Red Plates - What Are The Driving Restricitions

[Spoonman]

Am sure this has been done to death but the search functions brings up nothing.

In the next week or two I will be taking delivery of my new pickup.

I know there is restriction of use placed on a vehicle that has red plates but what are they ?

Plates will be BKK plates.

[sezze]

As far as i know here ae no restrictions . My garage din't have the red plates , so we drive around without any plate until the white one arrives

[colinneil]

There are restrictions on red plates you cannot drive out of your local area did that once stopped by police, i was told go back yo your home district do not drive outside your district until uou get your black/white plates

[necronx99]

Also in theory you cannot drive after 6 pm

There was a news article recently from the top cop who explained that red plates were originally intended for dealer use only. For example to transport new cars to showrooms. The use by new car owners seems to be an illicit use evolved due to the powers inability to supply timely registration and white plates.

Edited August 4, 2012 by necronx99

[givenall]

As far as i know here ae no restrictions . My garage din't have the red plates , so we drive around without any plate until the white one arrives

Don't worry the police will makeup some restrictions if they want money from you

They stop us in the way to pattaya in the motorway and made up something that cost me 500 bth to them or 2000 bth for ticket

sent from-would like to know

[overherebc]

Generally if you stay off the tollways and motorway you shouldn't have any problem. With the red plates you should get a Brown book, my information was that you are supposed to log all the journeys in it, I understood that is what the dealers had to do.

Keep calling the garage every two days and they will get fed up before you do and get your proper plates

[Spoonman]

Hmmmm.

Vehicle will be on red BKK plates and I live in Chonburi so basically I will have to park the thing until the white plates are on it.

[DJH77]

No, You should be given a LOG BOOK by the dealer and you must fill it in for every trip that you make. If you are pulled up and the log is not filled in you can be Fined. There is a rule also that the car cannot be driven after 6 pm at night but if the log is filled in you should be OK.. I drove my car on Red Plates into other Provinces and was pull up many times and the log book was checked and i was always told to go, no problem even when on my own and i had not filled in the log completely as it is in Thai Language only and even when i refered to older pages to try and get it right i never could but i always signed the page anyway. Usually if they see that you are trying to do things correctly you have no problems, in the North-East anyway.

[TexasRanger]

No, You should be given a LOG BOOK by the dealer and you must fill it in for every trip that you make. If you are pulled up and the log is not filled in you can be Fined. There is a rule also that the car cannot be driven after 6 pm at night but if the log is filled in you should be OK.. I drove my car on Red Plates into other Provinces and was pull up many times and the log book was checked and i was always told to go, no problem even when on my own and i had not filled in the log completely as it is in Thai Language only and even when i refered to older pages to try and get it right i never could but i always signed the page anyway. Usually if they see that you are trying to do things correctly you have no problems, in the North-East anyway.

This post is correct, we have red plates at the moment on a vehicle from up North and we are in Bangkok, we did get pulled over on a random stop a week ago and we hadn't filled in the logbook so got a 200 Bt fine, so now we fill in the book for every journey, a bit of a pain but we needed to leave the province so had to have the red plates, never heard about not driving after 6pm though.

[dick turpin]

Have recently taken delivery of a new motor with

red plates, but no log book, since been told that

high volume of new purchases means they are running

out of log books, so my red plates will likely be

the dealer's own plates. Advice when out on the road

....be very careful. At least they did not charge me

deposit for my dodgy plates.

[Hssl]

If you haven't got the 'brown book' then the plates are dodgy (have they got an embossed government stamp?), most dealers ask for a small deposit for the real red plates and brown book which is returned once your white plates are issued

[overherebc]

If you haven't got the 'brown book' then the plates are dodgy (have they got an embossed government stamp?), most dealers ask for a small deposit for the real red plates and brown book which is returned once your white plates are issued

Agreed.

One set of red plates with one matching log book. Shouldn't get one without the other. If I was going anywhere my wife used to fill it in for me before she went to work. Don't think it gets around the 6pm thing though as is provided to be used during the working day.

[transam]

Must stay in your district and in day light hours on red plates. You can use red plates for 30 days, after that YOU are committing an offense. No plates are illegal.

[ripstanley]

Must stay in your district and in day light hours on red plates. You can use red plates for 30 days, after that YOU are committing an offense. No plates are illegal.

