Driving Licence Color Test

[sturdyd]

Apologies if this is not posted in the correct forum. I find the "search" fuction to be somewhat scattershot. Mods, correct if I bunged it up.

Anyway, as a red-green color impaired fellow, I'd be very interested in other similarly impaired member's experiences in obtaining a Thai driving license. There's no way I could pass an Ishahara test, but I'd be okay with a Farnsworth Lantern (FALANT) or even a Farnsworth D-15 test. Or maybe the test is not so formal. In any case, if you would be so kind as to tell me your test was like and at what licence bureau you took it I'd be most apprciative.

Also, please, if you're unfamiliar with color-blindness (or more accurately, color deficiency) please don't just post an opinion. I'd really like to read some genuine experiences. I thank you for your courtesy.

Also, nuts! I misspelled Driving as Criving. So color-impaired and typing-impaired.

Edited November 6, 2015 by sturdyd

[Sophon]

The tests differ from office to office, so it would help to know where you will be applying.

Sophon

[Upnotover]

The tester points at several of the colour spots and you tell him the colour. (at Pattaya office)

Edited November 6, 2015 by Upnotover

[giddyup]

I'm colour blind (red/green) and the only way I passed was to have some help from behind, ie someone whispering in my ear. Before the holier than thou brigade start their rant about how I'm a danger to all on the road because I can't tell a green traffic light from a red one, I might suggest that over 50 years of driving without having caused an accident, dispels that theory. I might also add that Australia doesn't have a colour blindness test to obtain a licence, only an eyesight test, so obviously not all countries see colour blindness as a handicap to driving safely.

Edited November 6, 2015 by giddyup

[andre47]

About 9 per cent of all individuals (man more than women) have a red/green problem. The cause is genetic. In Germany e.g. the red/green test is not necessary for private driving licenses, only for bus and taxi.

[DiDiChok]

You could try getting a 'Chromagen' contact lens for one eye, the non-dominant one. I can assure you that if you're fitted with a magenta one that you'll be able to see the numbers on every plate in the Ishi Hara test. It's like magic when you first see the book through the lens and read out all the numbers. Colour blindness is a rather complicated subject as the eye contains rods, cones and ganglion cells in the retina. It's the cones that determine colour and you are almost certainly deficient in more than one colour. Few people have an identical deficiency although certain deficiency ranges are more frequent than others.

The lens is no good for something clever like the Farnsworth-Munsell test but when fitted around 80% of people can then distinguish red and green easily. The red really appears red but the green appears much darker, so then you use the other eye to see yellow and blue (the other colours on the chart) in order to pass the Thai driving colour test. No you won't ever 'see' the colours, but that's not what's being asked of you. I'm told that it is acceptable to use one to get a private Pilot's licence providing you wear it when flying, but not a commercial Pilot's licence.

The lenses can also be helpful to dyslexic readers and sufferers of other deficiencies, and can be made into spectacles although then the lens becomes obvious to onlookers. I don't know if Chromagen is available in Thailand, but I would have thought so. Like everything in Thailand, you can look for something for ages without being aware that you're six feet away from it. Try looking on the internet using Google first for the places in which you live. You need an assessment, a trial and a fitting by a contact lens practitioner followed by a sharp intake of breath at the cost! But then, do you really want to pass the test on your own or not?

[sturdyd]

Sophon: Absolutely correct, sir. I apologise for not mentioning that I will be applying in Ayutthaya. Has anyone else done so?

Upnotover: Wow! It would be great if I was presented with a test like that. It would be worth a trip to Pattaya (though I think I have to appy in my own amphoe, right?) In any case, thank you. Very encouraging.

Others: I agree a color test (particularly the Ishihara) is way beyond the pale for something as mundane as a driver's license. In the USA my color vision deficiency only prevented me from flying a commercial or military aircraft (though getting a private pilot license was not a problem!) and I too have been driving for over 50 years without significant mishap.

Regarding cheats and augmentation: I'd prefer not, if possible.

Again, just looking for other members experiences. Thanks all.

[giddyup]

Sophon: Absolutely correct, sir. I apologise for not mentioning that I will be applying in Ayutthaya. Has anyone else done so?

Upnotover: Wow! It would be great if I was presented with a test like that. It would be worth a trip to Pattaya (though I think I have to appy in my own amphoe, right?) In any case, thank you. Very encouraging.

Others: I agree a color test (particularly the Ishihara) is way beyond the pale for something as mundane as a driver's license. In the USA my color vision deficiency only prevented me from flying a commercial or military aircraft (though getting a private pilot license was not a problem!) and I too have been driving for over 50 years without significant mishap.

Regarding cheats and augmentation: I'd prefer not, if possible.

Again, just looking for other members experiences. Thanks all.

If you prefer not to cheat, I can't see how you are going to obtain a Thai licence. I'm not sure how successful those Chromagen lenses are, but you are going to have to spend hundreds of dollars to find out. According to a quick Google search there is no way a lens will correct colour blindness, it may in some cases enhance colours, perhaps enough to pass the Ishihara test..

