Pattaya police get tough on licences: Fines for tourists AND rental companies AND confiscation of vehicle

[farcanell]

32 minutes ago, Bill Miller said:

Anybody have experience with this?

Great question

[Franko666]

3 hours ago, stephenterry said:

In my experience, the loan shop keeps the passport until the vehicle is returned, therefore it is impossible, if stopped, to show it to the police. 

Take photo of passport only, dont let your passport go, if they want your passport the company is dodgy.

[The Teacher]

15 hours ago, MunkyBoogar said:

But are they also going to fine Thai citizens 1000B for driving without a license? That would be a Negatory Ghostrider!

 

 

Hmmmm true if Thai offender has no money, better to sting the foreigner for double 

[jacko45k]

3 hours ago, Destiny1990 said:

Lots of foreigners doing crimes using rental motorbikes hahaja..

 

Why allow bike rental shops to rent out bikes to foreigners who do not have a motorbike driver license in the first place? That crime is right there!

Well it is only a crime if there is a law or regulation against it.

Foreign licences are written in foreign languages, IDPs are too, neither in Thai. So the rental shop staff have to be able to read English?

Easier to make the customer sign a contract where he accepts all liability and confirms he has a valid licence..... written in Thai of course.

[transam]

2 minutes ago, The Teacher said:

Hmmmm true if Thai offender has no money, better to sting the foreigner for double 

Perhaps a vast difference in a Thai and farang wage packet.....

[transam]

2 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Well it is only a crime if there is a law or regulation against it.

Foreign licences are written in foreign languages, IDPs are too, neither in Thai. So the rental shop staff have to be able to read English?

Easier to make the customer sign a contract where he accepts all liability and confirms he has a valid licence..... written in Thai of course.

Does farangland have a ploblem with foreign folk renting a ride in their country..?

[Franko666]

3 hours ago, transam said:

That's how I got mine, with some other paperwork...

And a pedal reaction test, and a movie in Thai showing people having road accidents.

[wgdanson]

1 minute ago, transam said:

Does farangland have a ploblem with foreign folk renting a ride in their country..?

I do not think so. I can rent a car in UK using my Thai license. Less hassle than using UK license where you have to download your driving record, and the rental company can charge you up to 20 quid to get it if you don't do it yourself beforehand. And if you DO get a ticket....

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, transam said:

Does farangland have a ploblem with foreign folk renting a ride in their country..?

Nope, they are obliged to check the licence though. Fortunately the Thai one has English on it and is accepted.

They scrutinise the credit check though... I got refused using my UK licence and UK CC!

[jacko45k]

2 hours ago, connda said:

The off-duty bureaucrats and officials must sit around at the local Karaoke clubs at night devising ways to drive tourists away.

Well actually they ran out of money the other night and hence came up with this.

[NoshowJones]

14 hours ago, nakhonandy said:

Interesting, I imagine the majority of tourists renting bikes have no valid motorbike license.

 

This will hit the hire companies hard, IF enforced.

That's true, If enforced is the thing, but unfortunately these hire companies will be in league with the police, common sense will tell you that.

[natway09]

Get over it guys,,, this is about us not Thais.

I like the idea,,, no licence,,, no bike hire !!!! If the Co hires without one , yep they get hit.

Great  

[Thaidream]

1 minute ago, natway09 said:

et over it guys,,, this is about us not Thais.

I like the idea,,, no licence,,, no bike hire !!!! If the Co hires without one , yep they get hit.

Great

Then you'll love the cops pulling over every foreigner driving their own personal car to look at the registration to determine if it was rented or not. The target should be the rental companies but instead the cops will be glad to inconvenience every foreigner driving a vehicle.

[jacko45k]

4 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

What Credit Check. I just booked car hire in both UK and Italy from here, online using my UK Credit Card. Money was gone IMMEDIATELY, and confirmation came a few milliseconds after that.

Yes I had prepaid too, booking on the internet, but when Hertz ran the card to take the securty deposit at the airport rental office, it got knocked back by a Experian credit check. Apparently not a problem for Avis though and I was able to transfer the booking over the phone. Lots of aggravation and waiting in line, but I did get away.

[smedly]

16 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

This is disgusting.... 'if Tourists' - 1000baht fines & Confiscation of the Bike... 

 

So what about Thai's riding without a license? This is nothing more than the police creating an easy target, a money maker... Its clumsy, its xenophobic, it stinks... 

 

 

IF the announcement was that if anyone is caught driving without a licence they would face a 1000baht (or more would be better) and confiscation of the bike....  it would be much better... but as it is, unbalanced penalty stinks... 

 

although I do agree with you I think the focus is on rental companies, I'm not sure how many Thais would be renting stuff here, I would also assume these rules do in fact apply to everyone whether renting or not 

[wgdanson]

2 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Yes I had prepaid too, booking on the internet, but when Hertz ran the card to take the securty deposit at the airport rental office, it got knocked back by a Experian credit check. Apparently not a problem for Avis though and I was able to transfer the booking over the phone. Lots of aggravation and waiting in line, but I did get away.

I thought the credit check was done BEFORE you are issued a Credit Card, not when you buy something with it. But I shall be aware when I pick up my car at LHR on 1st June.

[juice777]

1 step in the right Diriction to make the roads safe.

5 steps in the wrong Diriction if Thailand wants to look like a fair society for all, Thais and Non-Thais.

But let's hope if there is there less Tea money for the cops they will have to go after the Thais to make their money up.And hopefully, that makes the roads even more safer.Maybe even the red light jumpers or family of 5 on a bike and drunk Driiving.

