Private driving schools 'will be mandatory'

[thai3]

They should end the fail one or two parts come back next week for another go at those farce, fail is a fail.

[Surasak]

Nine years ago I taught my Thai stepson to drive. Illegal as he had no licence but I started him on quiet country roads. One hour per day until he got the hang of gear changing, hill starts and three point turns. After one month I allowed him to drive the 13Km from our village to the main road and a return, until he felt confident. Although not applicable to Thai driving, I made him study the UK Highway Code. The test here is a joke but he past with no problems. I don't say he is 100%, but I can trust him out on the roads to be careful and considerate, I also feel confident sat along side him and I can't stand being driven. I'm also pleased to say he is one of the few who does not drink, but he is mug enough to allow his friend to use him as a free taxi.

[greenchair]

The driving school near my home is 5000 per course. This is just another money making ,"as long as you pay, you can get any certificate you want", dreamed up by the ministry of private education. 

In my country you must first sit the written test. Then you get an

L plate .you must be with a liscenced driver at all times. 

Then you take the practical test. 

Then you can drive restrictively for about 1 year. 

Then full licence. 

My friend told me the 5000 baht driving school guarantee the license. (Whether you can drive or not ) lol

[Dexlowe]

2 hours ago, digibum said:

 

How serious can you make the penalties.  10,000 baht for driving without a helmet?  100,000 baht?  1,000,000 baht?  

 

First off, traffic fines across the world have the same problem.  If I'm Bill Gates there's absolutely no incentive for me to follow any laws unless they result in imprisonment.  A $500 speeding ticket is a joke to someone who has boatloads of money.  

 

Here we have a similar issue.  If you fine someone making 300 baht a day 10,000 for driving without a helmet, they can never pay the fine.  People will disregard the law because the consequences are unrealistic.  

 

So, now you have to come up with a punishment for not paying your fine.  Assuming you don't have the financial resources to pay a fine, what's next, prison?  Are you proposing they load of the jails with minor traffic offenders too poor to pay?  

 

The real answer is making people give a s**t.  Right now nobody cares if they have a license or don't have a license.  

 

But this is a much, much bigger issue as it goes to the core of a lot of what is wrong in Thailand.  Thailand is a very top-down society.  When the government is perceived as strong, people follow the rules because they fear punishment.  When the government is perceived as weak, people blatantly break the rules because they have no fear of punishment.  

 

This is somewhat different from many western societies where public pressure keeps most people in check.  For instance, most people don't litter not because they fear the government but they fear the public opinion of others.  Yes, people still fear punishment by the government but they tend to obey rules more readily because they fear the opinions of others.  

 

You can see this in farangs who get angry because back home if they saw someone putting their baby in the back of a pickup they would confront them about it.  In Thailand, you're likely to get a beat down for reprimanding someone.  

 

Until Thais start policing each other, this isn't going to change.  It doesn't need to turn into a society where everyone rats on each other but it starts with parents who refuse to let their children ride motorbikes on public roads without a license or helmet.  It starts with people being willing to take down a license plate and report a hit and run driver.  You can't just keep throwing your hands in the air and expecting the government to somehow make people care about their own or your safety on the roads.  

 

Nicely put. The one big problem is krieng jai. But to change that, you will need to go deep into the Thai psyche and alter the ingrained habits of generations. When violence is an ever-present response to criticism, that only makes it harder.

[georgemandm]

11 minutes ago, Surasak said:

Nine years ago I taught my Thai stepson to drive. Illegal as he had no licence but I started him on quiet country roads. One hour per day until he got the hang of gear changing, hill starts and three point turns. After one month I allowed him to drive the 13Km from our village to the main road and a return, until he felt confident. Although not applicable to Thai driving, I made him study the UK Highway Code. The test here is a joke but he past with no problems. I don't say he is 100%, but I can trust him out on the roads to be careful and considerate, I also feel confident sat along side him and I can't stand being driven. I'm also pleased to say he is one of the few who does not drink, but he is mug enough to allow his friend to use him as a free taxi.

Great to read what you did .

I am now teaching my thai partner to drive and she is going ok , but I tell her to not drive like thai people and she will be a good driver at the end I hop .

