Motorcycles, motorcycle taxis and insurance in Thailand

[MiniMee]

A ‘moped thingy’ covered under category AM would normally (but not necessarily) be less than 50cc but it must, by definition, be restricted to a max speed of 45km/h (28mph). I don’t think such machines exist in Thailand (produced mostly for European markets) and the vast majority of scooters available for hire in Thailand are 100/125/150cc capable of giddy speeds far in excess of 45/28. By informing your insurer that you only ride ‘moped variety thingies’ covered by your license restriction, your are committing an act of deception and your insurance will almost certainly be invalid. The good news is that code 79.03 entitles you to ride a machine of unlimited engine size and unrestricted speed, as long as it is a tricycle. Do driving licenses expire at age 57 1/2 in NI? I thought it was usually at age 70 in the rest of the UK....

[frequent]

My original concern was insurance coverage for those travelling as passengers on a motorcycle, given the number of stories from time to time about tourists suffering accidents and lacking insurance. It’s not as if the Thais who drive the motorcycle are forthcoming with passenger helmets, for example

[Nirish guy]

Nope, not the 1986 date.
Column 11.... The "valid to" date for the category of vehicle. Usually the same as the expiry date of the licence, which as you know is your 70 th birthday! !

Ha, sorry to burst your detective skills bubble again here but no, that I think just the standard 10 year licence validity term kicking in from the last time I renewed my 10 year licence i.e I renewed in about August 16 and so those "valid to" dates shown are simply just the automatic 10 years update date from that 2016 date and once i go and renew again in another 7 years or so those dates will I'm sure just be extended on out once again.

That is ( I presume) and if they haven''t reduced or altered the categories of vehicle you can drive by then again, just as they recently did by removing the automatic right for people my / our age to drive the likes of a 7.5 ton lorry without a further additional HGV test ( which is a REAL pain in the ass now when I want to jump in to some lorry in work that I might choose to driven once in a blue moon for operational reasons over many years but now can't without taking a further HGV test.

[Nirish guy]

A ‘moped thingy’ covered under category AM would normally (but not necessarily) be less than 50cc .

Happy to take that as fact if you say so, as I said I'm not a motorbike fan so am not "up" on such things.

...the vast majority of scooters available for hire in Thailand are 100/125/150cc ........... By informing your insurer that you only ride ‘moped variety thingies’ covered by your license restriction, your are committing an act of deception and your insurance will almost certainly be invalid.

Nope the good news is that I had the same "mopedy" type conversation that I'm having on here just now, explaining I had no idea etc and THEY then came back to me with the good news that as long as "whatever" I was renting wasn't over 125cc ( as you describe) then I was covered and all was fine, so I'm happy I'm not going to jail anytime soon, well, not on any motorbike deception charges anyway it seems

Do driving licenses expire at age 57 1/2 in NI? I thought it was usually at age 70 in the rest of the UK...

No, not quite in that whilst you dont need to retest until you're 70 same as the rest of the UK our actual licences expire and need renewed / reissued every 10 years from the date of original issue.

We do have some very subtle differences in our licensing laws it seems here and rather than us dealing with DVLA in Swansea as I suspect you may we have to deal with DVLA Coleraine (NI) and the two offices aren't interchangeable for us as they dont "speak" to each other it seems.

As to why that is I have no idea, maybe a throw back to some old licensing laws not being carried over or taken up here from the rest of the UK as we're historically devolved re such matters OR the cynics out there might suggest that it's something to do with "the troubles" where if I were the Government I think I'd be happier knowing where people were every 10 years or so rather than them "disappearing" until they were 70 perhaps - but I honestly dont think it's that, more just the devolved thing perhaps.

Oh and sorry to the OP, things seem to have veered off topic somewhat, apologies - so, pattaya and what to do for 8 days etc, best we get back on to that for the OP perhaps.....

[MiniMee]

THEY then came back to me with the good news that as long as "whatever" I was renting wasn't over 125cc ( as you describe) then I was covered and all was fine

I see. So, it turns out that, despite your earlier comment in this thread, accident insurance cover whilst riding a scooter in Thailand has nothing to do with your home country driving license after all. As long as someone in a call centre somewhere says you are covered, then it’s OK...

[arsenal]

This is only my experience.

The International Driving Permit does not actually permit you to ride a motorbike in Thailand unless it specifically says so. And the UK licence requires you to take a separate motorbike test.

I had a little bit of a ding ding with a policeman several years ago when he informed me of that. Upshot, I paid the fine and bought an online permit.

[Daveuk]

I have rented motor bikes in Pattaya and found them very convenient for getting round particularly to places off the baht bus routes. However I road bikes back home - I would not recommend riding in Thailand without that experience. Of course you can get pulled in by the boys in brown and fined for lack of a licence. However the fine is small 500 baht ? but sometimes there is a long wait at Soi 9 to pay. A much bigger risk is having an accident in which a Thai is injured or their bike is damaged. This could mean paying big money or possible jail, even if it was not your fault.
Now I use motor bike taxis. The drivers are very skilled and can even carry big bags. During my recent trip to Pats I even took boys back from Sunee to Jomtien 3 up - very quick but not for the nervous.

[Nirish guy]

You obviously didn’t read my post minimee as that’s not what I said at all. My comments where to make sure your insurance company covered you for what you were riding etc. Mine did, my licence did and the insurance company confirmed that. What part of that didn’t you understand perhaps ?

[MiniMee]

Your UK license doesn’t qualify you to ride the type of scooters available for hire in Thailand. You are are only qualified to ride scooters restricted to 28mph. If your travel insurance provides cover whilst riding 125cc scooters, without speed restriction, like in Thailand, that is a different matter.

[Nirish guy]

OMG if you're going to persist in this nonsense would you at least get your facts right before quoting "facts" - my licence DOES cover me for driving up to 125cc bike and my insurance also covers me for driving up to a 125cc bike - it's really very simple and shouldn't require this amount of clarification, it's all there in front of you - fuck me I even pasted a copy of my licence for the hard of learning such as yourself so you could read it.

"Category AM" covers the 28mph moped you' seem fixated on and you seem to be getting confused as theres there a line through category A1 and A2 ( A1 being the 125cc bike allowance etc ) BUT you have failed to read on down the list of allowed categories where below t clearly shows allowance for "Category A" which automatically includes and allows for category A1 and A2 ! i.e covering the person for driving up to a125cc bike !

Here, let me post it again to save you having to scroll back - along with the rules from DVLA just to save you googling that too......

Image-1.jpg

Category A1
You can drive light motorbikes with:

an engine size up to 125cc
a power output of up to 11kW
a power to weight ratio not more than 0.1kW/kg
This category also includes motor tricycles with power output up to 15kW.

Category A2
You can drive motorbikes with a:

power output up to 35kW
power to weight ratio not more than 0.2kW/kg
The motorbike must also not be derived from a vehicle of more than double its power.

You can also drive motorbikes in category A1.

Category A
You can drive:

motorbikes with a power output more than 35kW or a power to weight ratio more than 0.2kW/kg
motor tricycles with a power output more than 15kW
You can also drive motorbikes in categories A1 and A2.