Report Thailand Tightens Rules for Foreign Drivers: Tests Now Mandatory

[JamesPhuket10]

9 hours ago, Purdey said:

Zig-zag lines are those that mark areas near zebra crossings for example. 

 

 

What are zebra crossing used for in Thailand (well in Phuket at least), for parking cars on it seems by my own observations. 😀

[JamesPhuket10]

18 hours ago, cjinchiangrai said:

They can use a foreign license to obtain a local license, not an IDP. It must be a real government issued license.

 

True, in order to get an IDP you need to have a valid driving licence from your own country, you have to use that IDP until it expires in Thailand,

 

When I arrived in Thailand I was able to use the IDP for a year (in the case of a UK produced IDP) you are not allowed to use your own countries driving licence,  then the British licence was used to get a Thai driving licence, the IDP is not exchanged for a Thai licence, the British licence was used as you stated above. 

 

There was a German national with a German driving licence and the problem was it had not been translated into English, so that is an extra step for a non-English translated licence. 

[JamesPhuket10]

I have been waiting to be stopped by a cop in Phuket since I had a Thai driving licence, I will slowly take out my credit card sized Thai licence and let him think he is onto a winner by the fact I am using a foreign licence and not the IDP, he will be disappointed when he sees the Thai licence.

 

There are tens of millions more tourists on the roads in Phuket each year than foreigners living here, so of course the chances of the person he stops having a Thai licence is small, I will open the car window and smile as I hand it over.

 

No pocket money today will be the case.

[willip]

Why are Thailand's roads so dangerous????. Because the thais are reckless don't care and have no thoughts for other drivers on the road. The test is a joke 

 

[lordgrinz]

3 hours ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

 

What are zebra crossing used for in Thailand (well in Phuket at least), for parking cars on it seems by my own observations. 😀

 

I wonder what they would think if I climbed up on the car and walked across the hood or roof to cross the street, should be entertaining 😉

[cjinchiangrai]

3 hours ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

 

True, in order to get an IDP you need to have a valid driving licence from your own country, you have to use that IDP until it expires in Thailand,

 

When I arrived in Thailand I was able to use the IDP for a year (in the case of a UK produced IDP) you are not allowed to use your own countries driving licence,  then the British licence was used to get a Thai driving licence, the IDP is not exchanged for a Thai licence, the British licence was used as you stated above. 

 

There was a German national with a German driving licence and the problem was it had not been translated into English, so that is an extra step for a non-English translated licence. 

Wrong, You need your German license AND the IDP together. The IDP alone does not give you permission to drive, only the license does that.

[grain]

20 hours ago, lordgrinz said:

 

If you drive a lorry, taxi, school minibus, or tourist bus it could be the last one.

Well in that case I guess the 4th option is the best one. 😁

[bristolgeoff]

I did  the driving test not the written or the 2 hr video test.When i did the test the stop test a elderly thai man took some coaching to  brake when the red light appeared,He passed with some coaching from the staff.So the changes i think are not that bad just have to sit thru the video  now

[paul1804]

11 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

When we, or I actually think about it - Thai drivers are very skilled...   in slow traffic on the expressway when that 'extra lane is used' to make a 3 lane motorway 4 lanes... or when people are merging and filitering in with no one giving way....   the drivers get very close - when other vehicles get this close to our cars in the West we flip a lid as if our personal space has been invaded...    here mirrors are nearly touching !!

That doesnt make them skilled drivers Richard!!

[harryviking]

On 6/21/2025 at 1:53 PM, Bday Prang said:

no test "makes you better" that is not the purpose of a test.   EDucation is the traditional way of improving or learning

🤪🤪😪🤣 I dont know if to cry or laugh.....we are still talking about driving a car ?? Not going to a University?🙄

[bdenner]

14 hours ago, Purdey said:

Zig-zag lines are those that mark areas near zebra crossings for example. 

 

Can't say I have seen these in Thailand. In my case, about 2002, TW had translated the question "When is it legal to zig zag (overtake)?" 

[Prakhon Chai PD]

https://traffic-rules.com/en/thailand/practice-test

 

This is useful.

