Driving Without A License

[medz]

So, this is the dealy-o:

I´m driving my light mc along like a happy little camper, possibly

speeding a tad. Just a little tad.

Suppose that I´d get pulled over for whatever reason

and can´t produce a driver´s license upon request.

Standing there waving my passport, saying "khor thot but

I forgot my license in Sa-weden",

what´s the likely scenario and worst case scenario?

[CymruAmByth]

So, this is the dealy-o:

I´m driving my light mc along like a happy little camper, possibly

speeding a tad. Just a little tad.

Suppose that I´d get pulled over for whatever reason

and can´t produce a driver´s license upon request.

Standing there waving my passport, saying "khor thot but

I forgot my license in Sa-weden",

what´s the likely scenario and worst case scenario?

Dont invite trouble on the roads.

Go spend half a day and get a license. Only 100thb and a lot of fun people-watching to be had.

The license doubles up as a good ID card here too.

[medz]

So, this is the dealy-o:

I´m driving my light mc along like a happy little camper, possibly

speeding a tad. Just a little tad.

Suppose that I´d get pulled over for whatever reason

and can´t produce a driver´s license upon request.

Standing there waving my passport, saying "khor thot but

I forgot my license in Sa-weden",

what´s the likely scenario and worst case scenario?

Dont invite trouble on the roads.

Go spend half a day and get a license. Only 100thb and a lot of fun people-watching to be had.

The license doubles up as a good ID card here too.

I´m not quite sure I followed you here. With no prior license verification,

would it take half a day to acquire a Thai mc-license? For a 100 baht?

[meloncoly]

get a fake license/real provisional, non-thai language license, keep 200baht folded up with it, hand over when stopped, say thanks and drive on.

[H2oDunc]

So, this is the dealy-o:

I´m driving my light mc along like a happy little camper, possibly

speeding a tad. Just a little tad.

Suppose that I´d get pulled over for whatever reason

and can´t produce a driver´s license upon request.

Standing there waving my passport, saying "khor thot but

I forgot my license in Sa-weden",

what´s the likely scenario and worst case scenario?

I spent 6 months driving around Thailand using my CIS4 tax card everytime I get stopped. Just tell them specil license. Plus a few hundred bahtollas usually gets you out of most things. Carrying pasport or copy always helps, if bike rental place have not kept it. Wear a helmet and dont give them any reason to stop you and as said always carry a couple of hundred baht in change to smooth things out. Like you I forgot mine but have it for this time. I bet they never ask for it now. Cheers Dunc

[GuestHouse]

If you are going to dream up a senario why not go the whole hog and imagine the case where you are involved in an accident in which a Thai has been killed or seriously injured and you are the driver who does not have a license

The depth of <deleted> you would find yourself in could only be made deeper if the dead/injured person is related to a senior police officer.

And you know what they say about s0d's law!

[CymruAmByth]

So, this is the dealy-o:

I´m driving my light mc along like a happy little camper, possibly

speeding a tad. Just a little tad.

Suppose that I´d get pulled over for whatever reason

and can´t produce a driver´s license upon request.

Standing there waving my passport, saying "khor thot but

I forgot my license in Sa-weden",

what´s the likely scenario and worst case scenario?

Dont invite trouble on the roads.

Go spend half a day and get a license. Only 100thb and a lot of fun people-watching to be had.

The license doubles up as a good ID card here too.

I´m not quite sure I followed you here. With no prior license verification,

would it take half a day to acquire a Thai mc-license? For a 100 baht?

Not 100% sure, but I had nothing from the UK to show the licensing people and I did it all from scratch in half a day for 100thb (for a car...mc is prob cheaper).

[PeaceBlondie]

If you'll go to the Motoring in Thailand forum on ThaiVisa, you'll see there's a long topic pinned to the top of the forum, explaining how to get a license. It might take 5 or 6 hours all told, if you don't do it right.

[meloncoly]

presumably you'll need to pass a practical test? or just pay off the guy working there

[Thaddeus]

what´s the likely scenario and worst case scenario?

I'm pretty sure that you can't get a Thai licence for a hundred Baht, if you don't show them the licence from your country of origin.

Likely scenario ....... you pay the officer a couple of hundred Baht, smile and ride off.

Worst case ....... you get hauled to the Police Station, your bike is confiscated, you get prosecuted, pay a large fine and get deported and barred from returning to Thailand for 99 years, you are forced into an arranged marriage in Sa weden by the monks of St. Judas and spend the rest of your life as a goat sanitiser.