[Ceruhe]

I like how Driving Practise for 2017 is still Optional....555 amazing.

 

But as always, good luck~

[Kwasaki]

4 hours ago, p_brownstone said:

It has long been my opinion that the main reasons for the appalling driving standards in Thailand are the Driving "Schools" themselves and the way the "Test" is conducted.

 

The Driving Test here only requires the applicant to drive around an obstacle course without hitting anything, backing up between cones, sometimes a hill start (but rarely) etc., so the Driving "Schools" simply replicate this layout which makes passing the "Test" an easy task.

 

The problem is that in the vast majority of cases the newly qualified driver has never been on an actual road before - never seen a car approaching him, never overtaken another vehicle and so on, but clutching his new Licence he considers himself the equal of all other drivers on the road.

 

Unless and until the Teaching and Testing procedures are drastically changed there can be no improvement in driving standards or safety here.

 

Patrick

 

 

 

 

Those hill starts are very tough in an auto car. 

[Kabula]

Good idea!

 

I recently took a driving course with Like English driving school and enjoyed it all.

 

The tests are much harder now and they even have a practice driving course and it is not as easy as one would think.  I've been driving all over the world for 50 years and I had to practice on the course for one hour.

 

Out of two hundred applicants only twenty of us passed all tests on the first try!  I believe most had been to a driving school.

 

Leaning the signage and road markings is very important.

 

Also, learning to drive on the opposite side of the road with a steering wheel on the right side is different.

[Moti24]

1 hour ago, georgemandm said:

Yes very true , but 3,000 road deaths a year .

more like 30,000 not 3,000 .

go read it on google if you not believe me , like 90 people die a day in thailand.

the government needs to take control and care about thai people and fix it up .

Yes, you're right.  3000+ only accounts for Songkran.

[whatproblem]

Who is going to teach people ,can't be Thais because they don't know how to drive 

[seajae]

how are they supposed to learn when they allow a learner driver to have an alcohol content, are thais such alcoholics that they cant do anything without drinking alcohol, its really p*ss poor. The driving schools are a great idea but make them sit the test and be taken out on the roads with an examiner to actually pass the test like western countries. As for cars/bikes, make it illegal to buy them unless they can produce a driving licence and unless they are hire cars make them have to be licensed to the driver so if an unlicensed driver is pulled over the one that bought the car is also charged and fined. All cars bikes need to be registered to a licensed rider/driver, if they dont pay their fines simply confiscate the bikes/cars registered to them. Trouble is in Thailand no one wants to have to do any sort of work especially if it involves being outside an air conditioned office/building, huge scope to improve the countries finances if they do it right but like everything else it will be forgotten about before long

[Golden Triangle]

Well let's hope that they have the will to carry this through, according to the article 4000 licences are issued every day, so taking weekends out and all the holidays and holy days that the locals enjoy approximately 920,000 licences are issued nationwide every year.

 

Unfortunately many of us on here won't be around to see the results of their efforts to improve road safety, after all, Rome wasn't built in a day was it ?

 

I think that there should be government run driving centres, with instructors trained and certified to international standards, link up Police and the Department of Land Transport databases, more use of ANPR and police trained to operate it properly, stiffer penalties for offenders etc etc.

 

Of course the above is still open to corruption but surely any attempt to make improvements is better than letting it continue as it is.

 

Just my Two pence worth. 

 

 

[digibum]

2 hours ago, georgemandm said:

Very good and I agree with you but one more thing it is the government who need to stand up and change it all .

it will take time but can be done .

 

You seemingly missed the entire point of what I just said, and then agreed with it :-)

 

The whole problem is Thai people want the government to fix problems while they do nothing.  I've always said that if you want to stop Thais from standing in front of the doors of the BTS blocking people from exiting, yell "Get the <deleted> out of the way, you idiot!"  If enough people started doing that, people would get the hint and quit doing it rather than lose face.  No need for police intervention or new laws.  

 

It simply requires people to take responsibility for an orderly society.  

 

If you browse through TVF, you'll find countless tales of people being on hired busses or vans where the driver was driving like a maniac or taxi and motorcy drivers who put lives at risk.  And the Thais say nothing.  They just sit there and let their lives be put at risk.  