No plates displayed there is a 7000 bhat fine. I bought a new vehicle in April and still waiting for white plates. I have no red plates, I have driven though numerous police checks but no fines. Apparently there is a shortage of white plates which I cannot understand. I live up north and there is a large number of vehicles without any plates. There are other threads on this forum about this. My dealer now says after many phone calls that there is 120 day delay. My 120 day runs out next week. I think I will be still waiting. I have my numberplate number and rego sticker but no plate. It is very frustrating.

[bkkjames]

But may I ask why the need for the restrictions at all? Perhaps in the old days before computers, internet, instant checking etc maybe there was a need but why today?

[overherebc]

But may I ask why the need for the restrictions at all? Perhaps in the old days before computers, internet, instant checking etc maybe there was a need but why today?

I reckon because when the system was devised everything was done with quill pens and parchment. So after buying your new car you had to wait for all the paperwork to be done in triplicate, one copy for the reg office one for the garage and one for you, then they could get the plates made in the local prison or wherever. Obviously now computerised but takes the same length of time. Somewhere back in the thread it was mentioned that the red plates and books were initially used for trade, delivering vehicles to the garage etc, before the days of 10 car transporters.This would be done during the working day hence the 6pm rule and following that once the car is at the dealers there would be no reason to take it out of the local area.

Now they have been adapted for use while you wait for your real plates. UK did have the same system, and had two different kinds, red on white and white on red.

Can't remember the difference but I know the cops had a wee poem for them, White on red, go ahead

Red on white stop on site,

Can anyone explain that one I'm not sure.

Edit

I think the new law stating that red plates could only be used for 4 or 6 weeks (not sure ) was to stop people running on red plates for a year and then registering the vehicle as being a year younger than it actually was. Guy I worked beside did it a few years ago with his new Honda, that was in the Rayong area..

Edited August 5, 2012 by overherebc

[bkkjames]

But may I ask why the need for the restrictions at all? Perhaps in the old days before computers, internet, instant checking etc maybe there was a need but why today?

I reckon because when the system was devised everything was done with quill pens and parchment. So after buying your new car you had to wait for all the paperwork to be done in triplicate, one copy for the reg office one for the garage and one for you, then they could get the plates made in the local prison or wherever. Obviously now computerised but takes the same length of time. Somewhere back in the thread it was mentioned that the red plates and books were initially used for trade, delivering vehicles to the garage etc, before the days of 10 car transporters.This would be done during the working day hence the 6pm rule and following that once the car is at the dealers there would be no reason to take it out of the local area.

Now they have been adapted for use while you wait for your real plates. UK did have the same system, and had two different kinds, red on white and white on red.

Can't remember the difference but I know the cops had a wee poem for them, White on red, go ahead

Red on white stop on site,

Can anyone explain that one I'm not sure.

Edit

I think the new law stating that red plates could only be used for 4 or 6 weeks (not sure ) was to stop people running on red plates for a year and then registering the vehicle as being a year younger than it actually was. Guy I worked beside did it a few years ago with his new Honda, that was in the Rayong area..

Your last paragraph is probable but then i dont see the point of after 6pm / out of your local area reasons that 'seem to be in play'. It's like people get punished for buying a new car : you are under xxxxxxx curfew with your new 7 Million Baht Benz. Laughable in the 21st Century.

Edited August 25, 2012 by Rooo

[overherebc]

The 6pm thing is a bit off, but with a brand new 6.000.000 baht benz and dark windows I don't reckon there would be much of a problem

[prodriver]

It was one of the questions on the written part of the Thai driving test which I took back in 2001. It was a multi-choice answer style test and IIRC I ticked the box which said only allowed to drive in daylight hours on red plates, which incidently was the correct answer. Strange rule in my opinion and as we know, here in Thailand rules must be obeyed!!

[LennyW]

If you haven't got the 'brown book' then the plates are dodgy (have they got an embossed government stamp?), most dealers ask for a small deposit for the real red plates and brown book which is returned once your white plates are issued

This is correct, the official red plates have an embossed stamp on them, if not then they will be a bogus set of plates that the dealer uses over and over again and mean nothing - then you will have problems.