Yip ..... I think that would qualify as the worst case scenario

[medz]

get a fake license/real provisional, non-thai language license, keep 200baht folded up with it, hand over when stopped, say thanks and drive on.

How and where is that done? I´m not to do any frequent driving and have

only basic understanding of traffic rules, so I´d probably flunk a more

extensive test (no, I´m not a traffic hazard, I drive with a lot of caution

and rather slow since I´d hate to run over some little animal...).

On my last stay we rode a bit at the countryside. For our upcoming visit

I thought it´d be convenient to hire a bike while visiting more remote

areas or places with less of convenient communications (as Koh Samet).

[edit]

Thanks for the scenarios fellows

I´ll check the motorig part of the forum.

Edited August 31, 2006 by medz

[meloncoly]

some well-known street in thailand does fake licenses, but is not needed.

doesn't your country offer a provisional license, to learn driving with? most thai cops can't read english, and as long as your photo is on it, wont bother you much. Or you can get a fake international license from several web sites.

[medz]

some well-known street in thailand does fake licenses, but is not needed.

doesn't your country offer a provisional license, to learn driving with? most thai cops can't read english, and as long as your photo is on it, wont bother you much. Or you can get a fake international license from several web sites.

Nope, no provisional licenses in Sweden. I´d prefer not to drive about

with some kind of fraudulant license as my aim is to be as law abiding

as possible.

I couldn´t find anything on getting a license, only renewals.

But from what I learned from a previous poster, 6h spent

to be able to legally tread the roads on two wheels is totally worth it.

Can anyone please describe in a little more detail where and

how the tests are conducted, or where I might find the info myself?

[sbk]

get a fake license/real provisional, non-thai language license, keep 200baht folded up with it, hand over when stopped, say thanks and drive on.

How and where is that done? I´m not to do any frequent driving and have

only basic understanding of traffic rules, so I´d probably flunk a more

extensive test (no, I´m not a traffic hazard, I drive with a lot of caution

and rather slow since I´d hate to run over some little animal...).

On my last stay we rode a bit at the countryside. For our upcoming visit

I thought it´d be convenient to hire a bike while visiting more remote

areas or places with less of convenient communications (as Koh Samet).

[edit]

Thanks for the scenarios fellows

I´ll check the motorig part of the forum.

Seems as though you are not planning on staying in Thailand long, just as a tourist, correct? If so, then you cannot get a Thai drivers license. Don't you have one from home? It is valid here if you are a short time visitor.

edit: But, it seems you don't have a license at all.

To be honest, if you are renting a bike on an island that is not super busy then the police are unlikely to check your license. And if you are renting a bike and don't really know how to drive then may I suggest that you don't? I have seen many holidays ruined when people rent motorbikes and then have accidents.

[Upcountry]

I wonder if it is still true that you need a work permit to get a driver's license. If you have an international license, it's easy to pay the money and get a license with no test. I'm not sure if you'd need to take a test otherwise, but you'd have to know how to read communicate in Thai to learn the rules and take the written test - not to mention understand the driving tester.

At any rate, you might want to bring a Thai speaker with you in case the people at the bureau can't speak much English.

Edited August 31, 2006 by Upcountry

[medz]

Seems as though you are not planning on staying in Thailand long, just as a tourist, correct? If so, then you cannot get a Thai drivers license. Don't you have one from home? It is valid here if you are a short time visitor.

edit: But, it seems you don't have a license at all.

To be honest, if you are renting a bike on an island that is not super busy then the police are unlikely to check your license. And if you are renting a bike and don't really know how to drive then may I suggest that you don't? I have seen many holidays ruined when people rent motorbikes and then have accidents.

You are correct:

* It´s only a 30 day visit, and I just stumbled across the info that

I can´t get any license on that premise: http://driving.information.in.th/driving-licence.html

* I do not have a license at all...

My fiancé has one, but can´t ride a MC.

Not that I´m Evil Kneivel, but my riding skills are adequate and as I

mentioned previously I do drive with great caution. I wouldn´t dare

to venture into dense traffic anywhere in Asia.

(by the way, I´m 28 years old and just never got any license since I´ve

not needed any... but now I´ll finally take it, next spring!)

