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Is there any liscense needed to drive in Thailand

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Is there any liscense needed to drive in Thailand

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Old Aug 8th, 2007, 05:42 AM
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Is there any liscense needed to drive in Thailand

We are planning to rent a car for our 3 days in Phuket the beginning of September. Do you need any special liscense to drive? Thank you.
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Old Aug 8th, 2007, 05:44 AM
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By law, you need an international drivers license. But some have reported that they were not asked for one.
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Old Aug 8th, 2007, 05:47 AM
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For your peace of mind I would bring an international driver's license. Without one a minor accident can turn into a felony.
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Old Aug 8th, 2007, 04:49 PM
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A lot of car rental companies won't ask for it, but you do need an international drivers license AND your home drivers license in case you're stopped by the police or have an accident.

Most people don't seem to realize that an "International Drivers License" is not really a license. It's an endorsement to the license issued by your home state/country and useless without the license it's issued against.
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Old Aug 8th, 2007, 05:55 PM
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What Michael wrote remind me of the several occasion when I was stopped on a US highway or interstate for speeding. Every time I show my Thai international driver's license they always let me go with a warning! I have never been ask to show my Thai driver's license and I don't think the cop can't read Thai anyway.

Right now there's a lot of road checkpoints around Thailand so be prepared.
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Old Aug 8th, 2007, 11:05 PM
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Last time I was in the US, my mom wanted to add me to her bank accounts so I could get the money easily when she dies (she's 83, so I guess you think about these things at that age). So we go to the bank, and of course I don't bring my passport, so when the bank manager asks to see my driver's license I give it to her. She couldn't even figure out what language it was.

The police in the US can be quite inconsistent. A British associate I worked with back in the states many years ago once related how he got pulled over and asked for his license. He gave the police man his international license, but the guy said he had to see the UK license, which is (or was) this huge fold-up piece of paper rather than the credit card sized things they used in the states.

Maybe now the police know better than to ask.
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Old Aug 9th, 2007, 07:27 AM
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We called AAA and are getting an international drivers license thru them. It's 15 $ and you just show your vaild drivers license from where you live.
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