Driving courses to be offered in English, Russian and Burmese for Phuket foreigners

PHUKET: Several educational institutions on the island will soon offer training courses in English, as well as Russian and Burmese, for foreigners wanting to get a driver’s licence.

The Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with five educational institutions on the island – Rajabhat University, Thalang Technical College, Phuket Technical College, Phuket Polytechnic College and the Phuket Skill Development Center – to provide more locations at which drivers, Thai and foreign, can take classroom training courses.

“Phuket Rajabhat University will provide training courses in English for foreigners. In the future, we will also provide classes in Thai, Burmese and Russian,” said Disan Letongkam, vice president of the university.

The starting date for English-language training classes will be set by the PLTO, he added.

“Foreigners wanting to obtain a driver’s licence must pass the 8-hour training course before they can take the driving test at the PLTO,” said PLTO Chief Terayout Prasertphol.

“Once a student passes the course, he or she will receive a permit that is valid for six months. If the applicant is unable to pass the official driving test within six months, he or she will have to retake the training course.”

The PLTO has also raised the bar for the written test, noted Mr Terayout.

“Licence applicants previously had to get 22 out of 30 questions correct on the written test to pass. Now, the number of questions has been increased to 50, and the test-taker must get 45 of those correct to pass,” said Mr Terayout.

New applicants will be charged a fee of 500 baht to get a licence and renewals will cost 200 baht, Mr Terayout added.

— Woranut Pechdee