Daily Update For Police Check Points

[NamKangMan]

Are you saying the international license you get from your home country before you travel abroad is useless?

No, it's not useless. If you are licenced to drive a car in your home country, your International Driver's Licence will cover you for driving a car in Thailand. If you are licenced to ride a motorbike in your home country, your International Driver's Licence will cover you for riding a motorbike in Thailand.

What I am saying is many tourist are not aware of the ridiculously high priced transport here, so, after few days, decide to rent a motorbike or car. They did not organise an International Driver's Licence prior to their holiday.

They probably expected Phuket to be like a lot of other "World Class Tourist Desinations" and have metered taxis driving around everywhere.

[dogpoo]

Are you saying the international license you get from your home country before you travel abroad is useless?

No, it's not useless. If you are licenced to drive a car in your home country, your International Driver's Licence will cover you for driving a car in Thailand. If you are licenced to ride a motorbike in your home country, your International Driver's Licence will cover you for riding a motorbike in Thailand.

What I am saying is many tourist are not aware of the ridiculously high priced transport here, so, after few days, decide to rent a motorbike or car. They did not organise an International Driver's Licence prior to their holiday.

They probably expected Phuket to be like a lot of other "World Class Tourist Desinations" and have metered taxis driving around everywhere.

Well there you go, people coming here and not finding out about the place before arriving! And arriving totally unprepared, do you make the effort of finding out about a holiday destination before arriving?

[stevenl]

"There was a thread recently about a police road block down the coast. Most foreigners being stopped were being fined for not having a licence. No intoxication involved, many wearing their helmet, not speeding, vehicle had tax and insurance up to date, but no Thai licence, so they were fined."

Not correct, they are fined for not having a motorbike license. Homelicense (provided in English) is legally valid here, but for driving a motorbike one needs a motorbike license.

[terak]

"There was a thread recently about a police road block down the coast. Most foreigners being stopped were being fined for not having a licence. No intoxication involved, many wearing their helmet, not speeding, vehicle had tax and insurance up to date, but no Thai licence, so they were fined."

Not correct, they are fined for not having a motorbike license. Homelicense (provided in English) is legally valid here, but for driving a motorbike one needs a motorbike license.

Therefore a Valid uk Motorbike/Car License is valid ?? How long for ??

[petercallen]

Its a international driving permit and is only valid with a current license from your home country

In countries where its required

If you do not have a motorcycle license in your home country you will not have one on your IDP

Which means you cannot legally ride a motorcycle in Thailand if its required

[dogpoo]

Its a international driving permit and is only valid with a current license from your home country

In countries where its required

If you do not have a motorcycle license in your home country you will not have one on your IDP

Which means you cannot legally ride a motorcycle in Thailand if its required

Obviously one reason for avoiding roadblocks! people lose all sense when coming on holiday sometimes it can end in disaster!!

[NamKangMan]

@ dogpoo

I thought we were talking about "the majority." Do you think the majority of tourist organise an International Driver's Licence prior to a 2 week holiday on Phuket?

I think most tourist walk into a travel agent, are given a few glossy brouchers to take home and then come back and book/pay for a holiday. The travel agent selling the holiday has probably never even been to Phuket, so doesn't even advise the customer of the transport situation here and how they should prepare by getting an International Driver's Licence.

Anyway, the easy way to fix this problem, if the police are so concerned about it, is start fining the motorbike/car hire people for renting a vehicle to an unlicenced driver/rider. So, before riding/driving away, you have to produce a valid licence for the rental agreement/contract.

[Pormax]

What a bunch of goody two shoes....

All law abiding citezens i'm sure...

Will see what hapens when you get fined for having beer on your breath eh...??

Oh the goody two shoes on here never have a few coldies and go for a motor bike ride..??

Give me a break, Always good to know where these roadblocks are set up even if for a little bit as then we know where not to drive..

If you are driving drunk you deserve everything the law can throw at you plus some. I do not understand how you can warrant the death of innocents by not being a "goody two shoes" as you put it.

Totally agree with you. It just seems that those who drink and drive do not care for anyone but themselves.

