In the past it has been mentioned, even by me, that you can come to this country and effortlessly rent a motorbike or car using your own country's credentials. This is changing. The change isn't happening so much in Krabi, where I currently live, but it is happening elsewhere in the country and I just want to get everyone up to speed.
When you visit here, you will likely end up renting something like what is above. That is a Fino, and it is a 125CC automatic motorbike that is desperately trying to be a Vespa. Some motorcycle enthusiasts will scoff at the low power rating but trust me when I saw that this is more than enough power. The roads here are entirely too packed to try to ride a big bike although many people try. You are going to spend your entire day stuck in traffic in most locations and tooling around on a 600CC+ bike with a clutch is a bad idea.
I have previously said that you could turn up in Thailand and use your home country's license and to be fair that is true. Most of the time the shops that rent you the bike wont even ask to see a license at all, they just want to see your passport and some money. I was in Phuket last week and the shop didn't ask to see any license at all.
But acquiring the bike is not the problem.
Now I am not trying to suggest that a country shouldn't enforce its own laws but if you encounter one of these checkpoints it is extremely likely that they are not interested in the law, but rather a payout. There are stories of people producing a license from their home country and the officers still giving a ticket because the license is for a car not a motorbike (which is understandable, but this was never the case until recently.)
In the past if you had ANY license it would be accepted at these checkpoints. I unknowingly was using an expired USA car driving license (I didn't know it was expired, i knew it wasn't for a motorcycle) for several years and was never questioned about it. However, all of this is changing. If you want to avoid being ticketed at these checkpoints here are some tips.
- Always wear your helmet - you are much less likely to be flagged over if you have one on. This includes the passengers
- wear a shirt, if you aren't wearing a shirt it immediately identifies you as a tourist, and also as an idiot who has never heard of road rash or decorum.
- approach the checkpoint with confidence and DO NOT STOP unless instructed to do so. If they do not flag you over keep moving. If you do stop, now you are likely going to get fined because well, here you are!
- don't drive drunk. This seems obvious but in the past they would just fine 500B for this. It has changed to far more extreme measures like 20,000B fine, confiscation of the vehicle and even court dates.
Mostly I am writing this article because in the past I had written that the country is far more laid back than it actually is. Things change. Personally I wish the Thai authorities would take more steps to keep the roads safe but unfortunately, that is not what this is. This is a cash grab and nothing more.
Remember, the shop that rents the bikes is not going to tell you this, but in places such as Phuket and Chiang Mai, at the moment, these things are happening every day.