cavanami Posted September 21, 2009 Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 When you buy the "sticker" at the Thai DMV, that is your insurance. For a bike: my tee rak had bumped into the back of a pickup truck, she was driving the motorbike. The matter was settled on the spot, like 800 Baht or something. She was at fault so paid cash and done...she had no license, so the cost was a little higher. I was told some years ago (7 ~ 8) by the BiB that my USA license was not good in Thailand...but 100 Baht slid his way made it better...I then got an international license and to date, no problems (knocking on my wooden head). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Munchmaster Posted September 21, 2009 Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 For a bike: my tee rak had bumped into the back of a pickup truck, she was driving the motorbike. The matter was settled on the spot, like 800 Baht or something. She was at fault so paid cash and done...she had no license, so the cost was a little higher.... There's a bit of a difference between a Thai with no license having a wee knock with another vehicle and a farang with no license having a more major accident. As long as no one is hurt you may well be able to bribe the police and pay for the damage yourself (because your insurance company won't) but if someone is hurt or you don't have the money to pay for the damage or their medical bills, which would have been paid for by the insurance company if you'd had a license, then you have a problem. Bottom line, if you're going to drive in Thailand you should have a license. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiHome Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 I agree that you should have license to drive in Thailand. If you can get a Thai one, that is the way to go. I do disagree that an international driving permit is required if all you have is one from your home country. If the license is already in English, then an international driver’s permit is redundant. Even the major car renting companies, i.e. Budget, Hertz, etc, acknowledge this and only require a driver’s license in English. TH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepdog Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 I agree you can get away with 100-200 bht fines without the appropriate MDL. As MM pointed out if you have an accident all bets are off. rule one farang pays rule 2 farang pays. The more they can get on you the more money youll pay. If you have a Thai or Inter MDL then you can go to court and contest it if your in the right, you will be suprised, a lot win the case or the police do not show up to give evidence hence the you win. A friend hit a power pole afer being run off the road. Only Aussie MDL. 10000 bht fine for no MDL, dangerous driving and having an accident. Then to add insult the power company sent him a bill for 85000 bht. Insurance refuse to pay because of he did not having the correct MDL. Inter MDL can be had for about 5000 bht or less in BKK takes 15 minutes. Thai MDL will take a half a day, no fuss easy. So for a little effort it will give you peace of mind and save you a bit of money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Munchmaster Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 I was involved in a few accidents in Bangkok in the 90's and every time (except once) I had an IDL and the insurance company paid up. On the one occassion that my IDL had expired I just avoided the other party to the accident for a couple of weeks (they were not happy) until I could get a new IDL sent out from the UK. Even though the license was issued after the accident the insurance company accepted it. :content: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 rule one farang pays rule 2 farang pays. The more they can get on you the more money youll pay. What a load of fucking crap , where did you come up with this statistic, is it based on personal experience or from reading other numpty comments posted online. I have been driving here for over 18 years now and have been involved in 3 accidents, none of which were my fault, and not once have I been houned for money just because I am farang. Police showed up made the report and insurance coughed up, end of. There was a thread on here a couple of weeks back by an expat who got his car hit by a Thai woman and he reported exactly the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiHome Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 ...Inter MDL can be had for about 5000 bht or less in BKK takes 15 minutes. Thai MDL will take a half a day, no fuss easy. So for a little effort it will give you peace of mind and save you a bit of money. You cannot buy a valid International Driving Permit in Thailand that will be valid in Thailand. An IDP is essentially a multiple language translation of one's own existing driver's license. It is not a license to operate a motor vehicle on its own. It must be issued by an authorized agency in the country where your real driver’s license is issued. For the US, this is only the AAA and the NAC. If you bought one in Bangkok, you got scammed. I have rented cars from major rental companies many times in Bangkok, using only my US state issued drivers license. Was assured each time insurance would fully cover anything. On one of the early occasions, I did have an IDP issued by AAA, they didn’t want it, said the US one was enough. TH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 New York mail order houses. Go a google for the IDL and they will FedEx it to you in LOS...about $85 USD for a 10 year license. All the BiB have no problem with my IDL from the NY house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiHome Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 It's a fake. The BiB may accept it, but it is still a fake with no legal validity. You are paying $85 (place fedex cost) for nothing other then a document to fool the police. You could get one from KSR for 100 baht and do the same thing. Did you get it from the PT Resource Center?. To begin with an IDP must be accompanied by a valid license from your home country and shall not be valid after the expiry of the corresponding domestic driver's license. In the case of the US, like I said, only the AAA and NAC are authorized to issue IDP's and they are only valid for one year. Beware Fake IDP TH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTO Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 Question to OP - have you ridden big bikes before coming to THailand - seen a few people stuff up riding something they didn't know how too (Me included) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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