Like any other country globally, Thailand has traffic rules and fines for breaking them. For some travelers, this comes as a surprise!
One guy from the UK once told us that the 500 baht fine he paid to a policeman for driving without a license was racist! =)
He may have forgotten that in the United Kingdom, where he was from, the fine for driving without a license is usually around £1,000 (i.e. 90 times higher than in Thailand) and 3-6 penalty points. The maximum penalty for driving without a license in his country is £5,000 (i.e. 450 times higher than in Thailand) and six months in jail. For some reason, he didn’t mention it when he talked about “racist fines” in Thailand =)
To let you know what traffic rules and penalties exist in Thailand, we downloaded the e-books on Dropbox. You can download and read this at your convenience.
Detailed descriptions of penalties are included! These are official documents translated into English.
E-Book #1. Road Traffic Act of Thailand (en) – Download from Dropbox
E-Book #2. Vehicle act of Thailand (en) – Download from Dropbox
If you have a few days to travel through Northern Thailand, we recommend visiting Doi Inthanon and Mae Kampong. After that, we recommend the Chiang Mai sightseeing list if you travel for a few weeks. Finally, we recommend visiting Mae Hong Son Loop or Chiang Rai for a multi-day trip. Check out the details on motorbike rentals in Chiang Mai, and feel free to ask us if you have any questions.