No Licence, And No Insurance

[garro]

My wife has just had some driving lessons and we have a new car. She wants to get in some practice prior to sitting her test. She is thinking about driving around the area where we live, as it is quite. If by some spot of bad luck she is stopped by the police, what would be the penalty? She has no driving licence as yet and we haven't insured the car due to the long weekend. I would also like to have a go on some of the quite roads. I too have no licence. What would be the penalty if I was likewise caught?

Edited May 5, 2008 by garro

[funfun]

very strict, a 2 litre, tennants extra super strength and a packet of cigs, and a packet of cheese & onion, & if very lucky only peanuts!

[Crossy]

Stopped by the BiB - minor penalty

Kill someone or shunt someones Benz or Beemer (or worse, kill a buffalo) - major issue, could cost millions

Would you consider driving with no insurance in your home country? Of course not! So why is it ok here?

Edited May 5, 2008 by Crossy

[jstumbo]

I would never drive a car without a license and insurance. I would never let the wife, who has a few driving lessons drive the car without her license and insurance. She would be very likely to get in an accident.

If she hit someone, or smashed up some car, it could get very expensive without insurance. Just wait a few days and don't be in such a hurry. You will have plenty of time to drive the car later.

[garro]

Stopped by the BiB - minor penalty

Kill someone or shunt someones Benz or Beemer (or worse, kill a buffalo) - major issue, could cost millions

Would you consider driving with no insurance in your home country? Of course not! So why is it ok here?

The thing about asking questions on TV is that you always get somebody providing this type of comment.

Yes I would consider driving without insurance in my home country. It is actually quite common for learner drivers to practice around on the roads, near where they live, despite not having insurance.

[BEENTHEREDONETHAT]

Insurance will not cover you if you have no license.

[ThaivisaInsurance]

Stopped by the BiB - minor penalty

Kill someone or shunt someones Benz or Beemer (or worse, kill a buffalo) - major issue, could cost millions

Would you consider driving with no insurance in your home country? Of course not! So why is it ok here?

From an insurance (and legal) perspective, we would have to agree with Crossey – please do not drive until she has a license as it is illegal.

May we suggest she takes proper (?) lessons at a driving school as they are not expensive ?

[sweetchariot]

I let my insurance expire last year, partly because I was busy, mostly because I was lazy. As sod's law dictates a car sideswiped me the night before I was due to got to the insurance broker to renew. Luckily it was a farang so there was no arguement about liability, it was blatantly his fault.

Whilst waiting for his insurance guy to arrive, a passing copper stopped to see what was going on. He did a bit of a double take when checking my tax and insurance stickers, but nothing was said. He was VERY interested to see my license, which was all in order. Insurance man came and took pics, gave me some papers to get the car fixed, and we all went on our way.

Obviously had the accident been my fault it would have been a different story, and also had I not had a license, but the police man really wasn't interested in my insurance.

If you get stopped I am sure it wouldn't be serious, just try not to hit anything

[Crossy]

Yes I would consider driving without insurance in my home country. It is actually quite common for learner drivers to practice around on the roads, near where they live, despite not having insurance.

Then sir, you are a d@mn fool. But that is only my humble opinion, to which I am entitled

[Riley'sLife]

Reminds me of when I first moved to live here. I was talking with some "old hands" saying I needed to get myself a Thai Driving License. One of them said "I got one already". He asked, "D'you wanna see it?" As I'd never seen one before I said "Yes". He reached into his back pocket and peeled off a 50Baht note and raised it in the air saying "Here it is!!"

Maybe a different coloured note is required these days. Damned inflation!

[garro]

Stopped by the BiB - minor penalty

Kill someone or shunt someones Benz or Beemer (or worse, kill a buffalo) - major issue, could cost millions

Would you consider driving with no insurance in your home country? Of course not! So why is it ok here?

From an insurance (and legal) perspective, we would have to agree with Crossey – please do not drive until she has a license as it is illegal.

May we suggest she takes proper (?) lessons at a driving school as they are not expensive ?

