Report Thailand Tightens Rules for Foreign Drivers: Tests Now Mandatory

[Upnotover]

1 minute ago, cynic1 said:

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

Nope. And what is a"farlang"?

[cynic1]

The heading of this subject highlights how out of touch the Thai Road Dept is and of course the politicions. The heading being " Thailand Tightens Rules for Foreign Drivers," How about they tighten rules on Thai drivers who contribute to, in my estimate, 99% of road deaths. Most foreign drivers do a thorough test before you get a basic licence i.e. Australian Red P Platers, Green P plate drivers then full licence. Which takes about 4 years till you get a full licence in Australia. 

 

I remember about 3-4 years ago I decided to get a full Thai licence and had an Aussie license since about 1975. What the testers gave me was two ropes and had to pull the left and right rope . Not one question about the difference between their road rules laws and Australian, I enquired as to why I have a left rope and right right. The answer was to ensue you can indicate left or right, AMAZING Thailand.

[Bday Prang]

On 6/22/2025 at 1:22 PM, harryviking said:

And does not tests and the like come under "Education"??? If you do not "test drive" you never learn how to drive! Education??? WHAT EDUCATION!!!🤪

When I learnt to drive the entire learning process took place behind the wheel of a car on the public road. accompanied at least  by a qualified driver but normally  by a driving instructor  it was called a "driving lesson"   That was the educational part

The driving test was to check I had learnt how to drive correctly it was not educational in itself

A "test drive"  is for the purpose of checking out the condition of  a  car  before buying it 

 

6 hours ago, harryviking said:

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

Seems like a strange reaction but Laugh or cry whatever you feel is appropriate.   I didn't mention university !   but as far as driving education is concerned "driving schools" are not uncommon in developed countries and can even be found over here

Lets just leave it at that shall we 

[cynic1]

28 minutes ago, Upnotover said:

Nope. And what is a"farlang"?

Oops typo "Farang" , An way google it.

[Bday Prang]

2 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

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)

That's exactly what I said,  that the test itself is not "educational" but as you say, a way of checking that the education has been understood,

However they could make the test here as difficult and demanding as they like, I doubt it would do much to improve things on the roads significantly, Its not rocket science to drive correctly and even your average "Somchai" is perfectly capable of operating a vehicle to the correct standard When he has to  ie for the duration of the test. the problems start once he has passed and is able to drive unsupervised as he will invariably  soon resort to type    

Some sort of attitude adjustment would appear to be necessary for many

[Bday Prang]

On 6/21/2025 at 10:31 AM, Lacessit said:

My mechanic told me to watch out for Beemers, Volvos and Mercs.

Same the world over, but  don't forget to include Audis too, especially black ones

[josephbloggs]

1 hour ago, cynic1 said:

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

No, they failed him because he didn't get enough questions right. It is all done on a computer terminal, there is no human involvement.

Has any one here ever been asked for bribe money from the DLT? I've been driving here for nearly 30 years and never been asked, and I don't know anyone who has ever been asked.  Just more baseless idiotic bashing.

[paul1804]

3 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

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.

 

 

 

Richard you only have to look at the road stats for accidents & fatalities to realise there is a problem in Thailand. Both in vehicles and on motor bikes they take uncalculated risks, I dont say that all Thai's are but generally speaking they are just undisciplined drivers and reverse parking or squeezing through traffic doesn't mean they are skilful.

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, cynic1 said:

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

 

No...  they didn’t pass him… because he got too many questions wrong !!!

 

Or, to put it more precisely – the phrasing of the translated questions often left just enough ambiguity to cause confusion, making consistently accurate answers a challenge – especially when some questions seem to lack a clearly correct option at all.

 

The Department of Land Transport is one of the rare government offices that treats foreigners with the same cool indifference it shows to locals. There's absolutely no suggestion of “tea money” changing hands to help someone pass a test or secure a licence.

 

In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who’s ever been encouraged – subtly or otherwise – to slip a backhander to a DLT official just to avoid failing the licensing process.

 

Though - from the 'testing side of things' there are agents who 'can' smooth things over for a cost - this is something most posters have never found necessary.

[richard_smith237]

23 minutes ago, paul1804 said:

4 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

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.

 

 

 

Expand  

Richard you only have to look at the road stats for accidents & fatalities to realise there is a problem in Thailand. Both in vehicles and on motor bikes they take uncalculated risks, I dont say that all Thai's are but generally speaking they are just undisciplined drivers and reverse parking or squeezing through traffic doesn't mean they are skilful.

 

....while I don't disagree that there are road safety issues in Thailand across the board.... from trucking, busses, delivery vehicles, motorcycles and pedestrians...       as I've already shown, when you look at the stats and break them down, specifically for 4 wheeled+ vehicles they show how close Thailands road safety stats are to the USA.

 

Thus: When you post "look at the road stats"  - I'd suggest crunching a few numbers and seeing how the numbers look from your perspective....

 

For example: 

Work out how safe it is for you to drive a 4 wheeled vehicle in Thailand compared to the USA (this as already been carried out earlier on in this thread - but take a look yourself...   then you will see that when actually looking AT the stats...   the road safety for car users in Thailand is not quite as horrific as people are making out.... 

 

 

 

 

[Kaopad999]

On 6/20/2025 at 5:15 PM, Cornish Pasty said:

Are they really that thick?

 

Sadly, Yes. Another good exmaple is that you'll see them riding bikes wearihng face  masks, but no helmets.