Everyone's failing the new driving test in Thailand

[lujanit]

are you sure, because I have heard other stories that valid EU licence does not mean anything in Thailand. Can somebody verify this?

Last time I checked, if you already have a valid and current license in a farang country, than you can get a Thai license without taking a test.

You are partly right - You need to bring the International Driving Lucense, IDL from home and then get some papers, youll find a good guide here at TV - then depending on VISA you might get a license without some of the tests.

Your license from home isnt valid without the IDL in Thailand.

And one more thing stated by many: Although International Driving Licences are valid for up to one year after arrival in Thailand, after three months many comprehensive insurance policies are made void if still driving on a foreign licence.

This business about an IDL to get a Thai license is not true, at least not for everyone. I received my Thai license without an IDL. At the DLT produced my Aus license, did the reaction and colour tests. Paid the fee and received my Thai one year license. When that was close to expiry went to DLT again, did the reaction and colour tests and received a five year license.

It may have something to do with where your license was issued, whether or not it is in English and what type of visa (extension) you are on.

[Thaddeus]

are you sure, because I have heard other stories that valid EU licence does not mean anything in Thailand. Can somebody verify this?

Last time I checked, if you already have a valid and current license in a farang country, than you can get a Thai license without taking a test.

You are partly right - You need to bring the International Driving Lucense, IDL from home and then get some papers, youll find a good guide here at TV - then depending on VISA you might get a license without some of the tests.

Your license from home isnt valid without the IDL in Thailand.

And one more thing stated by many: Although International Driving Licences are valid for up to one year after arrival in Thailand, after three months many comprehensive insurance policies are made void if still driving on a foreign licence.

This business about an IDL to get a Thai license is not true, at least not for everyone. I received my Thai license without an IDL. At the DLT produced my Aus license, did the reaction and colour tests. Paid the fee and received my Thai one year license. When that was close to expiry went to DLT again, did the reaction and colour tests and received a five year license.

It may have something to do with where your license was issued, whether or not it is in English and what type of visa (extension) you are on.

Exactly the same here, never had an IDL myself, just showed my UK one, and it was the old pink fold out type.

Now on my second 5yr Thai licence.

[Oryx816]

Will it stop anyone from driving? Not likely.

[sean in udon]

What about the practical driving test?

Shouldn't that be reformed to enhance driver capability?

One step at a time.

From the op:

'Of more than 200 to take the test Monday in Chiang Mai, fewer than one-in-10 managed to pass, according to the Bangkok Post.'

Can you imagine what the overall pass rate would be if they toughened up the practical at the same time.

If a reformed practical had the same pass rate, overall, less than 1-in-100 would pass.

Did I say one step at a time? Forget it, that's the kind of pass rate this country needs.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[Oorinara]

For switching to Thai DL, if your original DL is not in Eng, then IDL or translation into Eng certified by your country's Consular may be necessary.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[55Jay]

Lot to read here I want to make sure I understand this, this will be required renewals as well?

I just got my 5-year yesterday. No written exam but all the other stuff:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/27462-applying-for-1-5-year-thai-driving-licences/?view=getlastpost

[dingdongrb]

What everyone forgot to see is that the more drivers without license on the road the more the money insurance companies will save each day.

if your license expired you insurance will not cover anything and you will have pay for all costs in any accident, even not your fault.

Now that is funny..... I have been in 3 accidents where 2 them the driver's didn't even have a license and the third had one but it was expired.... Do you really think they had insurance?

[somchy]

re the tank question. the answer is you can not drive a defective vehicle, therefore, no windshield, broken tail light.. those are

examples of what you can not drive on the road. a tank or a formula 1 car is OK as long as they have no equipment faults.

i'd really like to see someone try to drive a tank or f1 car in bangkok though!

again, the answer is the vehicle with a defect is NOT OK on the road.

[marrmrrs]

I just passed the motorcycle test...If you fail the practical, then perhaps it's best you don't get on one... The practical is adifferent proposition!... Unless you at least spend some time studying the questions and general road signs then there is a real chance you will not have a prayer of passing this.. Forget what went on in the past, or "greasing palms", in Pattaya they were brutal.. One guy was caught reading something and was thrown out, same with a guy who kept talking!!..All the silly questions are still there i believe but you have to get 95% so only 5 wrong and you are out.One guy it was his 6th attempt.... Its easy, just google the questions (they are there in Englih) not all are there but will heighten anyone's chance of passing... Good Luck..