 

[Prakhon Chai PD]

https://move2thailand.com/driving-license-exam-in-thailand-2020/3/

 

Another one

[richard_smith237]

10 hours ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

 

You have not taken into account that cars can also hit motorcycles or cause them to crash.

 

Thailand: 18 000–22 000 deaths/year, about 75–80% are motorcyclists, 41% of those motorcycle crashes are caused by car drivers.

 

USA: about 42 000 deaths/year overall.

 

UK: about 1 700 deaths/year overall.

 

Summary:

 

Thailand (including motorbikes):  about 30.3 deaths  per 100k

 

Thailand (excluding motorbikes on motorbike deaths but incudes deaths to motorcyclists cased by cars):  about 17.0 deaths per 100k

 

USA: about 12.6 deaths per 100k

 

UK: about 2.8 deaths per 100k

 

Thats an interesting point - I think I highlighted that the issue is far more multifaceted that simplified by the stats I presented,

 

Thats said: I don't think 41% of accidents involving motorcyclists are caused by 'car drivers'... It's impossible to know for sure of course, but I'd highlight that in  many such cases the motorcyclist had no insurance, so it was the insurance of the 'car driver' who's insurance covered the costs, this is then logged at a 'statistic'.

 

I don't actually believe the roads in Thailand are less dangerous for car drivers than in the USA - but what all the stats show us, even yours (using 41% car driver fault rates) shows how close Thailand and USA are on the stats.

 

This highlights significant bias on our part (many of us) when being so derogatory towards Thai driving - US drivers are just as bad, or not far from it comparatively (USA 4.5x more dangerous than the UK / Thailand 6x more dangerous than the UK).

 

 

Crunching the stats never presents the full accurate story of course - we can get into factors such as highway miles, city mileage etc...   And I see so much dumb road use here where self preservation is absent - but I think those events lock in our mind, and we project drawing from bias that the driving in Thailand is terrible, when in reality its not that bad, but though there are a minority of outright fools.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

3 hours ago, paul1804 said:

14 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

When we, or I actually think about it - Thai drivers are very skilled...   in slow traffic on the expressway when that 'extra lane is used' to make a 3 lane motorway 4 lanes... or when people are merging and filitering in with no one giving way....   the drivers get very close - when other vehicles get this close to our cars in the West we flip a lid as if our personal space has been invaded...    here mirrors are nearly touching !!

That doesnt make them skilled drivers Richard!!

 

It actually does - Thai's a are better at reverse parking as well, because that seems to be the only way they park !!!...   they know the spacing of their car when vying for space on the roads etc... 

The motorcyclists are skilled riders zipping in and out of traffic.

 

I'd argue there are no less skilled than drivers else where... But that is a different perspective than 'risk' so the motorcyclist zipping through traffic, may be skilled at controlling his bike, but he has no road sense which is something different.

 

 

 

[4MyEgo]

On 6/20/2025 at 8:11 PM, ukrules said:

I went within the week after my birthday each time to get the extra year.

 

Oh, I like that, go one day after my birthday and get 6 years.

 

Is that for the same 300 baht that I pay for 5 years ?

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

On 6/20/2025 at 5:11 PM, ukrules said:

I went within the week after my birthday each time to get the extra year.

 

Oh, I like that, go one day after my birthday and get 6 years.

 

Is that for the same 300 baht that I pay for 5 years ?

 

Its exactly the same licence, same costs etc... 

 

Its one of those 'Thai idiosyncrasies'...    the DLT seems to simply works out the DL expiry on a basis of '5 birthdays from now'...  and thats it.

[4MyEgo]

3 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Its exactly the same licence, same costs etc... 

 

Its one of those 'Thai idiosyncrasies'...    the DLT seems to simply works out the DL expiry on a basis of '5 birthdays from now'...  and thats it.

 

So it's not really 6 years then, e.g. if I renewed it today, lets say a day after my birthday (22/06/2025), then the expiry date on the next renewed license would be 23/06/2030).

 

Or would it be 22/06/2031 ?

