Thais Driving In Uk

[chrischonburi]

Can a Thai use their driving license in the UK? If not can they get an international license and use that or is the best option to take the Uk driving test?

[madjbs]

Its valid for 1 year from entry, best to get a international one as well just in case.

[mrbojangles]

Full details here Chris

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Drive...ence/DG_4022561

[Khutan]

If you have an International Thai Drivers Lisence, inside the front cover it sates that the UK is one of the parties of the Convention of Roads and Traffic, Geneva, 1949. It also includes Bailiwark of Guernsey, British Honduras, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Seychelles and the states of Jersey. The Police have in the past accepted mine as a valid document.

[chiang mai]

Good grief I hope not!

[paully]

^ Yes, but the foreign licence is only valid for 12 months after arrival in the UK, as already stated (quote from mrbo's indicated website):

" However, if you do not pass a test within the 12-month concessionary period you will not be allowed to drive as a full licence holder and provisional licence conditions will apply. If you do not apply for a provisional licence within the first 12 months you must stop driving and obtain a British provisional licence with a view to passing a driving test. Provisional licence conditions will then apply".

If you're staying in the UK as a long-term resident you need to obtain a British licence.

[the scouser]

It also includes ..... British Honduras, ....

You'd think they'd update the cover every now and then. British Honduras has been Belize for the past twenty-odd years and is an independent country, as is the Seychelles.

Scouse.

[chrischonburi]

Many thanks for the replies

[PattayaParent]

A mate took his wife back to UK and she drove on her Thai license but he had to pay a higher insurance premium because of it.

[wannarepat]

Just looking into this topic myself...good info folks!

[madjbs]

If you have trouble finding insurance you could apply for a provisional license. This will make it much easier and cheaper to get insurance and due to the fact that you have a full foreign license the provisional license conditions do not apply for one year.

[Richard W]

If you have trouble finding insurance you could apply for a provisional license. This will make it much easier and cheaper to get insurance and due to the fact that you have a full foreign license the provisional license conditions do not apply for one year.

That sounds fraudulent - being insured on the basis of being supervised and then driving unsupervised and, according to many, barely trained.

[Rinrada]

Wife had 12 months on her TG DL /Inter when she first hit the green and pleasant land..etc...but now got a bus pass.... ..thinks its great...

[djmpfree]

Im sure i read somewhere that as soon as you obtain a provisional license you can no longer use the international license? can anyone confirm this?

when does the year start? from first entry to Uk or from last entry?

[madjbs]

If you have trouble finding insurance you could apply for a provisional license. This will make it much easier and cheaper to get insurance and due to the fact that you have a full foreign license the provisional license conditions do not apply for one year.

That sounds fraudulent - being insured on the basis of being supervised and then driving unsupervised and, according to many, barely trained.

No, the law states that provisional conditions do not apply for 1 year if you have a full foreign license. Check the DirectGov website. Perfectly legal. You are not being insured on the premise that you are driving supervised, you are driving on the premise that you are driving on a provisional license, which you are. If the government states that you can drive on a provisional license unsupervised if you have a foreign license then there is nothing the insurance company can do.

Edited February 3, 2008 by madjbs

[thaimate]

god nobody tell my wife she can use her licence in england ,ive told her she cant.

its bad enough here ,i have to put out a warning 1/2 hour before she hits the roads here.

[Khutan]

Just remember, she should get the international Permit, not just the standard lisence.

[Richard W]

If you have trouble finding insurance you could apply for a provisional license. This will make it much easier and cheaper to get insurance and due to the fact that you have a full foreign license the provisional license conditions do not apply for one year.

That sounds fraudulent - being insured on the basis of being supervised and then driving unsupervised and, according to many, barely trained.

No, the law states that provisional conditions do not apply for 1 year if you have a full foreign license. Check the DirectGov website. Perfectly legal. You are not being insured on the premise that you are driving supervised, you are driving on the premise that you are driving on a provisional license, which you are. If the government states that you can drive on a provisional license unsupervised if you have a foreign license then there is nothing the insurance company can do.

