Driving without valid driver's license in Thailand

[gerryBScot]

Hello everybody, it's been a wee while. The great news is we survived COVID and are heading to LOS for a family holiday in June. The bad news is my drivers licences have expired. I had both a British and a Thai license. I wonder what the position would be if I drive in Thaoland wthout a valid license? I recall reading a few years back something about the Mayor of Bangkok expressing surprise that as many as 60% of the bus drivers in BKK had driving licenses. Just wondering if it is an absolute no-no for me, Johnny Faraing, or if it is generally ok. I should add that I have had any endorsements, points, penalties or bans in either license or in the history of my driving 'career'. Currently resident in The Philippines and not sure there is adequate time for the powers that be here to issue a license. Many thanks.

[Mike Lister]

It's against the law for ANYONE to drive without a valid license here and there's a very good chance you will get stopped at some point and asked to produce it.

[n00dle]

no worries, unless you want to be insured. Do you want us to tell you its alright?

[JBChiangRai]

Thailand has a treaty with many countries for the mutual acceptance of driving licences as stated in the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic or the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic

 

You can legally drive on your British license at least six months, it may be longer. If you’re still in the country after that time, you must have a Thai license.

 

However, don’t expect plod Somchai to know and you are likely to get fined although you are insured if you have insurance.

 

 

[Upnotover]

7 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

You can legally drive on your British license at least six months, it may be longer.

Not an expired one

16 minutes ago, gerryBScot said:

The bad news is my drivers licences have expired. I had both a British and a Thai license

 

[gerryBScot]

10 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

It's against the law for ANYONE to drive without a valid license here and there's a very good chance you will get stopped at some point and asked to produce it.

Thanks for this, Mike, flashbacks of getting stopped everytime I joined the motorway at Klong Toey/Lumphini, every time even with a license, I had to pay the same cop 200 THB due to some imaginary infringement, and it certainly helped in those cirucmstances that I could produce a valid Thai licence.

[JBChiangRai]

Just now, Upnotover said:

Not an expired one

 

Yes I missed that, British licence has to be valid to drive here.

 

My UK licence expired donkeys years ago and I use my Thai licence to hire a car in the UK.

[gerryBScot]

No worries JB I am just really checking if it is an absolute no-no and of course, it is! I am not sure I can renew my THai drivers license as I no longer have a resident visa.

[bkk_mike]

15 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

Thailand has a treaty with many countries for the mutual acceptance of driving licences as stated in the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic or the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic

 

You can legally drive on your British license at least six months, it may be longer. If you’re still in the country after that time, you must have a Thai license.

 

However, don’t expect plod Somchai to know and you are likely to get fined although you are insured if you have insurance.

 

 

They only signed the 1949 one, so even licences in English need an IDP.

But, ironically, you can use the later, 3 year IDP.

[PJ71]

24 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

It's against the law for ANYONE to drive without a valid license here and there's a very good chance you will get stopped at some point and asked to produce it.

But as with everything the consequence for not having one is negligible.

 

 

[Mike Lister]

2 minutes ago, PJ71 said:

But as with everything the consequence for not having one is negligible.

 

 

The law says, 3 months jail time or THB 10K. 

 

3 Months in jail would put a crimp on the family hols.

 

https://www.pacificprime.co.th/blog/driving-license-point-deductions-in-thailand/#:~:text=For example%2C if someone is,under the Traffic Law Act.

[PJ71]

1 minute ago, Mike Lister said:

The law says, 3 months jail time or THB 10K. 

 

3 Months in jail would put a crimp on the family hols.

 

https://www.pacificprime.co.th/blog/driving-license-point-deductions-in-thailand/#:~:text=For example%2C if someone is,under the Traffic Law Act.

The law says lots of things.

[gerryBScot]

Rest assured I won't do it: I have driven legally for almost 50 years, I have never had a single violation anywhere or anytime. I fully understand from past experience of living in LOS and in Asia that sometimes the laws can be loosely interpreted/applied. It is quite explicit thanks to MIke Lister's post that it is expressly prohibited to drive without a valid license. I won't do it and am grateful for members' inputs.

[Smokin Joe]

16 minutes ago, bkk_mike said:

They only signed the 1949 one, so even licences in English need an IDP.

But, ironically, you can use the later, 3 year IDP.

 

Thailand ratified the 1968 treaty on May 1st 2020

 

Countries That Signed 1968 Vienna Treaty

[impulse]

Friendly note to the owners of Asean Now.

 

There's a right answer to the OP's question, and probably useful to any Brit that may tune in.  (Or any other nationality that may want to drive or rent a car in Thailand)  In years past, there were expert mods that could be counted on to post that useful information.  That's what made Thai Visa useful enough to filter through all the junk and the flame wars.  I miss that.

 

[OneMoreFarang]

54 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

and there's a very good chance you will get stopped at some point and asked to produce it

And then? Maybe pay 100B and continue.

I had for years an expired Thai driving license. When the police wanted to see my license than mostly they didn't say anything. Maybe they mentioned that it was expired. And that's about it. I never had a police officer making a big issue out of it.

 

That doesn't mean people shouldn't have a license. But in everyday life it doesn't really matter. TiT. 