[eaustev]

We have had 2 vehicles on red plates this year, one of which is still on them after 5 months thanks to the laziness and incompetence of our local Ford dealer. To my great surprise we have had no issues with being pulled over randomly, day or night, in district or out of district, and both cars have done alot of mileage including several long up-country trips. For long trips we always made an entry into the brown book just in case but have never had to show it. Maybe we have just been lucky as I have always assumed that we would be getting pulled over regularly getting on or off the expressways but it has never been an issue.

Initially the Ford dealer tried to pass off some dodgy plates onto us but I made it clear what I would be doing with them unless they gave us a real set. I have a friend who has a car on fake red plates and he gets pulled over all the time, so it is seems that the police can spot the fake ones a mile away and mainly focus on them.

Some time ago I read on one of these threads that the 6pm curfew no longer applied. I have been through a number of police checkpoints in the evenings without being questioned so I would assume that to be true.

[2unique]

We have had 2 vehicles on red plates this year, one of which is still on them after 5 months thanks to the laziness and incompetence of our local Ford dealer. To my great surprise we have had no issues with being pulled over randomly, day or night, in district or out of district, and both cars have done alot of mileage including several long up-country trips. For long trips we always made an entry into the brown book just in case but have never had to show it. Maybe we have just been lucky as I have always assumed that we would be getting pulled over regularly getting on or off the expressways but it has never been an issue.

Initially the Ford dealer tried to pass off some dodgy plates onto us but I made it clear what I would be doing with them unless they gave us a real set. I have a friend who has a car on fake red plates and he gets pulled over all the time, so it is seems that the police can spot the fake ones a mile away and mainly focus on them.

Some time ago I read on one of these threads that the 6pm curfew no longer applied. I have been through a number of police checkpoints in the evenings without being questioned so I would assume that to be true.

Because of the flood related backlog of cars being produced/delivered red and white plates are in short supply. The dealers have asked the police to be less tough on fining plate-less cars - I'm sure you can imagine the response to that. With everyone passing the blame - government not producing fast enough, dealers taking to many orders, police not cooperating - the only people getting screwed are the buyers who have to pay the fine.

[necronx99]

I asked a police friend about this yesterday and he said that on the police website there is a directive ordering police not to ticket for red plate offenses due to the current delays and this should be printed out and kept inthe car.

I'll see if I can track down a link.

[stevenl]

I asked a police friend about this yesterday and he said that on the police website there is a directive ordering police not to ticket for red plate offenses due to the current delays and this should be printed out and kept inthe car.

I'll see if I can track down a link.

Yes please.

[redfish44]

I think this topic needs to be pinned, as I searched heaps too a while back.

Restrictions as told by DLT Krabi: can only drive 6am-6pm. Must have brown book. Can drive out of province ok. Can only use for 30 days, 3000km max. Needs to be real plate with a seal that reflects in the light (found a pic in another topic to ceck, but can't find the topic again).

We took delivery of our new pickup in Krabi after 5 months waiting, and suprise suprise no white plates, even though assured would have them. They even tried no plates (plenty of cars down south with no plates). I insisted on plates, so got red ones finally. Also insisted on the brown book, and after a half hour I got one and was told not to write in it (when I asked what I should write). Didn't get a sticker for the windscreen either, only a paper copy of the Por Or Bor, which I keep in the brown book in my handbag for now.

Dealer said white plates would be 3-4 months and was normal. I said no, should take 24 hours and it said so on DLT website (which it does in Thai somewhere, but dealer argued and I couldn't find it in Thai - Went back next day with website but they fobbed it off.).

After taking delivery of the car with red plates fitted, first place we went was DLT Krabi and the information desk.

We had paid cash for all and had all receipts. Lady at information counter unimpressed and called dealer and gave them a talking to, and sent us back to meet with the manager who was to go with us the next morning to DLT.

Then had to drive home in the dark (after 6pm - darn it).

Next day back to Krabi and dealer and some lady goes with us to DLT (and drives a car someone had brought in for service by the way!).

Made me pay 45 baht (bitch! had already forked out 6,500b for tabien rot, so not happy).

She tried to nick off, made her check with info lady by the door who gave her a talking to (love info lady).

Info lady stuck the recipt into the brown book, stapled and stamped it with DLT stamp, and made dealer lady sign book in 2 entry places and write engine number etc and me sign.

Then told us we could drive wherever.

