Want a driving license? Just go to a driving school

 

Picture: Thairath

 

BANGKOK: -- New regulations mean that people who want a driving license will no longer need to be tested at a land department center.

 

All applicants need to do is go to a driving school, get a certificate and they will be behind the wheel.

 

Head of the land transport department Sanit Pornmuang said yesterday it was all part of changes to the rules for getting licenses.

 

If potential drivers can show they have completed the new more stringent training they can pick up a license from any department office, reports Thairath.

 

Drivers now need to do five hours of training instead of the previous four.

 

Sanit said that 93 private driving schools nationwide are registered with his department. Potential drivers will have to go to one of  these to complete the training.

 

But when that is done they will need to do nothing else except present the certificate from the driving school and they will get their license.

 

Another 48 driving schools are also being considered to be part of the scheme.

 

Source: Thairath

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-01-16

No more theory test? 

Soon more dead toll on Thai roads......

And the driving school are not in any danger of being corrupt ?

 

No checks´s and balance-system  ?

Edited January 16, 20179 yr by Tallviking

Those with an existing Thai car license will have to watch the video again to get one for big bikes?

Corruption I see on the horizon. (Certificate for cash)

We all know what's on offer for a price at the official test centers if you cannot even manage the three basic maneuvers, this will only make it worse. 

5 whopping hours! And there's me with my European licenses which took me 50-60 hours of driving together with an instructor in real traffic and costed me 200.000 baht. I also had to do 10 hours of theory and do an exam for that as well.

I suppose it's too much to wonder:

 

Is there an online list somewhere of just who and where these approved driving schools are?

 

and

 

Do any of them provide their instruction in English?

 

Love the comments re 'opportunities for corruption/paying the school for the certificate' when it is unanimously held on this forum that 'all driver's licences are paid for anyway'. They're not. I believe this to be a very good idea. It would most certainly do away with having to explain to some jumped up test official the impossibility of reverse parking into a 6 meter space rather than the 8 meter space in a Wyllys jeep (no power steering), all the while said test official completely ignoring other participants not understanding how their little dummy roundabout should be navigated, hence the usual chaos at circles here. Having paid a Driving School would most certainly have been preferable to me way back then.

13 minutes ago, fruitman said:

5 whopping hours! And there's me with my European licenses which took me 50-60 hours of driving together with an instructor in real traffic and costed me 200.000 baht. I also had to do 10 hours of theory and do an exam for that as well.

and they still have accidents in Europe, quite amazing really.

5 hours? Really? I mean, really???

 

Most Thais that I know can't even sit still for 2 hours in front of the local monks while blessing a new home... Let alone stop playing on their phone as if Facebook updates are way more important then any driving video. Especially if the video does not contain car chases, guns and crashes.

 

Ok -- end of sarcasms for the day --

It's around 5,000 baht to get training at the driving school. Then students will go to the transport department to do the practical test. 100 percent passes.  I went directly to L and T for free. I cannot pass the parking test as it must be exactly within a milimeter correct by the camera finish. My first fail I was a cm out. The 2nd test I was perfect but the wheel was slightly not straight. Meanwhile many vehicles that had 2 suspicious  crosses on the rear with coloured masking tape were all passing. Let me tell you, they were nowhere near straight. And one slightly touched the barrier and still passed. Let's be honest . The criteria of a drivers license is a few thousand baht. Nothing to do with the test. 

41 minutes ago, Tallviking said:

And the driving school are not in any danger of being corrupt ?

 

No checks´s and balance-system  ?

to keep them right all they have to do is send in a bogus applicant with the intention of slipping them a back hander to get the certificate - then introduce stiff penalties for those caught taking a bribe - like a mandatory jail sentence and stiff fine plus revoke the operators licence - that should work

25 minutes ago, fruitman said:

5 whopping hours! And there's me with my European licenses which took me 50-60 hours of driving together with an instructor in real traffic and costed me 200.000 baht. I also had to do 10 hours of theory and do an exam for that as well.

10 hours of theory and 60 hours of lessons? That's a lot. In the UK my theory test took about 30 minutes (okay I studied for a few hours the day before), and I did 12 hours of lessons. 

And honestly after my 2nd ever lesson I knew I was going to pass my test which was already scheduled 4 days later. 

Edited January 16, 20179 yr by bananafish

I've been here quite a while and have become used to the occasional madness here, but even to me this is totally insane; and building on previous insanity.

 

There are NO "Driving Schools" in Thailand. 

 

All that these "Schools" do is replicate the Land Department "Test" of actual driving competence by building an "obstacle course" somewhere - an open piece of land, even a parking lot of an abandoned Mall or Condo - and replicate the Land Department course which would be used for the "Test". A simple drive between cones, back-up between cones, maybe parallel park.

 

So all that was required for the new driver at the "Driving School" was to successfully negotiate this same type of layout. He has never driven in a real traffic environment.

 

So the new driver walks out of the Land Department Office happily clutching his "Driving Licence" and considers himself the equivalent of any driver on the road - but he's never seen another vehicle approaching him in traffic, NEVER had to safely overtake another vehicle in front, in the face of oncoming traffic etc., etc..

 

And now even this primitive examination for competence is being removed.

 

Patrick

Edited January 16, 20179 yr by p_brownstone

My first driving licence in sweden kost me 650thb and I did the driving test as a private, 49 years ago,

I make a Thai licence 9 years ago and cost me 170thb :-)

4 minutes ago, p_brownstone said:

I've been here quite a while and have become used to the occasional madness here, but even to me this is totally insane; and building on previous insanity.

