Hua Hin police check: driving without licence and passport

[HHTel]

Random police checks on traffic is legal in all of Europe (agreement signed by all members). It is also legal in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Only in the USA is it protected by their 4th amendment.

[buksida]

I've driven all across the Kingdom over the years and the only place I get consistently stopped is, yes you guessed it, Hua Hin.

Hua Hin is a police state so those living there should really be expecting these things by now, not that it justifies the unnecessary hassle.

Did not know it was breaking the law to drive without your passport though.

[Gregjam]

A mention in one of the posts was made about driving licences. As I understand it the only acceptable licences here are a Thai licence or an International Driving Permit. Own country licences are not accepted such as. UK licence even with its EU endorsement. Not sure if ASEAN home country licences are okay but in the past had problems when presenting a UK licence. Seems ridiculous that the likes of Avis etc will rent you a car without production of a valid licence.

[Big Boy]

I picked up a hire car in Chiang Mai (Budget) recently, and the guy couldn't comprehend the fact I had a Thai licence - kept asking for my UK licence (which I don't carry).

[HHTel]

It is necessary to have either a Thai driving licence or a valid foreign driving licence with a photograph. The foreign licence must either be in English, or be accompanied by an official translation into English or Thai. The licence needs to have been issued by a country that has a treaty with the Thai government allowing the mutual acceptance of driving licences. Most countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the USA have this agreement with Thailand under the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic or the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic.

That is the law however, many cops here don't understand. It's usually accepted in BKK with no problem. Having a Thai licence or IDL are both accepted without question.

[StevePIraq]

Totally agree with James West, everyone here knows you must carry license and passports at all times. If you don't like it don't be here

[dalmatiandave]

Totally agree with James West, everyone here knows you must carry license and passports at all times. If you don't like it don't be here

I agree with the above, I would just change the last sentence.

If you don't like it then don't complain when you get fined or worse.

[JamesWest]

JamesWest wrote

"against the law for police to stop people without probable cause in my country. shame on you Thailand."


I don't know what country you are from but that statement is incorrect in most countries.
In the UK, you can be stopped at a police check, your car checked for defects, your right to drive (licence, insurance and Mot) checked etc.
No probable cause needed. I suspect that applies in most countries, don't you.

All your crap about posting on social media! If you don't like the rules, go home.

All your crap? HAHAHAHAHA...

with all due respect, because in the end I think it is important for people from Syria, sorry the UK and USA to stick together, BUT...

must be horrible living in a police state like the UK.
don't forget to renew your television license or they might kick your door in.

I hope you don't mind if I try to hold on to my rights?
that is what the second amendment is for..

The USA is not most countries. So what I am saying is from a American point of view it is very strange to see police check points on highways. Or being stopped and asked for ID for no reason. Illegal. Or being stopped at all for no good reason.

please read the US constitution and Bill of Rights.

So that I am saying it fills some people with anxiety to be stopped by the police for no good reason. For american tourists it might be the first time.

yes I don't like "the rules" as you put it, to single out white tourists in the hopes of finding out they don't have a DL or helmet or to exploit the vague carrying your passport rule.

Yes the law is the law, but when sworms of Thais without helmets, DL or F*CK ALL go driving past while white people are being stopped. That is wrong. That is what Twitter is for.

I love the UK, been there many many times, all over Europe, lived in Germany, and I stand with all my friends from the west as we slowly lose the war on terror, have all our right taken away, and freedoms destroyed.

[STEVE G]

Totally agree with James West, everyone here knows you must carry license and passports at all times. If you don't like it don't be here

Or don't drive. I find that driving pretty much everywhere now has become a heavily penalised activity that is rapidly becoming not worth the bother. I don't drive in the UK when I visit now as it's so easy to get tickets for making mistakes with so many cameras everywhere. I'm a law abiding person but I'm not infallible, if you're not used to driving in an area, you're not familiar with every parking rule, change in speed limit, bus lane etc. and I don't think making simple, harmless mistakes should be so heavily punished.
Thailand is going the same way and I can see a point where I'll stop driving there as well, forgetting to take your passport out is a harmless mistake, not a crime. ( And yes, I do normally carry it. )

[Dannie Boy]

Easiest thing to do is put a copy of your passport page details and latest Thai visa page in your wallet or glove box, so if you get stopped there shouldn't be a problem.