[NamKangMan]

"There was a thread recently about a police road block down the coast. Most foreigners being stopped were being fined for not having a licence. No intoxication involved, many wearing their helmet, not speeding, vehicle had tax and insurance up to date, but no Thai licence, so they were fined."

Not correct, they are fined for not having a motorbike license. Homelicense (provided in English) is legally valid here, but for driving a motorbike one needs a motorbike license.

Allow me to clarify, they were fined for not having a licence - NOT that they did not have a Thai licence.

There's a lot of conflicting information on the internet about the drivers/riders licence from your home country being valid here.

Does anyone know the Thai Law about this? I don't mean what is put into practice locally, I mean the actual law.

Edited November 20, 2012 by NamKangMan

[stevenl]

"There was a thread recently about a police road block down the coast. Most foreigners being stopped were being fined for not having a licence. No intoxication involved, many wearing their helmet, not speeding, vehicle had tax and insurance up to date, but no Thai licence, so they were fined."

Not correct, they are fined for not having a motorbike license. Homelicense (provided in English) is legally valid here, but for driving a motorbike one needs a motorbike license.

Therefore a Valid uk Motorbike/Car License is valid ?? How long for ??

90 days, provided you're on a tourist visa or visa exempt entry. Many people claim an IDP is required, which is not the case, homelicense is legally valid, provided it is in English.

Edited November 20, 2012 by stevenl

[LivinginKata]

We already had a very very long discussion on the driving licence issue here

[terak]

We already had a very very long discussion on the driving licence issue here

Looks like there's another one going on here as well

[madmitch]

A couple of years ago I posted about police fining people not carrying proper ID at a roadblock, i.e. a passport, ID card or a Thai licence.

As far as I know this was a one-off as I haven't seen this mentioned since.

Agree with the majority of posters; no thread needed.

[glassdude007]

What a bunch of goody two shoes....

All law abiding citezens i'm sure...

Will see what hapens when you get fined for having beer on your breath eh...??

Oh the goody two shoes on here never have a few coldies and go for a motor bike ride..??

Give me a break, Always good to know where these roadblocks are set up even if for a little bit as then we know where not to drive..

If you are driving drunk you deserve everything the law can throw at you plus some. I do not understand how you can warrant the death of innocents by not being a "goody two shoes" as you put it.

Never said anything about being drunk.....

Couple of Archers while doing my grocery shopping is not being drunk....

What give the police the right to just stop you for no reason...

Road blocks are for one thing only and that is to extriciate money from your pocket, they care NOTHING for public safety...

Its not matter if you are not breaking any laws they still stop and harass inocent motorist....

YOU agree wuth that???

[stevenl]

What a bunch of goody two shoes....

All law abiding citezens i'm sure...

Will see what hapens when you get fined for having beer on your breath eh...??

Oh the goody two shoes on here never have a few coldies and go for a motor bike ride..??

Give me a break, Always good to know where these roadblocks are set up even if for a little bit as then we know where not to drive..

If you are driving drunk you deserve everything the law can throw at you plus some. I do not understand how you can warrant the death of innocents by not being a "goody two shoes" as you put it.

Never said anything about being drunk.....

Couple of Archers while doing my grocery shopping is not being drunk....

What give the police the right to just stop you for no reason...

Road blocks are for one thing only and that is to extriciate money from your pocket, they care NOTHING for public safety...

Its not matter if you are not breaking any laws they still stop and harass inocent motorist....

YOU agree wuth that???

If innocent you'll have no problems. But if you have been drinking there could be problems.

And you think that is not fair?

[Pormax]

Never said anything about being drunk.....

Couple of Archers while doing my grocery shopping is not being drunk....

What give the police the right to just stop you for no reason...

Road blocks are for one thing only and that is to extriciate money from your pocket, they care NOTHING for public safety...

Its not matter if you are not breaking any laws they still stop and harass inocent motorist....

YOU agree wuth that???

