Thailand is ranked 2nd in the world for traffic fatalities. Statistics show a massive 44 deaths per 100,000 people, which is 5.1 percent of Thailand’s overall death count.
It's no surprise that drunk-driving is to blame for 26% of road deaths. But it could well be more, as rescue services report that alcohol is involved in as much as 80% of road accidents.
(Stats according to the World Health Organization and The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute in the United States)
But what about the rest of the traffic accidents? Why so many?
If you've ever driven in Thailand, you'll know why. But what begs belief is that the root of the problem hasn't been addressed yet.
Learning to Drive in Thailand
Last week I went to watch my wife learn to drive. Now, had we been in the UK, this would have involved me watching her get picked up in a new, dual-control Golf, Mini or other car, and returning after an hour on the roads with a fully qualified instructor.
But this was learning to drive Thai style. Something I was yet to experience.
From the outset, I was pretty shocked that she'd only paid 3,600 Baht for 20 lessons (70 odd quid). That would get you just two lessons back home. I was even more shocked when we pulled up to what resembled more of an assault course than a learning centre.
Looks like doomsday. Clearly the Gods knew my GF was learning to drive!
Okay, I'd seen these places before from afar, but getting to grips with the fact that people in Thailand don't learn to drive on real roads, and are instead let loose in these places, takes a fair bit of getting used to.
There is no getting stuck behind a learner driver in Thailand. Instead, learners are confined to wasteland areas, instructed by non-qualified (so it seems) instructors to weave in and out of cone courses, navigate corners marked out by tyres and attempt reverse parking in makeshift spaces.
No expense spared on creating the course
I made sure I was fully kitted out with amulets before leaving the house (sarcasm), and I did warn the staff that they should probably close off near by roads, since my wife is accident prone. I also suggested that my wife change her pink-bowed sandals for more appropriate driving shoes.
The Lesson…
Four new female drivers, including Mrs TTL, were bundled into a Toyota Vios and shown the ropes by a fairly uninterested instructor with Red Bull in one hand and fag in the other. After what seemed like less that 20 minutes, each lady was given a car of her own to start driving – alone!
My girlfriend was given a black Nissan with a sticker slapped on the side that made it look a tad rally style.
I told everyone to stand back…They didn't get the joke.
She did brilliantly though. I was super-impressed. She kept a steady pace and managed to go around the corners without stacking the car into the on-site office or running over any of the resident soi dogs.
I was baffled: How had she managed to change gears by herself after such a short lesson?
“He put a rock on the clutch. All I had to do was steer”.
Huh?
Seriously. That's what they do. Forget dual controls, or even an instructor in the car. They place the car in second gear with a rock on the clutch to keep it from stalling.
A makeshift automatic. Only in Thailand!
She went for another lesson two days later, and upon her return told me that she was left in the car alone for an hour to “figure it out by herself”. She was frustrated as the old taxi she was given didn't work as well as the Nissan.
She added that she had pissed off the instructor by having a go at him for not doing his job properly.Bloody right!
Zero Teaching – Zero Real Road Experience
“This is how you do it, now get in and drive!”
It's madness. This wasteland introduction to driving gives you absolutely zero real road experience and in no way prepares you for the numerous difficulties you might face on a day-to-day basis.
I had assumed that after lesson three they'd take her out on a real road. But the office lady told me this wasn't the case. You learn on site and then put in for your test, which is also conducted on a course (not on a real road), as seen in the video below.
The New Theory Test + Real Questions
One improvement that has been made is the introduction of a harder theory test. In an effort to improve road safety, a new test (effective since June 1st, 2014) requires that students have to answer 50 questions instead of the old 30.
You'll need to score 45 questions correctly to pass, which means a passing grade of 90% instead of the old 75%. That's pretty hard, and needless to say a lot of people are failing.
You can download and print out real test questions at the following links:
>> Thai driving theory test part 1
>> Thai driving theory test part 2
>> Thai driving theory test part 3
But does a harder theory test improve people's ability to drive? Perhaps they will understand more road signs, but at the time of passing their test, their ability to control a car on the road will be limited to the experience of an obstacle course in a car park with no other cars on the road.
Surely the answer to decreasing road deaths and traffic accidents in Thailand is to start offering lessons on roads, and to create a more realistic test that takes users out in real-world situations. Or would that be even more dangerous?
Hell, how many people actually have a real license in Thailand anyway?
If you want to know how drivers should be driving in Thailand, have a look at the official Thai traffic laws here.
How to Apply for a Thai Driving License
What most people don't know is that you are required to have a Thai driving license if you have stayed in the country for 60 or more days. Bear in mind though that you can't get a license on a Tourist Visa.
If you already have an international driving license, you won't need to take the practical test, but will need to take the following:
- A short eyesight test (color perception, peripheral vision, depth perception)
- A reflex examination
- A computer based test (in Thai & English language only) on the rules of driving
Documents Required
1. Medical Certificate
Get this from a local doctor or hospital. It must not be older than 30 days. Cost is between 100-500 Baht.
