Those Lovely Thai Police

[kawapower]

The Harley-Davidson Facts

The inventor of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle, Arthur Davidson, died and went to heaven.

At the gates, St. Peter told Arthur. 'Since you've been such a good man and your motorcycles

have changed the world, your reward is, you can hang out with anyone you want to in heaven.'

Arthur thought about it for a minute and then said, ' I want to hang out with God.'

St. Peter took Arthur to the Throne Room, and introduced him to God.

God recognized Arthur and commented, 'Okay, so you were the one who invented the Harley-Davidson

motorcycle? '

Arthur said, 'Yeah, that's me...'

God commented: 'Well, what's the big deal in inventing something that's pretty unstable, makes noise

and pollution and can't run without a road?'

Arthur was a bit embarrassed, but finally spoke, 'Excuse me, but aren't you the inventor of woman?'

God said, 'Ah, yes.'

'Well,' said Arthur, 'professional to professional, you have some major design flaws in your invention !

1. There's too much inconsistency in the front-end suspension

2. It chatters constantly at high speeds

3. Most rear ends are too soft and wobble about too much

4. The intake is placed way too close to the exhaust

5. The maintenance costs are outrageous!!!!

'Hmmmmm, you may have some good points there,' replied God, 'hold on.'

God went to his Celestial supercomputer, typed in a few words and waited for the results.

The computer printed out a slip of paper and God read it.

'Well, it may be true that my invention is flawed,' God said to Arthur,

'but according to these numbers, more men are riding my invention than yours.'

Love that ass where can I get one just like that.

[cdmtdm]

ha ha ok enough said ..... ok stop stalking me and go and do something useful like ride your beast ...seeya

[Paangjang]

Sheesh! Where's LiK when you need him?

Was just thinking the same thing. Scrolling down the page to get out of that mess. PM's maybe?????

[kawapower]

Sheesh! Where's LiK when you need him?

Was just thinking the same thing. Scrolling down the page to get out of that mess. PM's maybe?????

For the 3rd time who is or what is a LiK?

[Old Croc]

Lik handpassed the thread to the Bikes forum.

One way to get your post count up.

I think it's called the "JingThing"

[RED21]

[cdmtdm]

yawn

[jocko]

you dont have the right license,10 quid,in uk they will give you points,and insurance void,they will take the bike. come on,its nothing even to get annoyed about.

Yep, the cops are right. Thailand has changed. In the UK, you need to pass CBT (Compulsory Basic Training) before you can even get on a bike. When that has been passed, you can ride with L plates on - which of course means you cannot take your wife as a passenger. Once you pass your full test, you can take the L plates off and carry a passenger.

i really don't see what your point is. You can't act like this in Europe and then complain, so why come here and expect to be treated significantly different.

I have no idea what your level of experience is for riding a motorcycle, but the number of unlicencsed and untrained 'tourist' riders killed in Thailand is significant.

I have a full UK car, motorcycle and heavy goods license. I also have a Thai licence.

Get some training in your home country, pass the test, then convert that to an international licence for your visits here. It will make going through the checkpoints a pleasant experience as the cops will probably click their heels together and salute you. You can then smile sweetly as you overtake the 'cool' no-shirt & no helmet (and no 500 baht) tourists.

I see on many occasions people hiring a bike and then drive about cha-cha for a bit of practice to learn HOW to drive a motorbike in a country were there are no road rules for bike's and they wonder why they have a accident i have a bike licence and as far as i am concerned you should be able to ride the thing belore you hire one or buy one to be let loose on the road with no training

[cdmtdm]

i agree it should be not do you have a license but can you actually ride a motorbike .....i see it everyday accidents waiting to happen mostly people riding two up with no clue ......scary shit

[TommoPhysicist]

Interesting first post. But yes, you need to have a m/cycle licence in the UK and a legitimate International Driver's Permit (obtained in the UK) in order to drive in Thailand.

No you don't

You need a UK m/c license to drive a m/c as a tourist in Thailand.

You need a Thai m/c license to drive as a resident in Thailand.

The only Thai requirement for short-timers from any other country of the world is a valid license in either English or Thai.

