Farang Drivers Buriram-beware!

[fruity]

I have just been told of an accident in Buriram where a farang hit & consequently killed a Thai boy with his one headlamp-pickup truck. I don't have more details, however, have it on good authority that the police are now going to make a point of pulling all farang they see driving & if all paperwork isn't as it should be, they are going to throw the book!

If anyone has more info, please enlighten us:)

[Boo]

whats of more concern to you? The death of a child or the fact that farang will be now required to make sure they are road legal before driving in thailand? your op is very confusing!

[lampard10]

whats of more concern to you? The death of a child or the fact that farang will be now required to make sure they are road legal before driving in thailand? your op is very confusing!

Sounds to me like you've hit the nail on the head Boo

[bergen]

whats of more concern to you? The death of a child or the fact that farang will be now required to make sure they are road legal before driving in thailand? your op is very confusing!

Agree.......farangs who often complain about Thai's driving skills and more, should always make sure that they have their papers and vehicle in perfect shape when driving in LOS!

[feffejonsson]

When I was younger I drove around Thailand without a valid license or even registration plates. I did so until I met an englishman in Chantaburi who just had spent three months in jail for injuring a thai man in a car accident. The englishman was sober but he didn´t have a driving license. The thai man did. The thai man was drunk to the degree that he couldn´t stand up without support and he drove his car on the wrong side of road. The thai man was free to go but the englishman was sentenced to 6 months in jail. Three months if he confessed. If the thai man would have died from his injuries the englishman would have had to spend much longer in jail. This disregarding the terrible remeberance of having killed another human.

Make sure you have all your papers in order if you are driving in Thailand. If you do not have a thai driving license you need to have a license from your native country and an international drivers license (valid only one year). Make sure you have payed the tax (pasi) the registration (tam bien) and that you have a valid insurance (at least po-ro-bor). The rules are the same for cars and motorbikes. This is the law disregarding what anyone says!

Remember that we as farang are always in an inferior postition if something happens.

Edited July 1, 2008 by feffejonsson

[0Mix1up]

Remember that we as farang are always in an inferior postition if something happens.

Unless you happen to know someone with pull

This is not to mock the boy killed.

[feffejonsson]

Remember that we as farang are always in an inferior postition if something happens.

Unless you happen to know someone with pull

This is not to mock the boy killed.

Yes, unless you know someone with pull and that the other party doesn´t know someone with even more pull.

[dotcom]

Heartless cruel bastards.

[whatsoever]

Heartless cruel bastards.

I assume you are refering to the many reckless, drunken drivers without licences. Or the under age motor cyclists. Or the nutters who speed with three children on a motorcyle. Or the parents who allow their 9 year old child to drive his 3 year old sibling around.

Or are you refering to those who say som nam nar?

[feffejonsson]

Heartless cruel bastards.

I´m not at all heartless. I might be a bastard. I´m only speaking about the legal aspect of it. Naturally I feel for the family of the boy that was killed. It is understood. Any normal person would. However there is not much I can do about it. I`m simply encouraging everyone to abide by the law. Drive safely and absolutely don´t drink and drive! Or as the thais put it: Drink! Don´t drive.

Edited July 1, 2008 by feffejonsson

[lampard10]

Remember that we as farang are always in an inferior postition if something happens.

Unless you happen to know someone with pull

This is not to mock the boy killed.

That is where you are all wrong. It does not matter whether you are Farang or Thai, it all counts on which class of insurance you are driving on. A Farang with 1st class insurance will always get the better of a Thai with second class insurance ( if he has any at all) Of course, if you have no licence then that invalidates the insurance anyway.

[feffejonsson]

Remember that we as farang are always in an inferior postition if something happens.

Unless you happen to know someone with pull

This is not to mock the boy killed.

That is where you are all wrong. It does not matter whether you are Farang or Thai, it all counts on which class of insurance you are driving on. A Farang with 1st class insurance will always get the better of a Thai with second class insurance ( if he has any at all) Of course, if you have no licence then that invalidates the insurance anyway.

What if both the Farang and the Thai have the same kind of insurance?

[lampard10]

Remember that we as farang are always in an inferior postition if something happens.

Unless you happen to know someone with pull

This is not to mock the boy killed.

That is where you are all wrong. It does not matter whether you are Farang or Thai, it all counts on which class of insurance you are driving on. A Farang with 1st class insurance will always get the better of a Thai with second class insurance ( if he has any at all) Of course, if you have no licence then that invalidates the insurance anyway.

What if both the Farang and the Thai have the same kind of insurance?

Good point..............................I had an accident where the Thai driver pulled out in front of me. He apologised, but when the police came he changed his story. I pointed out to the copper that the way my rear bumper had been ripped off it was not possible I caused the accident. The policeman agreed with me, and made the Thai cough up. My wife said it was because we had the better insurance though.

[Pierrot]

What if both the Farang and the Thai have the same kind of insurance?

maybe just do like I did : I called the insurance, shut my mouth and let the two insurance guys solve the matter between themselves. That's why I pay an insurance, isn't it ?

