I normally carry the original insurance tag in my tank bag, last night I forgot it at home and got a ticket (just the cops doing their jobs). My questions are:

1. If I attach the original to the bike itself, will this make it easier for thiefs (I had quite a difficult time persuading the cop I owned the bike)?

2. If I instead carry a photocopy in my wallet and leave the original at home, is this a valid substitute or do I need to have the original on my person at all times when riding?

I live and ride in Bangkok if this makes any difference.

Photocopies are a good idea and has been around for sometime as it is widely accepted by most in Authority. My I suggest to all have it elumintaed in plastic, easy to carry and maintain for a longer period of time.

I'd rather pay a couple hundred baht fine for not displaying the tax sticker than deal with the hassle of replacing it if some kid tears it off or someone decides to steal the bike.

Having said that, in my ~2 years of riding all over Thailand I've yet to have a copper fine me for not displaying the tax sticker.

Happy Trails!

Tony

Phuket you need the tax and get checked for it a lot.. You dont need to carry the insurance here tho.. Never ever been asked and we rent bikes and never give that paper to the rentors, no ones ever reported being fined.

Phuket you need the tax and get checked for it a lot.. You dont need to carry the insurance here tho.. Never ever been asked and we rent bikes and never give that paper to the rentors, no ones ever reported being fined.

Man LivinLOS,

Thanks to you I don't ever want to ride my bike to Phuket My page 18 is blank, my Green Book is in a safe, I don't display a tax sticker, my pipe is too loud, and... who knows what they'll invent next!

Too many rules and bent cops and anyway it's not like there are many decent biking roads on the island...

When are you going to come up north again and ride on some proper roads with us?

Happy Trails!

Tony

I had my Tax sticker on the bike. never got it stolen, so didn't cost me a baht.

Why would some one want to steal it? Has any one ever had theirs stolen?

I had my Tax sticker on the bike. never got it stolen, so didn't cost me a baht.

Why would some one want to steal it? Has any one ever had theirs stolen?

Well Allan, there are certain neighborhoods in Bangkok where the kids will snatch anything that's not bolted down. It's not like they can really do anything with the sticker- it's more like vandalism than theft really. If I ever get fined then maybe I'll start thinking about displaying the sticker on the bike the way we're supposed to, but so far it's been a non-issue.

The other argument in favor of keeping the tax sticker on your person is that if the bike is stolen, you stand a slightly greater chance that the thief will be stopped because he's not displaying the tax sticker. If the bike has the tax sticker displayed it makes it that much easier for the thief to ride through any checkpoints.

I live in alternate Thailand. Stickers for tax and insurance displayed, never been stolen or vandalized. But we just finished a nearly perfectly built house by a Thai builder with Thai workmen, early, with no contract. Are we sure BKK is in Thailand?

I live in alternate Thailand. Stickers for tax and insurance displayed, never been stolen or vandalized. But we just finished a nearly perfectly built house by a Thai builder with Thai workmen, early, with no contract. Are we sure BKK is in Thailand?

Heh heh, well PB, you're from the US right? Chiang Mai and Bangkok are about as similar as, say, Sacramanto and Los Angeles. So yeah, you could call life in Chiang Mai an alternate Thailand compared to life in Bangkok.

I'm thinking seriously about moving up there- getting a bit tired of the traffic and riots here in the Big Mango

About the only thing I don't like about Chiang Mai is the terrible air quality during the fire season... (Love how they blame it on Burma! ) Other than a couple months of smoky air, Chiang Mai seems like a much more pleasant place to live than Bangkok. And of course it would be a real treat to have the best motorcycle roads in SE Asia at my doorstep

I know I've read it somewhere before on TV, but the distinction eludes me at the moment. Is the proof of tax that pink square with 2553 printed on it? If so then what's the proof of insurance? Is it the theft insurance I bought when I bought my bike? (I may have asked about "insurance" in my OP when I really meant "proof of tax")

(I may have asked about "insurance" in my OP when I really meant "proof of tax")

Yes, proof of paying road tax is the round sticker with the year (2553) on it and displayed. No requirement to display a sticker for insurance. Por Lor Bor (mandatory insurance) also not required to display, requirement stopped a couple of years ago.

(I may have asked about "insurance" in my OP when I really meant "proof of tax")

Yes, proof of paying road tax is the round sticker with the year (2553) on it and displayed. No requirement to display a sticker for insurance. Por Lor Bor (mandatory insurance) also not required to display, requirement stopped a couple of years ago.

I see, thanks! BTW is Por Lor Bor the theft insurance? I don't believe I have damage insurance in the event that an accident happens.

The mandatory insurance you have is third-party insurance. It pays others in the event of an accident, but I don't believe it covers your own expanses at all.