[OneMoreFarang]

5 minutes ago, impulse said:

There's a right answer to the OP's question

Actually no.

There will be a legally correct answer.

And then there will be a real life answer.

Likely they are very different from each other. 

[impulse]

15 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Actually no.

There will be a legally correct answer.

And then there will be a real life answer.

Likely they are very different from each other. 

 

Point taken, but I'd settle for the legally correct answer.  Can a Brit, by treaty, legally drive in Thailand using a valid British DL, for how long, and is an IDP required?  

 

Millions may get away with breaking the law, but they occasionally get caught out when they end up in the hospital and their insurance company denies cover because they were driving illegally.  Or if they get pulled over by the wrong cop.  Also, the "legally correct" answer will probably make the difference when they rock up to a rental car kiosk at the airport.

 

In years past, we'd have gotten a definitive answer on TVF.  Then the flame wars would start.

 

[Chris Daley]

Just drive illegally and pay the fine when it happens.  Worth it.

[impulse]

2 minutes ago, Chris Daley said:

Just drive illegally and pay the fine when it happens.  Worth it.

 

Until you end up needing to pay for an emergency repatriation medical flight.  Because your insurance won't pay for an illegal act.

 

[FritsSikkink]

1 hour ago, PJ71 said:

But as with everything the consequence for not having one is negligible.

 

 

Until you get involved with an accident and the insurance won't pay.

[JBChiangRai]

And you kill or maim someone and get locked up until you pay the compensation, and if you didn’t kill them, you could be paying for the rest of their life.

[jvs]

Yes of course you need a valid license!

All the people that are saying you can get away with it are delusional!

Get into an accident and you will find out if it matters or not.

Maybe for Thai people it is easier but for foreigners i can predict you will be out a lot of cash

in any major accident.

No matter how good you drive there is always some one out there who is not going by the rules.

Stay safe!

 

[PJ71]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Actually no.

There will be a legally correct answer.

And then there will be a real life answer.

Likely they are very different from each other. 

Bingo.

[PJ71]

57 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Until you end up needing to pay for an emergency repatriation medical flight.  Because your insurance won't pay for an illegal act.

 

Most insurance does not cover driving motor bikes in foreign countries.

[tomazbodner]

2 hours ago, gerryBScot said:

Just wondering if it is an absolute no-no for me, Johnny Faraing, or if it is generally ok.

It's like robbing a bank or killing someone. It is OK if you don't get caught. Is that what you wanted to hear?

[jvs]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Actually no.

There will be a legally correct answer.

And then there will be a real life answer.

Likely they are very different from each other. 

Isn't being legally correct very important to us foreigners?

It really does not matter how this relates to Thai people.

I was in an accident,had all the legal stuff in place.

The Thai taxi driver who hit us was very sure we were wrong, he even called a police buddy to help him.

After the video was reviewed the out come was he was wrong!

He had no insurance so he had to pay a ticket and for the damage to our vehicle.

 

[richard_smith237]

2 hours ago, gerryBScot said:

The bad news is my drivers licences have expired. I had both a British and a Thai license.

 

I'm sure you've looked into this alread, right ???...  But, Can't you renew your British Driving Licence ???...    It depends upon how long your license has expired for, I think two years is the cut off, then you may have to take a new test...   that would solve all the issues.

 

OR, if you are already in Thailand thats pretty much a no-goer.

 

Thus: You'll need to renew your Thai licence - you can usually do this easily within a year of expiry, but as you mentioned Covid I assume your driving licence is more than 1 year past expiry. 

 

You can attempt to renew at the DLT and hope they let you get away with doing 'class room tests' etc (the same ones you did when getting the license in the first place)... If not, without a UK licence you'll have to go through the whole process again from scratch - its a simple enough process, plenty of people get a new Driving and Motorcycle licence here without a supporting licence from their home country.

 

 

As for driving without a license... 

- Motorcycle: you'll get fined every time you are stopped - if involved in a serious accident the issue gets more serious of course. 

- Driving: you are not insured, if you have an accident, it'll cost you. If you injure someone else, it'll cost you more and we'll probably end up reading about you on here.

 

Conclusion: Get your Thai Licence, even if it means you have to take the test here.

[simple1]

OP: Don’t forget, no licence, no insurance. If you were to have an accident causing injury you would be in a world of financial pain

[newbee2022]

On 5/3/2024 at 10:46 AM, gerryBScot said:

Hello everybody, it's been a wee while. The great news is we survived COVID and are heading to LOS for a family holiday in June. The bad news is my drivers licences have expired. I had both a British and a Thai license. I wonder what the position would be if I drive in Thaoland wthout a valid license? I recall reading a few years back something about the Mayor of Bangkok expressing surprise that as many as 60% of the bus drivers in BKK had driving licenses. Just wondering if it is an absolute no-no for me, Johnny Faraing, or if it is generally ok. I should add that I have had any endorsements, points, penalties or bans in either license or in the history of my driving 'career'. Currently resident in The Philippines and not sure there is adequate time for the powers that be here to issue a license. Many thanks.

Think about what would happen when driving without a license in UK??

You think they are all idiots here??😡