Issuance of Thai driving licenses will be tougher under revised rule

[Thaddeus]

For those with time on their hands.

GO TO www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/road code/index.html

You will find the NZ Road Code ON LINE

Thai version of this MAY help

Thailand already has a Highway Code book, and it is almost a direct copy of the UK one (same side of the road being the reason I suppose) look it up, I'm sure it is every bit as stringent as yours.

Having rules are not the problem.

Applying them correctly is. (that is the fault of the police)

Coupled with not understanding why there are rules (that is the fault of the instructors) and the ''it doesn't apply to me'' attitude (well, whose problem is that?).

[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.

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with you on that statement . Whilst good training and a test should be a requirement to receive a license it won't make someone a good driver/rider.

Strict enforcement of the laws and experience gained over time is the only way people's attitude/ skills will improve, even then there will still be some bad road users because everyone's skills and road sense varies

Actually we don't disagree at all.

Obviously education needs to be backed up by regulation. A highly strict Driver Training system needs to be backed-up by strict road law enforcement, safe road-planning/construction, etc.

These regulations are all obviously of vital importance, but this thread was about the Test, and I was just saying that these tests need to be of a high standard and based on real-road tuition and real-road testing. This should obviously be accompanied by strict enforcement of road laws, and also investment in construction / repair of roads, strict vehicle roadworthiness regulations with a priority on making them safe. Its a huge list of very expensive and logistically Herculean things that need to be done, but without doing them, the other world-leading Hub stuff will never happen.

[barryofthailand]

The first thing the land transport ministry should do is to revamp the driving skill test. I have met few Thais that actually know how to drive properly.

The driving schools should also revamp their teaching skills to properlty teach people how to drive.

Barry

[Pattaya28]

Tougher than what ??

[butch333]

good idea but will change nothing here in thailand . after the writing test , they need to make a test of driving on the roads ( and not just a park test inside a parking ) of 1 hour ( i think they come back in the parking after 5 minutes ) , give a salary of 30.000bath for the examinators to try to stop the corruption , control the examinators , teach the police the rules of driving code ( cause they don't know the rules ) , apply the rules on the roads by the police like stop burn the red lights don't make turn when it's signaled no Uturn stay on your lane and not use 2 lanes use the slow lane ( the left lane ) if this one isyou make free look in the mirrors ( not decoration ) stop to cut the paintings lines in the curves look before engage on a road or cross a road and not after understand that when you change lane or cross a road you have to take for the driver of the other lane cause you make a movement so you're wrong in case of accident when you make a movement go quick ( and not very slowly like they do ) drive in right way be fairplay on the roads and especialy in high traffic don't block the drivers who wants to turn to the right in the high traffic ( they like to stay on the dumper of the car before them in the files and don't let holes for the cars of motorbikes who have to turn to the right ) give room for the ambulance the fireman and the police when you hear the warning horn to let them go for help the people , stop to react like big selfish . but i think it ll take 100 years in thailand untill the police don't do the work for what she's pay , and enforce the fine ( 400 bath for burn a red light per ex is a big joke ) , when they ll touch the only thing the thai love , the money , things will change

[ttl]

A snippet from my Calgary (Canada) experience.A few years ago

REAL Highway Partol Car, U N M A R K E D staffed by a pair of Royal Canadian Mounted Police,complete with Jodphurs and attachments.

Radar blipped me at 5mph ,above the limit, on a 10 mile straight on the way to Edminton,their vehicle faced me on the opposite side of the road,they did a quick Uie and were onto it.

When they saw my Inrernational Permit they had quite a chat and issued a warning.

I queeried the CAP CAM on the officer, and he explained its use.

One officer remained in their car,with dash cam and audio running.The officer talking with me was audio and video recorded automatically during our conversation.

Probabaly the most interesting part was that their Base Office,had a daily random choice,of

any recordings which showed ,every aspect of every intercept made during their duty period.

Hard to better that system? Comment please

RCMP are very strict and no one dared to offend,for fear of dismissal

[papa al]

It's still okay to ride on the sidewalk if the road is too crowded, right?

Good.