[monty1412]

So you've been coming here for 10 years, you have a Thai wife, you think the Thai currency is Baths, and you get all hissy because you have had to pay a measly 500 baht because you couldn't be arsed to actually comply with the legal requirements necessary to drive here. Then you post here expecting everyone to be supportive. How juvenile is that?

You must be what the TAT refer to as a "Quality Tourist" then. Perhaps I'm too critical, maybe you are here to learn the Thai Language, and then intend to return home to learn English!!

Welcome to the forum.........

Fair comments but helluva slam on OP on his first post

[Tywais]

The only Thai requirement for short-timers from any other country of the world is a valid license in either English or Thai.

You are required to have an IDP to drive in Thailand as a 'short-timer'. After, not sure of the length, 3 or 6 months you are then required to get a Thai DL. The only countries that are not required to have an IDP are the neighboring countries of Thailand such as Malaysia, Cambodia, etc.

[allanajt]

thanks for the last few posts on this topic they have been helpful from people who talk sense and obviously have something between there ears its been a very mixed response to say the least i think some of u need to get out a bit more and get a proper life instead of talking to your computer screen u losers thanks anyway its been a pleasure cant wait to make post number 2 its been a hell of a ride on like my one recently just before hitting karon /patong hill .the joys of internet forums hey 5555

[cdmtdm]

yes perhaps next time you are out and about, do the right thing and get the correct license you loser, or those lovely thai police will hit you up again and again ...then you wont find the need to whinge about it on here

[kawapower]

yes perhaps next time you are out and about, do the right thing and get the correct license you loser, or those lovely thai police will hit you up again and again ...then you wont find the need to whinge about it on here

Agree coming on here and calling people who do the right thing losers, do the right thing and stop whinging you loser!!!

We are all looking forward to your next whinge post!!

Edited April 28, 2012 by kawapower

[commande]

yes perhaps next time you are out and about, do the right thing and get the correct license you loser, or those lovely thai police will hit you up again and again ...then you wont find the need to whinge about it on here

Agree coming on here and calling people who do the right thing losers, do the right thing and stop whinging you loser!!!

We are all looking forward to your next whinge post!!

I generally don't do internet bashing but in this case - "Allanajt, your an idiot, do the right thing or pay your fine and shut your mouth. Don't like it, leave Thailand and don't return, do us all a favor, we like it here and people like you ruin it for others like us." End transmission...

Edited April 30, 2012 by commande

[transam]

The only Thai requirement for short-timers from any other country of the world is a valid license in either English or Thai.

You are required to have an IDP to drive in Thailand as a 'short-timer'. After, not sure of the length, 3 or 6 months you are then required to get a Thai DL. The only countries that are not required to have an IDP are the neighboring countries of Thailand such as Malaysia, Cambodia, etc.

The only Thai requirement for short-timers from any other country of the world is a valid license in either English or Thai.

You are required to have an IDP to drive in Thailand as a 'short-timer'. After, not sure of the length, 3 or 6 months you are then required to get a Thai DL. The only countries that are not required to have an IDP are the neighboring countries of Thailand such as Malaysia, Cambodia, etc.

90 days, BUT during that time an accident, could be a problem.

[cdmtdm]

yes perhaps next time you are out and about, do the right thing and get the correct license you loser, or those lovely thai police will hit you up again and again ...then you wont find the need to whinge about it on here

Agree coming on here and calling people who do the right thing losers, do the right thing and stop whinging you loser!!!

We are all looking forward to your next whinge post!!

I generally don't do internet bashing but in this case - "Allanajt, your an idiot, do the right thing or pay your fine and shut your mouth. Don't like it, leave Thailand and don't return, do us all a favor, we like it here and people like you ruin it for others like us." End transmission...

[wana]

90 days, BUT during that time an accident, could be a problem.

whether your licence is thai or american or british

if you have a road accident in your first 90 days ,no matter what caused it or whose fault it was

you will probably end up paying for the damage anyway

[NomadJoe]

kids bike thats about it ...... no normal sized girl would even entertain riding from Phuket to swampy on the back of that .... as for fugly please show us your beauty ....

