Bangkok Blogger|Tales from Thailand

It wasn’t soon after I first arrived in Thailand that I spotted red number plates on some of the cars driving around Bangkok.  ”What could this mean?” I though.  The cars I noticed the red license plates on all had one thing in common and that seemed to be that they were shiny and expensive looking.  Perhaps the red number plates in Thailand were some kind of status symbol like a private number plate in the UK.

Later on I found at that the red coloured license plates you see on cars in Bangkok and the rest of Thailand are actually trade plates and come on new cars.  Drivers have a grace period in which to get the regular white and yellow plates in.  If they do not they can get a fine from the Boys in Brown.

I have also heard that cars with red number plates are not allowed to drive on the roads after dark.  I’m not sure why this is.  If it was new drivers I could understand but new cars?  Perhaps it is to do with the contrast of the black text on the red plates not being visible at night; but if that is the case why not have a different colour.

Maybe once the current unrest is over we will start seeing yellow number plates in Thailand!

Look out for another exciting post on why some taxis are pink in Bangkok and what the different coloured vest the motorcy taxi guys wear means…