That's an interesting question. Do they have to return the premium (less administrative expenses) if a claim is made? I can't see them paying out if the insured is driving unsupervised when an accident occurs. See Insurance Validity if Learner is Unaccompanied. (It does not explicitly address the issue of a the leaner holding a full foreign licence.) Why should the premium drop simply because you have persuaded someone that you are who you say you are?

I recently had occasion to adjust my insurance. I was a little surprised to be told that I should have notified the insurers within a few weeks of my wife passing her practical driving test. The justification was that by progressing from a learner to a novice driver she had become a higher risk. If there be any validity in that argument, then again driving unaccompanied on a full foreign licence can make you a higher risk than you would be if driving solely on the basis of a provisional licence.

[madjbs]

Car insurance companies in the U.K are one big money making scam anyway, as long as the Bill is happy so am I. Unless it says in the policy that they dont cover provisional license holders with full foreign licenses and they must still be supervised then it goes beyond me caring, it is not my job to find what they forgot to write in the policy because it applies to very few people.

Edited February 3, 2008 by madjbs

[Richard W]

Car insurance companies in the U.K are one big money making scam anyway, as long as the Bill is happy so am I. Unless it says in the policy that they dont cover provisional license holders with full foreign licenses and they must still be supervised then it goes beyond me caring, it is not my job to find what they forgot to write in the policy because it applies to very few people.

Holding a full foreign licence would be a material fact, with the possible exception of only driving when supervised. It might even be a material fact regardless - what bad foreign habits might already have been picked up!

I'm making a fuss because we don't want to lay people open to charges of driving while uninsured.

[madjbs]

Residents

If you are the holder of an ordinary driving licence (car, moped, motorcycle entitlement) and provided your licence remains valid, you can drive any category of small vehicle shown on your licence for up to 12 months from the time you became resident. To ensure continuous driving entitlement a provisional GB licence must have been obtained and a driving test(s) passed before the 12-month period elapses. If you obtain a provisional licence during this period, you are not subject to provisional licence conditions eg displaying 'L' plates or being supervised by a qualified driver or being precluded from motorways.

However, if you do not pass a test within the 12-month concessionary period you will not be allowed to drive as a full licence holder and provisional licence conditions will apply. If you do not apply for a provisional licence within the first 12 months you must stop driving and obtain a British provisional licence with a view to passing a driving test. Provisional licence conditions will then apply.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Drive...ence/DG_4022561

It clearly says its legal, I don't undersatnd your point. Unless the insurance specifically says you can't do it and you must be supervised then you are within the law as you are driving on a provisional license (which is the qustion the insurance companies ask when you apply).

Edited February 4, 2008 by madjbs

[buffcoat]

On the question of the insurance license and what you tell your insurance company please be very careful.

The fact that the law allows you to drive unsupervised in the UK on a Thai license has nothing to do with what you are obliged to disclose to the insurance company.

You MUST tell the insurer every material fact and the fact that your partner will be driving unsupervised on their Thai license whilst also studying for the UK test on a provisional is most certainly a material fact.

The duty of disclosure is clearly defined in English Law please do not put yourself in the position of having to argue with your insurer after an accident, this could cost you thousands of pounds and a world of grief.

I can't tell you how mind numbing insurance exams are but sometimes they have some use.

[madjbs]

Ah I see where "material facts" come into it then. Unfortunately they will probably just raise the premium back up to the same as it was with just a foreign license. It is a joke how the insurance system is getting to a point where it costs so much for young drivers to get insurance that many now just don't bother. I believe the government should introduce some kind of basic insurance package that everyone could afford, similar to the Thai system but with perhaps a slightly higher level of compulsory cover.

Edited February 4, 2008 by madjbs

[paully]

On the question of the insurance license and what you tell your insurance company please be very careful.

You MUST tell the insurer every material fact and the fact that your partner will be driving unsupervised on their Thai license whilst also studying for the UK test on a provisional is most certainly a material fact.

Yes - insurance contracts are 'utmost good faith' ones, so to refuse to disclose something or to give a half-truth or misleading response would be a breach of contract, thereby allowing the insurance company to avoid paying out anything at all.

[farmerapache]

chris,maybe it's better to let her go for a test in england first because england has traffic rules which thailand don't seem to have!