Histavia

Bandying about statistics is really just a waste of time....you are really just comparing apples with pears. For intance Australia's road safety is in reality rather bad, but this doesn't seem so if you just compared the stats with one other country of your choice.e.g. Thailand.

To improve road safety, Thailand must address ALL OF THE 5 "E"s...... Most posters here seem to think in terms of only one aspect or worse still think there is something intrinsically wrong with Thais as drivers.

So what happens? What do the protestors hope to achieve? Bring the government down.....

So if they get their goal, what happens then?

Firstly,the govt could resign and call an election......which they would win again.

Secondly, the opposition could get the army to stage a coup. This means no elected government for another 2 or 3 years.....and guess who will get in then?

I'm no great fan of the current admin, but it would seem that the alternative is equally if not more undesirable.

There is of course a third way.... It's called compromise but the anti-government side seem determined to up their demands and become more intransigent every day.

these threads usually degenerate into a Thai slagging-fest, mostly by people who it seems know absolutely nothing about road safety,

Firstly it would appear that this is just some pointless pronouncement by a minister trying to justify his position.

however it would be nice to see what measures are proposed.....there is no one simple answer, a raft of measures are required.

Thailand has beed a regular participant in the ASEAN road safety conferences and there are a lot of people who seem Knows?o know what they are doing so let's hope this and successive governments pull their finger out on this issue........it is easily achievable, but by this guy?... who k

• You would be a galah if you don't check out what is or isn't permitted under Thai law and CITES - the treaty against the international trade in endangered species of which Thai is a signatory and host to the world conference this year.

It seems to be a Thai tradition to tur on lights as late as possible and in bad weather the behavior is absurd, verging on dangerous.

some drive with no lights at all and others have got it into their head that turning on hazards is a good idea.

It must be fairly obvious to anyone driving at dusk that motorcycles with their lights on suddenly become mnore conspicuous.....so if cars were to follow suit they would too.

there is no reason why lights shouldn't be used in daylight and plenty of reasons why they should.....the human eye being the main one.

however certain colors give out the wrong message.

Red is either emergency, back-light or bright red brakes.

Orange hazards mean just that and the should never be used when the vehicle is in motion.

So the conclusion must be that anything that keeps car lights on for longer must in the long run be a good thing.

Getting cover when traveling abroad.......Issue number one - Is it not foolhardy taking your car into another country without insurance? - for example - The 300 baht you pay on the Laos border is surely for the absolute minimum cover. e.g. if you drive into someone's house and kill the granny, they'll probably pay for the granny but not the house.It would be of particular concern that it doesn't have bail-bond cover. (The Laos company is AGL - so you might contact them for further cover.)Issue number two - Will the company actually spring into action a do what they say on the paper.....I haven't had the misfortune to make a claim yet - touch wood, so I can't say.has anyone actually had to make a claim whilst incurring damages abroad?I would also suggest that several companies will offer cover for travel abroad - it is just a matter of asking the right person - remember that this is still a rare request for the average insurance office clerk.

Over coffee yesterday I mentioned to a friend as we talked car problems (see my other thread if you are an auto electrician).

I mentioned I had changed a petrol pump for 1500 instead of 15000 for the Suzuki one......but had been told the pump would only las a year and a half as I used gasohol (91).

My friend asked why I used it.

Easy said I the regular 91's 20% more expensive and I already spend 6000 a month on gas.

Wait he said you'll get much better mileage Witt he regular it will probably cost the same and you won't get any other potential problems.

A 20% increase in mileage seems impossible....

Is he right?

Is he partly right?

He's wrong - sheer nonsense.

There's nothing in any fuel that can dramatically change its performance. Petrol/gasoline have substances added to change the point of combustion and that is just about it.

If you check with the EU, you'll find that there are very few claims made for different kinds of gasoline as they have to be scientifically verifiable...which of course they are not.

In other countries the Oil companies are not forced to back up fallacious claims so they just go ahead and make them,

I've been with "Safety" for years but never made a claim apart from windscreen - which was done with no hassle.

Interested in AXA - do they offer cover abroad - (e.g. Laos and Malaysia)?