[Rod Wallop]

I used to have an Xmas party quiz for our office staff, all 'educated'. Knowing that the staff were unlikely to know anything about world events I tried to make it basic, copying questions from a site for primary school children and mixing in Thai general knowledge. 50% was usually a winning score. Even Thai questions resulted in blank stares.

[maamoot]

I took the motorcycle test n Mae Tang , Chiang Mai . 17 people took the test , 15 failed . After it was over the instructor explained what everybody should have done instead of before explaining before the the test . It was more like an episode of Amazing Race than actually trying to figure out weather people could handle a bike or not . There was a completely fluent Thai /English speaker there that had no idea what the women was talking about , neither did my wife She was completely ambiguous in her directions on what she wanted people to do . After it was over I told her in Thai that if you have 15 out of 17 failing a test , maybe the problem is with the instructor and not the students .

The written test was better barely . you needed 45 out of 50 to pass , I got 44 and failed . 2 wrong answers were my fault , the other 3 that I got wrong were mistranslations of Thai to English . There was no correct answer , just an answer that somebody used google to translate with . like you may turn right or you have to turn right or this lane turns right or this lane maybe might want to go right .Looked like the test was put together by a ten year old and not a particularly bright one .

Pretty much the whole thing was a nightmare of incompetence that I would not wish on my worse enemy . I would very seriously recommend anybody wanting to get the motorcycle license here to get the motorcycle license in the west and then to transfer here no problem , a truly horrible experience .

[KhunBENQ]

I am aware that it is of limited value (all in Thai only), but this seems the starting site of the DLT for the "new" 45 out of 50 test.

http://apps.dlt.go.th/e_exam/

On the right you see a menu with entries from 1.1 to 2.14.

From poking around it looks like this might be the whole of 1000 questions which the 50 question are taken from.

I wonder whether they really have translated all the questions or just use a subset for the English language version?

Has anyone ever seen (got a question) about these "exotics"

I have doubts that all the entries from the menu are relevant for the test.

Questions about the correct rate for cardiac massage for reanimation?

No wonder if 90 percent would fail.

[KhunBENQ]

An endless source of "funny graphics"

"Run for your life" ?

[AG1]

Is there anywhere you can buy or download an English version of the questions? What would be the Highway Code" in UK.

This are the Questions ( three Times 30 Questions), and they are pretty identical with the Questions I got. It's 90 Questions, and you get 50 Questions out of them.

http://phuket.dlt.go.th/index/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=98&Itemid=65

I just passed the Test in Pattaya, the most idiotic Part is that you are forced to watch a 4 Hour Video, after that you get 1 Hour Luch-Break, and then you must watch again 40 Minutes Video. We asked the Girl if its not possible to watch the Video in one Time and skip the Lunch-Breack, but our Proposal was not approved. The hole Process is in some Kind a Torture, but if you are able to study the 90 Questions then its easy to learn it and pass the Test.

[KhunBENQ]

This are the Questions ( three Times 30 Questions), and they are pretty identical with the Questions I got. It's 90 Questions, and you get 50 Questions out of them.

That would be good news, as I have no problems digesting 90 questions.

Seems like the Thais have a harder time if their questions are selected from a pool of 1000.

The link to the DLT that I browsed really contain some pretty exotic stuff.

[AG1]

That would be good news, as I have no problems digesting 90 questions.

I got only two new Questions which was not included in those 90 Questions, and I could manage to answer this Questions as well and passed with 50 correct Answer. Don't worry, once you found the Questions it's not difficult to pass.

[MaiChai]

Wife's uncle sat the exam 5 times and kept failing. Finally he was offered two choices: pay 2000 baht and get a license or come back and sit it again. Guess which one he chose

[mikemac]

Haha when I took the test a couple of years ago, one of the questions was whether or

not a tank could drive down the road. Perhaps they fire the idiots that make up questions

like that, rather than altering the pass percent threshold....

I bet the answer was - "When there is a coup happening we can drive anything we bloody well want to down the road"...........