I want to get my Thai girlfriend to learn to drive in Thailand, anybody know what the procedure is for getting a licence and if there are driving schools etc.

Cheers

Yes there are driving schools. I believe there's one (or more) located in that street/soi that curves back to Chang Puak (Chotana Road) that you're forced to take when driving into town, coming from the North and are driving to Chang Phuak Gate. Then you have to take a left turn at the small bus station because that stretch of Chang Phuak/Chotana road is one-way. But after passing the bus station you can turn right again back towards Chang Phuak. Overthere are some shops I believe.

I would definitely recommend that over teacher her yourself, especially if you value your life & relationship. :-)

Then getting the license is the easy part; She just goes to the transport department on the Hang Dong Road, takes the theory test, then a practical test (which is a lot easier) and voila. The driving school will most likely also offer to help her prepare for the theory exam, which is a difficult one.

Cheers,

Chanchao

I don't think there is any concept of a Provisional - Learners licence here.

You learn to drive with out a licence.

There is a small book, in Thai that covers the rules and signs, costs 20 baht.

Good to study before the test.

when i was 16 i took driver's education here at a shop. they charge more for girls because supposedly we learn slower!! can u believe it? then they were shocked that i learned faster than the boys, but of course no refund on the difference!! didn't need a learner's permit or anything but that was almost 15 years ago...

The driving school instuctors can be found on a big piece of spare ground on the 2nd highway between the Chiangmai - maejo road and Chiang mai- mae rim road if you come from Chiangmai heading down from super highway take a left to maejo trun right at the intersection to mae rim about 2 kilo. on the left you will find the driving school training place and you can get to seewhat sort of set up they have and what kind of vechiles they use. As for the teaching the guy that tauhgt my wife was pretty good just at the basics and as for the license that is quite easy to get.

F.T.P

The driving school instuctors can be found on a big piece of  spare ground  on the 2nd highway between the Chiangmai - maejo road  and Chiang mai- mae rim road if you come from Chiangmai heading down from super highway take a left to maejo  trun right at the intersection to mae rim  about 2 kilo. on the left you will  find the driving school training place and you can get to seewhat sort of set up they have and what kind of vechiles they use. As for the teaching the guy that tauhgt my wife was pretty good just at the basics  and as for the license that is quite easy to get.

                            F.T.P

It's on the South side of the Middle Ring Road, about halfway between Chotana road and the Mae-Joe/ Chiang Mai road- just across from the giant Mae Kwan Im statue at the Chinese wat.

Just an open field that is used by many people to practice parking and such. Sometimes you can catch a driving instructor there teaching.

I decided to teach my strife to drive myself (but that's another story).

We went to the vehicle registration office to obtain some kind of provisional driving permit. She was asked if she could drive, to which she replied "no, I wish to learn". She was told that she couldn't have a licence until she could drive. She asked how was she supposed to learn to drive if she was not "licenced" to drive. She was told to come back when she could drive.

I was not happy with this so we decided to check with the police. There were two officers at the desk and the conversation went like this:

Strife: "I want to learn to drive but I cannot get a licence or permit"

Officer 1: "You cannot have a licence until you can drive and have passed a test"

Strife: "But how can I practically learn to drive if I don't have a 'licence' to drive?"

Officer 1: "Don't learn to drive in town; in fact don't drive near other vehicles"

Officer 2: "What happens if she gets stopped by the traffic police?"

Officer 1: "Mmmmm. Don't learn to drive near police either"

I reckon getting a permit in LOS is more about getting all the paperwork done than actually driving

lmao. just send her on the course, it's cheap and fun and you can go too and sit in the back seat. they know where to take you to learn to avoid other cars and if she gets in an accident, it's not your car that's dinged up.

Sister in law learned at a driving school situated almost opposite the Rachmankala institute on the road out towards Mae Rim. They seemed competent and she passed her test. Hasn't caused too much damage since either!