No normal thai woman would volunteer to ride to phuket to swampy on any motorcycle ........

women like cars with aircon when traveling hundreds of km .....

are you sure your "woman" is a "woman " ?......

easy fella .... lets not get personal ...mine loves it and so does my friends wives ..remember we have touring bikes for touring ...you have sports bikes for whatever it is you do ...

lol are you telling someone not to get personal, dare I remind you of a previous post where you did just that, god some people!!

kawapower you called him a prat on like page one.

[Wavefloater]

icanseethatpeoplaregettingtiredofgoingthroghallthetroubleofstoppingandstartingsentenceswelli'mgoingonebetterandnotbotheingwithspacesbetweenmywordsanymore

[TommoPhysicist]

The only Thai requirement for short-timers from any other country of the world is a valid license in either English or Thai.

You are required to have an IDP to drive in Thailand as a 'short-timer'. After, not sure of the length, 3 or 6 months you are then required to get a Thai DL. The only countries that are not required to have an IDP are the neighboring countries of Thailand such as Malaysia, Cambodia, etc.

I believe you are wrong. But would be happy to read official Thai documentation that supports your POV, if you have a link of can post a scan of it here.

Both my local licensing center and local police support my POV.

[NomadJoe]

The only Thai requirement for short-timers from any other country of the world is a valid license in either English or Thai.

You are required to have an IDP to drive in Thailand as a 'short-timer'. After, not sure of the length, 3 or 6 months you are then required to get a Thai DL. The only countries that are not required to have an IDP are the neighboring countries of Thailand such as Malaysia, Cambodia, etc.

I believe you are wrong. But would be happy to read official Thai documentation that supports your POV, if you have a link of can post a scan of it here.

Both my local licensing center and local police support my POV.

TommoPhysicist is correct, despite the fact that there are some websites out there that claim an IDP is required in Thialand. For most of us it is not.

The first issue is who needs an IDP. The license situation in Thailand is pretty simple actually. If your license from home has a photo and is in English it already qualifies as an international license per the various UN traffic acts. This makes sense when you think about how an IDP is nothing more than a translation of the information contained on your existing license into several languages, none of them Thai. This is also reinforced by the fact that tourists as well as expats routinely and almost without exception report being able to present thier home licenses (Blockbuster cards, PADI cert cards etc.) at police check points and being allowed to pass, and rental companies and insurance companies accepting them without an IDP, that is as long as you are a visitor/tourist and not a resident.

The second issue is who needs a Thai DL. The line between who can use thier DL from home and who needs a Thai DL is delinieated by whether you are a visitor/toursit or a resident, and is not a given time frame as is the common misconception, and is also irrespective of citizenship. (I.E. I can use my Thai DL when visiting family back home, and without an IDP, because it is in English and has a photo) Once you establish residency, and this can be done in many ways (get a WP, retirement visa, enroll kids in school, etc) then you need a Thai DL.

To the OP's issue, of course if you are driving a motocycle you need a motorcycle license even if the cops accept your home car license most of the time They have the option not to.

Edited May 3, 2012 by NomadJoe

[NomadJoe]

better than a sewing machine with wheels

Z1000 is a sewing machine with wheels???? I don't honestly see the point in changing the stock exhaust for something that sounds like a car with a blown exhaust!! why do people like big noise, does it make you more of a man!! does it frighten other road users!! is it an extension of your small situation lol

your plastic z1000 has no soul ...... yes for sure it frightens other road users , the stats show that loud bikes are less likely to be hit by another vehicle simply because they are aware you are present and about to overtake ....back to your measly 1000cc recycled plastic singer ..i hope you didnt buy it new ...hate to think of its value now lol ..... actually thinking of a reduction rather than extension ..regards Jeb lol

Oh lord, another Hogfat espousing the myth that loud pipes save lives again... Why don't you show us those stats you're talking about? You can't because they don't exist.

PLENTY of stats proving you're WRONG though...