[Khundon1975]

JamesWest wrote

"against the law for police to stop people without probable cause in my country. shame on you Thailand."


I don't know what country you are from but that statement is incorrect in most countries.
In the UK, you can be stopped at a police check, your car checked for defects, your right to drive (licence, insurance and Mot) checked etc.
No probable cause needed. I suspect that applies in most countries, don't you.

All your crap about posting on social media! If you don't like the rules, go home.

All your crap? HAHAHAHAHA...

with all due respect, because in the end I think it is important for people from Syria, sorry the UK and USA to stick together, BUT...
By stick together, do you mean indiscriminate bombing of innocent people in Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq ETC, ETC. Based on false/made up evidence of WMD, or dropping a bomb from a drone on wedding parties in Pakistan, then saying sorry, I prefer not, if that is the outcome. The UK, should not just blindly follow what the US asks us to do.

must be horrible living in a police state like the UK.
It's great here in the UK, mainly because we don't have 30,000 murders a year, because of the right to carry arms,as written in your beloved constitution and Bill of Rights. Nor do we have as many unarmed suspects shot dead by the police, tho, we have had a few over the years, but none who had there hand up at the time.

don't forget to renew your television license or they might kick your door in.
There is debate going on at the moment in parliament, to decriminalize not having a TV license.

I hope you don't mind if I try to hold on to my rights?
that is what the second amendment is for..
You mean the Bill of rights that have been altered and added too, since 1791? How many amendments have been made since that Bill was first written? You need to hang on really tight, if you want to stop your own government taking away what you hold so dear to your way of life in the US.

The USA is not most countries. So what I am saying is from a American point of view it is very strange to see police check points on highways. Or being stopped and asked for ID for no reason. Illegal. Or being stopped at all for no good reason.
I understand, that for your cops to stop you, they need probable cause, are you really saying that no one has ever been stopped for no reason, are you saying it never happens?
I think not.

please read the US constitution and Bill of Rights.
I would, but it keeps changing and I don't have the shelf space for every new edition.

So that I am saying it fills some people with anxiety to be stopped by the police for no good reason. For american tourists it might be the first time.
Then they will have a new anecdote to tell their friends when they get back home.

yes I don't like "the rules" as you put it, to single out white tourists in the hopes of finding out they don't have a DL or helmet or to exploit the vague carrying your passport rule.
The rules are not vague, they are written in black and white, as they are in your home country. If they choose not to abide by the Thai rules just because they are from the USA and feel they are above the law, then they can expect to get fined.

Yes the law is the law, but when sworms of Thais without helmets, DL or F*CK ALL go driving past while white people are being stopped. That is wrong. That is what Twitter is for.
And GOOGLE, is for anyone to use, to find out what are the requirements for foreigners to legally drive in Thailand. Problem is, they are to busy on TWATTER, to do their homework and are shocked when they get pulled over for not adhering to the laws in Thailand.

I love the UK, been there many many times, all over Europe, lived in Germany, and I stand with all my friends from the west as we slowly lose the war on terror, have all our right taken away, and freedoms destroyed.

This has nothing to do with the war on terror for heavens sake, it it simply about when, in another country, you abide by their rules. If they don't like that, then go elsewhere and see if other countries will allow you to flout there rules. I think not, don't you.

[STEVE G]

It seems that the US isn't completely immune to random vehicle checks:
http://m.daytondailynews.com/news/news/ ... ion/nhJyD/

[Gregjam]

As usual what started out as a useful thread informing us that the local MIB are doing what they usually do has descended into a points scoring "my country is better than yours" set of exchanges. Can we try to stick to the topic and if you want to argue over home country politics start another thread.

[Khundon1975]

Shhhhs Steve, don't tell James, it will be all over Twatter. People will be marching on Washington, there will be panic in the streets, riots will be rife across the US.
Floods of biblical proportion will engulf the land.
My God, the end of the World is nigh. Run, run for your life.

Where is a Bill of Rights when you need one!

I am, of course James, only joking.

Or am I.

[STEVE G]

As usual what started out as a useful thread informing us that the local MIB are doing what they usually do has descended into a points scoring "my country is better than yours" set of exchanges. Can we try to stick to the topic and if you want to argue over home country politics start another thread.

I think the first post basically covered everything to say about what the local police are doing!