I suppose I am happy about this, I cant wait to see the first bike taken away.


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[Wake Up]

16 hours ago, MunkyBoogar said:

But are they also going to fine Thai citizens 1000B for driving without a license? That would be a Negatory Ghostrider!

 

 

While I understand your frustration of appearance of a double standard, IMO the Thai people grow up riding bikes like USA kids grow up swimming and Europeans playing football. I know several thai kids who are better at driving a motorbike than  most expats.  The Thai bike drivers are not the main problem. The main problem is tourists that don’t drive a bike well and do not understand thai traffic customs are different here from other countries. So I applaud this rule change if it is enforced. Fewer young expat adults drinking and driving a bike in a foreign country and ending up dead is good move IMO. 

[marinediscoking]

Yes they had a new check out on 2nd rd near royal garden yesterday. I am being stopped every time now and they are checking registration as well. I noticed only foreigners were being stopped. So anyone who is all for this should thank the police for stopping them and letting the thai's go right by such as the 11 year old students with not helmets. So get off your high horse as you agree with the singling out people as yourself when you are trying to get somewhere. Also be prepared to be fined if they don't accept a copy of your book as well, happened to me. They want the original.

[Rimmer]

A post in German Language has been removed also other off topic stuff

[NoshowJones]

"Many states in the US do not require a separate Motorcycle license so a normal passenger vehicle license is sufficient to operate a motorcycle."

 

That's the way it should be, if someone is competent enough to pass a driving test in a western country, they should be competent and sensible enough to ride a low powered motorbike say up to 125cc. These people should know about the stupidity of most Thai motorbike riders and act accordingly. 

[Thaidream]

If we go on the premise that the vast majority of renters are foreigners- then the police will be stopping every foreigner on a motorcycle or driving a motor vehicle to determine if it is rented-  that will include every foreigner who resides in Pattaya permanently and every foreigner who visits from other areas not to mention the foreign tourists.  More than a bit inconvenient .  Let's see how you like it when you  stopped every day when every  Thai person rides on by with no helmet; 3 on a cycle; etc.

 

I didn't like it when I was stopped today on Pattaya Central for absolutely no reason other than to determine if my vehicle was rented.

[NoshowJones]

7 hours ago, Get Real said:

They usually do not cover renting a bike and driving wothout license anyway.

However, the new rules sounds just fine to me.

Yes, but they won't be enforced due to the brown envelope brigade.

[grkt]

Anyway smart foreigners do not drive a bike on vacation, right ?

So the ones caught are just looking for it.

 

[Jiggo]

16 hours ago, Thaiwrath said:

Does ANY Thai know the highway code ?  I don't think so.

There's a Highway Code in LOS?.....

[Arkady]

7 minutes ago, Jiggo said:

There's a Highway Code in LOS?.....

 

Yes. It's called the Land Traffic Act.  http://thailaws.com/law/t_laws/tlaw0140_5.pdf

[NoshowJones]

5 hours ago, transam said:

It is a step in the right direction though 1000bht fine is peanuts to most tourists..

 

The new law will probably save tourist lives and insure the bikes insurance will be valid.

 

What the BiB should do is print out police posters for every rental shop to stick on the shop window stating "No License No Bike"...

 

Forget about what Thai folk get away with, this law is for tourist protection...

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Posted 5 hours ago

It is a step in the right direction though 1000bht fine is peanuts to most tourists..

 

The new law will probably save tourist lives and insure the bikes insurance will be valid.

 

What the BiB should do is print out police posters for every rental shop to stick on the shop window stating "No License No Bike". That would be fine Trans, but what about the brown envelopes?

[mauGR1]

It has been said already, but if this law is enforced, it will affect dramatically the income of thousands of Thais who make their living by renting motorbikes to tourists.

That said, something has to be done, there are too many tourists causing accidents ( or being the victims of ) without having a proper insurance, thus creating a lot of problems.

Tough times ahead.

[Arkady]

2 hours ago, jackdd said:

An IDL is also only valid as long as you are living (have residency) in your home country. The 3 months is not the age of the IDL, but it's only valid for 3 months in the country from your arrival (for people who stay here on a tourist visa it's obviously no problem, because they have to leave after 90 days anyway).

So for people who stay here on a tourist visa an IDL is fine, others should get a Thai license.

I think you are right. The IDL is only valid for the first 90 days of your stay in Thailand, regardless of its expiry date.  Thanks for pointing this out.  My understanding is that this is because Thailand only ratified the 1949 convention but not the 1968 one.  Fortunately for most foreigners who use IDLs in Thailand for more than 90 days Thai police don't seem to know about this.  But insurance companies have figured it out as they employ lawyers to look for ways to avoid paying claims.

 

I drove on IDLs for the first 10 years in Thailand and used to have a collection of them, some of which I absent mindedly abandoned in police stations.  When the insurance company pointed out 90 day rule, I applied for a Thai licence.  I was glad that I did, since I managed to get an all of life licence not long before they amended the law and stopped issuing them but offered 5 year licenses instead of the former 3 year ones.    

[NoshowJones]

4 hours ago, stephenterry said:

In my experience, the loan shop keeps the passport until the vehicle is returned, therefore it is impossible, if stopped, to show it to the police. 

When I rented a motorbike in Pattaya, I was asked for my passport and said "no", then I showed him my Thai motorbike licence, and told him, "I could always go somewhere else", I got the bike.