Edited November 7, 2015 by giddyup

[worgeordie]

While renewing my 5 year license a few weeks ago, doing the colour test,

an old Thai guy,said he could not see the board,never mind the colours,!,AND

he still got a new license,little wonder there are so many road accidents here.

regards Worgeordie

[sturdyd]

Sophon: Absolutely correct, sir. I apologise for not mentioning that I will be applying in Ayutthaya. Has anyone else done so?

Upnotover: Wow! It would be great if I was presented with a test like that. It would be worth a trip to Pattaya (though I think I have to appy in my own amphoe, right?) In any case, thank you. Very encouraging.

Others: I agree a color test (particularly the Ishihara) is way beyond the pale for something as mundane as a driver's license. In the USA my color vision deficiency only prevented me from flying a commercial or military aircraft (though getting a private pilot license was not a problem!) and I too have been driving for over 50 years without significant mishap.

Regarding cheats and augmentation: I'd prefer not, if possible.

Again, just looking for other members experiences. Thanks all.

If you prefer not to cheat, I can't see how you are going to obtain a Thai licence. I'm not sure how successful those Chromagen lenses are, but you are going to have to spend hundreds of dollars to find out. According to a quick Google search there is no way a lens will correct colour blindness, it may in some cases enhance colours, perhaps enough to pass the Ishihara test..

My color deficiency is not all that severe. Point out a color and I can name it with some accuracy. It's just the Ishihara book that gives me fits. No way can I see a number or follow a path in all those stupid dots. Surely they use a simpler method. I sure agree about the lenses: ridiculously over priced.

[Sophon]

Sophon: Absolutely correct, sir. I apologise for not mentioning that I will be applying in Ayutthaya. Has anyone else done so?

Upnotover: Wow! It would be great if I was presented with a test like that. It would be worth a trip to Pattaya (though I think I have to appy in my own amphoe, right?) In any case, thank you. Very encouraging.

Others: I agree a color test (particularly the Ishihara) is way beyond the pale for something as mundane as a driver's license. In the USA my color vision deficiency only prevented me from flying a commercial or military aircraft (though getting a private pilot license was not a problem!) and I too have been driving for over 50 years without significant mishap.

Regarding cheats and augmentation: I'd prefer not, if possible.

Again, just looking for other members experiences. Thanks all.

Yes, you have to apply where you live. However, there have been reports of people not living in Bangkok getting their drivers license at the main DLT office at Chatuchak in Bangkok, so maybe that office has jurisdiction over all of Thailand. When I got my license there the colour blindness test was in form of a traffic light displaying red/yellow/green (obviously not where the colour would normally be), and you just had to name the colour. That was a few years ago though, so I don't know if it has changed.

If you don't receive any information here particular to Ayutthaya, I would suggest you take a trip down to the DLT office and take a look/ask them what kind of test you have to take. If it is one you won't be able to pass, then the main office in Bangkok might be worth a try.

Good luck.

Sophon

[giddyup]

Sophon: Absolutely correct, sir. I apologise for not mentioning that I will be applying in Ayutthaya. Has anyone else done so?

Upnotover: Wow! It would be great if I was presented with a test like that. It would be worth a trip to Pattaya (though I think I have to appy in my own amphoe, right?) In any case, thank you. Very encouraging.

Others: I agree a color test (particularly the Ishihara) is way beyond the pale for something as mundane as a driver's license. In the USA my color vision deficiency only prevented me from flying a commercial or military aircraft (though getting a private pilot license was not a problem!) and I too have been driving for over 50 years without significant mishap.

Regarding cheats and augmentation: I'd prefer not, if possible.

Again, just looking for other members experiences. Thanks all.

If you prefer not to cheat, I can't see how you are going to obtain a Thai licence. I'm not sure how successful those Chromagen lenses are, but you are going to have to spend hundreds of dollars to find out. According to a quick Google search there is no way a lens will correct colour blindness, it may in some cases enhance colours, perhaps enough to pass the Ishihara test..

My color deficiency is not all that severe. Point out a color and I can name it with some accuracy. It's just the Ishihara book that gives me fits. No way can I see a number or follow a path in all those stupid dots. Surely they use a simpler method. I sure agree about the lenses: ridiculously over priced.

In Pattaya, where I did my test, they use a big board like Upnotover showed, and the examiner just points to one of the coloured dots and asks you to identify it's colour. I'm like you, I can easily distinguish red or green when they are separate, it's only when all the colours are mixed that I have a problem

[sturdyd]

Sophon: Absolutely correct, sir. I apologise for not mentioning that I will be applying in Ayutthaya. Has anyone else done so?

Upnotover: Wow! It would be great if I was presented with a test like that. It would be worth a trip to Pattaya (though I think I have to appy in my own amphoe, right?) In any case, thank you. Very encouraging.