 

What would do think would be more effective, the police cracking down on bus and van drivers or if Thais boycotted bus and van companies that had multiple complaints about driver safety?  

 

As long as people keep getting in the vans and busses and expecting the police or the government to fix the problem, things can only get worse because you cannot reasonably make enforcement thorough enough or the penalties severe enough make a big enough impact.  

 

Obviously, I'm not suggesting that all traffic problems will be fixed via public shaming or that citizens should be out there making traffic stops but without the public taking some responsibility, there's no way the police will ever have much of an impact.  The numbers are too skewed against them.  

 

 

[trainman34014]

With no proper enforcement they are wasting their time as far as driving standards are concerned.   Nice little earner for the chosen few but when Cops are only interested in collecting punitive tea money things will never change much for the better.   90% of people around our local villages have no licence, no insurance and no road tax and never intend to get any.  Until the 'culture' of the Police is reformed/changed making new rules about road use is pissing in the wind.

[Khun Paul]

The instructors at the local school here in don are not much better than the people they Are supposed to be teaching, they teach zero indication when turning or changing ;lanes, double parking and so far speeds so slow they can cause an accident. having followed them ( not deliberately ) on many occasions it is  disgrace.

The big question is 'Who is going to teach the instructors,?', I have yet to see a Thai who can actually follow the law and that includes the Police. Some are good but they are in the minority.

 

[KBsinter]

 

This is a Country with 3rd world mentality,nobody is alive today will see the changes

that everybody out lined above,it is what it is.you cannot change 65 million people

attitudes and habits ,in Academic learning it takes 100 yrs 3 generations and proper

teaching skills to attain.LOL

[Bluespunk]

'' However, academics and traffic experts have raised questions of quality control and safety if the plan is enforced''

 

Yeah, like it's going to make driving standards any worse...

[georgemandm]

4 hours ago, Moti24 said:

Yes, you're right.  3000+ only accounts for Songkran.

Yes haha should not laugh about it but .

[GreasyFingers]

Cannot understand why you want more regulation to make Thailand like where you come from (there it is mainly to satisfy the insurance companies). Yes, it is dangerouse to drive here but that is a decision we made when we moved here and it is not going to change in our lifetime.

 

If you really know how to drive a car or motor bikes having a license does not make you a better driver. Some of the kids on motor bikes have been riding for years, it is just that they have not learnt to have our fears.

[whimsy]

The reason this is being considered is to reduce the road death toll. While better licence training may make a few % difference, its a side issue. Primary direct safety measures should be taken too. Enforcement of helmet use, banning passengers in the back of pickups, seat belts in strengthened buses with better brakes and crash protection, driver motorcycle awareness campaigns, no mobile phone use while driving or riding etc. These measures implemented and enforced  together could reduce deaths by 30 % or more in one year.

[georgemandm]

3 hours ago, GreasyFingers said:

Cannot understand why you want more regulation to make Thailand like where you come from (there it is mainly to satisfy the insurance companies). Yes, it is dangerouse to drive here but that is a decision we made when we moved here and it is not going to change in our lifetime.

 

If you really know how to drive a car or motor bikes having a license does not make you a better driver. Some of the kids on motor bikes have been riding for years, it is just that they have not learnt to have our fears.

Are you for real with that statement give me a break.

the kids the people here have no idea how to drive cars or bikes .

what has road laws get to do with satisfying insurance companies, not one thing.

road laws are to save people's life's 

Thailand needs regularly ASAP . 

 

 

[Jonmarleesco]

'... academics and traffic experts have raised questions of quality control and safety if the plan is enforced ...' They mean compared to that that Thai motorists currently demonstrate?

[Jonmarleesco]

On 9/6/2016 at 0:23 PM, Kabula said:

Good idea!

 

I recently took a driving course with Like English driving school and enjoyed it all.

 

The tests are much harder now and they even have a practice driving course and it is not as easy as one would think.  I've been driving all over the world for 50 years and I had to practice on the course for one hour.

 

Out of two hundred applicants only twenty of us passed all tests on the first try!  I believe most had been to a driving school.

 

Leaning the signage and road markings is very important.

