Getting A Thai Driving Licence

[marshbags]

Bangkok Post, Spectrum, Sunday October 12, 2008

ON THE ROAD, PART 1: Getting a driving-licence By JACK KEROUAC

Quote

Despite its metaphorical charm, there is a practical angle to taking to the road on the driver's side in Thailand. Of course, driving in a foreign country, however civilised and developed the country, may not be for you. No matter how careful you are, you will always be presented with that cross-cultural experience that may not be positive - the aggressive other driver in the SUV, the fender-bender where the guy at fault speeds away, the motorbike turning into traffic on the wrong side of the road, and so on. So first, you should decide: Is independence from having to wait for and pay tuk-tuk drivers and taxis worth enough to put up with the potential liabilities? If so, you need to know a few things, so read on.

Everybody needs a licence to drive in Thailand. An international licence works, but some insurance companies condition coverage on the driver having a Thai licence, so you should check this. To get a Thai licence you have to be at least 18 and present in Thailand on a visa other than a tourist visa, or the 30-day tourist stay issued at Thai airports.

To apply for a driving-licence you have to go to the Department of Land Transport in Bangkok or a provincial branch with the following documents:

Unquote

For the full article go to Ref. url http://www.bangkokpost.com/121008_Spectrum...008_spec008.php

While i appreciate this could be posted in the Thai Driving Forum, i respectfully wonder if it might be better served in the general section to give it higher exposure, being such an important issue, ( repeated subject ) with present day considerations that are pertinent to all of us who wish to drive in Thailand legally.

I leave it for the wisdom of the mods to decide where to put it as always.

The article is part on the subject and i will look for the next part for the continuation, presumably tomorrow.

I have scrolled the forums to search for a possible posting, but cannot find any reference to it.

Apologies if it,s elsewhere and i,ve duplicated it.

marshbags

[soic]

Bangkok Post, Spectrum, Sunday October 12, 2008

ON THE ROAD, PART 1: Getting a driving-licence By JACK KEROUAC

Quote

Despite its metaphorical charm, there is a practical angle to taking to the road on the driver's side in Thailand. Of course, driving in a foreign country, however civilised and developed the country, may not be for you. No matter how careful you are, you will always be presented with that cross-cultural experience that may not be positive - the aggressive other driver in the SUV, the fender-bender where the guy at fault speeds away, the motorbike turning into traffic on the wrong side of the road, and so on. So first, you should decide: Is independence from having to wait for and pay tuk-tuk drivers and taxis worth enough to put up with the potential liabilities? If so, you need to know a few things, so read on.

Everybody needs a licence to drive in Thailand. An international licence works, but some insurance companies condition coverage on the driver having a Thai licence, so you should check this. To get a Thai licence you have to be at least 18 and present in Thailand on a visa other than a tourist visa, or the 30-day tourist stay issued at Thai airports.

To apply for a driving-licence you have to go to the Department of Land Transport in Bangkok or a provincial branch with the following documents:

Unquote

For the full article go to Ref. url http://www.bangkokpost.com/121008_Spectrum...008_spec008.php

While i appreciate this could be posted in the Thai Driving Forum, i respectfully wonder if it might be better served in the general section to give it higher exposure, being such an important issue, ( repeated subject ) with present day considerations that are pertinent to all of us who wish to drive in Thailand legally.

I leave it for the wisdom of the mods to decide where to put it as always.

The article is part on the subject and i will look for the next part for the continuation, presumably tomorrow.

I have scrolled the forums to search for a possible posting, but cannot find any reference to it.

Apologies if it,s elsewhere and i,ve duplicated it.

marshbags

I've just went through the process of getting my license. It wasn't that difficult. In my instance, I went to the provincial immigration office, got a letter from them showing my thai address as my address. I then went to the local hospital and asked for a letter to get my car license and a second one to get my motorcycle license. The doctor asked me if I was crazy, had seizures and then gave me two letters. I took those, my letter from immigration, a copy of my drivers license (translated into thai), a copy of my passport to the local DMV in Nang Rong and I received a thai drivers license and motorcycle license. The key is in getting all of your paperwork done within days of each other. The DMV's won't accept paperwork that is more than a week spaced out; they want it all current. It was fairly easy; but as noted, you can't do it with a visitors visa, you have to have other than that. If you're on a visitor's visa, you can drive with your own national license, although you'll have to explain that to the Thai police, they don't like to acknowledge that.

[MKAsok]

I too went through the whole process (including the whole test for a motorbike) to get both licences. Full report can be found here.

Edited October 18, 2008 by MKAsok

[marshbags]

Bangkok Post, Spectrum, Sunday October 19, 2008

Expat Counsel

ON THE ROAD PART 2: Cars, insurance and registration

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW IF YOU DECIDE TO BUY A CAR IN THAILAND?

First, after you've selected the car you want, you have to get an idea of the price. Many buyers don't negotiate over price with a new car dealer because they want financing at the lowest rate available, at present between zero and three per cent. Repayment periods range from one to five years, at the preference of the buyer.

If you take the financing, usually there is a prepayment penalty, so you should not be planning to prepay. Likewise, a few companies require a foreign buyer to have a Thai guarantor if financing is to be provided. If you don't take the financing and want to negotiate over price, try starting with dealers in Bangkok.

They are the most competitive and offer the most generous packages, but the packages offered by Bangkok dealers, including free options such as undercoating, window film and the like, are also standard for the rest of the country.

