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5-year licence renewal - my Sept. 2020 experience

2long

By 2long
in Thailand Motor Discussion

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2long Platinum Member

2long

Posted
Posted

I know there are several similar threads, but I just wanted to start this one to inform anyone who cares or needs the information.

My 5 year licence expired at the end of June, but with Covid I waited until late August to sort it out. I know that it's possible to login online, using your passport number plus a couple of XXs or whatever. I started the process and it took me to some learning or training page so I gave up. My wife went to the DoT in Suan Phak, Taling Chan* and they told her I could just turn up. I did just that, armed with my passport and work permit, and photocopies. Needing two licences (bike and car) I needed more copies, which included every page of my work permit (21 years!). After going back in, and sitting in a couple of queues for around an hour, they gave me an appointment date and time(s). That was for yesterday.

 

I needed my original passport and work permit for every visit.

 

*At every stage of the process the staff were nice, friendly and helpful. There is a new system in a new building and it all works very well.

https://goo.gl/maps/aWZkvvzm1Dpqs8xa8

 

I arrived yesterday on time and sat for no more than half an hour in a queue. They sent me to the 'physical test' room, which is the bit I dreaded due to the depth perception test that for me is incredibly hard. No more than 10 of us were in there together but I was the last and in the waiting room they show a video of how the test works. I really wanted to watch the bit about depth perception, but I didn't get chance. I did watch the bit about red-light brake reaction, which we will get to.

Inside the physical test room we did the colour test from approx 3 metres.

Then the peripheral vision test.

Then the depth perception, which I failed twice and probably a 3rd time but being the final person going through I feel that she wanted me out of the way. It really (for me) is incredibly hard and I can't see how I'm that blind (pun unintended, but staying).

Brake reaction equipment was there, but not used. Hey, who needs to test things like that!?

I was told to come back at 1pm for 'training' which I presumed was the famous video. At this stage I was still unsure if I had passed the depth perception, which I had. ????????

 

1pm came and we went into the video room. There were 24 of us, although only 21 at the start because why would you be on time? 3 came late. Oh, and the main guy staff showed 'lesser staff' how to press play on the video. They then both walked out after having told us not to use phones.  Did they monitor us not using phones? Of course not! This was my 3rd video (4th or 5th 5-year licence) and I was looking forward to it. ???? Now, if I was in charge, I would spy on the 'viewers' and anyone who doesn't pay attention would get a 'go back to start, do not collect $200' ticket, but TiT.

 

So, the video. They told us it'd be an hour, but it appeared to end after 35 minutes but in the end took nearly an hour.

 

The video story is a young attractive Thai girl who's a newish driver, and a 40-50 year old Thai guy who shows her a few home truths. It was sweet enough and not too painful to watch. At one stage her speedo was showing 110km/h and he told her it's too fast. But the car was travelling at 25km/h tops!

 

They talked about braking distances, speed limits etc and crash stats. Stats included 'presumed' figures of injuries, deaths and causes of accidents.

In the top 10, 'not wearing a helmet' was a cause of accidents. ???? Not sure it's a cause, but hey!

They claimed that 57,000 were injured on Thai roads per year, and 7,700 die! Not sure where they get those figures.


Then, like the last times, they force you to watch videos of crashes. It was a YouTube video and NONE of the drivers, cars or roads in the video were in Thailand. Many were in countries where they drive on the wrong side. Some clips were real and others acted out. A couple of acted out clips included a Ford XR3i running into an Austin Metro! Like, how old is that? All this is totally irrelevant on Thai roads.

 

At the end, the video appeared to 'finish'... then they went into a 'bloopers' section in the corner of the screen... so it's finished, right?

Then they showed what appeared to be the opening scene of Need for Speed or some other video racing game with crashes.

 

Then 10 more minutes of real road crashes, about 50-60% appeared to be in Thailand. I hate seeing real crashes where people get hurt or die. But they played many, time and time again, slowed down and focussing on the person being killed. Did they ask for or get permission from the victims' families? I very much doubt it.

 

The video was all in Thai with English subtitles. At times it was hard to keep up and some dodgy vocab was involved, but in general it was easy enough to follow and quite well translated.