2. Residency Certificate
This is proof of address and is provided by the Immigration Bureau or foreign embassy. You can download the form here. When you go to get this, take 2 color Photo’s 1.5 in x 2.36 in (4 cm x 6 cm). Proof of residence in the form of a rental contract or yellow residency book or a letter from your landlord.
3. Copy & Original of Passport & Non-Immigrant/Other Relevant Visa
Simply copy the front page of your passport, the visa page, latest stamp page and your TM6 card. Take your original passport with you too.
4. Valid License / International License
You will need your current motorbike or car license, be it an international one or one issued by your country. If you don't have one you will have to complete the practical and theory exams. If you license is not in English, you will have to get it officially translated and authorised by your embassy.
5. Identification Card / Other Card Substituted for ID Card
6. Application Forms
>> Download the license application form
>> Download the English translation
If you are renewing a license or extending from 1-year to a 5-year, click here for the official requirements.
To find your local transportation office, see this directory here.
And lastly, a nice man called Vladimir, who took the driving test in Thailand, has put together a mock Thai driving test that you can take online. It basically combines those PDF questions I gave you earlier into a test format. You can find that here.
Whether you need lessons or simply to apply for a Thai driving license, I hope you've found this information useful. If something has changed in the law or procedure that you know about, please do leave it in the comments section and I'll update the post.
Stay safe on the roads!
More Tips for a Better Life in Thailand
Send Money to Thailand:
Use Transferwise. It is fast, cheap, and gives you the market exchange rate. Me and the majority of my readers are using it.
Get Good Health Insurance:
Start with a quick quote from Cigna. Then compare my other recommendations here.
Improve Your Thai Skills:
Learning Thai makes life here easier and more fun. I use Thaipod101. It is free to get started & easy to use.
Protect Your Online Privacy:
A VPN protects you against hackers and government snooping. I always use one. You should too. Read why here.
Last Updated on
Martin says
do you have any information on how to get a motorbikes driving license? Is that included in the cars' license, or do we have to do a second practical test?
And theoretical?
May 12, 2017 at 3:05 am
TheThailandLife says
May 12, 2017 at 4:15 am
jimjfox says
Good luck.
Dec 02, 2017 at 4:55 am
Robert Heatley says
While at times you may think you have been caught up in a scene from the original "Death Race 2000" movie, in fact the Thai drivers are by the most part very courteous.
Unlike Melbourne where merging into traffic is a battle of inflated egos and road rage, here traffic just flows along.
In my opinion the secret to driving in Thailand is, leave your ego at home, open your eyes, watch the traffic and enjoy yourself.
The biggest road hazard and most irresponsible/dangerous drivers we have encountered in Phuket are the tourists!
Safe driving :-)
Robert & Maureen
May 01, 2017 at 7:14 am
TheThailandLife says
May 02, 2017 at 3:23 am
fillco says
Aug 09, 2017 at 4:14 pm
Herbman says
imagine a country full of 1.3 billion people, with driving skills of Mrs TTL, but an Ego as high as Burj Kalifa in Dubai.........this is driving in China!
those guys don't follow any rules, and behave like idiots, OUT OF THE WAY EVERYONE, HERE COME I, THE KING OF THE ROAD !
so whenever I manage to be in Thailand, to see Mrs Herbman and our son, I am quite relaxed, take it easy, just make sure I don't need to drive nighttimes, when it's dark............
Apr 18, 2017 at 5:36 pm
TheThailandLife says
Apr 19, 2017 at 4:37 pm
John says
I then started looking in my car to see if I had a copy of my old license or the Thai police report saying I had lost it. No luck, but i found an old work ID and I showed it to the cop as a joke. He studied it hand it back to me and told me it was expired, but no problem I could use my license, but renew it soon.
Dec 27, 2016 at 2:45 pm
TheThailandLife says
Dec 27, 2016 at 4:28 pm
Joh says
Passed first time at the age of 17.
Sep 26, 2016 at 8:36 am
Ken says
Its also true however that most people actually start slacking off and picking up bad habits almost immediately after getting their drivers licenses. For example when making a right or left turn almost everyone here in the USA just slops over into the outside lane as they complete the turn. People are just too lazy to bother with steering neatly and accurately like they had to do in training. And I could name at least a dozen other thing that 95 percent of drivers here do everyday (and probably everywhere else in the world) that would cause them to fail a driving test.
As for me, despite that fact that I have been racing cars since I was 17, I am actually kind of a perfectionist when it comes to driving on public roads and I strictly follow the rules. In fact, I could have a DMV examiner secretly watching me drive all day long every day and he would never find any mistakes to mark off. Yet I can drive with others and see dozens of things they are doing wrong that would loose them points on a driving test.
What I’m trying to get at here is that better drivers training is not going to have even the slightest effect on the number of accidents there are in Thailand. It mostly has to do with the driving conditions there. In fact, if I could magically put all the Thais in America and all the Americans in Thailand the accident statistics would actually not change a whole heck of a lot in either of the two countries. So, as I said before, training is not really that much of a factor.