Others: I agree a color test (particularly the Ishihara) is way beyond the pale for something as mundane as a driver's license. In the USA my color vision deficiency only prevented me from flying a commercial or military aircraft (though getting a private pilot license was not a problem!) and I too have been driving for over 50 years without significant mishap.

Regarding cheats and augmentation: I'd prefer not, if possible.

Again, just looking for other members experiences. Thanks all.

Yes, you have to apply where you live. However, there have been reports of people not living in Bangkok getting their drivers license at the main DLT office at Chatuchak in Bangkok, so maybe that office has jurisdiction over all of Thailand. When I got my license there the colour blindness test was in form of a traffic light displaying red/yellow/green (obviously not where the colour would normally be), and you just had to name the colour. That was a few years ago though, so I don't know if it has changed.

If you don't receive any information here particular to Ayutthaya, I would suggest you take a trip down to the DLT office and take a look/ask them what kind of test you have to take. If it is one you won't be able to pass, then the main office in Bangkok might be worth a try.

Good luck.

Sophon

[sturdyd]

Sophon, I really appreciate your cogent replies. Just what I was looking for. I'm feeling much more confident. The note about the red-green-yellow light was intersting. It seems that's the only test that's really appilcable to driving. After all, I rarely see a group of multihued dots wandering around the streets.

[sturdyd]

Sophon: Absolutely correct, sir. I apologise for not mentioning that I will be applying in Ayutthaya. Has anyone else done so?

Upnotover: Wow! It would be great if I was presented with a test like that. It would be worth a trip to Pattaya (though I think I have to appy in my own amphoe, right?) In any case, thank you. Very encouraging.

Others: I agree a color test (particularly the Ishihara) is way beyond the pale for something as mundane as a driver's license. In the USA my color vision deficiency only prevented me from flying a commercial or military aircraft (though getting a private pilot license was not a problem!) and I too have been driving for over 50 years without significant mishap.

Regarding cheats and augmentation: I'd prefer not, if possible.

Again, just looking for other members experiences. Thanks all.

If you prefer not to cheat, I can't see how you are going to obtain a Thai licence. I'm not sure how successful those Chromagen lenses are, but you are going to have to spend hundreds of dollars to find out. According to a quick Google search there is no way a lens will correct colour blindness, it may in some cases enhance colours, perhaps enough to pass the Ishihara test..

My color deficiency is not all that severe. Point out a color and I can name it with some accuracy. It's just the Ishihara book that gives me fits. No way can I see a number or follow a path in all those stupid dots. Surely they use a simpler method. I sure agree about the lenses: ridiculously over priced.

In Pattaya, where I did my test, they use a big board like Upnotover showed, and the examiner just points to one of the coloured dots and asks you to identify it's colour. I'm like you, I can easily distinguish red or green when they are separate, it's only when all the colours are mixed that I have a problem

[sturdyd]

giddyup: With luck I'll have the same sort of test. We're probably similar in our deficiejustncy: I can use, say, a paint store color swatch without difficulty, but that Ishihara thing is overused and outdated, in my opinion. I can't conceive why anyone would need their color vision tested to that excruciating degree. A 12 wedge color wheel would seem sufficient. Ah, but now I digress from my own topic. Sorry.

[Lefty]

The tester points at several of the colour spots and you tell him the colour. (at Pattaya office)

Same,same for Korat...

Lefty

[sturdyd]

I got it!

I went today just to scope the place out, per Sophon's advice, but once inside I decided to go for broke. An hour and a half later I had my license!

I was the only falang in the place and they treated me like a favorite uncle (one of the wonderful things about living where I do). On the color vision test, yup, just like Lefty and Upnotover said, it was a chart similar to an Ishihara plate, but much more distinctive. I misnamed the second color that was pointed out and I started to sweat, but everybody else laughed, including the tester, and we began again. Then the reaction test and depth perception and peripherl vision and by the time it was over we were all having a pretty good time.

I did not have to take a written test nor a road test. Perhaps because I had a valid US license and a valid International permit. In any case, I'm perfectly legal and much relieved.

Thank you all

[Brit_Doggie]

If you cant tell red from green surely in your conscience you wouldn't risk other peoples lives by using the roads especially here.

[giddyup]

If you cant tell red from green surely in your conscience you wouldn't risk other peoples lives by using the roads especially here.

DELETED You want to tell me why many countries don't use a colour test as part of obtaining a driving licence? Are all the colour blind people in those countries causing mayhem on the roads?

Edited December 8, 2015 by seedy
troll / flaming

[naboo]

In Chiang Mai, being red green colourblind, I had no problem with the colour test, as above it was differentiating between the different colours on the Ishara board. However, I found the peripheral vision test incredibly difficult distinguishing between the red and green light.

[Flyfish]

I too have a "red/green issue. If they are primary(bright) it's ok,but otherwise not.

At Hua HIN testing centre,I made several mistakes,but the very kind and polite official,just kept me trying different ones until I got it right! Large colored discs easier than the small ones!