Issuance of Thai driving licenses will be tougher under revised rule

[webfact]

Issuance of driving licenses will be tougher under revised rule



BANGKOK: -- The Land Transport Department will tighten up the issuance of driving licenses by requiring applicants for the licenses to undergo tougher written tests and to spend longer time on training course.

Mr Thirapong Rodprasert, director-general of Land Transport Department, said Wednesday that applicants would have to spend 15 hours instead of just four hours to learn all the relevant traffic laws, driving etiquette and how to drive safely.

He added that the department would arrange for more channels for motorists to have access to the revised training course without having to go to the department to attend the training programme.

As far as the written tests are concerned, the tests will cover 15 topics and there will be 50 quizzes. To pass the tests, applicants must correctly answer 45 quizzes.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/issuance-of-driving-licenses-will-be-tougher-under-revised-rule


-- Thai PBS 2015-05-07

[NongKhaiKid]

Yes of course and I suppose there will be no way around it ?

[longstebe]

Where do you start with this thread?

[NeverSure]

Will one of the subjects still be how to have a death wish?

[NongKhaiKid]

Will one of the subjects still be how to have a death wish?

and sprint qualification times to make sure you're fit and fast enough to leg it having caused an accident, or ' mishap ' as is in vogue.

[russ1]

How to drive safely carrying a "repo" man clinging to the back of your car.

[BSJ]

Why "quizzes"? Some of the existing answers are in answer to riddles. Why not be factual and say 50 riddles!

[Seastallion]

I got my 5 year licenses last week. I had to to the eye tests and reaction test.

A group of about 15 people crowded into the room and we all watched each other do the tests.

Three guys failed the reaction test, repeatedly, 2 guys failed the peripheral vision colour test. All 5 of them were told to go and get a drink of water and come back to try again. Of course, all of us that passed were no longer in the room to witness the retesting....all 5 were later in the queue to get their photos done.

Glad to know that water works to correct poor colour vision and reactions.

The huge flaw in the system as exemplified above aside....the OP reports a good change in official attitude towards road safety. I've often dreamed that if I ever win the lottery, part of my charity would be an ongoing road safety campaign.

[Praematura]

The test I took here in Pattaya to get my license took about 2 min. The first part was I had to identify the color the Thai administrator pointed (green, blue, etc) and then sit in an office chair and press the wooden brake pedal attached to the floor when the monitor showed a red color. That's it. Done and I'm good for 5 years.

My wife who has never driven has a Thai license so yea they could use some standards here.

[apetley]

Yes of course and I suppose there will be no way around it ?

500 bht solves most problems at our local Dept of Land and Transport.

[jerojero]

Blah blah blah... Will yet ever stop? How everything is going to be changed, improved, corrected with a new announcement

[NongKhaiKid]

I got my 5 year licenses last week. I had to to the eye tests and reaction test.

A group of about 15 people crowded into the room and we all watched each other do the tests.

Three guys failed the reaction test, repeatedly, 2 guys failed the peripheral vision colour test. All 5 of them were told to go and get a drink of water and come back to try again. Of course, all of us that passed were no longer in the room to witness the retesting....all 5 were later in the queue to get their photos done.

Glad to know that water works to correct poor colour vision and reactions.

The huge flaw in the system as exemplified above aside....the OP reports a good change in official attitude towards road safety. I've often dreamed that if I ever win the lottery, part of my charity would be an ongoing road safety campaign.

Water certainly affects my vision and reactions but not necessarily improves.

Oh sorry, that's Usque Baugh ( the water of life ) and the spelling of the Anglified version of word doesn't have an ' e '.

Edited May 7, 2015 by NongKhaiKid

[Yunla]

Driving Test is the most important test you will take in your whole life. It trumps all the academic exams etc. because its no good being a successful doctor or w/e and you end up in a big crash.

This is something that needs to be really underlined, because society is putting ever increasing value on academic rankings, all of which are ultimately meaningless if the road outside the Uni is full of unskilled motorists. Even if the graduate in question is very smart, and a careful driver, they can still lose everything they worked for if the road has unskilled drivers.

So really, highly strict Driving Standards laws are an investment, much more so than academia. If you are investing in your nation, to make it a world leader, safe roads for your skilled workers to drive on is a first priority, not an afterthought.

[konying]

It would be a waste of time and money.

Why not invest this money into upholding traffic laws, ie police actually doing their job and fining people for illegal uturns, double parking, driving in between the lanes, turning when turning is not allowed, driving on the wrong side of the road, and list goes on.

Once people start to get daily fines, they will learn quickly not to break the traffic rules or at least pay more attention

Ohhhh wait, half of the the police do not know traffic laws

Edited May 7, 2015 by konying

[thesetat2013]

So they arranging more channels for motorists to have access to the training course. Sounds to me like they are just giving more chances for others to collect bribes.

[jamiejoel]

OK just to add my little bit.....

The written test is fine... showing a video of how to drive nicely is great but easily forgotten. They need to stop this driving around a carpark test mentality. You can imagine someone somewhere has decided they don't want to sit in a car with a driver so sit in a hut with a microphone and see how good someone is.

