third-party down from 500,000 to 100,000. So I’m looking for another Insurance company Even 500,000 is not a lot.

Our town car - Nissan NV 2001 Class 2+

Tokio Marine - Third Party - 500,000 per person / 10,000,000 per accident

6,500.25 THB including Gov't Insurance

 

[toolpush]

Me and several friends sent our wives to driving school (2 weeks duration). Once they finished, we sent them to driving school again for a repeat. (2 more weeks). They all turned out to be competent drivers.

[phantomfiddler]

DON’T DO IT !!! I thought it would be a good idea, and if it wasn’t for a concrete power pole she would have gone straight through a house, accelerating ????

[KKr]

18 hours ago, 86Tiger said:

Go to driving school

and make sure the student gets to drive around the center in rush hour, and up and down a few winding hill roads.

 

going up to doi suthep ( near ChiangMai ???? ) once had a BKK car stopping in the middle of the road right in front of me before a turn and not knowing what to do, where local cars take the turn at 50-60 kmh.

you don’t want your wife/student to be so inept.

Edited January 29, 2021 by KKr

[1FinickyOne]

1 hour ago, toolpush said:

Me and several friends sent our wives to driving school (2 weeks duration). Once they finished, we sent them to driving school again for a repeat. (2 more weeks). They all turned out to be competent drivers.

If i see your wife coming - I won't be afraid... what me worry

[arick]

I big field! 

Edited January 29, 2021 by arick