Unquote

Ref url for the full article is :-http://www.bangkokpost.com/191008_Spectrum/19Oct2008_spec53.php

With being away for several weeks i am not up to date with all that has been posted, so thanks for the url and the latest re your experience in successfully getting your licence, MKAsok.

Perhaps it would be better to marry the various more recent info. that is important in the other threads that are relevant to driving in Thailand, insurance, licence,s and purchasing assistance and advice ect.

What do you reckon Astral ?, any chance of doing this, noting you startted the 1-5 year much appreciated thread off that MKA posted in.

Due to the different interpretations within the country the latest experiences can then be compared upon and used as a guide.

I did not help by opening a seperate one, but decided to do so because it is possibly the latest update.

marshbags

Edited October 19, 2008 by marshbags

[sriracha john]

Getting a driving-licence By JACK KEROUAC

Not wishing to touch on the subject of the thread whatsoever, but as a big Jack Kerouac fan, I have to object to the patently disingenuous nature of Bangkok Post assigning him the byline to this story. In 2 days he'll have been dead for 39 years. If it was someone else whose actual name is actually Jack Kerouac (which I highly doubt, btw), then that clarification should have been noted by the newspaper.

The REAL Jack Kerouac...

R.I.P.

Edited October 19, 2008 by sriracha john

[eyebee]

Getting a driving-licence By JACK KEROUAC

Not wishing to touch on the subject of the thread whatsoever, but as a big Jack Kerouac fan, I have to object to the patently disingenuous nature of Bangkok Post assigning him the byline to this story. In 2 days he'll have been dead for 39 years. If it was someone else whose actual name is actually Jack Kerouac (which I highly doubt, btw), then that clarification should have been noted by the newspaper.

The article is not written by Kerouac, of course, but if you read the article you'll see it was written by someone called James Finch, of Chavalit Finch and Partners. I'm sure the Kerouac byline is just a joke as the title of the piece is the title of his most famous book, On the Road.

Edited October 19, 2008 by eyebee

[MKAsok]

The article is not written by Kerouac, of course, but if you read the article you'll see it was written by someone called James Finch, of Chavalit Finch and Partners. I'm sure the Kerouac byline is just a joke as the title of the piece is the title of his most famous book, On the Road.

I can just imagine them twittering away in their features meeting: "Oh yes, let's call it On The Road by Jack Kerouac, that will be so amusing." What a bunch of creative geniuses they are down at the Post...

[marshbags]

Getting a driving-licence By JACK KEROUAC

Not wishing to touch on the subject of the thread whatsoever, but as a big Jack Kerouac fan, I have to object to the patently disingenuous nature of Bangkok Post assigning him the byline to this story. In 2 days he'll have been dead for 39 years. If it was someone else whose actual name is actually Jack Kerouac (which I highly doubt, btw), then that clarification should have been noted by the newspaper.

The REAL Jack Kerouac...

Photo edited out by marshbags

R.I.P.

Well spotted S.J.

On further investigation via logging onto the Co. website, which was posted at the end of the threads O.P. / source via the ref. url :-

( which i,ve now deleted out of repect for forum rules )

Then clicking onto 11 down on the list :- On the Road Driving in Thailand

It seems to me that this article was originally done in December 2007 for another source ????

It is credited to three people, one of which is James Finch, of the law firm in question.

While i cannot see a reference to it, i wonder going on the last paragraph of the article, if it was a tribute to Jack himself.

As you say why it now appears as a recent article in the B.Post, stirs my curiousity.

I,m not sure if any of the listed advice has changed since December 2007 or whatever but apologies for unintentionally offering any part that is no longer relevant or up to date.

marshbags

Edited October 19, 2008 by marshbags

[marshbags]

Bangkok Post, Spectrum, Sunday, October 26, 2008

Expat Counsel

ON THE ROAD PART 3: Accidents

Many foreigners in Thailand shy away from driving because of one factor - the possibility of accidents. So what should you know to minimise the hassle if you do get into one? As you can see from our suggestions below, much depends on how you have prepared in advance.

Of course, an ounce of prevention is worth more than anything said below. Drive defensively. Many other drivers are on the road without licences and are not experienced behind the wheel. Wear your seat belt.

But what do you do if there is an accident?

Unquote

Ref url for the complete article is :- http://www.bangkokpost.com/261008_Spectrum...008_spec008.php

marshbags

Edited October 26, 2008 by marshbags

[HorseDoctor]

Getting a driving-licence By JACK KEROUAC

Not wishing to touch on the subject of the thread whatsoever, but as a big Jack Kerouac fan, I have to object to the patently disingenuous nature of Bangkok Post assigning him the byline to this story. In 2 days he'll have been dead for 39 years. If it was someone else whose actual name is actually Jack Kerouac (which I highly doubt, btw), then that clarification should have been noted by the newspaper.

The REAL Jack Kerouac...

R.I.P.

Wow, Gorgeous !! Looks like Daniel Craig ( James Bond ) somewhat.

God I've been here TOOOOO LONGGGGGG!

BTW ; I had to take a written test for the motorcycle license as I didn't already have one from overseas.

[PoorSucker]

I,m not sure if any of the listed advice has changed since December 2007 or whatever but apologies for unintentionally offering any part that is no longer relevant or up to date.

"4. Two colour photos (3 by 4cm), direct face, no hat nor dark glasses, not more than six months old. "

This is not needed anymore, they take the pictures at DMV.