In Reply to: To those that answered my questions posted by Paseo on Thursday, 12. January 2012 at 10:53 Bali Time:
know the answer re IF you consider you son is a sensible enough driver to hire a bike in Bali.Personally I would never had let our son ride a scooter on his own in Bali at that age,but that is my choice.My husband has had his motor bike licence & experience riding for well over 30 years & he hires a motorbike in Bali but is a very cautious driver & I feel confident on the back of the bike with him.I don't wish to sound disrespectful but in my opinion the average 16 year old does not have the skill or experience to cope with the chaotic traffic in Bali but maybe your son is an exception.Only you can decide if you wish to let him take the risk.
To answer your question IF your son has a totally separate licence to ride a motor bike (not just the low powered 50 cc scooter or moped licence that automatically comes with a WA car licence )in Perth versus the licence WA allows anyone to ride a scooter with then,If your son can get a International endorsed licence in Perth to ride a motor bike in Bali he CAN legally do it there.I do very strongly suggest you contact your travel insurance company to confirm that he IS fully covered.Many people would be surprised to know not all travel insurance companies automatically cover riders if motor bikes even IF they do have an International drivers licence.Over the years I have contacted most commonly used travel insurnce companies to confirm our coverage but now we take an annual policy for world wide & pay extra for motor bike coverage as part of our policy.
This is a topic I feel strongly about & I make no apologies if I sound alarmist-so many people get injured or killed on a daily basis riding motor bikes in Bali,the traffic is an absolute night mare ! As one parent to another - thinking worse case,Please consider/ensure if something bad does happen to your son when he is riding a motorbike in Bali that travel insurance WILL fully cover him,otherwise you CAN lose your home & absolutely everything that you own paying for his medical treatment & getting him back to Australia.Re getting pulled over by Polisi in Bali,in the many years that we have been going there & riding a motor bike - we have not once been asked for a payment /bike when pulled over because we always have my husbands International licence with us & registration papers from the people we hired from + talk politely to the polisi who pull us over.I hope you consider what I have said - I am sure that your son is very precious to you.