Thai driving standards: Will raising training from five hours to 15 make any difference?

[Basil B]

The whole system is wrong...

 

If driving schools are going to be the examiners as well then i would propose that the students have a log book, the process of learning to drive be modularized, so say starting a car is Exercise 1, (Checking Oil, lights, loads secure, all door closed, adjusting seats, mirrors, checking passengers and self strapped, starting the engine), then Exercise 2,  moving forward and Stopping, and have 15 or so exercises to be completed.

 

Can not progress to the next exerciser without being signed off on the currant exercise, and if the instructor feels that a driver is making errors covered by a previous exercise then the may well be made to redo that exercise.  

 

But the real issue is regulating the process to ensure there is no corruption, probably take some time to retrain driving instructors to teach properly.

 

Next stage is to start to give drivers points for bad driving, so many point in so many years and they will have to retake the test, this could be used to real in the drivers who bought their licence under the counter.

 

Edited April 29, 2017 by Basil B

[wavemanwww]

Am I missing the point as there is no clarity for a farlang not fully knowing Thai driver licence requirements here for me to respond? 5hrs to 15hours is that theory hours on road rules or practical hours actually driving a car with a fully licensed driver or both? Further  a $240 AU (6,000 Bah) charge seems very excessive based on Thai living standards? What's the charge now for 5hrs theoretical and practical training?

[Chip Allen]

This is a country which does not even recognize pedestrian right of way. What purpose would this training serve?

[anon467367354]

30 minutes ago, hobz said:

For jebus sake, we live in the future! Put up cameras everywhere! They would pay for themselves and have Massive return of investment.

Hire 100000 (hundred thousand) people to monitor the cameras and administer tickets. Give them minimum wage + a cut of each ticket, with quotas for each type of ticket/violation. The surplus money can be used for buying more submarines and tanks for awesome mr prayuth. 

 

I know, i know, some of you dont want to live in a nanny state and you are crying and you are shaking out of anger when you read my post. Its ok.

Im just saying, if you want to fix thai driving this is the most effective. Ofcourse it will be boring to drive. Lol.

You can thank me later.

the police already get a cut from every ticket they write, which is why they go after the easiest targets for the most money and it has absolutely nothing to do with keeping the public safe.

Everybody knows the number of police check points blooms at the end of every month when people are getting paid. Why do the Thai people who pay these people through their taxes put up with it?

 

[Geordie59]

The only time you see a Thai is a hurry is when they behind the steering wheel or on their bikes.
It takes way more than 15 hours to train the culture out of them.

[Lucky mike]

It will help, more better, coupled with road rule enforcement, larger fines and impoundment of vehicle  and loss of license for repeat offenders. 

[wavemanwww]

21 minutes ago, wavemanwww said:

Am I missing the point as there is no clarity for a farlang not fully knowing Thai driver licence requirements here for me to respond? 5hrs to 15hours is that theory hours on road rules or practical hours actually driving a car with a fully licensed driver or both? Further  a $240 AU (6,000 Bah) charge seems very excessive based on Thai living standards? What's the charge now for 5hrs theoretical and practical training?

I assume from the response being Nil to my question noto one  Farlang here or Thai really know themselves but just give a general responses as to a solution based on a non detailed heading waffle waffle waffle!

[cruisemonkey]

Is it possible for the drivers to be 3x worse?

[akampa]

where to start. get the instructors  up to speed they obviously don`t have a clue, I think 1 month minimum before driving solo and most of what has  been posted and IMHO it will take at least 2 generations to get near acceptable driving habits .

[Destiny1990]

59 minutes ago, wvavin said:

It's not the hours that caused accidents, it's the brains!

Most brains here better wired than urs imho.

[johnny49r]

5 hours, 15 hours, 100 hours - who cares? Without law enforcement drivers have no reason to drive in a safe manner.

Why is it that there are 8 yo drivers driving their younger siblings down the wrong side of the road? Why aren't helmet laws enforced? Why don't the lights work on so many vehicles? How can people drive at high speeds all day with no penalty? Why is swerving and lane splitting acceptable driving technique?