I see your point, but the thing is that she has already has lessons and wants to be confident in our car for when she does the test. There are only two driving schools in the area and neither one of them is willing to teach her in our car as they are fully booked up. We have a baby and my wife can only go for lessons when I'm not working, they have no free slots then. The roads near where we live are quite so it is hard to convince her not to do it. I appreciate that if she crashed she would be in big trouble, but I don't think that having a driving licence is going to make her a better driver.

[cali4995]

Your liability would seem to increase with the amount of assets you have that could be seized

or have claims put upon. As following the trail of bread crumbs leads back to the farang I

can't see it as an advisable maneuver. Too much risk for what you might get away with.

[koheesti]

My wife has just had some driving lessons and we have a new car. She wants to get in some practice prior to sitting her test. She is thinking about driving around the area where we live, as it is quite. If by some spot of bad luck she is stopped by the police, what would be the penalty? She has no driving licence as yet and we haven't insured the car due to the long weekend. I would also like to have a go on some of the quite roads. I too have no licence. What would be the penalty if I was likewise caught?

I was with friend the other day when he got stopped. He didn't have any paperwork at all to show the cops - no DL, no ownership papers, nothing. He had to pay a 500 baht fine and I think that was because his tax sticker was outdated.

[LooseCannon]

Stopped by the BiB - minor penalty

Kill someone or shunt someones Benz or Beemer (or worse, kill a buffalo) - major issue, could cost millions

Would you consider driving with no insurance in your home country? Of course not! So why is it ok here?

The thing about asking questions on TV is that you always get somebody providing this type of comment.

Yes I would consider driving without insurance in my home country. It is actually quite common for learner drivers to practice around on the roads, near where they live, despite not having insurance.

Seems to me that you ask a question, you get an answer.

I will reiterate for you - stopped by the police chances are it will be a small 'fine'.

Have an accident & depending on circumstances, the venality of the police & the greed of the 'victim', potentially millions.

Sorry if this is not what you want to hear.

[rgs2001uk]

Stopped by the BiB - minor penalty

Kill someone or shunt someones Benz or Beemer (or worse, kill a buffalo) - major issue, could cost millions

Would you consider driving with no insurance in your home country? Of course not! So why is it ok here?

The thing about asking questions on TV is that you always get somebody providing this type of comment.

Yes I would consider driving without insurance in my home country. It is actually quite common for learner drivers to practice around on the roads, near where they live, despite not having insurance.

and i would wager its against the law in your home country just as its against the law here, just because people do it doesnt make it legal.

[garro]

Stopped by the BiB - minor penalty

Kill someone or shunt someones Benz or Beemer (or worse, kill a buffalo) - major issue, could cost millions

Would you consider driving with no insurance in your home country? Of course not! So why is it ok here?

The thing about asking questions on TV is that you always get somebody providing this type of comment.

Yes I would consider driving without insurance in my home country. It is actually quite common for learner drivers to practice around on the roads, near where they live, despite not having insurance.

Seems to me that you ask a question, you get an answer.

I will reiterate for you - stopped by the police chances are it will be a small 'fine'.

Have an accident & depending on circumstances, the venality of the police & the greed of the 'victim', potentially millions.

Sorry if this is not what you want to hear.

Yes, and thank you and the others for your replies.

It is actually what I was sort of expecting to hear.

I did not expect anybody to say that there will be no problem.

My comment towards crossy was not about his answer as such, I was just irritated with the fact that he made assumptions about what I do in my home country, and what I do here. As I say it is very common where I come from to allow family members to drive around the local estates even though they have no insurance. I just wanted to see what the deal was here.

[garro]

Stopped by the BiB - minor penalty

Kill someone or shunt someones Benz or Beemer (or worse, kill a buffalo) - major issue, could cost millions

Would you consider driving with no insurance in your home country? Of course not! So why is it ok here?

The thing about asking questions on TV is that you always get somebody providing this type of comment.

