Want a driving license? Just go to a driving school

[Essaybloke]

5 hours 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.

Ten hours of theory AND an exam- just to drive a car, the skills for which are learned by driving a car, not a pencil! Wow!

[Boatfreak]

What about scooter licences?

[Get Real]

Just can´t get worse than it already is. When something is empty, it just can´t get "emptier". In this case it´s all about the brains.

[lvr181]

Uh oh......................

 

Broadening the "tax" base?

 

 

 

[chilli42]

How could they be so stupid.  They are putting more lives a risk.

[alocacoc]

Conclusion: Nothing learned.

[moe666]

6 hours ago, Tallviking said:

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

 

No checks´s and balance-system  ?

My wife went to one of these schools and they were good. Some class room time and 8 hours driving pratice, she had to pass the test at land office

[TheFishman1]

Amazing Thailand TIT

[Deepinthailand]

6 hours ago, Lammbock said:

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

555 has been that way for a long long time now licence for cash that is. Want a number!!

[TGIR]

Not really on the topic but I keep wondering why drivers in Thailand insist on backing up to park their car.

 

It seems like any person with a little tiny brain could figure out the two things that make backing up to park kind of dumb:

 

1 -  It is much easier to see and judge where your car is going when looking forward.

 

2 - backing into a small parking spot requires both skill and the ability to judge where the car is by inches in some cases.  If you back Out instead of In, you are generally headed into either a wide open space, or one that is certainly less confined by the restrictions of a defined parking space.

 

I've been waiting a long time to bring this up................because it seems to me the definition of a good driver in Thailand equals someone who can back into a parking space.  None  of that other nonsense like not tailgating, signalling for turns, looking before you turn, not speeding etc. really counts does it?

[AlQaholic]

6 hours ago, JerryinTH said:

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

Yes and you have to step on the brake pedal when the light switches from green to red.

[RocketDog]

Hmmmmmmm. Before I left Colorado USA a few months ago I took a state-sanctionec motorcycle safety and driving test. Granted it 6 hours classroom and 6 hours riding on a closed course with test ending each day. Instructor was not easy on us at all.

Point is that he signed an official card and all I did to get my license was present the card at a DMV office and pay a fee.

All seemed pretty reasonable to me.

You can carp about the instructors, corruption, bribes, etc but not about the concept in my opinion.

I suspect these things are in play with the Colorado system too.

LOS has no corner on the corruption market. Admit it; it's everywhere.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

[AlQaholic]

3 minutes ago, TGIR said:

Not really on the topic but I keep wondering why drivers in Thailand insist on backing up to park their car.

 

It seems like any person with a little tiny brain could figure out the two things that make backing up to park kind of dumb:

 

1 -  It is much easier to see and judge where your car is going when looking forward.

 

2 - backing into a small parking spot requires both skill and the ability to judge where the car is by inches in some cases.  If you back Out instead of In, you are generally headed into either a wide open space, or one that is certainly less confined by the restrictions of a defined parking space.

 

I've been waiting a long time to bring this up................because it seems to me the definition of a good driver in Thailand equals someone who can back into a parking space.  None  of that other nonsense like not tailgating, signalling for turns, looking before you turn, not speeding etc. really counts does it?

Yes, I see it even with those angled parking spaces where you are supposed to drive in with the front first. I have often wondered about it too. Some time it makes sense to back in when the view is obscured when you back out, but in most cases there is no advantage of backing in, and it irritates the hell out of me because it creates endless cues at the parking lot, backing in takes a long time. 

 

I can only guess from the Thai mentality it is about the road hugging....look at me, I own the road, you all have to wait until I have parked.......

[sanukjim]

most of the driving schools are a laugh.

[skorp13]

What could possibly go wrong with this brainstorm!

[sanukjim]

7 hours ago, Tallviking said:

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

 

No checks´s and balance-system  ?

Of course not (wink,wink).

[kjhbigv]

What I find scary is this.....

 

My Mrs passed her test within the week, an hour a day.

 

She now has a driving licence that she could use to pick up a hire car at London Heathrow and drive away! 

[Generalchaos]

7 hours ago, Tallviking said:

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

 

No checks´s and balance-system  ?

Probably no more corrupt than the Government run offices where you can buy a licence without any hassle of actually doing the test for about 2-3K Baht! Either way, it makes no difference as getting a licence by the legitimate route is pathetic anyway, there is more emphasis on "Rote" learning their non sensical highway code (for the completely useless computer test) and sleeping through a few hours of Thai Rath type video footage. Better just pay the money, buy a licence, neither option will actually teach anyone to drive.

[bbbbooboo]

hmmm.......with the Thai "standard of driving "being what it is.....this would the perfect outcome....lol

[Siamfan]

Where can I get a list of those 96 schools? Which one in Pattaya?

[lungnorm]

6 hours ago, dageurreotype said:

 

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 

And setting off from a stop on a decent size hill is not part of the test.

[FitnessHealthTravel]

This is slightly different  to what is being reported in the Thai media. Yes there are more hours but you still need to sit the written exam and you are now required to get 100 out of 100 to pass. 

[Siamfan]

Where can I get a list of those 96 schools? Which one in Pattaya?

[FunkyDunky58]

In Australia you must complete 160 hours of logged driving in all conditions before you can even take your test. In Sweden I believe its something like 6 months of school before you can get a licence. What a joke this is - licences for sale by driving 'schools' will no doubt be normal practice soon after this is brought in.

[bubba]

I am thinking that for expats, the challenge here will be finding a driving school who does English.

[steven100]

6 hours ago, Bill3173 said:

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. 

Yes, but you mentioned Australia, the most over regulated country in the world.

[riclag]

7 hours ago, JerryinTH said:

No more theory test? 

My Thai wife says your wrong .she says you still have to take the written test of 50 questions

[JerryinTH]

3 minutes ago, riclag said:

My Thai wife says your wrong .she says you still have to take the written test of 50 questions

 

I asked a question.

[steven100]

37 minutes ago, Siamfan said:

Where can I get a list of those 96 schools? Which one in Pattaya?

 

KFC  On Nut.

[Tonawatchee]

After I received my driving license, I wanted to buy some extra instruction time to get used to driving through the round-abouts in town. I gained more confidence doing this. The instruction also included how to use good judgement in cutting cars off quickly when you want to get out ahead. Thank you, driving school!