[richard_smith237]

3 hours ago, harryviking said:

On 6/21/2025 at 6:53 PM, Bday Prang said:

no test "makes you better" that is not the purpose of a test.   EDucation is the traditional way of improving or learning

🤪🤪😪🤣 I dont know if to cry or laugh.....we are still talking about driving a car ?? Not going to a University?🙄

 

The same principles apply... 

 

Better driver education makes safer roads...          a test is a form of 'proving' that the education is understood.

 

Japan has one of the most stringent driving courses and testing programs - it has the safest roads in the world of any 'larger country'.. (i.e. not tiny nations like Monaco or Singapore)

[josephbloggs]

2 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

So it's not really 6 years then, e.g. if I renewed it today, lets say a day after my birthday (22/06/2025), then the expiry date on the next renewed license would be 23/06/2030).

 

Or would it be 22/06/2031 ?

It would be 22/06/2031.

I recently did mine, one week after expiry (so one week after my birthday). I got 5 years and 52 weeks. Basically fast forward to your next birthday then add five years.

[richard_smith237]

1 minute ago, 4MyEgo said:

6 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Its exactly the same licence, same costs etc... 

 

Its one of those 'Thai idiosyncrasies'...    the DLT seems to simply works out the DL expiry on a basis of '5 birthdays from now'...  and thats it.

 

So it's not really 6 years then, e.g. if I renewed it today, lets say a day after my birthday (22/06/2025), then the expiry date on the next renewed license would be 23/06/2030).

 

Or would it be 22/06/2031 ?

 

IF your Birthday is on 22-June... 

 

IF you renew your DL on 22-June your DL will expire on 22-June 2030  (5 years)

 

IF you renew your DL on 23-June your DL will expire on 22-June 2031 (6 years)

 

 

 

 

[4MyEgo]

5 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

It would be 22/06/2031.

I recently did mine, one week after expiry (so one week after my birthday). I got 5 years and 52 weeks. Basically fast forward to your next birthday then add five years.

 

5 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

IF your Birthday is on 22-June... 

 

IF you renew your DL on 22-June your DL will expire on 22-June 2030  (5 years)

 

IF you renew your DL on 23-June your DL will expire on 22-June 2031 (6 years)

 

 

Thank you gentlemen, I will make a diary note and renew my licenses a day after they are due to expire in 2028, hopefully my expiry date hasn't transpired first LoL

[lordgrinz]

39 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

I'd argue there are no less skilled than drivers else where... But that is a different perspective than 'risk' so the motorcyclist zipping through traffic, may be skilled at controlling his bike, but he has no road sense which is something different.

 

Watching them zip down the median line jockeying from both sides for position between two opposing lanes, barely missing the mirrors of cars on both sides of the median line, you could argue it's skill, I'd argue it's stupidity/insanity/suicidal, and the death stats back me up. The worst part is that I have to watch as parents do this with their children onboard, nobody wearing a helmet, and nobody cares until "fate" comes a knocking. You fall down in the middle of the road with cars flying by in both directions, you're dead, fate or no fate.

[richard_smith237]

21 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

Thank you gentlemen, I will make a diary note and renew my licenses a day after they are due to expire in 2028, hopefully my expiry date hasn't transpired first LoL

 

A number of years ago... I thought I was being cute and went a 'day after' my Birthday to get the 6 years thingy... 

 

I'd royally stuffed up on the expiry date and was a year too late....   I went a 'Year +1 day' after expiry of my existing license, and had to start the process again with 2yrs Temp, then 5 year License - my own fault - the DLT officer told me that there is a 1 year grace period, had I turned up the day earlier I'd renew to another 5 year license !!! 

[richard_smith237]

1 minute ago, lordgrinz said:

Watching them zip down the median line jockeying from both sides for position between two opposing lanes, barely missing the mirrors of cars on both sides of the median line, you could argue it's skill, I'd argue it's stupidity/insanity/suicidal, and the death stats back me up. The worst part is that I have to watch as parents do this with their children onboard, nobody wearing a helmet, and nobody cares until "fate" comes a knocking. You fall down in the middle of the road with cars flying by in both directions, you're dead, fate or no fate.