Yes I would consider driving without insurance in my home country. It is actually quite common for learner drivers to practice around on the roads, near where they live, despite not having insurance.

and i would wager its against the law in your home country just as its against the law here, just because people do it doesnt make it legal.

I was not asking about the legality. I was asking about the penalty. My Thai wife wants to ignore this particular law so she can practice on the local roads outside our house - which has about one car pass every hour.

[GuestHouse]

What irritates me is the focus on the 'consequences to the driver' of driving without a license and insurance rather than the consequences to the victim of an accident, should one occur.

So you'd break the law in your own country - Not an excuse of breaking the law in Thailand and not a justification for feeling aggrieved that others object to the proposed irresponsibility.

Having personally been the victim of a drunk driver who had previously been banned – hence no license and no insurance – I’d like to see the consequences for driving without a license/insurance raised to horse whipping and the consequences of drunk driving raised to having one’s legs broken.

Broken legs being the consequence I suffered.

[garro]

What irritates me is the focus on the 'consequences to the driver' of driving without a license and insurance rather than the consequences to the victim of an accident, should one occur.

So you'd break the law in your own country - Not an excuse of breaking the law in Thailand and not a justification for feeling aggrieved that others object to the proposed irresponsibility.

Having personally been the victim of a drunk driver who had previously been banned – hence no license and no insurance – I’d like to see the consequences for driving without a license/insurance raised to horse whipping and the consequences of drunk driving raised to having one’s legs broken.

Broken legs being the consequence I suffered.

Who said anything about my drink driving?

My wife wants to do something, and I am asking what the penalty is for her doing this and getting caught.

It has nothing to do with the country I come from.

And it has nothing to do with your views on torturing criminals.

Edited May 5, 2008 by garro

[GuestHouse]

Who said anything about my drink driving?

I did.

I have been the victim of a road accident involving a driver who had no license and was not insured - I was seriously injured - he was also drunk.

My personal experience, it would not have made sense to say he had no license and no insurance without mentioning the other significant factor.

----

I take it you agree then on my point about the focus being on the consequences to the perp and not to the victim...

---

Torturing Criminals....

Not at all, I just subscribe to the view that Pain and Humiliation should not be reserved for the vicitims of crime.

Edited May 5, 2008 by GuestHouse

[garro]

Who said anything about my drink driving?

I did.

I have been the victim of a road accident involving a driver who had no license and was not insured - I was seriously injured - he was also drunk.

My personal experience, it would not have made sense to say he had no license and no insurance without mentioning the other significant factor.

So do you think it was the lack of licence and insurance that caused him to hit you?

Does having a Thai licence and insurance make someone a better driver?

In the last province we stayed, passing the test was a matter of handing over the correct amount of money.

I will pass on your concerns to my wife.

[taxexile]

the very fact that you are even considering aiding an inexperienced driver to take to the public roads without insurance shows you have little regard for the wellbeing of others and hence are an irresponsible person.

the fact that few cars come down your way is neither here nor there , for , as anyone will tell you , you never need insurance until the day after the policy runs out or the day before the policy starts.

can you afford to pay hospital bills should your wife lose control of the car and hit a telegraph post ? , or overturn into a ditch , can you afford to pay the family of the little kid who runs out into the road thinking , as you do , that there is hardly any traffic on this road anyway , or there wasnt until that inexperienced driver came along and couldnt brake in time ?

this forum is full of posts and topics about the carnage on the roads in thailand and everyone , absolutely everyone agrees that disregard for laws and the fatalistic attitudes here ( oh <deleted> , it will never happen to me) are a major cause and yet you still ask what the penalties are for driving without insurance.

the penalties could very well be a life changing incident for you , your wife and anybody unfortunate enough to stray into your path.

wait a few weeks , then take the car out.

Does having a Thai licence and insurance make someone a better driver?

no, but it means that any victims of your irresponsible behaviour will have their hospital bills paid and their property repaired without finacial loss to them.