 

Also, learning to drive on the opposite side of the road with a steering wheel on the right side is different.

'Also, learning to drive on the opposite side of the road with a steering wheel on the right side is different.' Only if you're used to having a wheel on the left, and your opposite side of the road is on the right.

[Jonmarleesco]

On 9/6/2016 at 7:33 AM, p_brownstone said:

It has long been my opinion that the main reasons for the appalling driving standards in Thailand are the Driving "Schools" themselves and the way the "Test" is conducted.

 

The Driving Test here only requires the applicant to drive around an obstacle course without hitting anything, backing up between cones, sometimes a hill start (but rarely) etc., so the Driving "Schools" simply replicate this layout which makes passing the "Test" an easy task.

 

The problem is that in the vast majority of cases the newly qualified driver has never been on an actual road before - never seen a car approaching him, never overtaken another vehicle and so on, but clutching his new Licence he considers himself the equal of all other drivers on the road.

 

Unless and until the Teaching and Testing procedures are drastically changed there can be no improvement in driving standards or safety here.

 

Patrick

 

 

 

'... the newly qualified driver ... clutching his new Licence ... considers himself the equal of all other drivers on the road.' In Thailand, he probably is.

[Jonmarleesco]

19 hours ago, GreasyFingers said:

Cannot understand why you want more regulation to make Thailand like where you come from (there it is mainly to satisfy the insurance companies). Yes, it is dangerouse to drive here but that is a decision we made when we moved here and it is not going to change in our lifetime.

 

If you really know how to drive a car or motor bikes having a license does not make you a better driver. Some of the kids on motor bikes have been riding for years, it is just that they have not learnt to have our fears.

This comment did give me a good laugh ... I wasn't sure what else to do.  

[alocacoc]

that doesn't work. Driving practice required 9hrs? What a joke.

[DavisH]

No need and not workable. The DLT should still do the testing but make drivers go out onto the actual road. For example, they could leave the Nonthaburi office on Tiwanon Rd, turn left at Khae Rai, and go down and onto the expressway. Go off at Changwattana; go into a shopping centre to show they can park, then back to the office. Simply driving cones in a car park is bs. Of course it won't happen unless they massively increase the fine for unlicensed driving - big fine and vehicle impoundment for a month. 

[georgemandm]

2 minutes ago, DavisH said:

No need and not workable. The DLT should still do the testing but make drivers go out onto the actual road. For example, they could leave the Nonthaburi office on Tiwanon Rd, turn left at Khae Rai, and go down and onto the expressway. Go off at Changwattana; go into a shopping centre to show they can park, then back to the office. Simply driving cones in a car park is bs. Of course it won't happen unless they massively increase the fine for unlicensed driving - big fine and vehicle impoundment for a month. 

Not going to happen here , I just take it as it is , gives me the S??? But I just put up with it .

trying to teach my thai to drive now and she will be good if she listens to me and drives like we do back home , but Thais never ever listen, but I hop she dose .

[DavisH]

6 minutes ago, georgemandm said:

Not going to happen here , I just take it as it is , gives me the S??? But I just put up with it .

trying to teach my thai to drive now and she will be good if she listens to me and drives like we do back home , but Thais never ever listen, but I hop she dose .

I agree one needs the driving skills one develops back home...but driving like one does back home just leads to frustration....I still have my driving skill, but it has to be adapted to the local conditions - like expecting the unexpected....one needs a lot of patience to drive here, and to be watching out for things I wouldn't normally do back home. . 

[georgemandm]

8 minutes ago, DavisH said:

I agree one needs the driving skills one develops back home...but driving like one does back home just leads to frustration....I still have my driving skill, but it has to be adapted to the local conditions - like expecting the unexpected....one needs a lot of patience to drive here, and to be watching out for things I wouldn't normally do back home. . 

I agree with you this place is a joke , I told my thai to day to drive for the other drivers and try and think a head .

i have been driving a long time and I have had some close ones here in two years with the car .

i sometimes think the thai government not care about the thai people here and what a high road toll , to keep the head  Count down .

just not understand how it can just keep on going the way it is .

last you my thai said to me what you care about the why thai people drive and my reply was I think it is time thai people start care about thai people and fix it .