No sorry I for one do NOT agree with you. Unless there are checkpoints/road blocks how are the police able to check if you are driving legally with driving licence and insurance. I have no problem with the checkpoints even though once I had to pay 'tea money' - 200B fine with no receipt, for supposedly driving in the wrong lane approaching a check point when their was only a single lane anyway. But these instances are few and will always happen in Thailand.

Personally the more check points the better as far as I am concerned as I obey the law and love to see them that don't have to pay out money. Ok I might go over the speed limit sometimes but that is it.

What I do have a problem with is the paltry penalties for those who are driving illegally. This does not and will not, stop the offenders doing the same time and time again making driving here in Thailand very dangerous.

I come from the UK and just wish that the driving penalties were similar here with bigger fines and points deducted from your licence. Then for those drunk driving, a hefty fine plus a month in jail and suspension of licence for 6 months. The roads would be a lot safer.

As a non alcohol person I don't have a clue what an 'Archer' is. I would presume that it is an alcoholic drink and therefore having two would presumably put you over the legal limit.

[noob7]

Are you saying the international license you get from your home country before you travel abroad is useless?

No, it's not useless. If you are licenced to drive a car in your home country, your International Driver's Licence will cover you for driving a car in Thailand. If you are licenced to ride a motorbike in your home country, your International Driver's Licence will cover you for riding a motorbike in Thailand.

What I am saying is many tourist are not aware of the ridiculously high priced transport here, so, after few days, decide to rent a motorbike or car. They did not organise an International Driver's Licence prior to their holiday.

They probably expected Phuket to be like a lot of other "World Class Tourist Desinations" and have metered taxis driving around everywhere.

But that's simple their problem, isn't it?

In every guide for Thailand is all the needed information!

[LivinginKata]

<snip>

Anyway, the easy way to fix this problem, if the police are so concerned about it, is start fining the motorbike/car hire people for renting a vehicle to an unlicenced driver/rider. So, before riding/driving away, you have to produce a valid licence for the rental agreement/contract.

Yes, right - and the bike rental guys would have to turn away more than half of their customers. For sure the bike rental people should have some obligation to at least advise the renter. But this is Thailand.

[noob7]

A couple of years ago I posted about police fining people not carrying proper ID at a roadblock, i.e. a passport, ID card or a Thai licence.

As far as I know this was a one-off as I haven't seen this mentioned since.

Agree with the majority of posters; no thread needed.

Looks like, it's every now and then!

[stevenl]

A couple of years ago I posted about police fining people not carrying proper ID at a roadblock, i.e. a passport, ID card or a Thai licence.

As far as I know this was a one-off as I haven't seen this mentioned since.

Agree with the majority of posters; no thread needed.

Looks like, it's every now and then!

http://www.thaivisa....d-at-all-times/

Sounds like he was fined for not being able to produce his passport within a reasonable time.

[NamKangMan]

<snip>

Anyway, the easy way to fix this problem, if the police are so concerned about it, is start fining the motorbike/car hire people for renting a vehicle to an unlicenced driver/rider. So, before riding/driving away, you have to produce a valid licence for the rental agreement/contract.

Yes, right - and the bike rental guys would have to turn away more than half of their customers. For sure the bike rental people should have some obligation to at least advise the renter. But this is Thailand.

Of course it will never happen. The bike rental get your baht, and so does the police. :)

[Shot]

What a bunch of goody two shoes....

All law abiding citezens i'm sure...

Will see what hapens when you get fined for having beer on your breath eh...??

Oh the goody two shoes on here never have a few coldies and go for a motor bike ride..??

Give me a break, Always good to know where these roadblocks are set up even if for a little bit as then we know where not to drive..

If you are driving drunk you deserve everything the law can throw at you plus some. I do not understand how you can warrant the death of innocents by not being a "goody two shoes" as you put it.

Never said anything about being drunk.....

Couple of Archers while doing my grocery shopping is not being drunk....

What give the police the right to just stop you for no reason...

Road blocks are for one thing only and that is to extriciate money from your pocket, they care NOTHING for public safety...

Its not matter if you are not breaking any laws they still stop and harass inocent motorist....

YOU agree wuth that???

