Thai Traffic & Road Law: Driving, Licences, Offences & Accidents

Thailand's road-traffic regime rests on four statutes. The Land Traffic Act B.E. 2522 (1979), enforced by the Royal Thai Police under the Prime Minister, sets the rules of the road — lane discipline, right of way, signals, speed, parking and overtaking — together with safety duties (helmets under section 122, seat belts under section 123) and the core driving offences: driving while intoxicated (section 43(2)), after taking narcotics or psychotropic substances (section 43 bis), recklessly, or while using a hand-held mobile phone (section 43(9)). A 2019 amendment (Act No. 12) added a driving-behaviour demerit-point system (section 142/1) and the duty to carry and produce a licence, including in electronic form (section 31/1). Speed limits and the blood-alcohol threshold are not in the Act itself; they are fixed by ministerial regulation — generally a blood-alcohol limit of 50 mg%, dropping to 20 mg% for drivers under 20, temporary-licence holders, drivers holding a licence not valid for the vehicle, and drivers with no licence or a suspended or revoked one. The Motor Vehicle Act B.E. 2522 (1979) governs vehicle registration and the issuing of ordinary driving licences by the Department of Land Transport, while the Land Transport Act B.E. 2522 (1979) covers commercial and public-transport drivers. The Road Accident Victims Protection Act B.E. 2535 (1992) makes basic compulsory motor insurance — widely known as 'Por Ror Bor' — mandatory for every registered vehicle, paying medical and death-or-disability compensation to accident victims regardless of fault, up to limits set by regulation. For foreigners the practical pressure points are driving legally (an International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention, carried with the home licence, covers short visits, while residents need a Thai licence), wearing a helmet on a motorbike — a commonly enforced rule — and the duties after an accident: a driver must stop, give help, identify themselves and report to the nearest police (section 78), because fleeing creates a statutory presumption of guilt and allows the vehicle to be seized. Drink-driving penalties are severe and escalate sharply where injury or death results. This guide covers the main offences, the licensing and accident procedures, and the questions foreigners ask most — but amounts set by regulation and by recent amendments change, so always confirm current figures against the Royal Gazette or the Department of Land Transport.