Edited May 7, 2015 by papa al

[ttl]

Thaddeus Suggest you look at the Thai one and have a laugh at what is not included!

[JohnnyJazz]

It doesn't solve the real problem. According to statististics, 70% to 80% of accidents in Thailand involve motorcycles.

Beside, it's not a problem that drivers don't know the rules but that they don't respect them because most of the time they are not enforced anyway. More speed checks and more cameras that automatically catch offenders and send fine will be a more efficient solution. Next to my place there is an intersection where it is forbidden to make a u-turn. Until they installed such a camera nobody cared. Now that the carmera is installed and widely advertised, I haven't seen a single driver make a u-turn there, it really works.

[Wombat6]

Where do you start with this thread?

A good start would be to sack staff who issue licences for a fee without any Tests. (I know a lot of people who took this short cut to obtain a licence)

[LNKDES1]

"driving etiquette"?

[snoopy21]

I don't quite understand the intention behind of this revised rule. Perhaps, the Thai government wants to cease or at least decrease the number of road accident. But if they got such intention, the government should have stricter control of alcohol consumption of the people rather than on the issuance of Driver licence.

[Anon999]

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.

There are 100's of thousands of Thai drivers with a licence for life that have never taken a test. My wife is one of them, however, she has had some gentle tuition and I no longer want to jump out of the car when she is driving.

[Anon999]

It doesn't solve the real problem. According to statististics, 70% to 80% of accidents in Thailand involve motorcycles.

Beside, it's not a problem that drivers don't know the rules but that they don't respect them because most of the time they are not enforced anyway. More speed checks and more cameras that automatically catch offenders and send fine will be a more efficient solution. Next to my place there is an intersection where it is forbidden to make a u-turn. Until they installed such a camera nobody cared. Now that the carmera is installed and widely advertised, I haven't seen a single driver make a u-turn there, it really works.

Up here in Isaan the habit of cutting corners when turning right from a side road is prevalent. A motorcyclist recently ran into the rear offside wheel of my car after I had already crossed into the road. He and his mother claimed they did not know you were supposed to stay to the left of the centre line when turning right!

[northernphil]

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!

My wife passed her test last year too. Her parking was none to good and was told to do it again, this time success but she parted with 200B. If I let her drive I sit in the back of the car with my eyes closed. If she wants to take the car out I have to reverse it and take it through the gate. A Thai driving licence is a licence to kill.

[Patje55]

meaning that you have to pay the double amount to pass ?

[quandow]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Where do you start with this thread?

You START by saying it's not the TEST, it's the ENFORCEMENT OF THE TRAFFIC LAWS!!!

GAWD I'm glad I'm getting out of here! It will be great to see Thailand in the rear view mirror of the car I actually bothered to register with a license I legally obtained, knowing I am the EXCEPTION and not the RULE on the road I'm driving on. In the words of Charlie Brown: AAAARRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!

[Thaddeus]

Thaddeus Suggest you look at the Thai one and have a laugh at what is not included!

Be fair, I did say almost.

[seajae]

what they need to do is teach them to look for other vehicles before moving off and not to use their phones while driving. Last week I was driving along a road at 60K(speed limit) when a 4 wheel drive came flying out of a private driveway in reverse straight across the road in front of me, luckily I have good reactions and hit the brakes, I stopped with squealing tyres 18" from her door. She didnt even look at me, she was too busy talking on her mobile and just sat there on the road blocking both directions so I hit the horn and held it on. This really upset her as it obviously stopped her from being able too have her phone conversation so she lowered her window and started to abuse me screaming and carrying on like a shrew so I flipped the bird at her reversed off and edged around the back of the car. An hour later she rocked up to where I had gone with her father and a couple of other guys and started in on me again so I let her know exactly what I thought of her, seems because she was a young good looking female with a big car she thought she was in the right no matter what but I soon gave her the buff end of that theory, Her father actually realized she was the one at fault and patted me on the shoulder then shook my hand and left with her still going sh*t face, the 2 guys just backed off when they realized I was pretty p*ssed at her and was not in the mood for backing down, Until such time as these drivers can learn they are not a law unto themselves, that they have to look for approaching vehicles and not to talk on the phone while driving this sh*t will keep happening and does so everyday. The first thing thai drivers need to learn is patience then consideration for other road users as well as to know the laws but I doubt it will ever happen