Ad infinitum...

Thai officials talk the talk but they don't walk the walk.

 

[janpharma]

5 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

It isn't just about the training, it is also about the me, me and me attitude. Until that is all but eradicated, and people start driving within the letter of the law then nothing will change. 

Very well indeed! ...and this can't be tought in 10 hours to people who never learned to "think".  So it all should start at school and during the educational process.  But if 10 year old children are allowed to race on motorcycles without helmets...it will be difficult to change their attitude 10 years later...

[EnlightenedAtheist]

I say  make the extra 10 hours for video watching of bloody bodies, mothers and father' crying, boyfriends, Gfs, wives and husbands attending funerals, seeing injuries, handicapped people as a result of accidents, telling their stories. Heck! Hook a lie detector test to see if they are reacting emotionally. Test them before and after to see if they have learned anything. Ask them to write a fictitious letter to a fictitious person who they have fictitiously injured. And show all this at schools round the clock until they are sick of it. Ask them to rate 10 anti-drinking and driving ads from 1 to 10 in terms of effectiveness and/or create one..Are there any anti-drinking and driving ads in LOS?

Edited April 29, 2017 by EnlightenedAtheist

[oneiron]

An extra 10 hours couldn't hurt.  I would hope that in those 10 hours that they explain the reason that they paint the lines on the road.

[AlphMichaels]

No.  You can't fix stupid.

[Mackstask]

No difference whatsoever, no amount of training would help. POLICE enforcement on the roads is the only solution and that's not going to happen for a long time.

[Surasak]

3 hours ago, wjhall said:

In England it was always said as a  rule of thumb one hours tuition was needed per year of life ie the older you are the more time you needed

What you are saying is 17 or 18 hours minimum is sufficient. The same may apply to Thailand if those hours were spent on the road. Sitting in a class room watching videos and doing the theory is not driving instruction.

[Surasak]

3 hours ago, wjhall said:

In England it was always said as a  rule of thumb one hours tuition was needed per year of life ie the older you are the more time you needed

What you are saying is 17 or 18 hours minimum is sufficient. The same may apply to Thailand if those hours were spent on the road. Sitting in a class room watching videos and doing the theory is not driving instruction.

[fdch]

all forms off learning starts with having a brain and using it

so... i rest my case

[ICECOOL]

Not unless thry get each policeman to actually do actual police work for 15 hours a week

Sent from my SM-G900F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Chiang Mai Bill]

Whilst the mentality of Thai drivers is so low nothing will improve their driving skills.

 

They will still zoom up to a red traffic light and slam their brakes on; they will still manoeuvre past one car on their bikes just to gain a couple of feet; they will still ignore red traffic lights; they will still ignore any speed restrictions; they will never be able to go around a corner without taking a wide sweep; they will never know the width of their vehicle; they will still overtake on blind corners!

[William C F Pierce]

Although this is a sensible step in the right direction. It is not enough. Will the instructors teach thinking distance, breaking distance, and stopping distance, but the government is also responsible for many road accidents. There are many junctions and crossroads that do not have road markings or traffic lights. No road signs warning you to stop. Many a Thai will drive out of a soi junction without stopping or looking to see if the road is clear, because nothing says they have to stop. The government does not have a highway code that teaches the international road signs. Many foreigners can drive safely in many countries because international road signs are easy to understand by those who obey them. The biggest omission is, there is not a 15 hour course for motorcycle riders who are the cause of the biggest percentage of accidents. On top of the 15 hours training there should be a written test along with a driving test on road skills. Passing the written test should be passed before being tested on the roads.

[Rodjrin]

In answer to the topic question - absolutely not unless Thailand imports qualified trainers with at least a smidgeon of knowledge and the ability to drum basic driving principles into this collectively stupid nation and, additionally, to teach selfless regard for other road users. Today I saw ten or eleven year olds riding motorcycles on a busy highway. The parents should be made aware of their ignorance.  And, as usual, where is the policing?  And to those shortsighted idiots that say "if you don't like it, go home"  I would if I could but I will not give up responsibility for my Thai wife or, indeed, take her away from her family.