Edited May 5, 2008 by taxexile

[toptuan]

Kinda depends on where you are, too. Up here in Isaan, I've tried my best to get a Thai driving license. When both the police and transportation office take a look at my current USA license, they just send me back home saying "don't worry about it" (mai pben rai), just use your USA license. I've been here 6 years. and the response is always the same.

Edited May 5, 2008 by toptuan

[burman]

Quite surprised that TV is even letting this topic run.

Makes me even more angry now to think about my recently deleted thread 'How much heroin can I get in each condom?'

[garro]

the very fact that you are even considering aiding an inexperienced driver to take to the public roads without insurance shows you have little regard for the wellbeing of others and hence are an irresponsible person.

the fact that few cars come down your way is neither here nor there , for , as anyone will tell you , you never need insurance until the day after the policy runs out or the day before the policy starts.

can you afford to pay hospital bills should your wife lose control of the car and hit a telegraph post ? , or overturn into a ditch , can you afford to pay the family of the little kid who runs out into the road thinking , as you do , that there is hardly any traffic on this road anyway , or there wasnt until that inexperienced driver came along and couldnt brake in time ?

this forum is full of posts and topics about the carnage on the roads in thailand and everyone , absolutely everyone agrees that disregard for laws and the fatalistic attitudes here ( oh <deleted> , it will never happen to me) are a major cause and yet you still ask what the penalties are for driving without insurance.

the penalties could very well be a life changing incident for you , your wife and anybody unfortunate enough to stray into your path.

wait a few weeks , then take the car out.

Does having a Thai licence and insurance make someone a better driver?

no, but it means that any victims of your irresponsible behaviour will have their hospital bills paid and their property repaired without finacial loss to them.

I'm not sure it's a case of aiding my wife as she is a grown women who makes her own decisions. I was just curious as to what the penalties for this were. I was reluctant when my wife first suggested this, but her head has already been turned by the neighbours, and her last driving instructor who told her to practice.

[madjbs]

Half the people here don't understand Thai insurance, the compulsory insurance covers absolutely nothing apart from injuries to a third party. Eveything else comes out of your own pocket, insurance or not. The police are generally pretty strict about having it and you can buy it everywhere so there is no excuse to not have it, it's cheap as well.

Garro, I think that if you live in a quiet area you should be fine. I would get the insurance as soon as you can though. I'm not so sure about what the penalty for your wife would be but I would guess that they would let it go if you explained she was learning to drive, or ask for a small fine.

[GuestHouse]

no, but it means that any victims of your irresponsible behaviour will have their hospital bills paid and their property repaired without finacial loss to them.

Precisely that!

Edited May 5, 2008 by GuestHouse

[garro]

Half the people here don't understand Thai insurance, the compulsory insurance covers absolutely nothing apart from injuries to a third party. Eveything else comes out of your own pocket, insurance or not. The police are generally pretty strict about having it and you can buy it everywhere so there is no excuse to not have it, it's cheap as well.

Garro, I think that if you live in a quiet area you should be fine. I would get the insurance as soon as you can though. I'm not so sure about what the penalty for your wife would be but I would guess that they would let it go if you explained she was learning to drive, or ask for a small fine.

Thanks madjbs, I intend to get the insurance this week. My wife can get her driving licence when I next get a week day off - so that I can mind the baby. It's nice to read a post that does not mention my morals or lack of them for my wife's decisions.

[madjbs]

Some people could do to be reminded of the multitude of other Thai laws they probably break without realising or because they think they are silly.

[Spaniel]

Reminds me of when I first moved to live here. I was talking with some "old hands" saying I needed to get myself a Thai Driving License. One of them said "I got one already". He asked, "D'you wanna see it?" As I'd never seen one before I said "Yes". He reached into his back pocket and peeled off a 50Baht note and raised it in the air saying "Here it is!!"

Maybe a different coloured note is required these days. Damned inflation!

Nice story. Sounds good when sitting around with the other drunks bullshitting. Get into a serious accident though and you will wish you took the trouble to get that liscense.