Only when they make people take tests on the road. Learn how to stop at crossings, not run red lights, merge lanes and keep to the left will the driving improve. I am no Mensa graduate but I know reversing into a set of cones can not replicate driving in Bangkok. Also any instructor taking a 2,000 bht bribe to pass the test, which is the norm, should be jailed immediately as this is giving a licence to a possible dangerous driver.

If only the powers that be could read.... I mean could read these threads...

JJ

[lujanit]

This, even if implemented successfully will not make one iota of difference to the thousands who drive yet don't have a license and have no intention of getting one.

[BigBadGeordie]

Yes of course and I suppose there will be no way around it ?

500 bht solves most problems at our local Dept of Land and Transport.

May'be so, but that was in the past, it's going to be more difficult now. Twice as difficult, it's now 1000 Baht.

[cms22]

My wife "passed" her driving test last month. This consisted of a number of written and practical tests, some of which she failed by a small margin. She was asked to "retake" the test and pay a little extra (around THB2,000). This did the job and she passed and now has her driving licence!

[getthaid]

I got my 5 year licenses last week. I had to to the eye tests and reaction test.

A group of about 15 people crowded into the room and we all watched each other do the tests.

Three guys failed the reaction test, repeatedly, 2 guys failed the peripheral vision colour test. All 5 of them were told to go and get a drink of water and come back to try again. Of course, all of us that passed were no longer in the room to witness the retesting....all 5 were later in the queue to get their photos done.

Glad to know that water works to correct poor colour vision and reactions.

The huge flaw in the system as exemplified above aside....the OP reports a good change in official attitude towards road safety. I've often dreamed that if I ever win the lottery, part of my charity would be an ongoing road safety campaign.

Water certainly affects my vision and reactions but not necessarily improves.

Oh sorry, that's Usque Baugh ( the water of life ) and the spelling of the Anglified version of word doesn't have an ' e '.

If using Irish - please do so correctly - it's uisce beatha. And the anglicised version is whiskey. So pronounced as it derived from uisce to fuisce. To whiskey.

[AlphMichaels]

Can't test for common sense and reverse the idea or concept that the roads are yours only and no other vehicle could possibly be coming around the corner. Love watching so many people parking here. I oft get at least 3 minutes+ to laugh.

Edited May 7, 2015 by AlphMichaels

[bangkokheat]

so since an age they could ride drive anyway they like, the smart ones think that 15 hours of tests/training will change their road etiquette? pfffft

[gudtymchuk]

Obviously land transportation "officials" monitoring the written driving exams feel the need to up the intake of monetary compensation for "scoring" said tests....

[Jeffrey346]

Do you think this will stop them from driving down the wrong side of the road?

[stoli]

The test I took here in Pattaya to get my license took about 2 min. The first part was I had to identify the color the Thai administrator pointed (green, blue, etc) and then sit in an office chair and press the wooden brake pedal attached to the floor when the monitor showed a red color. That's it. Done and I'm good for 5 years.

My wife who has never driven has a Thai license so yea they could use some standards here.

I think this could be misleading to other future applicants. If you received a 5 year renewal license, you obviously were renewing your 1 year license in which you were then tested. It would be nice of you had told the complete story, rather than trying to Thai bash. In any country, renewals are very easy, and should be.

[jlwilliamsjr18]

Idiots....a tougher test will not improve driving habits... better enforcement to adhere to rule of law.

[RobertHima]

I like how they think that the number of hours may define any kind of quality.

I have renewed my driving license last December, I had to sit in a room and watch some education videos, I don't remember the length of required time.

I've learned a lot, for example, did you know that when the light turns green, you can't go, until you wait for all the drivers passing through the red light? That is, passing through red is legal, but green, you have to give way

The video was quite interesting anyway (some animation with lot of accidents), but still, some guys managed to doze off, some others played with their phone, as there was no teacher in the room.

Anyway, after the time passed, someone came into the room and paused the video - in the middle of a sentence, and told us, the required time passed, we can go. Those, who are doing professional drivers license, have to watch another X hours, so please stay in the room and watch more.

That's it. No regard for content, only have to pass some the time in the room with a video running.

[for real]

This will result in even more accidents.

20 years ago driving to Malaysia I came across many stright and broken yellow lines painted on bends in the road.

Sometimes the broken line was on the correct side.....And sometimes not.

I do not imagine anyone has botherd to correct this.

[Thaddeus]

Where do you start with this thread?

(with all due respect to Rodgers and Hammerstein)

When you read you begin with ''A'' ''B'' ''C''

With this news you begin with ''Don't'' ''Thai'' ''Me''

[ToS2014]

I'm sorry or maybe a bit confused. What kind of driving test or exam will stop a motorcycle from nearly crashing into me (a car with lights on) head on? I had to nearly cause an accident with the vehicles behind me to miss this poor lad with no helmet and a cell phone in one hand. Guess he was in a hurry to pass the sugar cane truck going 40KM along with the 10 or so other vehicles behind the truck.