Driving lessons in Chiang Mai 2016

[Monty65]

Can anyone recommend a good driving school for my Thai wife. She has a driving license but does not know how to drive and is fearful of driving. She just needs practice/advice/guidance with a patient teacher. I would prefer a school or teacher that provides a car. Please include any advice and cost information if you have it. Thank you

[silverhawk_usa]

We used this school Chiang Puak Driving School and were quite pleased. They supplied the cars and were quite flexible on schedule. They supplied written material which basically covered everything on the test. They accompany the student to the driving test and supply the car OR in our case she used our own car as she had practiced parking with it on her own. The rates and other info is on their website in Thai and English.

Edited June 8, 2016 by silverhawk_usa

[idman]

I have to ask the obvious and with proper due and is respect to you and your wife. You stated she already had a license but cannot drive and is afraid of driving. I know this is Thailand but that just boggles my mind. How did she get a license in the first bloody place?

[Monty65]

Thanks for the information,Silverhawk, I will check them out.

Idman- good question. Poor wording in my message. She got her license 20 years ago and has not driven since. She is very uncomfortable driving, somewhat fearful and needs practice.

[lj cm]

Thanks for the information,Silverhawk, I will check them out.

Idman- good question. Poor wording in my message. She got her license 20 years ago and has not driven since. She is very uncomfortable driving, somewhat fearful and needs practice.

Actually; 20 years ago, you could buy a special colored envelope outside the office for 500 Baht, and then you would automatically pass all tests.

You did not have to do the tests at all, but would pass "With flying colors!" OK; corny!

[rawhod]

+1 for Chiang Puak Driving School.

Excellent..

[Greenside]

I have to ask the obvious and with proper due and is respect to you and your wife. You stated she already had a license but cannot drive and is afraid of driving. I know this is Thailand but that just boggles my mind. How did she get a license in the first bloody place?

You clearly have no concept of the Thai driving test requirements. An atrociously bad computer test featuring ambiguous questions (some of which are presented twice with different answers) followed by a practical session featuring an unaccompanied drive round a rectangular course followed by forward and reverse between two sets of poles for about 10 metres and then parallel parking in a space the size of a bus.

This goes a long way to explaining why Thailand featured #2 in the WHO's list of fatalities per 100,000 people, although if you look at the fatalities per 100,000 vehicles almost everywhere in Africa makes us look almost sane. The roads are in quite good condition but lack of education, enforcement and common sense are there for all to see. Have fun with the statistics here.

I won't go on but I expect some others might...

Edited June 9, 2016 by Greenside

[KKr]

In case you still need the information:
I Got excellent experience with this driving school. (But I forgot the name) 
https://www.google.co.th/maps/@18.7729426,99.0280066,3a,75y,270h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sra4dGYR1s8lFTNoXTA1pyw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en  
Instructor, at my request, even took the student around the center in rush hour. 
She passed the driving test first attempt.

Now a confident driver.

Edited August 18, 2016 by KKr

[Oscar2]

On 09/06/2016 at 10:25 AM, rawhod said:

+1 for Chiang Puak Driving School.

Excellent..

i'm fairly certain that is the same school my wife went to also - quite a few years ago. at least it was on Chang Phueak and looked like it had been there forever, even then. they were good. the instructor even accompanied her to the motor vehicle office and made certain she passed, which she did. she then went out and bought a very nice car which was never driven and sat outside covered for about 5 years. she had a license but could not drive! one day she got up and and took my car out for about 8 hours (with a friend), practicing at places like Promenada, Sansai park, and i forget where else. she did the same thing the next day. by day 3 she was a very competent driver and had her car towed to the shop, changed oil, new battery, etc. and has been driving every day since.

[12DrinkMore]

10 hours ago, Oscar2 said:

i'm fairly certain that is the same school my wife went to also - quite a few years ago. at least it was on Chang Phueak and looked like it had been there forever, even then. they were good. the instructor even accompanied her to the motor vehicle office and made certain she passed, which she did. she then went out and bought a very nice car which was never driven and sat outside covered for about 5 years. she had a license but could not drive! one day she got up and and took my car out for about 8 hours (with a friend), practicing at places like Promenada, Sansai park, and i forget where else. she did the same thing the next day. by day 3 she was a very competent driver and had her car towed to the shop, changed oil, new battery, etc. and has been driving every day since.

 

Day 3 and very competent??? 

 

All relative, I suppose.

 

In Thailand competency is judged on whether you can dial a number and have a telephone conversation whlst undertaking on the hard shoulder at 130 kms/hr.

[bazza40]

Driving lessons from a Thai instructor is like taking temperance lessons from an alcoholic. Their level of competence is abysmal.

 

My Thai GF after about six months of patient instruction from me now knows how to do a handbrake start on a hill, what the gears on an automatic are used for on steep grades, use of rear vision mirrors, and anticipation of developing situations ahead. None of which she knew when she got her full driving licence. Still teaching her potholes are to be avoided, not embraced.

[mfd101]

I'm currently teaching my partner (27) to drive. Pretty nervewracking. Basically has no idea, whether the mechanics, how to turn left at a T intersection without going wide into oncoming traffic, or generally how to stay alive. The concept of 'defensive driving' certainly isn't there.

 

I gather it's actually illegal for me to teach him sitting beside him as he drives, even though I have my Thai d/l. In the West this would be a normal procedure (short of paying a driving school) but here the 'correct' procedure (apparently) is: First get your licence, then learn to drive (by whatever means).

[Ricardo]

My son learned/passed last month, at a good little school 1mile North of MaeJo, PM me if that's closer for you ?

 

They had a couple-of-rai laid-out as roads, and their own cars, also did on-road driving for the advanced people.