According to the Hurt report is was determined that 77% of motorcycle accident hazards come from in front of the rider, while only 3% approach from the rear. What's interesting here is that motorcycle pipes direct the vast majority of sound backwards where the least danger is, so for loud pipes to be truly effective safety measures they would need to be pointed forward where the greatest danger lies. That doesn't do much to support the proposition that loud pipes are a safely factor. The other serious problem I have with this supposition is that it is, at best, a secondary safety measure, not a primary or proactive measure. Assuming that the other driver will act with caution once you have identified your presence by the sound of your bike roaring up from behind is foolhardy at best. That's like assuming that if you were to wear a bright yellow safety vest, or full riding gear, you can relax because now you're protected! Lets face it, the best protection you have is that 3 pounds of grey matter between your ears, that and a constant awareness of your surrounding, and acting on the supposition that the rest of the motorists in the world are all idiots and its up to you and you alone to ensure your safety on the road. Relying on the other guy to act reasonably or safely just because you're making more noise than those around you is just asking for trouble!

The AMA has gone so far as to make a policy statement on the issue which reads " The [AMA] believes that few other factors contribute more to misunderstanding and prejudice against the motorcycling community than excessively noisy motorcycles". They then go on to say, "Shifting blame and failing to adopt responsible policies on a voluntary basis can only result in greater prejudice and discrimination against motorcycling. The consequences of continuing to ignore this issue will likely result in excessively rigorous state and federal standards, ……[and] abusive enforcement of current laws and other solutions undesirable to riders and the motorcycle industry"

I don't care what you ride. If an overweight underpowered tractor on two wheels gets you off, then I'm happy for you

I doubt there is much if any imperical data to conclusivly prove one way or the other. I am annoyed by unnecessarily noisy bikes, or cars for that matter, but I definitely notice a huge difference in the behavior of the traffic ahead of me, in both motorbikes and cars, depending on whether I have the stock exhaust on or a moderately noisy aftermarket exhaust. When I am riding along at average speeds, slowly overtaking the moving-but-travelling-slower-than-the-speed-limit-traffic that is so common in Phuket, the difference is very noticable. With stock exhaust cars and bikes will drift across in front of me and pop out of side sois constantly. I feel like a ghost having to frequently take evasive action due to inattentive riders/drivers.

I also notice myself become keenly aware of bikes I hear coming up from behind me even if I am in a car. Coincidentally the other day a Z1000 zipped past me very close doing Mach eleventy while I was on my scooter. Scared the living shit out of me as it was completely silent and I didn't hear it until it was right next to me. I wondered why the guy didn't have an exhaust so people could hear him coming.

And Lik is LivingInKata, a forum moderator most decidedly not a dog.

Edited May 3, 2012 by NomadJoe

[smedly]

better than a sewing machine with wheels

Z1000 is a sewing machine with wheels???? I don't honestly see the point in changing the stock exhaust for something that sounds like a car with a blown exhaust!! why do people like big noise, does it make you more of a man!! does it frighten other road users!! is it an extension of your small situation lol

your plastic z1000 has no soul ...... yes for sure it frightens other road users , the stats show that loud bikes are less likely to be hit by another vehicle simply because they are aware you are present and about to overtake ....back to your measly 1000cc recycled plastic singer ..i hope you didnt buy it new ...hate to think of its value now lol ..... actually thinking of a reduction rather than extension ..regards Jeb lol

Why the agro going on here between you two, each to their own as long as it doesn't infringe on others (loud exhausts do) then be happy, a Z1000 is a fine machine - not sure what you are riding CDMTDM but I see no reason for your attack.

on the subject of noise - in pattaya it's getting beyond a joke, apart from the falang noise makers we now a Thai youth fitting straight through pipes on their 125's and they sound awful, I hope the cops start to clamp down on these noise makers before it really gets out of hand.............

[smedly]

now thats funny ..... yes i am a fag !!!! and proud of it ........ as for the research i am actually doing my own case study , so far i am still alive , people see me and hear me i make sure of that ..... give me the sound of a V Twin anyday , i guess if you guys had the money you would be riding Ducatis instead of silent farts .... these new kawas sound like they are missing horrible sound imo .....