[meloncoly]

to be honest you could show the thai police any id, photo or not, with 200 baht, and be let go. that's if you even get pulled over

[stickman]

And what happens if you have an accident? It's a safe bet that your insurance policy has an exclusion clause that says "no licence, no insurance"!

[PeaceBlondie]

If you're 28 and never had a license of any kind in your home country, I kindly suggest that instead of hazarding your life and your boyfriend's, you RENT A DRIVER or walk. Just 'going slowly' isn't good enough. Pardon my harshness, but if you wish to go home inside a crematory urn, go ahead.

[Crossy]

Would you consider driving in your home country under the same circumstances??

NO? Why do it in Thailand then?

YES? Up 2 U, but if you have an accident with me or my family you will be in deep doo-doo!!!

It really is a no brainer, no licence, no driving.

[mark lamai]

in bangkok at least minor infringements will cost you 100 baht.

all traffic cops know how to say ' you come police station pay 4000 baht'

while holding open the book with pen poised but not writing.

then the ridiculous sham of slipping the cash under the book so the public can't see.

as if they don't know whats happening.

sometimes you make a more 'serious' error, like wrong way up a street

and they want much more, but 400 is the most i ever paid,

once they have the keys and you're inside the police box your bargaining power is severely reduced.

for licenses -

if you have an existing one from your country you can get a Thai one without a test.

car for car and MC for MC.

need passport and photos.

since i had no MC license i had to take test.

its slow and lots of steps

eye test

reaction test

computer road rules test , in english.

riding test.

not hard but u need to know the rules a bit, they have a book u can study beforehand

can have 3 attempts to pass the rules test, if u fail 1 time the lady will probably help u thru.

had a car license so i got a thai car license at the same time, no test.

best thing about having it is to flash it at the surprised and disappointed cop when he pulls u over.

[mark lamai]

oops forgot.

the other important paper is a Statutory Declaration about your living address in Thailand.

the Aus embassy at least has these ready to fill out and be witnessed for 600 Bt i think.

any fictitious address will do, noone checks it.

you do need a work permit

[CymruAmByth]

Would you consider driving in your home country under the same circumstances??

NO? Why do it in Thailand then?

YES? Up 2 U, but if you have an accident with me or my family you will be in deep doo-doo!!!

It really is a no brainer, no licence, no driving.

At last. I tried to say this 4 hours ago! Thanks for the sensible back up.

Why are people recommending driving and hoping to be able to just 'pay off' the MIB when they get pulled over?

Driving without a license here - however Mickey Mouse it is - is a huge NO NO!

[medz]

If you're 28 and never had a license of any kind in your home country, I kindly suggest that instead of hazarding your life and your boyfriend's, you RENT A DRIVER or walk. Just 'going slowly' isn't good enough. Pardon my harshness, but if you wish to go home inside a crematory urn, go ahead.

I do understand your concern, thank you very much!

Not having a license does not mean I have no experience

riding motorcycles though.

A license wouldn´t make me any better MC-driver, as my GIRLFRIEND

is a living proof of ;-)

Funny story:

When we visited Korfu, Greece, I thought it´d be nice with a little

ride on the countryside. Now, here comes the issue with formalities,

such as a license which I never bothered to obtain. Off I send my GF,

with some basic instructions on how to drive a motorcycle.

How hard can it be, I asked her. Just take it very easy, it´s like driving

a car except the throttle and clutch is at your hands. Just go

easy on the throttle and smoothly release the clutch and you´ll manage

to ride back here (about 150-200m back to the hotel).

10 minutes after she left she came back, rather blushed I noticed.

Apparently the vendor wanted her to take a little test-run on the lot.

As she described it; "The bike took a sudden leap of a meter or so

and I drove into the rest of the bikes stacked upfront, which then

dominoed to the ground. When I started to pick them up the vendor

just told me to leave".

[CymruAmByth]

If you're 28 and never had a license of any kind in your home country, I kindly suggest that instead of hazarding your life and your boyfriend's, you RENT A DRIVER or walk. Just 'going slowly' isn't good enough. Pardon my harshness, but if you wish to go home inside a crematory urn, go ahead.

I do understand your concern, thank you very much!

Not having a license does not mean I have no experience

riding motorcycles though.

A license wouldn´t make me any better MC-driver, as my GIRLFRIEND

is a living proof of ;-)

Funny story:

When we visited Korfu, Greece, I thought it´d be nice with a little

ride on the countryside. Now, here comes the issue with formalities,

such as a license which I never bothered to obtain. Off I send my GF,

with some basic instructions on how to drive a motorcycle.

