Confirmed: "Big Bike" riders will need special training from next year

[DrTuner 24,558]

1 minute ago, mikosan said:

What about those of us farangs that have been riding big bikes for years and passed the required tests, in our country of origin, before we came to Thailand and have the licence to prove it.  Any ideas where we stand?

The usual was that you can get a Thai license if your native license is in English or you have the international driving permit (which is just a translation of your license). Remains to be seen if Thais do it with logic or somchai it up.

[MarkT63 32]

8 minutes ago, mikosan said:

What about those of us farangs that have been riding big bikes for years and passed the required tests, in our country of origin, before we came to Thailand and have the licence to prove it.  Any ideas where we stand?

Hi Mikosan

 

Technically, if you have been in Thailand for more than 60 days you are supposed to get a Thai driving licence and not rely on an International Licence.

 

I am sure this rule is not enforced but not 100% sure how it would effect your insurance.

 

Don't really understand the reluctance of people to get a Thai driving licence. The test was easy and I had such a laugh at the test centre for the half day I was there watching how the Thais do on the theory and the practical!!

Edited October 28, 2020 by MarkT63
Gramatical error

[xtrnuno41 768]

Damn, said the senior police officer, what can i do as report?

No not the trucks without lights or wrecks

No not the Thai without helmets and with more then 2 people on it and breaking all the rules.

No not the roads which can be in horrible shape, lacking stripes, lighting, reflectors.

Aaah yeah, big motorbikes, farang and some rich Thai, thats a good idea.

Hurray, i came up with something and now im famous.

[jwbrit 34]

After a couple of cross country driving trips, I'd also suggest training for anyone in a moving vehicle with focus on these 3 areas:

1. Driving on the correct side of the road.

2. The meaning of yellow and white lines.

3. Stopping distances.

 

[SupermarineS6B 2,034]

Have a look on the RTA stats and see how many are killed on crotch rockets, 125s ...... What will they do next, ban all motorbikes ?    Oh yes, that's possible i forgot, if you can ban tourism and fun and lock the country up into poverty then what's the problem with a few motorbikes ?    The problem lies in training and testing...... but as we all know, if you've paid your money you have to pass....... Isn't that what Chula does ?  

[mattpatt 22]

When I lived and worked in Japan at the end of the 90's, I was given an up to 400cc license, based on my full motorcycle UK license. Didn't stress me in the slightest even though my previous bike had been a GSXR1100. If I wanted to ride a so called big bike then I would have needed to take a test. Never bothered.

Having ridden and raced everything from 50cc scooters up to full blown Superbikes, I have to say that for 99.9% of the time spent riding the streets of Thailand, nothing more than a 400cc is necessary. I say 400cc based on the Ninja 400, which is a very capable motorcycle and has enough power to get you out of trouble when necessary......but also has enough to get you into trouble too of course!

Any of the current 1000cc Superbikes are a handful, and anyone that says different has either never opened the throttle more than 10%, or is not telling the whole truth (or you're Marc Marquez!). Blindingly fast and in my opinion, totally unnecessary for regular street riding.

The key word here is "training". But that shouldn't start at big bikes. It should start at your first bike, no matter what capacity. The basics of riding safely cover all capacities. If you can ride your Honda Dream safely and with full awareness of your surroundings, and of course you're ready with PLAN A, B and C in the event of a "situation", then this can be put to good use no matter what the size of bike. The trouble is that on a Superbike, these situations happen A LOT faster, and can end incredibly painfully!

Getting to my point. Training for all I say. Irrespective of what bike you're riding. If you don't pass the test, you don't get the license. But not entirely sure that it'll happen quite like that

 

 

 

 

[apetryxx 313]

Will these guys ever learn? Are there crazy big bike guys, yes, but there are hundreds of thousands more “little” bike fools everywhere on Thai roads driving like maniacs with no helmets. Are the laws enforced? Everyone reading this knows the answer to that and until  traffic laws are enforced across the board edicts like this are useless.

[ICELANDMAN 928]

22 minutes ago, jwbrit said:

After a couple of cross country driving trips, I'd also suggest training for anyone in a moving vehicle with focus on these 3 areas:

1. Driving on the correct side of the road.

2. The meaning of yellow and white lines.

3. Stopping distances.

 

Only 3 ? I guess you haven't traveled extensively in Thailand because the list would go up to at least 50

 

[KhaoYai 2,790]

8 hours ago, Seismic said:

What about the many big bike riders who have been riding them for years, or even decades?. Again, an ill-thought out idea, with many questions still left unanswered. Another knee-jerk reaction to a problem that does not actually exist, from people with no expertise in the area.

I haven't seen anything that says those simply renewing a licence will have to take part in any 'special training'. I would expect these changes to be applied for new applicants but if they are applied universally, personally, if I had to have any additional training, I would consider it a nuisance but its not really a big problem.

