Want a driving license? Just go to a driving school

[fakser]

What about 2 wheelers? I wanted to learn to drive a scooter and was mocked at in any driving school I approached.

They said that there is no driving school for motorbikes in Thailand.

So I achieved the driving license in my country and received a Thai license in MOT in Chatuchack.

[Torrens54]

Next they'll be giving them away in Packets of Rice Bubbles !

Sheer LUNACY!

[Damrongsak]

14 hours ago, thai3 said:

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. 

I thought there were 4 basic maneuvers, to be performed simultaneously:

 

Hold a beer

Shift

Light a cigarette

Steer with elbow

 

I'll admit it took me a couple years after I got my Virginia (US) driver's license at age 16 to competently perform all the above.  Especially at night, in a snowstorm.

[Damrongsak]

10 hours ago, IMA_FARANG said:

... there was a school sponsored course called Drivers Education... I wonder if they still have such a thing in the U.S. now?

 

As far as I know, there is still Driver's Ed, at least here in Virginia. And so many hours road practice time with a licensed driver aboard. 

 

I took it back in the late 60's and my kids years later.  At one summer course, we drove cars around a parking lot.  They had one VW Bug with partial dual controls, stick shift, that we all wanted to drive.  As I was trying to drive it, my fellow student was screwing with the gas and clutch pedal on his side of the car.  Putting along and he'd slowly depress the clutch pedal.  What the heck?

 

If/when I get back to Thailand, I'll have to get a motorcycle license.  Can't seem to find my lifetime license I got back in 1977.  I wonder if they could still look it up where I got it.

[DefaultName]

1 hour ago, Damrongsak said:

I thought there were 4 basic maneuvers, to be performed simultaneously:

 

Hold a beer

Shift

Light a cigarette

Steer with elbow

 

I'll admit it took me a couple years after I got my Virginia (US) driver's license at age 16 to competently perform all the above.  Especially at night, in a snowstorm.

All while using a mobile phone.

[sioux2012]

People in management at these driving schools are already out planing and looking to upgrade their personal cars from a Asian made car to an European make and the long fantasized  house extension, can now be realized with all the extra income that just fell out of the sky.

[Henryford]

11 hours ago, Deepinthailand said:

Sorry to say you are wrong reversing into a space is much easier yes it requires you to know your vehicle length and width but if you don't know that then you shouldn't be driving. Part of every driving test I've ever done requires reverse parking car/coach/HGV. Parallel parking is the easiest thing in the world to do. The reason you should know the length of your vehicle is so you know Wether it will fit in the space your looking at parking. So imo you are on the completely wrong wave length. 

I agree with TGIR. He is not saying that people should not know how to reverse (obviously they should), he is saying it is easier to drive into a small space and reverse out into a large space (which it is). I always drive in and reverse out.

[Loukas]

To p_brownstone,

 

My wife went to Smart Drive in Udon to take driving lessons.  For a week every day she had theoretical lessons and practice.  The practice was 1 hour driving inside the school and afterwards on the road EVERY day.  Afterwards she had theoretical exam and 2 weeks later (because it was the time of Songkran) she had to do the driving test on the road.  She pased both and got the paper to get her driving license.

[Deepinthailand]

27 minutes ago, Henryford said:

I agree with TGIR. He is not saying that people should not know how to reverse (obviously they should), he is saying it is easier to drive into a small space and reverse out into a large space (which it is). I always drive in and reverse out.

Reversing in is easier in my opinion 

[Kiteboy57]

This country never ceases to amaze when it comes to public safety, they truly are a laughing stock to the western world and it annoys me that my own life is more at risk due to the lack of education when it comes to road safety and driving with due care and attention,  words that just don't exist over here.

 

KB

[Deepinthailand]

35 minutes ago, Deepinthailand said:

Reversing in is easier in my opinion 

To clarify my post ion on this reversing side thread. If parallel parking then reversing in and driving out should be used (why would anyone want to reverse out onto oncoming traffic). If the road offers angled parking then drive in is the optimum way I however hate these parking bays as you are then forced to edge out  onto oncoming traffic untill you the driver have a clear view of the road I avoid them if at all possible and belive they should be changed but it's only my opinion on that. Places like lotus and big C the amount of near misses and people reversing out into traffic without a care in the world as if they have right of way. I go to straight bays under cover and reverse in so I can drive out.