 

And getting back to the use of phones, well out of 24 of us most behaved. The girl right in front of me scrolled through Instagram and online shopping, and two guys to the right of me were sleeping and reading a book!

 

I do appreciate that them making efforts and steps forward, and the staff and facilities were great. But they could and should spend more time editing the video, and policing people paying attention.

119726562_830234437511203_4382437862650732797_n.jpg.70029ed4e0d8921c90869c23c9b12717.jpg119673106_374119883590583_5992994082778130041_n.thumb.jpg.c61a9ce71e970171e30f5565e0243b69.jpg

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Yellowtail Star Member

Yellowtail

Posted
Posted
On 9/17/2020 at 9:13 AM, 2long said:

And getting back to the use of phones, well out of 24 of us most behaved. The girl right in front of me scrolled through Instagram and online shopping, and two guys to the right of me were sleeping and reading a book!

.

Hmmm, you had to have been playing with your phone to take the pictures, yes?

 

As I understand it, you can watch the video at home if you want to get in an out quicker.

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topt Ruby Member

topt

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Posted
22 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

.

Hmmm, you had to have been playing with your phone to take the pictures, yes?

 

As I understand it, you can watch the video at home if you want to get in an out quicker.

All I can say is at Pattaya DLT when I renewed last week I only watched about a 30/40 minute video completely in English. No car crashes and to be fair a lot of the information was very relevant. Not had to view one before so this was no hardship. All the people in the room were foreigners. 

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thainet Advanced Member

thainet

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33 minutes ago, topt said:

All I can say is at Pattaya DLT when I renewed last week I only watched about a 30/40 minute video completely in English. No car crashes and to be fair a lot of the information was very relevant. Not had to view one before so this was no hardship. All the people in the room were foreigners. 

Yes me also last week. First time I'd had to watch the new video in English, and actually it was well done and very relevant. 

Arrived at 8am and was out by 10.30am.

Actually for the relatively small space upstairs and only a few staff, they do a very good job.

They did seem to separate foreigners and Thai, probably to make it easier for the instructions. Also seemed to separate 5 year and 2 year renewals.

Anyway I thought 2 1/2 hours every 5 years can't be too bad.

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2long Platinum Member

2long

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33 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

The appointment system is a great success if it keeps the numbers down.  My licence expired at the end of August, and the first appointment I could get (for Bang Chak, Bangkok) was 24 December!

I think that if you can get by in Thai it might be worth just turning up and seeing if they can squeeze you in. I am lucky in that I live less than 10 minutes from my local office.

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richard_smith237 Star Member

richard_smith237

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Posted
3 hours ago, 2long said:

I think that if you can get by in Thai it might be worth just turning up and seeing if they can squeeze you in. I am lucky in that I live less than 10 minutes from my local office.

Thats what I have always done in the past and tagged along with a Thai group - there’s usually at least one other foreigner doing the same (DLT Area 3 Bangkok). 

 

The Video in Thai also has English Subtitles.

 

I’m guessing the necessity for an appointment is a response to keep the numbers down during Covid-19. A few people have already reported that while they had an appointment a few months down the line, they just turned up and were accommodated. 

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Oldie Gold Member

Oldie

Posted
Posted (edited)
33 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

From the DLT website. It works, but in retrospect, it was not worth the effort. 

If I don't have to watch it there I will save some time - somebody drives me there. But is there an English version and can I register with the passport number or how do I register that they know that I have watched it? And do I have to watch it 2 times if I want to renew the car and motorbike license? 

 

Edited by Oldie
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Yellowtail Star Member

Yellowtail

Posted
Posted (edited)
42 minutes ago, Oldie said:

If I don't have to watch it there I will save some time - somebody drives me there. But is there an English version and can I register with the passport number or how do I register that they know that I have watched it? And do I have to watch it 2 times if I want to renew the car and motorbike license? 

 

 

The registration is in Thai and I used the DL number and the pink-ID number. It took over a half hour to register and my wife helps me.

 

There is a three question at the end and then (assuming you pass) you print out your conformation. 