No only Thailand - as with all Thai insurance companies

sorry but my company offers FULL COVER - in Laos at least

Some people claim that nitrogene is less likely to permeate through the tyre walls thus keeping the pressure constant for a longer time.

I seriously doubt that. Nitrogene or N2 has the atom number 7, whereas Oxygene is 8. This means that the oxygene gas or O2 is bigger than the nitrogene gas N2. How can a bigger molecule slip easier through a wall? Beats me.

If someone experiences a loss of pressure over an extended period of time, this might be becasue of other reasons like tires exposed to sunlight, valve not 100% tight etc.

I did a fair amount of racing when I lived in Europe and I also experimented with nitrogene in the tyres. OK, I may not be quite as good as Alonso or Vettel, but I could not tell any difference.

So I would say, save your money, use normal air and check the pressure regularly and adapt it to the kind of use (number of people in the car, with or without luggage, high-speed driving etc).

I am 100% sure of the tyre pressure . A couple of years back , i had to check the pressure in my tyres at least 2 times a year and they needed 0.2 to 0.4 bar extra . They lost that amount in those 6 months . After they switched to N2 filling and when i checked after i did not need to refill ever again , even after 1 year of 1.5 year . Anything else is just .... but the tyre pressure stays constant after long time . That is not in Thailand but in Europe , so sun etc has nothing to do with it .

Sorry but your tire pressure will most likely just be a coincidence - the tires will have re-settled after changing the gas - remember air is mostly nitrogen anyway.

when you check tire pressures - as you do weekly, you let out a bit of air anyhow, and then if you need a top up, what do you do? Put in air or wait till you get back to your nitrogen supplier? - a total waste of time and money.....like most fuel additives tit is a con.

THe contentsd of your tire are 78% nitrogen anyway, what difference do you think that 22% will make - assuming you actually are getting nitrogen.

You may find toothat there are modifications made to valves and tire by the suppliers that will in fact improve gas loss rate regardless of what you put in the tire.

Of all the questions one could ask about motoring this has to rate as one of the most infantile and ill thought out.

"Best" is totally subjective.

To have a meaningful discussion one would have to set parameters and criteria and that alone would be an insoluble conundrum anyhow.

Location, needs and wants would be just some of the factors.

"Who"" - is this country or company?

you might even want to define "car" - do you include pick-ups, SUVS or did you mean motor vehicles in general..............

Nitrogen in car tyres is a complete waste of time and money....period.

air is 78% nitrogen anyway

I've been with "Safety" for years but never made a claim apart from windscreen - which was done with no hassle.

Interested in AXA - do they offer cover abroad - (e.g. Laos and Malaysia)?

Thailand already has F/T agreements with Japan and Australia. The benefits from Oz were meant to phase in over a 15 year period...as yet I haven't seen any dramatic changes - notably wine and cars from Oz still seem to be taxed out of the market.

Merc and BMW were very worried about the Japanese deal as it meant that the Lexus would come in avoiding the huge duties on imported cars.....I haven't noticed that either.

So I'd surmise that any effects of a free trade agreement would be similarly unnoticeable.

Not suggesting SUV drivers need special training. Just trying to say these vehicles handle different at high speed and aggressive sport car style driving, that's all.

Sorry if anything was miscommunicated.

Well, every car is has it's own design criteria, and it's always a trade-off between cost, handling, comfort, load carrying ability and NVH. No point singling out SUV's though, because they simply aren't below-par these days - when you compare them to similarly priced cars, and drive them at legal'ish speeds.

"Below par"?

Well - it epoends what you mean by "par"....

Most of the SUVs in Thailand are merely modified pickups and have all the problems of poor collision performance, poor handling, high CoG, old-fashioned - or rather rudimentary - design and construction and even drum brakes on the rear.

As pickups are probably the most common form of 4 wheel transport in Thailand that doesn't mean they are "below par" here.

Ask for options like that in Thailand an d you'll be greeted by blank stares.

Vehicles here are simply not sold with options.

In fact Nissan even apply the Henry Ford options technique

"you can have any color you want so long as it's black"

However I have seen a couple of tray backs so they must be available somewhere.