[Pierrot]

Remember that we as farang are always in an inferior postition if something happens.

Unless you happen to know someone with pull

This is not to mock the boy killed.

That is where you are all wrong. It does not matter whether you are Farang or Thai, it all counts on which class of insurance you are driving on. A Farang with 1st class insurance will always get the better of a Thai with second class insurance ( if he has any at all) Of course, if you have no licence then that invalidates the insurance anyway.

What if both the Farang and the Thai have the same kind of insurance?

Good point..............................I had an accident where the Thai driver pulled out in front of me. He apologised, but when the police came he changed his story. I pointed out to the copper that the way my rear bumper had been ripped off it was not possible I caused the accident. The policeman agreed with me, and made the Thai cough up. My wife said it was because we had the better insurance though.

It was the policeman or your insurance rep who solved the problem ?

Some rep are really goods. An other time we had a minor accident with two taxi motorcycle. One of the driver was aggressively asking for "compensation" even if it was no so clear who was responsible. Once the rep arrived, the situation changed completely. He arrived with a policeman who start asking for license and other documents. We ended in the police station because the passenger of one of the motocycle needed a report for his insurance (he was working and covered 100% by his company insurance), the other driver disapeared home looking for some missing documents ... He never came back, was then held reponsible for everything. We end up paying nothing, actually we even managed to have the insurance pay for some paint job that was not even related to the incident.

[lampard10]

Good point..............................I had an accident where the Thai driver pulled out in front of me. He apologised, but when the police came he changed his story. I pointed out to the copper that the way my rear bumper had been ripped off it was not possible I caused the accident. The policeman agreed with me, and made the Thai cough up. My wife said it was because we had the better insurance though.

It was the policeman or your insurance rep who solved the problem ?

Some rep are really goods. An other time we had a minor accident with two taxi motorcycle. One of the driver was aggressively asking for "compensation" even if it was no so clear who was responsible. Once the rep arrived, the situation changed completely. He arrived with a policeman who start asking for license and other documents. We ended in the police station because the passenger of one of the motocycle needed a report for his insurance (he was working and covered 100% by his company insurance), the other driver disapeared home looking for some missing documents ... He never came back, was then held reponsible for everything. We end up paying nothing, actually we even managed to have the insurance pay for some paint job that was not even related to the incident.

Actually it was the policeman that got the problem solved. He made the other guy give me 2,000 baht.

[abdulrahman]

Remember that we as farang are always in an inferior postition if something happens.

Unless you happen to know someone with pull

This is not to mock the boy killed.

That is where you are all wrong. It does not matter whether you are Farang or Thai, it all counts on which class of insurance you are driving on. A Farang with 1st class insurance will always get the better of a Thai with second class insurance ( if he has any at all) Of course, if you have no licence then that invalidates the insurance anyway.

It's touch and go.And no I don't think I'm heartless,I would be very distressed if someone had to suffer although not for my fault.

As a Farang in Thailand,be sure that all the paperwork is in PERFECT order,tax,1st class insurance,driver license,that you are not drunk or intoxicated,and hope to find a policeman,and/or an insurance rep that knows his job.Or be ready to put same serious money on the table.Sad,but true.

Better not to speak about the Thais driving habits,don't want to be reprimanded by the moderators .

[goldfish]

Make sure you have all your papers in order if you are driving in Thailand. If you do not have a thai driving license you need to have a license from your native country and an international drivers license (valid only one year).

I believe the one year international licence is only valid for 3 consecutive months in Thailand

[dotcom]

Heartless cruel bastards.

I assume you are refering to the many reckless, drunken drivers without licences. Or the under age motor cyclists. Or the nutters who speed with three children on a motorcyle. Or the parents who allow their 9 year old child to drive his 3 year old sibling around.

Or are you refering to those who say som nam nar?

Referring to all hit & run cowards of any race.

[Carib]

I hope the kid rests in peace.

[Thaddeus]

Make sure you have all your papers in order if you are driving in Thailand. If you do not have a thai driving license you need to have a license from your native country and an international drivers license (valid only one year).

I believe the one year international licence is only valid for 3 consecutive months in Thailand

Correct.

For a spot check, you can show the Bib your fishing licence (it has your photo and some English that they can't read, without the photo you could hand it to them upside down...... and they don't care anyway)

Have an accident without a valid licence and the correct insurance and you are in real trouble.... especially if someone is seriously hurt or worse.

Nevertheless. Thoughts and prayers for the poor young soul that is no longer with us. A double victim, a victim of a possibly careless driver who hasn't adapted to the road standards here and a victim of a society that has yet to learn, or even care, about the consequences of riding something faster than a buffalo.

RIP.

[blue eyes]

I have never been asked for an international licence.When I did have one and got stopped I handed it to the copper and he just gave it back to me.You see Thai is not one of the languages that it is printed in so they have no interest in it if you have one.Your regulare licence is all they want and some times your passport.The time they asked for my passport was I beleive just to check for my visa.