 

 

conformation.thumb.jpg.106d8a24f004408b68598a80c8f31034.jpg

 

 

   

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Oldie Gold Member

Oldie

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Posted
25 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

 

The registration is in Thai and I used the DL number and the pink-ID number. It took over a half hour to register and my wife helps me.

 

There is a three question at the end and then (assuming you pass) you print out your conformation. 

 

 

Great - thank you. How can I get a pink-ID number? Who will translate for me Thai to English when using this site? Forget it. I will watch the video there. ????

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Xaos Silver Member

Xaos

Posted
Posted
On 9/19/2020 at 6:19 PM, topt said:

All I can say is at Pattaya DLT when I renewed last week I only watched about a 30/40 minute video completely in English. No car crashes and to be fair a lot of the information was very relevant. Not had to view one before so this was no hardship. All the people in the room were foreigners. 

 

Do you renewe before or after it expires, my DL expire 31 oct, should I do it now or after exp. ?

 

Im in Pattaya, got non O 1 year, my DL is 5 years one.

 

What other documents, photos, forms I need?

 

 

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richard_smith237 Star Member

richard_smith237

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Posted
18 minutes ago, Xaos said:

 

Do you renewe before or after it expires, my DL expire 31 oct, should I do it now or after exp. ?

 

Im in Pattaya, got non O 1 year, my DL is 5 years one.

 

What other documents, photos, forms I need?

 

 

 

You can renew before or after your 5 year Thai Driving Licence expires.

 

You will need: 

 

- Photo Copy of Passport ID page and Visa / stamp Page (Non-Imm Visa to renew for 5yr DL)

- Proof of Address / Affirmation of Residence (in Pattaya Yellow house book is not accepted for some reason)

- Medical Certificate (sometimes this is not needed for renewal from 5yr to 5yr)

- Existing Driving Licence

 

 

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Yellowtail Star Member

Yellowtail

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Posted

At Lat Krabang (area 4) I used existing expired driver license, yellow-book & pink ID. I did not need a passport or visa.

 

Area 1  (Chatachuk) would not accept yellow-book and said I needed a residence letter from immigration or consulate, and said I had to renew my extension before I could renew. 

 

As I understand it, you must live in the same area as the DLT office for the yellow-book to work but I would not bet on this either way. 

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topt Ruby Member

topt

Posted
Posted
18 hours ago, Xaos said:

 

Do you renewe before or after it expires, my DL expire 31 oct, should I do it now or after exp. ?

 

Im in Pattaya, got non O 1 year, my DL is 5 years one.

 

What other documents, photos, forms I need?

 

 

I would go just before to get appointment for just after the expiry date to maximise the amount of time you get on the licence. If you go before and they say you can do today (as another poster mentioned) just say you have to do something urgent and book a date after - as long as that option still exists. 

 

17 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Medical Certificate

Not needed at Pattaya for 5 year to 5 year.

 

11 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

As I understand it, you must live in the same area as the DLT office for the yellow-book to work but I would not bet on this either way. 

As Richard above says Pattaya do not accept yellow book. You 100% need a Certificate of Residence from Immigration. If doing car and bike you only need one original CoR at 300 baht and one copy.

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brewsterbudgen Diamond Member

brewsterbudgen

Posted
Posted
On 9/21/2020 at 9:32 AM, 2long said:

I think that if you can get by in Thai it might be worth just turning up and seeing if they can squeeze you in. I am lucky in that I live less than 10 minutes from my local office.

I'm happy with having an appointment. I used to hate having to just turn up and take your chances with hundreds of people.  Limiting the numbers for two morning sessions is much better.

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BobBKK Gold Member

BobBKK

Posted
Posted
On 9/19/2020 at 6:19 PM, topt said:

All I can say is at Pattaya DLT when I renewed last week I only watched about a 30/40 minute video completely in English. No car crashes and to be fair a lot of the information was very relevant. Not had to view one before so this was no hardship. All the people in the room were foreigners. 

same here - only foreigners and cannot be watched online (only Thai version)

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ThaiPauly Diamond Member

ThaiPauly

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50 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

So it had not expired?

 

What kind of test(s) did he have to take?

The test of 2000 different ones that you can find the answers to online

There are that many questions but they just pick 50 and you need to get 90pc right, . You have 3 chances

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