How hard can it be, I asked her. Just take it very easy, it´s like driving

a car except the throttle and clutch is at your hands. Just go

easy on the throttle and smoothly release the clutch and you´ll manage

to ride back here (about 150-200m back to the hotel).

10 minutes after she left she came back, rather blushed I noticed.

Apparently the vendor wanted her to take a little test-run on the lot.

As she described it; "The bike took a sudden leap of a meter or so

and I drove into the rest of the bikes stacked upfront, which then

dominoed to the ground. When I started to pick them up the vendor

just told me to leave".

Get a bus, train, taxi, anything....but dont get on a bike here if you value your precious life.

[Thaddeus]

Would you consider driving in your home country under the same circumstances??

NO? Why do it in Thailand then?

YES? Up 2 U, but if you have an accident with me or my family you will be in deep doo-doo!!!

It really is a no brainer, no licence, no driving.

At last. I tried to say this 4 hours ago! Thanks for the sensible back up.

Why are people recommending driving and hoping to be able to just 'pay off' the MIB when they get pulled over?

Driving without a license here - however Mickey Mouse it is - is a huge NO NO!

It is a huge No No ..... and I do believe that I posted something that could have been taken that way, however the OP's original question was, what is the likely outcome and what could happen at the worst.... and most contributors have worked within that framework, some flippant, most not.

I don't think anybody has actually recommended driving in Thailand without a valid licence..... because if the worst happens you are in a world of pain..... most of the comments have been generated by a natural acceptance of the Boys in Brown and there undying need to get some beer money..... because that is what most of us experience.

I doubt that any (active) member of this forum, that has the right credentials, has caused or been involved in a serious accident, because if you have the right credentials you haven't got a problem and therefore you tend to forget about how bad things could get.

Wales for ever

[medz]

Would you consider driving in your home country under the same circumstances??

NO? Why do it in Thailand then?

YES? Up 2 U, but if you have an accident with me or my family you will be in deep doo-doo!!!

It really is a no brainer, no licence, no driving.

Yes, I would consider driving a light motorcycle in Sweden without a license.

As I mentioned before, the license wouldn´t make me any better at riding

a MC. I know what the roadsigns mean and what lines not to cross on the road etc.

Would I live at the countryside I´d probably do it frequently.

So what you are saying is that if you´d miss me in your blind angle in a roundabout

and push me off the road I´d be in deep doo-doo when without a license, but

not if I had one? Actually, I can´t see the logic in that.

[edit]

Never got a license since I´ve not had the dough to spare on it. Now on the

other hand, I´ll get it over with in the end of the year, or beginning of next.

Edited August 31, 2006 by medz

[medz]

Get a bus, train, taxi, anything....but dont get on a bike here if you value your precious life.

I appreciate your concern. Problem is, there´s no fun in getting a taxi

when you wish to explore tiny dirtroads in the middle of nowhere.

Furthermore, there are no taxis in the middle of nowhere.

At least there were none where we were visiting my brother last

year.

I´m very much aware of the fact that a lot of people injure themselves

due to MC-accidents why I drive with a great portion of caution.

For heaven´s sake, I drove as slow as 5-20km/h on the muddiest

little paths we found.

(it was a great adventure, by the way! It´s great to pack some snacks

and just see where the road might lead you We stumbled across

a small Wat and had a brief chat with a Marlboro-smoking monk who

later offered us some bananas. Nearby we also encountered a very

strange old lady that most probably was severely deranged. She and

the growing pack of barking dogs made us pretty uneasy after a while,

whereupon we ventured further into nowhere)

[Thaddeus]

Quick question medz..... how many times have to been to Thailand?

[solent01]

Hi

I used to drive here with an inter driving license, then when that ran out all I had to do was fill the forms and pay the Bht, never shown it since, have been stopped a few times and always do the following.........

1. I never speak Thai to the good man of the law (act like a tourist)

2. Show the good man of the law my passport and smile

one time it didn't work, he spoke werry werry wood english, but 100 Bht did the trick.

I only get stopped for speeding or no helmet, in which case showing my license would show I know the law and put me up for the fine right away, try and use 1 and 2 above first.

But saying that, if you are unfotunate enougth to be envolved in a road traffic accident, a Thai license or Inter license will help you a lot......... hahaha maybe............ you are Farang after all.

Sol