Tips for renting a scooter or motorbike in Thailand
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On every street corner in Thailand's tourist cities, you can find a, scooter or rent a motorcycle (in Thailand you can not rent mopeds). Because it is also very cheap, many tourists do that. You can already rent a scooter for 150 to 200 baht per day.
The Thai landlords are not very strict. For example, you will not be asked if you have a motorcycle license. Showing a passport is usually enough. Because most scooters and motorbikes are around 100 cc, you do need a motorcycle license according to Thai law. The Thai police always want to see an International Driving Permit during a check. You can buy this at the ANWB before you go on holiday. If you cannot show an International Driving Permit, you will be fined. Please note: if you do not have a motorcycle license and you rent a motorbike or scooter, you are not insured and also punishable by Thai law. In the event of an accident with damage and/or injuries, you are the loser.
What does your travel insurance cover in the event of a scooter accident?
Travel insurance NEVER covers damage to vehicles, not even to your rented scooter and/or damage to third parties. Any medical costs resulting from an accident are covered (provided you have included medical costs separately in your travel insurance). The condition is, of course, that you have complied with the law.
Please note: If you have violated the law, for example because you do not have a valid driver's license, have not worn a helmet or have consumed alcohol, the travel insurer can also refuse compensation for the medical costs incurred.
Risks of driving a rental scooter
Traffic in Thailand is very dangerous. Considering the number of road deaths, Thailand is one of the most unsafe countries in the world. It is estimated that there are 30 – 40 deaths per day among moped/scooter/motorcyclists alone! Thailand has been in second place for years when it comes to countries with the most road casualties in the world (Source: The Nation). In 70 to 80 percent of all cases, the fatalities are motorcyclists or their passengers. In almost all cases because no helmet is worn.
As a road user you take a big risk. Thais drive on the left and the traffic rules are unclear. Participation in traffic therefore means that you have to be very careful. The Dutch Embassy in Bangkok also warns travelers against participating in traffic on its website: “There are thousands of road deaths in Thailand every year. Often due to a combination of reckless driving and alcohol. The vast majority of victims are motorcycle and moped riders. Usually no helmet is worn. A motorcycle license is required to rent mopeds. However, this is rarely indicated by the landlord. Even if the motorbike is delivered insured, the insurance does not cover if you have driven without a driver's license.”
Insurance
The insurance of a rented scooter in minimum. It is usually a so-called compulsory insurance. This insurance costs just over 300 baht for motorcycles up to 125 cc. The insurance only covers bodily injury/death of third parties (up to 50.000 and 200.000 baht respectively) and 15.000 baht for injury to yourself. Damage to property of third parties (such as a car you drive into) and damage to your own motorbike is not covered at all. All-riks insurance is available in Thailand, but you can only take it out if you are the owner of the vehicle.
You could therefore say that a rented motorbike is not or hardly insured. In case of damage you have to pay for it yourself. That can be quite expensive. Your travel insurance never covers damage to vehicles.
Never hand over your passport
The Thai government has determined that taking driving licenses or passports is unlawful. It is therefore advised to provide a copy of the driver's license (or passport), but not the original document (Source: Travel advice Thailand Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
Tips for renting a scooter or motorbike in Thailand
Here are a few more tips:
- Only rent from a reputable rental company. In the hotel one can usually recommend a good thing.
- Do not rent a motorbike/scooter if you do not have a valid motorcycle license. Before you leave for Thailand, buy an International Driving Permit from the ANWB.
- Never give your passport or driver's license as collateral to the landlord.
- Demand a proper rental contract drawn up in English and do not settle for just the Thai language. Before signing, check the text and know your responsibilities, including insurance.
- Before you sign the rental contract, check your rental scooter for damage. Take photos of existing damage and make sure that the damage is stated on the rental contract.
- Demand the original papers of the means of transport, do not settle for copies, and keep those papers with your other securities. Don't leave it with the moped, of course!
- Always park the moped in a safe place, especially at night, such as the hotel garage. If that is not possible, buy - for a few bahts - an extra lock (wheel lock), of which a possible thief has no key.
- In the event of an accident, always call the tourist police and not the normal police.
- ALWAYS wear a helmet.
(Some tips are taken from an earlier article by Gringo).
How many foreigners will rent a motor vehicle in their home country?
And why do these people do that in Thailand? Most cannot drive. They cannot make an emergency stop, even on a straight road, at low speed...
This article should start in capital letters with the sentence: “If you do not have a Dutch motorcycle license, do not rent a motorcycle in Thailand”
To say that it concerns scooters is unnecessarily trivializing.
Arjen
Arjen is 100% right, no Belgian or Dutch motorcycle license = Don't do it!
How many foreigners will rent a motor vehicle in their home country?
Written on my phone. It should have been here:
How many foreigners will rent a motor vehicle in their home country if they do not have the correct driver's license for the vehicle to be rented?
Well, you see so many people in Thailand riding without helmets (including farangs), but luckily they do wear a face mask
You can hardly call such a colored, mismatched plastic jar for 79 Baht at Big C a helmet. Then you are even better off with a good woolen hat.
It's really there, but I don't want to believe it yet: without a motorcycle license, is it possible to rent anything motorized in the entire country other than a car? This means quite an adjustment to my travel plans, so please forgive my check question. I used to regularly rent what I thought were mopeds - because indeed the rental companies don't care... Car rental seems more expensive than Europe. Anyway, off to Spain then
A scooter gives freedom in Thailand. I can just enjoy having my own means of transportation in Thailand. I always rent a scooter in Thailand and always will. Know that it is a motor scooter and that traffic requires your utmost vigilance, but I accept this. Yes, I would have liked to rent a moped, but unfortunately this option is not available. Just let people decide for themselves what to do, it's good that you point out the dangers!
“Just let people decide for themselves what to do.”
This is the most dangerous (stupid) statement I have come across here!
Not having a valid motorcycle driver's license in combination with one international driver's license and renting a motorcycle here guarantees misery. If you have an accident, it doesn't matter who is at fault, your insurance will not pay out. You will also have to pay all costs of the other party. And we can only hope that it remains minor damage or minor injury! If there are fatalities, you will probably end up in the unsurpassed Bangkok Hotel.
“Just let people decide for themselves what to do.” Well, rules are mainly there to bully you as a citizen, aren't they? How many people will rent a car without a driver's license, simply because you would otherwise only be dependent on inconvenient or expensive taxi or public transport? Exactly, no one does. A driver's license, especially for a motorcycle and obtained in a Western country, involves more than just knowing the traffic rules, as well as vehicle control in different circumstances. Things go well as long as things go well, but the suffering is incalculable (including for yourself!) if things go wrong because you think you can do it without a driver's license.
We are so good at adhering to the rules. Motor scooters are widely rented to tourists who do not have a driver's license. Yes, it is good to point out the dangers and that is done nicely in the article. Can I and the tourist decide whether they want to take that risk? This concerns Thailand that we are writing about, where this is simply possible. If you do not agree with this, perhaps complain to the government and ask for compliance with the rules. I would have liked to rent a normal scooter, but this option is not available!
You're not just doing it to yourself.
We had a guest with us whose dead body was kept in the refrigerator here for three months because the travel insurance company did not want to pay for the transport of his dead body because he did not have a driver's license for a motorcycle.
His mothers had to sell the garage at the house to cover the costs. The hassle surrounding it (the angry landlord who showed up on our doorstep every day to get money for his "moped", for example.
We no longer accept tourists on motorcycles.
Arjen.