Bali Motorbike Rules, Police Checks and Accidents
Short answer: traffic in Bali runs on the left, a helmet is compulsory for the rider and the passenger, and at a roadside check the police want three documents — your home licence, an International Driving Permit with a motorcycle category, and the bike's registration paper. Ask for an official ticket if you are fined, never settle in cash by the roadside. After a crash, get a police report before anything else: without it no insurer pays.
Riding on the left
Indonesia drives on the left, like the UK, Japan and Australia. If you learned on the right, the two things that catch people out are turning across traffic and looking the wrong way when pulling out of a driveway. Both are worst in the first hour of riding.
Our advice for the first day: ride in the morning, when traffic in Canggu and Seminyak is thinnest, and stay off Sunset Road and the Kuta bypass until the mirror habit has flipped. If you have never ridden at all, take a lesson before renting — we run them, and it is a far cheaper way to learn than a gravel rash.
What the law actually says
The rules come from Indonesian traffic law No. 22 of 2009. These are the statutory maximums a court can impose, not what a roadside officer decides on the spot:
- Riding without a valid licence — up to 1,000,000 IDR or four months. This is the expensive one, and it is the article the police use when a tourist has no IDP.
- Licence left at home — up to 250,000 IDR. Valid licence, just not on you.
- No helmet, rider or passenger — up to 250,000 IDR each. Both of you need one, and it has to be fastened.
- No registration document (STNK) — up to 500,000 IDR. Ours travels with the bike; do not take it out of the storage compartment.
- No headlight in daytime — up to 100,000 IDR. Indonesian law requires the headlight on around the clock. Most modern bikes have it wired permanently on.
Checks are routine rather than rare, and they cluster on the same roads: Sunset Road, the Kuta bypass, the approaches to Ubud, and the coast road through Canggu on busy evenings.
What to do at a police stop
Pull over, keep the helmet on until asked, and hand over the documents. Nobody expects you to speak Indonesian, and the exchange is usually short.
If you are fined, ask for a tilang — the official ticket. It names the article, the amount and where to pay, and payment goes to a bank or through the e-tilang system, not to the officer. A cash settlement at the roadside is not a fine, and there is no receipt for it. Asking politely for the ticket is normal and nobody is offended by it.
Keep your phone charged. If something is unclear, call us on WhatsApp and we will talk to the officer — we do it several times a season and it costs you nothing.
If you have an accident
In order, and the order matters:
- Get off the road. Move the bike to the verge if it rolls. Indonesian traffic does not slow down for a crash.
- Check people first. The national emergency number is 112; ambulance is 118 or 119. BIMC in Kuta and Nusa Dua and Siloam in Denpasar handle foreigners and speak English; Prof. Ngoerah (Sanglah) is the main public hospital.
- Photograph everything before anything is moved: both vehicles, the position on the road, the plates, damage from several angles.
- Get a police report. This is the step people skip and then regret. No insurer — ours, yours from home, or a travel policy — pays a claim on a road accident without it.
- Call us. Roadside assistance runs 24 hours. We come out, sort the bike, and bring a replacement so the rest of your trip is not spent waiting.
One thing worth knowing in advance: if you were riding without a licence valid for that motorcycle, cover is void — ours and your travel insurance both. That is the real reason to sort the IDP at home rather than the fine.
If the bike is stolen
Report it to the nearest police station the same day and get the written report (laporan polisi). Without that document nothing can be claimed, and the report has to come from you as the person who had the bike.
Theft of a parked scooter is uncommon in the tourist areas and much less likely if you use the lock we supply and park where there is an attendant. Overnight, park inside the villa compound rather than on the street.
Common questions
What do the police check at a roadside stop in Bali?
Your home country driving licence, an International Driving Permit with the motorcycle category, and the bike's registration paper (STNK), which stays with the bike. They will also look at whether both of you are wearing fastened helmets. Carry the documents on you — leaving them in the villa is treated the same as not having them, at a lower fine.
How much is the fine for riding without a licence in Bali?
Indonesian traffic law sets a maximum of 1,000,000 IDR or four months for riding without a valid licence, and up to 250,000 IDR if you hold one but did not bring it. Helmet offences are up to 250,000 IDR for the rider and the same again for the passenger.
Should I pay the police in cash at the roadside?
No. Ask for the official ticket, the tilang. It states the article and the amount, and it is paid at a bank or through the e-tilang system. A roadside cash payment leaves you with no receipt and no record that the matter is closed.
What should I do straight after an accident?
Move clear of traffic, check whether anyone is hurt and call 112 if they are, photograph the scene before anything moves, get a police report, then call us. Roadside assistance runs 24 hours and we bring a replacement bike. The police report is the document every insurer asks for first.
Who pays if the motorbike is damaged?
With damage protection taken, you pay the excess stated in your contract and we handle the repair. Without it, repair is at your cost, priced at what the workshop charges us. Damage caused while riding without a valid licence, or under the influence, is not covered either way.
What happens if the bike is stolen?
File a police report the same day and send it to us. The claim runs on that document. Using the supplied lock and parking inside a compound overnight are the two things that matter most in preventing it.
Is riding in Bali dangerous for a beginner?
It demands attention rather than skill. Traffic is dense and moves in ways that surprise people used to lane discipline, roads are wet and slick from November to March, and dogs step out. Beginners do fine on a 150cc scooter, in daylight, off the main arterials, after an hour of practice. What causes most tourist accidents is not the traffic — it is riding at night, in the rain, on a machine bigger than the rider has ever handled.
Which side of the road do you ride on in Bali?
The left. Overtaking is on the right, roundabouts run clockwise, and at a junction the traffic coming from your right has priority in practice regardless of what the signs say.