 

So true. I watch some of these reckless fools - without a shred of self-preservation - and often find myself wondering how long they’ve got left. It’s the same thought I have when I see some lunatic tearing down Sukhumvit at 2am (BKK) on a high-powered sportbike.

 

But then, at the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got the fresh-faced tourist wobbling down the street on a rented scooter, barely in control because they’ve never ridden one before - and somehow, the lack of self-preservation looks just as stark.

 

The sight of children on scooters is genuinely tragic. I understand the economic necessity in some cases, but I’d still expect any responsible, loving parent to exercise extreme caution - and at the very least, put a helmet on their kid.

 

When they don’t, and instead ride with casual recklessness, it’s hard not to see it as a total disregard for safety, for life itself. There’s a kind of fatalism at play - and while some seem resigned to it, others appear to be tempting fate with alarming enthusiasm.

 

[ukrules]

58 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

Oh, I like that, go one day after my birthday and get 6 years.

 

Is that for the same 300 baht that I pay for 5 years ?

Yes

[lordgrinz]

9 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

So true. I watch some of these reckless fools - without a shred of self-preservation - and often find myself wondering how long they’ve got left. It’s the same thought I have when I see some lunatic tearing down Sukhumvit at 2am (BKK) on a high-powered sportbike.

 

But then, at the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got the fresh-faced tourist wobbling down the street on a rented scooter, barely in control because they’ve never ridden one before - and somehow, the lack of self-preservation looks just as stark.

 

The sight of children on scooters is genuinely tragic. I understand the economic necessity in some cases, but I’d still expect any responsible, loving parent to exercise extreme caution - and at the very least, put a helmet on their kid.

 

When they don’t, and instead ride with casual recklessness, it’s hard not to see it as a total disregard for safety, for life itself. There’s a kind of fatalism at play - and while some seem resigned to it, others appear to be tempting fate with alarming enthusiasm.

 

 

I don't really want to see someone commit suicide in front me, but I REALLY don't want to see a child die, especially because of their parents bad decisions. I just cannot understand how parents would even take the chance, I mean driving slowly to left maybe, but down the median line? Then watching the police do nothing about it, even while motorcycles are doing so through a junction with solid lines on either side prohibiting it, I wonder if the police officer even knows it's illegal.

[lordgrinz]

56 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

IF your Birthday is on 22-June... 

 

IF you renew your DL on 22-June your DL will expire on 22-June 2030  (5 years)

 

IF you renew your DL on 23-June your DL will expire on 22-June 2031 (6 years)

 

Yeah, I've gotta use this trick for a few years, because my motorcycle license is not on the same year as my car license. I want to get them both in sync with each other, so will take a while. Why they don't just use endorsements like they do in the USA is beyond me, carrying two licenses is a pain in the butt.

[richard_smith237]

6 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

Yeah, I've gotta use this trick for a few years, because my motorcycle license is not on the same year as my car license. I want to get them both in sync with each other, so will take a while. Why they don't just use endorsements like they do in the USA is beyond me, carrying two licenses is a pain in the butt.

 

I keep my car license in the car... and my bike license in the bike pocket....    

I carry a ver minimalist wallet as I hardly ever use case these days... 

 

But, I'll probably end up tripping myself up when travelling to Phuket etc and hiring a car - though the DLT App on our phone also has our license, and this is now legal - though convincing a policeman (who doesn't know about this) of this, may be more challenging !!!... 

 

I can't recall the last time I was asked to show my Driving License at a Police check point - so I've not had chance to try the DLT App option.

[cynic1]

On 6/20/2025 at 8:25 PM, Upnotover said:

Having done the written test last year, twice in fact as failed the first attempt, I hope that they will get someone who can actually speak/read English to translate the often bizarre questions/answers.  And in a 4 answer multi-choice exam there is usually 1 correct answer...not here, some questions had 3 correct and one incorrect....I was told I failed the first attempt because I didn't select the "most correct" answer.

They failed you because they wanted Tea money from a farlang like all corrupt government officials