The national tourist police chief has visited a number of car and motorbike rental businesses in Phuket, reminding them of the need to check for valid driving licences.
Saksira Phueakam, National Tourist Police Commander, was in Patong on Saturday, April 20, to conduct checks on car and bike rental businesses. Coming a day after PM Srettha Thavisin’s Phuket trip, Saksira’s visit kicked off at 11am with a tour of Patong.
The Phuket News reports that the tourist police boss was accompanied by various high-ranking officers from the Tourist Police Region 3 Command… of course the local media were in tow.
A subsequent press release issued by the Phuket Tourist Police states that Saksira and his entourage went “to inspect vehicle rental shops to build public relations and distribute stickers with information on regulations and laws regarding renting out vehicles to foreigners.”
The businesses in question were reminded that they face penalties if caught renting out vehicles to people who don’t possess a valid licence. The businesses were given two different types of stickers issued by the Tourist Police.
One of the stickers was a reminder of the penalties for driving without a valid licence (a prison term of up to one month and/or a 1,000 baht fine) or allowing someone without a valid licence to drive your vehicle (a fine of up to 2,000 baht).
The second sticker detailed which driving licences other than the Thai licence are recognised in Thailand, which are those issued by ASEAN nations including Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Valid licences from other countries need to be accompanied by an international driving permit. According to the Thai authorities, any driving licence not accompanied by an IDP, regardless of which country issued it, is equivalent to not having a valid driving licence.
Similarly, the IDP is only valid when accompanied by a valid foreign driving licence – in the case of hiring a motorbike, a valid motorbike license.
SOURCE: The Phuket News
