The draft ministerial regulation is now being fine-tuned by the Council of State before it is submitted to the Transport Ministry to be announced, said Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisit, adding he expects the new regulation to become enforced during this year.
He said the new ministerial regulation was intended to set a new standard of road safety and to improve the discipline of car drivers.
Meanwhile, the Land Transport Department said, under the new regulation, applicants for driving licences or drivers who want to renew them would be required to go through a training session of up to 15 hours from today’s 3-4 hours and pass both the written and driving tests organized by the private sector.
The Land Transport Department will only serve in its capacity as the supervisory body and be responsible for issuing driving licences and their renewal.
Under the new regulation, drivers who want to renew their driving licences and applicants for them would have to bear the training session costs which will not exceed 6,000 baht each.
There are currently about 90 authorised driving schools throughout the country which offer the training course.
The information did not specify exactly whether it applied to motorcycles and vehicles but it would appear that motorcycles will not be included.
So this means there are going to be even more people driving without licences. 6,000 bht? As they say in Thailand, “Leally??”
(Source:Thai PBS)