[Canuk23]

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

 

That says it all !!!  

[Khon Kaen Dave]

Ye Gods!!!!!!!

[xen]

Just out of curiosity , is there a separate, additional licence to drive a truck, bus or a a taxi? Is there another licence for trucks carrying dangerous goods ,such as petroleum or sulfuric acid , or  wide or long loads or will the licence you got in a Honda Jazz be sufficient after 5 hours of driving.

[Jonmarleesco]

On 1/16/2017 at 10:42 AM, webfact said:

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

So they'll be 25% better than they are at present. Not much of a bar, and not much of an improvement.

[Si Thea01]

Won't this be open to corruption and making some people very rich.  They should have checked out how some of the heavy vehicle driving schools in Oz rorted the system and saw visa applicants, who had little if any driving skills, obtain licenses for B doubles in two hours.  They couldn't even reverse them.  They want to make it harder, there are enough incompetents on the roads now, so they're are going to open the flood gates.  Highly intelligent, I don't think.

[KKr]

Progress strikes !
  

[Paulro]

Reckon a few more hours of training would help reduce the carnage of the Thailand roads!!! Good systems throughout the world prove this - for example in some Australian states one needs a learners permit before they can even apply for a licence. Once you pass this test and hold the permit for the required period of time those under the age of 21, have to complete and record in a learner log book a minimum of 120 hours of supervised driving, including at least 10 hours at night (unless an exemption has been granted). 

Then you need to pass the practical & theory testing!!

But I'm sure Thailand knows best!!

[dageurreotype]

19 hours 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?

 

Backing OUT is one of the many reasons there are so many accidents here. They don't bother to look where they're going most of the time and blithely backing out into oncoming traffic is no exception. But by far the most important rule that is most certainly not part of the test here is braking distances and the all important emergency stop.

[Gerard052]

16 hours ago, wakeupplease said:

 

Now I can say I am proud of my Thai wife's driving and shocked just how good she is and I am telling the truth

Even in the UK on the smaller carriage ways and motorways she is more than able to to handle it

 

just wish she would shut her mouth when I drive and not be so lazy and drive more offten

 

See Thais can Drive safely

 

Some are good drivers.  When I drive my wife sees everything, but when she drives, she doesn't see anything.  I saved her a few accidents, she has a 10 minutes reaction time, not very good for driving a car, specially in this country where you always have to be on the look out for other stupid drivers who think they own the road.

[thhMan]

If they could combine it with a school to teach current Police Officers on how to apply the road rules and learn to actively pursue people who break these road rules, then that would go a long way.

 

No point in knowing whats right or wrong while driving if the law is only enforced sporadically

 

[Greenside]

I can''t think of a single valid reason for this insane proposal except possibly that someone involved in the legislation owns or is about to buy into a chain of driving schools.  A population driving high powered toys with ox cart rules.

[claffey]

On 1/16/2017 at 11:16 AM, 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 that's why we live here...because it's not Europe!! Maybe time for you to return to your nanny state...

[dageurreotype]

4 minutes ago, claffey said:

And that's why we live here...because it's not Europe!! Maybe time for you to return to your nanny state...

 

Total lack of law enforcement is not why I live here 

[BSJ]

What a great idea!  The price of buying an existing driving school just quadrupled!  But don't worry, if you buy one you will have your money back in no time.  ;-)

[soalbundy]

what's a driving licence ?

[Notowork]

On 16 January 2017 at 0:08 PM, worgeordie said:

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

You should already know by now,..those with the power to make a positive change to the road carnage don't really care about others!  Maybe  when it affects them personally they may feel some compassion. .They  also really just cannot see what simple measures need to be implemented to start reducing road deaths.

Sadly the reality is ,...it will be many years before anything changes.

For those of us falangs that drive here,..we all just need to be aware of the ME FIRST attitude of Many Thai drivers  and drive accordingly ?

[Alan Deer]

On 1/16/2017 at 2:47 PM, dageurreotype said:

 

Maybe the traffic cops won't pay too much attention as to how the certificate was obtained but pretty sure any insurance company will check for any authenticity before a pay out. A far greater concern than a 500 baht fine imho.

You don't seem to understand the nature of corruption - those documents will be genuine......

[Rimmer]

A derogatory troll picture has been removed

[DieterWiehe]

On 1/16/2017 at 11:16 AM, 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.

Well Europeans are slow learners .