Later we went to the home of a freinds friend who was high up in Krabi DLT. At 8pm she phoned Isuzu Krabi manager at home and gave him a talkiing to. Assured us that our plates, tabien rot everything would be ready in 2 weeks.

We drove all over Krabi, to Pattani and back and then up to Bangkok where we are now (as we had to wait 5 months for car have had to move house). Only stopped once yesterday by police for something else on tollway, no mention of plates.

Am worried as have no sticker though, as apparently is a big one that firends were done for in Bangkok with a new Fortuner, but they got their sticker, plates tabien rot in 3 days from Toyotoa in Bangkok.

Driving back to Krabi in a couple of days to hopefully collect it all, will see.

Basically it seems the dealer holds onto your cash instead of paying the DLT, insurance and manufacturer. You get 3 receipts for each of these when you get the car, so I keep them and everything in the car when we drive just in case.

My tip would be not to buy a car in Krabi, buy in Bangkok, and take your paperwork to the DLT to check yourself.

DLT does their job and are sick of copping slack from dealers. Thier website is good, but all Thai.

Delaers are lazy and apparently only get 3,000b comission on a new car paid in cash, so no impetous to do your paperwork.

Get a copy of the business card of the sales rep and the manager of the dealer. (our sales rep managed to pinch her card back, but held onto the managers one and now he cops it).

While we were waiting at the dealer for the manager there was a pile of maybe 30 bunches of paper on one persons desk with registration stickers on each one. They are too lazy to process basically.

If you don't get it sorted by the dealer call head office too. Did that also.

[stevenl]

I asked a police friend about this yesterday and he said that on the police website there is a directive ordering police not to ticket for red plate offenses due to the current delays and this should be printed out and kept inthe car.

I'll see if I can track down a link.

Yes please.

Did you manage to find a link?

Edited August 21, 2012 by stevenl

[necronx99]

I asked a police friend about this yesterday and he said that on the police website there is a directive ordering police not to ticket for red plate offenses due to the current delays and this should be printed out and kept inthe car.

I'll see if I can track down a link.

Yes please.

Did you manage to find a link?

No, I'll see if I can get him to show me when I go back to Bkk an a week.

[stevenl]

I asked a police friend about this yesterday and he said that on the police website there is a directive ordering police not to ticket for red plate offenses due to the current delays and this should be printed out and kept inthe car.

I'll see if I can track down a link.

Yes please.

Did you manage to find a link?

No, I'll see if I can get him to show me when I go back to Bkk an a week.

Ok, thanks

[redfish44]

I am also hoping you post that

I asked a police friend about this yesterday and he said that on the police website there is a directive ordering police not to ticket for red plate offenses due to the current delays and this should be printed out and kept inthe car.

I'll see if I can track down a link.

Yes please.

Did you manage to find a link?

No, I'll see if I can get him to show me when I go back to Bkk an a week.

I hope you can get the link.

Here is another link to another topic for anyone else looking for info:

this mentions the possibility of a 7000b fine for no plates. Wish I had seen this before I went to my dealer yesterday.

There is also this topic:

I went into my dealer yesterday and got the tabien rot and sticker but no white plates.

I have the blue book (tabien rot) and the insurance sticker.

Problem is the dealer took my red plates way and my husband gave the brown book that went with them back as well.

I am not happy as now I have NO PLATES.

From what I have read here officially there is a 700b fine for no plates, but in the province the cops know there are no plates.

I have seen lots of cars with no plates in Krabi, but I have to drive back to Bangkok next week with the baby, I am nervous about driving to Bangkok with no plates, as I don't recall seeing cars with no plates there.

No plates is a giant becon to any police, and a hassle I don't want as a farang mum with a small baby on my own.

The dealers don't believe me that it will be a problem, what can I do to make them give me some plates?

[crazykopite]

A friend of mine who resides on Koh Samui was fined 2,000 bht as his red plates were over 6 months old It appears that Car companies such as Toyota where my friend purchased his vehicle avoid issuing the white plate for as long as they can. The reaso is once thet have the white plate they then have to pay the purchase sales tax to the Government however whist the vehicle is running around on the red plate this is not the case. My friend took his receipt to Samui toyota and they refunded his spot fine of 2,000 and within 2 weeks he was driving with his new white plates !!!!