 

There are NO "Driving Schools" in Thailand. 

 

All that these "Schools" do is replicate the Land Department "Test" of actual driving competence by building an "obstacle course" somewhere - an open piece of land, even a parking lot of an abandoned Mall or Condo - and replicate the Land Department course which would be used for the "Test". A simple drive between cones, back-up between cones, maybe parallel park.

 

So all that was required for the new driver at the "Driving School" was to successfully negotiate this same type of layout. He has never driven in a real traffic environment.

 

So the new driver walks out of the Land Department Office happily clutching his "Driving Licence" and considers himself the equivalent of any driver on the road - but he's never seen another vehicle approaching him in traffic, NEVER had to safely overtake another vehicle in front, in the face of oncoming traffic etc., etc..

 

And now even this primitive examination for competence is being removed.

 

Patrick

 

Whilst the school does replicate what they consider to be the most onerous parts of the test, following a line within a centimetre in my case, I was taken out on the roads, including practising navigating a shopping mall car park and reversing into a space. So a warning for those parking in Central Mall on Phuket 

Four years ago my daughter obtained her drivers licence in Victoria Australia. First was the learners permit, then 120 hours driving on the road  with a fully qualified driver (yes 120 hours, a log book had to be kept). Took nearly a year to to obtain the hours, plus she had professional lessons near the end before drivers test. 5 hours here in Thailand seems ridiculous. 

20 years ago we were living in Phuket when my wife took driving lessons there with an officially registered driving school.  After 6 hours of lessons she passed the test and got her license.  The day after she took the car out by herself for the first time and came back badly shaken.  Our car had a manual gear box and nobody taught her how to do a hill start.  As a result when she got stuck behind traffic on a hill she didn't know how to pull away without rolling back first.  In the end a friendly motorist drove her car to the top of the hill for her. Phuket is rather hilly and knowing how to do a hill start with a manual gearbox is an absolute must.  I then taught her for another number of hours to get her to be actually road worthy.  This just shows that even when you use a registered driving school in Thailand they do not deliver road worthy drivers by any standard.

24 minutes ago, smedly said:

to keep them right all they have to do is send in a bogus applicant with the intention of slipping them a back hander to get the certificate - then introduce stiff penalties for those caught taking a bribe - like a mandatory jail sentence and stiff fine plus revoke the operators licence - that should work

They don't need to take a bribe. 

You pay the 5000 at the gate and go through the formality of the test. 

Every body passes. 

That is the bribe silly. 

So it looks like the are not taking the reduction in carnage

on Thai roads seriously, I thought after the mass deaths 

and injuries over the New Year,they were going to get tough

on issuing driving licenses,but make it easier ! 

regards worgeordie

93 private schools nationwide?

 

those unlucky, might have to go to the next province to school, i guess that fill the figures on the practical hours.

5 hours with instructor, 2-5 times driving across the province to school for another 4-5 hour per occasions or more unsupervised?

in the "old" system students had to provide their own car for the driving test, bet nothing has changed much on that part. 

amulet sales will rise.

 

1 hour ago, ikke said:

Soon more dead toll on Thai roads......

 

Naaa . . . They don't pay any attention as it is. Same attitude, same number of deaths.

Just when you thought it cant get any more retarded.

for driving in Thailand

They come through,  with flying colours 

 

1 hour ago, p_brownstone said:

I've been here quite a while and have become used to the occasional madness here, but even to me this is totally insane; and building on previous insanity.

 

There are NO "Driving Schools" in Thailand. 

 

All that these "Schools" do is replicate the Land Department "Test" of actual driving competence by building an "obstacle course" somewhere - an open piece of land, even a parking lot of an abandoned Mall or Condo - and replicate the Land Department course which would be used for the "Test". A simple drive between cones, back-up between cones, maybe parallel park.

 

So all that was required for the new driver at the "Driving School" was to successfully negotiate this same type of layout. He has never driven in a real traffic environment.

 

So the new driver walks out of the Land Department Office happily clutching his "Driving Licence" and considers himself the equivalent of any driver on the road - but he's never seen another vehicle approaching him in traffic, NEVER had to safely overtake another vehicle in front, in the face of oncoming traffic etc., etc..

 

And now even this primitive examination for competence is being removed.

 

Patrick

 

There's actually a driving school about a km from my house. One time, I did follow a learner (who was driving a suzuki swift) from said school. I guess they learn there then go to do the test at the transport department. 

 

I doubt the proposed scheme will have any affect of road accidents / fatalities. Pocket will get lined though. 

Wait for the death toll to rocket!!

Any driving schools in Pattaya?

21 minutes ago, Jack Mountain said:

Any driving schools in Pattaya?

 

Just go to the DMV, watch the video, bring a resident certificate and you're out before lunch time. 

 

Anyone knows of driving schools in bangkok to get a big bike license? 

Does anyone know if these 'schools' have any role in getting a 5-year license renewed? Mine expires later this year and I haven't a clue except to go to a licensing office and be told to come back with A, B & C docs.

 

BTW: I'm somewhat confused about the discussions regarding written and driving tests. When I received my first license - a 1-yr license - I did nothing more than a color blind test and step on a brake pedal when light turned red. When I received my 5-yr license it was no more than pay the fee. (Both done at the Land Office near BTS Mo Chit.)

 

Edited January 16, 20179 yr by bill1369