 

What would make sense, now that they've realised that a Scoopy and an R1 are a little different to each other - is big bikes being allowed on tollways and motorways.

Edited October 28, 2020 by KhaoYai

[sencelebi 112]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Confirmed: "Big Bike" riders will need special training from next year

 

Picture: Thai Rath

 

A senior policeman tasked with looking into changes to Thailand's traffic laws has revealed that motorcycle riders on high powered machines must undergo special training and answer more questions to obtain a licence. 

 

The new regulations apply to riders of 400cc machines and up.

 

Pol Maj-Gen Ekkarak Limsangkat, deputy of Region 6, said that the changes were announced in the government gazette and would come into force on 19th February 2021, 120 days after the announcement last Thursday. 

 

The Thai Rath story suggested that riders would need to provide evidence of having been through the required training before a licence could be issued. They would also have to answer additional questions on a test.

 

Exactly what this would mean has yet to be revealed. 

 

The government gazette announcement is part of changes to update and modernize.laws promulgated in 1979.

 

Thailand had seen a great rise in the use of high powered motorcycles in recent years, notes Thailvisa, with many bike companies producing machines in the kingdom.

 

A previously more niche market has thus become far more widespread. 

 

Furthermore Thai press reports of "big bike" accidents" now seem to have forced the hand of the authorities in taking action to address the issue, though the actual extent of accidents involving those on high power machines is largely anecdotal.

 

Thailand is one of the biggest markets in the world for motorcycles of all descriptions. 

 

About 70% of Thailand's estimated 20,000 plus death toll on the roads is motorcycle riders. 

 

Source: Thai Rath

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2020-10-28

 

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They need to make sure 125 CC riders have license and they don't ride 15KM per hour in middle of the road. They need to train and teach traffic laws to 125 CC riders first. They have to know scooters don't have the right to ride in middle of the road and block the cars and they have to learn that mirrors have on the scooters to check the rear traffic not an accessories.They adjust their mirrors to see their own face not the rear traffic.

[LukKrueng 1,573]

8 hours ago, Seismic said:

What about the many big bike riders who have been riding them for years, or even decades?. Again, an ill-thought out idea, with many questions still left unanswered. Another knee-jerk reaction to a problem that does not actually exist, from people with no expertise in the area.

 

I also wonder how it will work for people who already own and ride big bike, those who also hold big bike license from other countries, those who can prove they've been riding big bikes for long time. 

The fact that the article doesn't provide answers to those questions doesn't necessarily mean the authorities don't have them

7 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

So lets take a look at the Yamaha MT-15, it is only a 155CC bike, yet can do 140 Km/H. Enough torque and 6 speeds to accelerate as fast as a larger bike and yet would not be considered a big bike.  You really have to wonder at what level of thinking the country is doing when it comes to calling a 400CC and over a big bike.

 

Even the Kawasaki Ninja 400 would not be considered a big bike as it is only 399 CC and a top speed of 191 km/h.  Yet still not a big bike either according to the new law, just makes one kind of laugh at why the decided 400 cc's and above was a big bike.

Thailand is definitely not the only country in the world that class bikes according to engine size. And the fact that some bikes have a 399 cc engine which will be classed as "small bike" is not uncommon in the world. Happens a lot when road tax is calculated by categories and manufacturers "reduce" engine size just enough for the vehicle to fit into a cheaper category

[JIMHILL 44]

8 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

Many countries have tiered systems for motorbike licences. This is not a new idea.  Some counties it is 125cc and up. Thailand has chosen 400 cc. For many, many years in Indonesia anything over 200cc was illegal.

What would be more realistic would be an age factor not the bike size. 

 

 

 

Re Age factor, well said.

[merijn 856]

8 hours ago, Seismic said:

What about the many big bike riders who have been riding them for years, or even decades?. Again, an ill-thought out idea, with many questions still left unanswered. Another knee-jerk reaction to a problem that does not actually exist, from people with no expertise in the area.

I believe it's for new DL applications and not for renewals.

[VocalNeal 7,174]

I was thinking maybe the answer would be that one cannot apply for a "Big Bike" license until one renews an existing 5 year license that would mean firstly young Thai would need a license if they ever want a big Bike license. But it might be flawed in the case of mature foreigners who already have a full license in their own country.

Fortunately I don't have to institute or organize this.

Edited October 28, 2020 by VocalNeal

[ThailandRyan 16,484]

4 minutes ago, merijn said:

I believe it's for new DL applications and not for renewals.

Will be interesting to see how it plays out.  Wondering if those of us with the Motorbike license will be grandfathered in, or at the time of renewal we will need to upgrade to meet the new standards.  If it is the latter then I will have 5 more years on my license since I just renewed last month.