And now that I think about it, when I was living in Pattaya the worst drivers I came across there were actually Westerners. Also, most of the serious accidents I personally came across involved Westerners. Not really a big surprise when I think of all the times I’ve seen one riding a motorbike around town one handed because he had either a beer or a cigarette in the other hand.
And if living in an area where helmet laws are not enforced they will ride around with out them just like the Thais do. And the really stupid thing is that the only reason they are doing this – whether they realize it or not - is because on some level they think it makes them look more like “locals”. Of course nobody will ever admit this to themselves because in truth they are not really fully consciously aware of their motives for these stupid driving habits that they would never even consider adopting back in their own countries. Half of the expats I’ve ever met in any country I’ve been to just have this compulsive need to show off how well they have assimilated themselves into their new culture. They want everyone to know that they are in-the-know expats and not newbies or, god forbid, mere tourist.
Back to helmets though, when I lived in Pattaya the police there were actually pretty strict on helmet laws so what I would see some Westerners do there to avoid a ticket would be to just set the helmet on their heads without connecting the chinstrap. They think they are being pretty slick I suppose but just how much of a total moron do you have to be to do something that stupid. I mean if you have to have the damn thing on your head anyway why not wear in a way that it will actually protect you in a crash. Basically this is just the most idiotic practice I have ever seen. I have also seen a LOT of Westerners on motorbikes try to pass cars on the left when its not safe to do so and I have even seen a few of them get hit by a car turning left right into them. If you are passing on the left in Thailand on a bike and you get hit its your own damn fault.
Here in the States people tend to take there eyes off the road all the time and you can actually get away with this virtually forever here without ever getting in an accident. In Thailand though its so much more dangerous that I have a strict rule of NEVER taking my eyes off the road for even a second. I only broke this rule twice but the second time I paid for it big time when I was living in Phuket. There had just been a heavy downpour and my girlfriend and I were on a major but extremely narrow road in Kata that cut through a residential neighborhood. The problem is there is a place where this road makes and extremely sharp left turn but due to an optical illusion of sorts it looks like its going to go straight until you are literally right on top of the turn. In the USA there would be a huge sign marking the turn and there may have once been one at this turn but cars kept crashing into it and they got tired of replacing it. Anyway, normally this would not be a problem but I had thought I saw a for rent sign on a house and I took my eyes off the road for nearly two full seconds right at the point where the turn would have just become visible. So, when I put my eyes back on the road we had already entered the turn and were crossing over the center line. And as luck would have it there was a huge commercial truck in the oncoming lane approximately ½ a second from impact with us. If we had only been in car and on a dry road there would have been just enough road between us to successfully perform an evasive maneuver and avoid impact altogether as my reaction time is almost instantaneous. But unfortunately a motorcycle has to lean in order to turn and for this reason it takes at least ¼ second longer than a car to initiate an evasive maneuver. Anyway all the options flashed through my head in milliseconds and I realized that braking was the only option. I ended up laying it down (though not quite all the way by impact) and the bike went under the truck and my chest took the brunt of the impact. Luckily I always wear a helmet and insist that my passengers also wear one so I got away with just a broken wrist, some severe back pain and chest pain, and some strained ligaments. And my Thai girlfriend ended up with some cuts and scrapes and only needed a few stitches. I was really glad that she was not seriously hurt because I can’t even imagine the guilt of being responsible for injuring or killing someone I care about (or anyone else for that matter).
Anyway we were taken to the hospital by ambulance and when the doctor was treating me he told me that they had had another Western guy (Farang) in there just the day before who had also crashed on his motorbike only he did not survive his injuries. It was pretty sobering hearing that this guy went out in a body bag right before I came in. Then just a few weeks later a 15-year old Australian kid was killed less than a mile from my house in Rawaii when he crashed his motorbike late at night. The cops said he went off the road at120kmh and he was not even wearing a helmet. He was living in Phuket with his mother and I couldn’t help but wonder if she had always told him to wear a helmet and he just ignored her, like a typical teen, or whether she had set a bad example herself by riding around without a helmet to be more like the locals. I'm sorry but in my opinion only a moron rides a motorcycle around in Thailand without wearing a helmet.
Aug 27, 2016 at 4:06 pm
Greg Adkins says
Aug 25, 2016 at 10:40 pm
TheThailandLife says
Aug 26, 2016 at 12:04 am
tom says
Sep 09, 2011 at 4:45 pm
mike says
Jan 10, 2017 at 3:37 pm
Lawrence Michaels says
Aug 17, 2011 at 11:54 am
TheThailandLife says
Aug 17, 2011 at 2:51 pm
colin says
The day of the test it was snowing quite heavily and I was sure it would be cancelled but when we arrived all the test instructor decided to do change the test slightly. All I did was reverse in a straight line then drive for 5 mins on very quite snowy roads and return to the test centre safely. All this was done in an automatic! I then had a license to drive anything I wanted at the ripe age of 16.
Do you drive in Thailand?
Aug 17, 2011 at 5:25 am
TheThailandLife says
Aug 17, 2011 at 11:29 am
colin says
Aug 18, 2011 at 2:42 am