My International Drivers Permit cost £5.50 and took about 10 minutes in a post office.Originally Posted by Armando
They stamped the motorcycle box and my UK License has provisional entitlement for a motorcycle.
Regarding the legality of then riding in Thailand, I presume it depends on what rules they have for learners ? I would be interested to hear about that.
I actually got the IDP for car hire & only after reading the small print on my insurance am I considering motorcycle hire.
SO, basically you weren't covered then either to drive in Thailand nor insured . ok. So basically your licence was just about enough to get past a police check point, if lucky without having to pay a bribe as every Thai policeman now knows that your (UK/ home country) licence MUST have you already having passed your motorcycle test, a provisional licence doesn't count and from experience if they're in the mood they'll happily bring that up if there's a need for a few baht for you for their tea fund.
We need to accept that if no full home country licence exists we are all driving illegally, thats it, end of - then accept that fact and dont do it OR ( as most of us do including myself) carry on and accept the risks of minor and major costs should we find ourselves in an accident.
When you think about it that IS nuts and most of us wouldn't dream of doing that at home, but hey when the sun sea and boys kicks in sure all sense goes out the windows anyway with most of us in most regards anyway so no real difference there then......
Dodger (November 3rd, 2021)
1 This should be future tense, as I've neither driven a car nor hired a motorcycle in Thailand (so far).
The electric motorcycle was in Myanmar. Mostly off road, but quite possibly illegal.
2 Checking what I can do in the UK, with my provisional entitlement:
"Car driving test passed before 1 February 2001
You can ride a moped (max 50cc) without L plates.
If you want to ride a motorcycle over 50cc and up to 125cc, you will need to take CBT.
Once you have a valid CBT certificate, you can ride a 125cc with L plates.
If you want to remove the L plates or ride a more powerful machine, you will need to take the relevant practical tests."
So I need a CBT certificate (Compulsory Basic Training) in order to legally ride a bike in the UK. I think there might be a 2 year limit on that.
Now, if I got that certificate, I'm legal to ride in the UK with L plates. I don't have it yet, but there are plenty of providers near me & I guess it could be done before the next trip. If it makes any difference.
The next question is once I can legally ride a bike in the UK, is this also legal in Thailand ?
ie What are Thai rules for overseas provisional licenses ?
I suspect this is going to fall somewhere between not properly defined anywhere and not legal. So no point in rushing out to get UK CBT before the next trip. [google is not helpful on this topic]
I also had a quick look at getting a Thai motorcycle license, however, that starts off with a "proof of residency" requirement. Also takes quite a few weeks.
I CAN legally ride a 50cc moped with my UK license, but a quick look on google doesn't show anyone renting such things out in Thailand.
So it looks like it may be advisable to stick with fully legal car hire, for short periods during the trip.
Rarely will the shops that rent motorbikes offer insurance, even if they do it will be worth nothing if you don’t have some sort of motorbike license and if you are unlikely enough to be involved in an accident regardless of who’s fault as a foreigner it will be your fault.
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
Dodger (November 3rd, 2021)
When you get stopped by police the following happens:
1. Hand over your UK Licence and International Driving Permit.
2. He probably will not speak English, let alone read it. He will have no real idea what he is looking at. He certainly will not know about a CBT,!
3. Hand over small “gift” if you have broken the law. If a regular stop just sit and let him look at it.
4. You will be on your way in minutes.
After a few days you will know where the check points are and it is easy to avoid them. They are always in the same place.
The boys have an app that shows which check points are active and where they are. They sometimes check before leaving a bar.
Regarding insurance...if you fall off and are unfortunate enough to damage yourself how is the insurance company to know you didn’t trip over the pavement, the stairs, or any other similar accident?!
Get on your bike!
dinagam (November 4th, 2021)
What happens if you hit another or are hit by a motorbike or car or if you hit a pedestrian?
1.You are fucked
"In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king"
Agreed...but I did carefully say “if you fall off” which in my experience is far more likely!
Sorry but that wasn't my experience - i fact it was the exact opposite - the policeman who pulled me for no helmet outside Tok com knew EXACTLY about the CBT requirement and UK citizens being required to have to have a full UK bike licence and international licence ( I had the second part but not the first) and he was also able to point out to me how that licence addition would have been shown via a motorbike pic on the back of my licence and he pointed out how mine WASNT there.
So it was him who actually informed ME of all of that as until that moment I genuinely wasn't aware of it all at the time (quite thankfully) as because of that I argued so strongly with him that he just rolled his eyes gave up - but I KNEW instantly he knew what he was talking about and had given up more just as he couldn't be bothered arguing with me more than anything else I suspect and he'd already got his helmet "fine" from me anyhow by that point.
So we shouldn't always assume the average Thai policeman is just green as we first think perhaps and I'm guessing that if HE knew that info then that same info must have had been passed around their various police tea rooms so others could benefit from using it when needed.
Just on Olivers comment re Bali I can confirm the police work EXACTLY the same "fine" system as the pattaya police when they can too.
Brad the Impala (November 4th, 2021), Dodger (November 4th, 2021)
I've rented cars many times in Thailand, and a few times in Bali. The Thai BIB could learn a couple tricks from the Indonesian police in Bali.
I was driving in Kuta Beach a few years back, crawling along in traffic, and a cop jumped off the curb and stopped me. He asked me why I didn't stop for the traffic light. The light was mounted on a pole about 10' high at the curb, and his partner would stand under the traffic light, and pull a tree branch down over the light, and wait for a tourist to "not see" the traffic light. Sure enough, the following day, I passed the same area, and the same cop was standing there with the tree branch pulled down, waiting for the light to turn red, so he could let the branch go, and catch another unsuspecting tourist.
Armando (November 16th, 2021), Brad the Impala (November 5th, 2021), christianpfc (November 7th, 2021), goji (November 16th, 2021), Oliver2 (November 5th, 2021), vnman (November 5th, 2021)
After reading earlier posts, I've re-checked the insurance policy.
The exclusion clause that probably invalidates cover is:
"15 Any Claim arising from You being involved in any criminal act"
Incidentally, I guess that clause also invalidates cover if anyone has a heart attack whilst ****ing a prostitute, since prostitution is illegal in Thailand.
Having lectured me earlier, I'm sure N Irish has never broken the law here either.
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