Thailand on a French Licence — The Left-Side Switch and a Required IDP

A car opens up the parts of Thailand the tour buses never reach. For a French driver the laws aren’t complicated, but two of them differ sharply from the easy freedom of driving across Europe — and getting them wrong starts your trip with a fine.

Your EU licence stops being enough at the airport

Inside the EU your French licence is accepted everywhere as is. Thailand is not the EU. Here you must carry an International Driving Permit alongside your national licence — the rental company won’t release the car without it, and a roadside check without one means a penalty. Sort the IDP in France before you leave; it cannot be obtained on arrival. Carry the IDP, your licence and your passport as a set. Our driving permit checker confirms what applies to you.

Driving switches to the left

France drives on the right; Thailand drives on the left. That reversal is the single biggest thing to manage, and the hazard window is your first day — joining a roundabout that now turns clockwise, pulling out of a petrol station, the instinctive glance the wrong way. Thailand’s dense motorbike traffic makes it sharper still, with two-wheelers slipping past on both sides. Start somewhere quiet, check mirrors deliberately, and don’t rely on reflexes until they’ve reset.

Speeds, alcohol and the practical bits

Limits run up to 80 in town (lower where signed), 90 rural, 120 on the motorway — a touch below the 130 you’re used to at home, so ease off the cruise control. The alcohol limit is 0.05 BAC, identical to France, but with routine breath testing treat it as zero. A typical speeding fine is THB 500–1,000 (≈ €13–26); check yours on the speeding fine calculator.

Fuel is roughly $1.25/litre and the emergency number is 191. The full ruleset is on our Thailand driving guide.