Getting My Thai Motorcycle License Without A Test

[kramnala58]

I got my Thai motorcycle license without taking a test.

I had never ridden a motorcycle before living in Thailand. When I bought my PCX and felt comfortable enough to go out on the streets with it, I rode without a license like many others do here. In April I was back in the US and stopped in at the AAA (American Automobile Association) and got an International Driving Permit (IDP). As I was registering for it, they asked if I wanted it stamped to be able to ride a motorcycle. Of course I said sure to that. The IDP needs to be accompanied by a valid driving license.

On Monday, when I went to renew my Thai car license, I inquired about getting a Thai motorcycle based on having my IDP stamped to allow me to ride a motorcycle. I presented it with my US drivers license. They said I could do it and handed me back my IDP but kept my US license and sent me to the processing department. That department didn't like the US license because there is no indication on it that I am permitted my to ride a bike (which I am not). I showed them my IDP and they accepted that and handed be back my US license. Twenty minutes and about $4.50 cents later I was walking out the door with both my IDP and a Thai motorcycle license.

I am going to be back in the US in a couple of weeks, so I am going to check to see if I can get my US license endorsed for a motorcycle based on having a valid Thai motorcycle license. I am suspecting they won't do it, but you never know until you ask.

Another side note to the story is that I was supposed to have a valid medical certificate to get my license renewed. I had forgot about it, so figured I would have to postpone everything ... not in Thailand though. The clerk told me to walk have a block away and there was a "clinic" there that could do it for me. I found the place but it looked more like an empty mechanics shop. $3 and a quick check with a stethoscope, I had a medical certificate on hand. They were running the place like a production line.

International living may not be for everyone, but it does have its perks.

[Kermit]

Wow. Very interesting.

[maddiedog]

It's amazing how much simpler things operate there. We're just trying to get my wife's name changed after we got married and are running into roadblocks and legal crap everywhere we go. In Thailand, sounds like you'd have to sign something and pay $5. Here, we have to get 3 proofs of identity, put out a notice in the local newspaper, petition to a judge, and jump through all sorts of prerequisite hoops for that stuff before getting her last name changed to mine. Stories like the above make me wish the US acted more efficiently!

[kramnala58]

Stories like the above make me wish the US acted more efficiently!

The place I notice the difference the greatest compared to the US and Canada is in medical/health care. The US has ridiculously high insurance costs and Canada has high taxes to pay for the social medical care, which is also matched with long waiting lines and many times inferior care.

Just about everything is done through hospitals in Thailand, including regular doctors visits, but it is a world of difference in the level and cost of care compared to what I had in the US and Canada. I use a world class hospital which caters foreigners and is well beyond what the typical Thai person can afford to pay, yet it is unbelievably inexpensive compared to US health insurance premiums and Canadian taxes.

For example, last year my wife fell and broke two ribs. We called the hospital and they took her in within half an hour. When she got there she waited in the reception area for less that five minutes. She was escorted into the doctor's examining room where she was greeted by the doctor and two nurses. She was then escorted to the radiology depart where they took five x-rays and was escorted back up to the doctor's office. She was met by sincere apologies because the doctor was called out on an emergency, so she would have to wait. She waited for only 10 minutes before she was seen again. The doctor gave her the diagnosis and prescribed some pain killers. She was then escorted to the pharmacy to fill the prescription. All told, the cost for 2 consults with the doctor, x-rays and a prescription came to 3,100 baht (± $100 US) and she was in and out of the place within an hour and a half. There is something tragically wrong with the medical systems in Canada and the US (and likely many other places) if first class, top quality medical care can be provided at the cost it is here when in other places it would likely be close to ten times the amount we paid, and possibly more.

[SmellyTofu]

The limited riding I did in Phuket I thought was pretty tame if you went with the flow of traffic and didn't do any silly thing. I rode there on a scooter for the first time (although many years on a road bicycle) and that's what got me hooked when I got home. Though when I did go for my license, there was so much more learning that benefited me not only with riding a scooter but also as a cyclist and a driver.

[Mel46]

Well this Obamacare is suppose to fix all of the problems with medicine in the good old USA. Sooooo....I wonder how that is going to work out. People can't even get online to register at the site, and many complain that their new rates are higher than their old rates. And then there are those of us who can't afford insurance but will have to find a way or face a fine. Sounds much simpler in Thailand.

[maddiedog]

I kept my old insurance, and my rate went down. I guess YMMV...

The insurance signup site is a perfect example of why bureaucracy fails so often in the USA. Had they gone with a SINGLE reputable contractor, the site would have likely gone fine. The more people you throw at a programming problem, the longer it will take. It's the classic CEO asking a project manager "How long will it take?" The manager responds "6 months." CEO inquires "What if we put three times the staff on the project?" The project manager replies "2 years."

California implemented a similar healthcare market a few years ago and their healthcare costs are the lowest in the nation. I think if anything the Affordable Healthcare Act will reduce healthcare costs long-term, but it's not the end solution. It's just a step in the right direction.

[djcat]

Dodging dodgy law enforcement and rules would be the least of my worries. Its learning to ride properly that I would worry about, sorry but I don't think that riding a motorised two wheeler without learning how to do it is smart.

[hellboy7]

Well this Obamacare is suppose to fix all of the problems with medicine in the good old USA. Sooooo....I wonder how that is going to work out. People can't even get online to register at the site, and many complain that their new rates are higher than their old rates. And then there are those of us who can't afford insurance but will have to find a way or face a fine. Sounds much simpler in Thailand.

That's going to be a sour topic for quite some time..

[Mel46]

Well, because we are on a fixed income it looks like my wife will be without insurance. I have Medicare. When she applied for the new insurance they said that we make too much to get much in the way of subsidies. Too much??? I have Social Security and a very small pension. My wife doesn't work so that she can take care of me, since I have leukemia, so my income is hers as well. Any less money and we would be in poverty row. Now they want us to pay $600 per month for insurance just for her?! We don't have that kind of money. When they said that we made too much, they based it on gross income. Aside from taxes on my income, I have insurance, including Medicare, which does charge...plus supplements, and my medication. My leukemia meds alone are $8,000 per month. We have a charity paying most of that, but we still have to pay a large amount, not counting my other medications which I must take in order to be able to function. And the government doesn't count any of this??? After medical costs we are lucky to be able to afford food....and we make too much??? Who thought this mess up??

[you you]

Well this Obamacare is suppose to fix all of the problems with medicine in the good old USA. Sooooo....I wonder how that is going to work out. People can't even get online to register at the site, and many complain that their new rates are higher than their old rates. And then there are those of us who can't afford insurance but will have to find a way or face a fine. Sounds much simpler in Thailand.

That's going to be a sour topic for quite some time..

Well the US(N)A has a massive army and navy, we have the NHS. Just choices about the level of taxation and what to spend it on.