I remember going for a trip with a few guys and included a couple of Harleys with no exhausts, it actually spoilt the day for me (and others) because of the extremely annoying constant noise, it wasn't such a problem after a while as they couldn't keep up the pace and were always way behind - even the couple of CBR250's where able to keep the pace - what is the point in having a 1500cc bike that can't keep up with a CBR250, they also had issues with vibration and had to stop often with numb limbs after 30mins or so - each to their own but for me I'll give them a wide birth and avoid - just my opinion and not slighting personal preference

[smedly]

kids bike thats about it ...... no normal sized girl would even entertain riding from Phuket to swampy on the back of that .... as for fugly please show us your beauty ....

Again posting rubbish, my full size Thai gf has been on the back of my Z it is very comfortable for driver and passenger, it's no problem driving any distance as that is what having a break is all about!!

how far have you been ? Krabi ? try 700 plus in a day and see if she wants to get back on tomorrow .....

Why oh why would I want to drive 700kms straight through? am I in a hurry!! I like to stop have a drink stretch the legs, I would have to stop every 200k to re-fuel so where is the problem with any rear passenger going a long distance?

I would not drive that distance anyway I would prefer to take the car.

he must have a trailer on that HD with a big fuel tank, my mate manages 200km on one tank of fuel which on certain trips causes problems

[Tywais]

I believe you are wrong. But would be happy to read official Thai documentation that supports your POV, if you have a link of can post a scan of it here.

Both my local licensing center and local police support my POV.

First regarding the comment from a member regarding a UN convention - it is the 1949 Geneva Convention on road traffic and 1926 Paris convention. Thailand is signatory.

A list of sites showing signatories and whether required or not required. All show Thailand as required.

theaa

Canadian Government site

International Drivers License Information

Tripadvisor UK

RACV List

RAC

Motorhomes Worldwide.com - yeah I know, but they are required to know the laws for renting

Global Cars

From the UN Convention:

2. A Contracting State may however require that any driver admitted to its territory shall carry an international driving permit conforming to the model contained in annex 10, especially in the case of a driver coming from a country where a domestic driving permit is not required or where the domestic permit issued to him does not conform to the model contained in annex 9.

3. The international driving permit shall, after the driver has given proof of his competence, be delivered by the competent authority of a Contracting State or subdivision thereof, or by a duly authorized association, and sealed or stamped by such authority or association. The holder shall be entitled to drive in all Contracting States without further examination motor vehicles coming within the categories for which the permit has been issued.

4. The right to use the domestic as well as the international driving permit may be refused if it is evident that the conditions of issue are no longer fulfilled.

5. A Contracting State or a subdivision thereof may withdraw from the driver the right to use either of the above-mentioned permits only if the driver has committed a driving offense of such a nature as would entail the forfeiture of his driving permit under the legislation and regulations of the Contracting State. In such an event, the Contracting State or subdivision thereof withdrawing the use of the permit may withdraw and retain the permit until the period of the withdrawal of use expires or until the holder leaves the territory of the Contracting State, whichever is the earlier, and may record such a withdrawal of use on the permit and communicate the name and address of the driver to the authority which issued the permit.

6. During a period of five years beginning with the entry into force of this Convention, any driver admitted to international traffic under the provisions of the International Convention relative to Motor Traffic signed at Paris on 24 April 1926, or of the Convention on the Regulation of Inter-American Automotive Traffic opened for signature at Washington on 15 December 1943, and holding the documents required thereunder, shall be considered as fulfilling the requirements of this article.

List of countries party to the convention and includes Thailand.

Having posted all that - I only had my US license for the first two years and was stopped a few times and had no problem showing it, even after it was expired. Probably the Roman dates confused them.

[TommoPhysicist]

In item 2) 'MAY' is the wiggle word, Thailand may require an IDP ........ but they choose not to exercise that requirement.

Any license in Thai or English is OK, if you don't have one of those THEN you have to get an IDP.

Edited May 3, 2012 by TommoPhysicist

[Tywais]

In item 2) 'MAY' is the wiggle word, Thailand may require an IDP ........ but they choose not to exercise that requirement.

Any license in Thai or English is OK, if you don't have one of those THEN you have to get an IDP.

Believe you know that there is often the 'what is required and what is applied' approach in Thailand.