[quandow]

"What they need to introduce is a driver training like in most developed countries. More writing test, watching videos etc is waste of time and money. They need to learn how to drive properly in real life situations"

Again, until these lazy-@ssed monkeys BiB start enforcing traffic laws with ACTUAL fines, nobody is going to give a rat's behind. I used to drive a car in Puerto Rico, and during the two years I was there, I got 11 speeding tickets. Why? Because everyone there KNEW that the only people who paid those tickets were those that didn't know YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO PAY THEM. Same principal here except they don't even bother issuing tickets except to extort drivers at Songkran Fund Raising traffic stops.

Edited May 7, 2015 by quandow

[fareastguy]

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

I hope one of the tests will be on "Cyclist recognition" !!

[RigPig]

Well anyone that uses the Chalong round about on Phuket will know that it is easier to use traffic cones to block off an entrance to it than fine the morons that don´t know how to use it.

Saw 2 BIB almost about to have a punch up arguing over who´s lane should go first one morning, even they don´t know how to use one.

The problem is not that they don´t have a (rough) idea what the road rules are they just don care! Why? Because the laws are not enforced or are paid out under the table. I have NEVER met a Thai girl that has a license so they are only going to be seen as punishing (making it harder) for those at least attempting to do something right. The end result will just be less people with licences.

How can you expect people to obey the law when the people enforcing it break it everyday? The amount of times I have seen a policeman riding a bike with just his cap on (no helmet), even leaving the police station.

If they can´t get them to wear helmets (and their exulted leader gave a great example of that recently) what hope have you got ?

[Basil B]

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.

What is the point of the driving test when so many drivers have cheated it or just not done the test.

It scares me to think that a person with a full Thai Driving Licence can legally drive on British roads.

About time the UK and other countries refused to recognise the driving licences of Thai and other countries that have poor driving test standards, I know the knee jerk reaction would be "Tit for Tat" but if Thailand refused to recognise foreigners driving licences it would be the final nail in it's tourist trade coffin.

It is criminal to let any one drive who is unfit too, those government officials (not just the test centre staff but police) who take bribes should at least be sacked and nether allowed again to work as a government employee.

[bkk75]

What about psychological exams?

Up to date examine tools instead of that ridiculous foot pedal & depth perception.

Will exam questions be randomized from selection of hundreds?

[English 1]

Will this apply to holders of UK Driving Licences who have had Thai Licences like me for 12 years!?

Not needed.

Just sort out the terrible Thai drivers.

A UK licence holders Thai licence should be automatically renewed.

[mango66]

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.

same my one, she have it for 10 years, never tuched the stearing wheel;

not for the license,

and thanks good also not with the license in the hand,

but the license helped,

as i dont have an int. one,

so my wifw showed just hers and said she felt week for driving :-)) ;

[loxley99]

Please ..Please ...PLEASE ...When will someone realise that in most cases the laws are already in place ..yes I agree that those currently driving certainly need educating as to the rules of the road But an even better test criteria, once studied and passed will be forgotten once on the road...UNLESS the police start to enforce these rules, as if not it will do nothing to alleviate the carnage on Thai roads. It always comes back to incompetent law enforcement !

Again I repeat my plea on behalf of the widows, mothers, fathers and orphans of the 25,000 road death victims that there will be this year ..take some real action ..do not just pontificate.

[NickJ]

Said it before.....insure the driver and not just the car so anyone can drive it......uninsured to drive the insurance is void.get to many tickets no insuranc......or super high premuims.......Just like the States......Sad but this is the only real idea to help fix the problems....Owners will start to think who they let drive there cars and companies will only be able to hire drivers with good records.

[gandalf12]

Here is a novel idea, how about some actual driving taking place? Strange concept I know but who knows it may show a lot of problems. Include reversing, parking and general competency.

[Jim walker]

Lerner drivers to spend 15 hours instead of just four hours to learn all the relevant traffic laws number one law Me First must get to the front of the traffic so more understanding of the traffic laws than the Police then