[johnarth]

7 hours ago, colinneil said:

Will increasing driver training from 5 to 15 hours make any difference? 

No nothing will change 1 bit, still have daily carnage on the roads.

no, afraid Thai driving mind set is way behind, what driving laws are, whats more they dont care what they are, once on a bike or behind a wheel, they make their own law,( get out of my way, or I will run over you.)

[ChrisY1]

I just completed the "training" course in Cha Am (Na Yang) for an expired bike licence.....my temp licence had expired for more than a year, so had to sit the full monte....a 2 hour video with english subs....had to watch twice....then a 1 hour vid mostly on road manners and being polite.....also the colour blindness test and the 2 sticks thing in the box with strings....(bizarre)...have done it before for vehicle licence.....not 15 hours..... unless I got off easy.....Monday have the theory test.....

15 hrs for most people would be mind boggling......but they need special treatment 'cos they're bad <deleted> behind a wheel!....will it improve their soon to learn driving habits???? Only with strict law enforcement....and we all know what that is!

[fxe1200]

Thais and some farangs too, have to be taught, that a car is a weapon. They have to be taught to drive defensively, or as   Takahiro Honda put it: "First the man, then the machine", meaning: give way to pedestrians, or other traffic participants, as you can kill anytime with a car.  Today the mirrors of a car or motorcycle are be used to squeeze out pimples or to redo the lipstick. When Thai drivers approach a corner, they start using they indicators, when the reach it, instead of using them like 50 meters  before the intersection. When they try to pass an obstacle on the road, they must be taught to use their mirrors and turn signals in time. They have to be told, that hitting a red light is a "no go".

 

With just a couple of more hours driving time the government will not change anything. It is the attitude in traffic: Here I am, I have a bigger car, I am supposed to go first, you wait. That is the common Thai behaving in traffic. That has to change.

[Moonlover]

Nothing in the article address's the issue of motorcycle deaths, which we've all seen so many times stands at around 73% of the nation's total.

 

In fact if one does the math and reduces the annual death rate by 73%, it brings it down to about the same level of the USA.

 

If wants government wants to get serious about reducing the nation's, appalling number of road deaths that is where it need to address its resources.

 

Compulsory training for motorcycle riders before obtaining a licence should, in my opinion, be their highest priority, along with educating parents and guardians that allowing young children to ride them before they have a licence is absolutely taboo!

 

Having said that, any effort to tackle road safety issues in Thailand should be applauded. It is, at least a recognition that they know something needs to done.

[JGV]

15 hours is a joke and anyway with corruption rife people will continued to bribe to get the licence. Also I am bored by these whingers complaining about how unfair the charges are

These people shouldn't have the opportunity to be responsible for driving a vehicle that is extremely dangerous if handled by anyone with little or no skill in safely using it

Pay the police a decent salary from the cash allocated to buy the submarines and then let them enforce the law regarding dangerous driving by impounding the vehicles and imprisoning the drivers responsible for these dangerous actions

 

[irwinfc]

not to sound like a broken record about this, but proper and strict enforcement of traffic rules and regulations is the most effective way to break down the hard-headed motorists that plague the streets of Thailand. no amount of training will change anything if motorists find ways to circumvent or violate existing laws. 

[hobz]

3 hours ago, gr8fldanielle said:

the police already get a cut from every ticket they write, which is why they go after the easiest targets for the most money and it has absolutely nothing to do with keeping the public safe.

Everybody knows the number of police check points blooms at the end of every month when people are getting paid. Why do the Thai people who pay these people through their taxes put up with it?

 

Very good point, thats why i said that there needs to be quotas for different types of tickets. Each traffic police team has to have 10 reckless driving, 10 speeding, 10 no helmet, 10 no license etc etc. 

 

Most thai people pay very little tax if any at all. 

Most thai people dont really want to change traffic, they are ok with everything as it is kind of... Not ok, but not upset enough to do anything, mai pen rai. Most of them has never lived in a civilized country so they dont know what they are missing.