Aftermarket would seem to be the solution; I would suggest a google search might come up with something.

As the operation is relatively easyto achieve it shoiuldn't set you back much especially as the original back as a good resale value.

work permit not needed

Depends. If no residence paper workpermit needed.

how can you register a car without a valid address?

What is the thinking? Here's my take.....

The usual reason is that it keeps the car cooler - true but I don’t reckon that’s even half the case.

Is it safe? Well not really as it is reducing the amount of light that enters the car and therefore the driver’s eyes. Limit the light and you limit the observation range - in certain circumstances - e.g. dawn or dusk or at night it can lead to the driver either not noticing something or not recognising it properly.

But in Thailand the main reason I think is the national obsession with lack of confrontation and the avoidance of eye-contact.

Driving in Thailand is undisciplined and many drivers make mistakes - however unlike most countries, they don’t use the horn etc. etc. - IMO this is partly due to the fact this might lead to eye contact - solution; tint the windows so much that no-one can see you.

Of course in the long term this leads to further accidents as in close proximity driving - stop signs and deciding priority etc. eye contact is very useful but so often not possible in Thailand. (just being able to see a hand waving you on or even the expressionnon the other driver's face).

Of course it also stops the police seeing you are a foreigner.......

It also prevents caual thieves from seeing what you've got in your car.

work permit not needed

No the V6 is not available in Thailand, the values I mentioned are the Australian prices converted to baht. The pickups here are pretty good value compared to most models in Australia however our models are stripped down a little and the expensive options like the Nissan V6 are cut. I wonder if the higher priced markets are getting the same delivery delays for popular models like Thailand at the moment, (E.G. Ranger 3.2L)?

Basically are you not comparing apples and oranges?

That Navara / Renault V6 sounds good. Reviews from Australia say 170kw / 550 Nm with a 7 speed auto. The Pathfinder version has independent rear suspension too.

With tining boxes etc max power potential is probably not to different to 3L 4 cylinders but noise and vibration are probably better.

The bad news is the 4 door V6 ute costs over 1.8M baht and the Pathfinder is almost 2.4M baht. That may be why they are not sold here.

.....hang on, are they available in Thailand? How do you know the price?

I noticed a new model Navara in Laos recently - looks really nice, much less of the enormous "bull" noses so popular on the new Isuzu/Chevy and Ford/Mazda.

It's a pity they don't sell the Pathfinder here too.models

I have now taken my car several times -to Laos - it has - touch wood - been hassle-free and very worthwhile IMO. I certainly don't want to hire another driver - why would I want to employ an idiot when I can drive perfectly well and better than most of the "professional" drivers in both Thailand and Laos?

Don't forget to get insurance before you go!

There is an Aussie government site that outlines exactly what you need and can or can't do - from memory I'd say that most of the advice offered so far is wildly inaccurate.

Your vehicle will have to be Aussie COMPLIANT if you want to import it. If you want to visit, that is a different matter.....but then you have to sort out getting it back to Thailand. This is best prepared BEFORE arrival....depending on how much time you have.

As for being cheap - you had better check the duty payable.

On top of any duty on a recent car there will be GST too.

Furthermore you might want to compare the specification of the Thai vehicle against the Aussie equivalent. The Thai vehicles are often quite rudimentary in comparison to their Aussie counterparts - tey are cheaper for a reason!

For instance does it have a heater???? - that'll set you back a bit.

The wheels, running gear and suspension can be quite different too.

Then if it's 4WD check the system on the Thai model against the Aussie one - the Thai pickups often have a much more rudimentary one fitted.

I presume you are comparing like with like when it comes to the engine - some Aussie models hae much larger engine options.

Thailand and Oz have a free trade agreement that is meant to be introduced in stages over a fifteen year period that started some time ago. THis should eventually include motor vehicles - new ones at least. Many of the pickups you buy in Oz are made in Thailand - to different specs of course - so you might find prices coming down a bit.

Australia like Thailand has second -hand cars that are extremely high in price. I won't go into the reasons for this - there are too many, but this could change very quickly with the implementation of free trade agreements and higher earnings in Thailand.