I don't think they care about you having a couple of beers while doing your shopping. It's your choice of beer....Archer? They ought to lock you up

[stevenwalker211278]

The reason for the post is simple ... the thai police like to at any point take money of the people that are just going on about there daily business while on holiday ,,

its nothing to do with people driving while drunk or uninsured or wearing no helmet .. yes these people do deserve to be fined

but like in my case being stopped and fined for not wearing a helmet ( when it was on my head ) is just a pure joke

if i wanted to be robbed id go down bangla road late at night smashed out my head with a million baht on me

the whole point of avoiding these road blocks is that in some cases not all but some its like riding into a armed robbery

you wont be leaving without being fleeced some how

simple

[stevenl]

but like in my case being stopped and fined for not wearing a helmet ( when it was on my head ) is just a pure joke

Agree, that is a joke, and sorry, I don't believe you.

[stevenwalker211278]

but like in my case being stopped and fined for not wearing a helmet ( when it was on my head ) is just a pure joke

Agree, that is a joke, and sorry, I don't believe you.

stevenl to be honest ya melt your opinion means nothing .. all i ever see ya do on here is spout rubbish .. why dont ya jog on ya helmet and nause someone else

[LivinginKata]

but like in my case being stopped and fined for not wearing a helmet ( when it was on my head ) is just a pure joke

Agree, that is a joke, and sorry, I don't believe you.

I do not believe that at all. Perhaps you did not understand the reason you were fined. In 17 years living here in Thailand I have never been fined when I did nothing wrong. i have been fined 3 times, once for no tax disc being displayed, then for speeding (caught by radar), and for being in a turn left lane when i was turning right. All cases I was wrong and paid the fine.

[stevenwalker211278]

but like in my case being stopped and fined for not wearing a helmet ( when it was on my head ) is just a pure joke

Agree, that is a joke, and sorry, I don't believe you.

I do not believe that at all. Perhaps you did not understand the reason you were fined. In 17 years living here in Thailand I have never been fined when I did nothing wrong. i have been fined 3 times, once for no tax disc being displayed, then for speeding (caught by radar), and for being in a turn left lane when i was turning right. All cases I was wrong and paid the fine.

again this aint up for a debate ITS A FACT ... chalong roundabout i was stopped in heavy traffic ... he said i was not wearing my helmet and i must have put it on when i stopped simple

so i was fined for wearing a helmet when he mistaken me or not

[Jimi007]

but like in my case being stopped and fined for not wearing a helmet ( when it was on my head ) is just a pure joke

Agree, that is a joke, and sorry, I don't believe you.

I do not believe that at all. Perhaps you did not understand the reason you were fined. In 17 years living here in Thailand I have never been fined when I did nothing wrong. i have been fined 3 times, once for no tax disc being displayed, then for speeding (caught by radar), and for being in a turn left lane when i was turning right. All cases I was wrong and paid the fine.

I have to agree! I've never been fined for anything in Phuket or anywhere in Thailand, other than to get the "police" to recover a stolen motorbike many years ago.

[Jimi007]

but like in my case being stopped and fined for not wearing a helmet ( when it was on my head ) is just a pure joke

Agree, that is a joke, and sorry, I don't believe you.

I do not believe that at all. Perhaps you did not understand the reason you were fined. In 17 years living here in Thailand I have never been fined when I did nothing wrong. i have been fined 3 times, once for no tax disc being displayed, then for speeding (caught by radar), and for being in a turn left lane when i was turning right. All cases I was wrong and paid the fine.

again this aint up for a debate ITS A FACT ... chalong roundabout i was stopped in heavy traffic ... he said i was not wearing my helmet and i must have put it on when i stopped simple

so i was fined for wearing a helmet when he mistaken me or not

You actually stopped? I used to act like I didn't see them wave me over, and keep going. Now I usually drive my car if I'm going past Chalong circle. They don't stop cars.

[KarenBravo]

but like in my case being stopped and fined for not wearing a helmet ( when it was on my head ) is just a pure joke

Let me get this straight. You got fined for no helmet when you were wearing one?

Did the cop see you stop up the road and put it on?

Did you have a valid license?

Did the bike have a valid tax disk?