[rockyysdt]

I have never been asked for an international licence.When I did have one and got stopped I handed it to the copper and he just gave it back to me.You see Thai is not one of the languages that it is printed in so they have no interest in it if you have one.Your regulare licence is all they want and some times your passport.The time they asked for my passport was I beleive just to check for my visa.

I felt exactly the same as you. I had my foreign drivers licence and current International Drivers Permit, and used a Car Rental firm which provided first class insurance.

I was never checked once.

Have an accident involving property damage, injury or death, and you'll be glad your paperwork is in order.

[Lourens]

I had one accident in a parking lot in Buriram and as luck would have it, it involved another farang. His mistake, we exchanged a couple of baht for the damage and had a nice chat. The Thai rubber-neckers thought it was all very funny. I am very thankfull for my Thai drivers licence and a very good insurance.

[feffejonsson]

Some years ago I was never asked for my international license but it seems to me that it is now standard procedure for the police to ask for it. Especially if one is stopped in urban areas. They ask for it, give it a glance (usually don´t even open it) and hand it back. I think the police are used to farang not having the international license and asking for it is kind of a "sure bet" to make some extra money.

Edited July 3, 2008 by feffejonsson

[feffejonsson]

A closely related topic. I was once stopped in Trat for not having the Po-ro-bor (is it about the same as third party liability insurance?) sticker attached to the windshield. I had payed the fee but not yet recieved the sticker. Initially the police wanted 200 baht on site. My wife refused to pay on site as she always does and we were handed a ticket at the amount of 500 baht. The day after we went to the post office to pay the fine and the clerk in the post office asked where to send the driving license. I told him that the police never confiscated my driving license. The clerk then smiled and said that in that case I didn´t have to pay any fine. To the clerks amusement I payed anyway, not wanting any trouble in the future.

Does anyone know if this is true? If the police don´t confiscate the driving license is it up to you if you pay the fine or not?

Edited July 3, 2008 by feffejonsson

[fruity]

whats of more concern to you? The death of a child or the fact that farang will be now required to make sure they are road legal before driving in thailand? your op is very confusing!

Read again BOO. Where do I say CHILD? I say BOY; in Thailand 25 year olds are referred to as BOYS! How old, the unfortunate victim was remains a mystery?...........Regarding my OP; the post was made to alert farang drivers in Buriram of a police crackdown.

I trust you won't remove this post, as you did my last on the same topic!

[raybingham]

I have never been asked for an international licence.When I did have one and got stopped I handed it to the copper and he just gave it back to me.You see Thai is not one of the languages that it is printed in so they have no interest in it if you have one.Your regulare licence is all they want and some times your passport.The time they asked for my passport was I beleive just to check for my visa.

WRONG !

I was 'done' in Isaan for not having an International Driving Licence. I was convinced that I was in the right by driving in Thailand on my Euro licence. I was not interested when the officer almost offered to take me to the station to show me what an IDL was. I was convinced that it was a scam for tea money and rather than pay 400 Baht I called in a favour from a good friends brother who is a senior officer in Isaan.

I was quickly waved on

Only later did I realise that I was TOTALLY wrong.

On my return to the UK I paid just over 400 Baht equivalent to get an IDL - just to save my embarrassment in the future.

Lo and behold, next trip I got stopped, pulled out the IDL and was 'begrudgingly' waved on:-

1 - 0 to the Falang on that occasion

[Boo]

trust you won't remove this post, as you did my last on the same topic!

What post? Suggest YOU get your facts straight before making unfounded claims against me & start discussing moderation.

IMO, when someone calls a grown man a boy it is patronising & condescending, so when you said boy I naturally assumed a child, as that is what a boy is. Unless of course you are in the habit of being patronising.

But still the point is the same, what concerns you most, the death of a human being or the fact that people who like to drive without the relevant insurance or license willl now have to make themselves street legal? Your op is still confused on that point.

[fruity]

trust you won't remove this post, as you did my last on the same topic!

What post? Suggest YOU get your facts straight before making unfounded claims against me & start discussing moderation.

A post I made in answer to your first in this thread.

IMO, when someone calls a grown man a boy it is patronising & condescending, so when you said boy I naturally assumed a child, as that is what a boy is. Unless of course you are in the habit of being patronising.

It is always unwise to 'assume' anything. I am not in the habit of being patronising, as you so obviously are in the habit of being condescending!

But still the point is the same, what concerns you most, the death of a human being or the fact that people who like to drive without the relevant insurance or license willl now have to make themselves street legal? Your op is still confused on that point.

Again, I NEVER said anything in the original post regarding people / the guy in question not having insurance or a drivers license. AGAIN, sorry about the BOY, however, thats the way things go here & I for one don't get too worked up when I hear about someone being killed on the road. If indeed, the victim was a child, then it is a great shame, on the other hand it could well have been a drunken / stoned 22 year old who was driving his motorbile recklessley????....Lets NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS!