Thailand is generally considered a safe travel country for tourists who follow the normal precautions when traveling. There should, however, be a warning about the traffic safety as Thailand unfortunately has a high level of traffic casualties. Despite government efforts there is still a high degree of alcohol related accidents and a rather relaxed attitude to red traffic lights. Furthermore, overloaded and speeding vehicles can make the roads a rather dangerous place. Visitors not familiar with left hand traffic should be especially cautious and it should be stressed that the respect for rights of pedestrians and soft traffic is very low. The general rule is to be cautious and expect the unexpected from fellow road users – so if you think you see somebody driving in the opposite direction on the motorway, they most likely are!

For visitors who want to drive by themselves, it must be stressed that either an international or Thai driver's license is required. Even though some rental shops will accept a Danish or other European driver's license, this will not be legally valid in case of an accident and will thus void the insurance responsibility.

In general, there should be a word of caution on the insurance related to traffic. Thailand has a very low level of government mandatory insurance, and the coverage is basically non existing in European standards. Even if a vehicle has insurance under the mandatory requirements, the covered sum is very low compared to Europe.

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