Why do Thai drivers continually modulate the throttle?

[VocalNeal]

Maybe not for the motoring forum as it is mostly noticed in taxis or vehicle when one is not driving oneself.  Sometimes in taxis my head is going like a nodding dog!

 

Does anyone know historically where this comes from as it seems to be almost a cultural phenomena ? Was it something an "important " person said one time or something else ?

 

There is a PEA team in our soi trimming trees and the chainsaw guy is doing the same with his chainsaw. The revs are going up and down and up and down. Instead of more or less on when cutting and off when not. 

 

Ferryboats on the Chao Paya are the same. Never a constant throttle. Boats even have foot throttles not hand throttles.

 

Chinese drivers shift into neutral going downhill but that at least has some logic to it if the hill is steep enough to maintain the momentum.

 

Just curious...

Edited September 15, 2017 by VocalNeal

[dave_boo]

Why you want engine work too mutt?

 

It need blake too..

[hkt83100]

It is harmless compared to a Indian Taxi Driver in Singapore. But maybe there is a connection between head and foot?

[Kwasaki]

21 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

Chinese drivers shift into neutral going downhill

I'm not Chinese but guilty as charged also knock into neutral when l see lights up ahead turning red.

[JaseTheBass]

Errr, because they're really smart?

Sent from my Cray II supercomputer

[Briggsy]

Thai learn to drive by copying their older relatives and friends. It is like Chinese whispers. There is no rhyme nor reason. Whatever they observed their father/uncle/phee chai doing that is what they do. Everything else is 'wrong'.

[Jessi]

OP, Looking for logic, sorry you are in the wrong country for that.

[akirasan]

They just like making noise.  It's not strictly a Thai thing, Filipinos are the same.  

[NanLaew]

Yup, the locals just love blipping the throttle be it pedal or twist grip. Must be a cultural trait but when it comes to trucks, I think it started from having mostly rubbish ability with the clutch pedal on manual gearboxes. They seem unable to work out the optimum, steady clutch pressure and throttle setting when making slow maneuvers, turns, going up a ramp, etc. Tend to let the clutch in and out and keep the revs up by blipping the throttle, catching the clutch and avoiding a stall? Bikers like the sound of that and do it too for no other reason. Thank goodness for automatic transmissions!

[Borzandy]

On 15/09/2017 at 12:26 PM, VocalNeal said:

Sometimes in taxis my head is going like a nodding dog

The driver could think, it's OK, you'll give him more tip.

[thaijoe]

can you say, STUPID, they just don't know how to drive period.

[r136dg]

13 hours ago, Briggsy said:

Thai learn to drive by copying their older relatives and friends. It is like Chinese whispers. There is no rhyme nor reason. Whatever they observed their father/uncle/phee chai doing that is what they do. Everything else is 'wrong'.

That's more than likely the answer. A lot of trucks, especially those little dump trucks with their customized/trashed exhaust do it just for the noise.

[Formaleins]

Not sure about the driving, but it is annoying, they do it in China too. The chainsaw is a different matter, it is usually a two stroke engine and despite being lubed with two stroke oil they are prone to seizing and overheating if kept at a constant revs.

Edited September 18, 2017 by Formaleins

[EnlightenedAtheist]

On 9/15/2017 at 12:26 PM, VocalNeal said:

Does anyone know historically where this comes from as it seems to be almost a cultural phenomena ?

They must have seen too many Hells Angels' movies on YouTube! Maybe they are related genetically too!

 

Have you been to Vietnam? They use the horn for no apparent reason! Must be either the French or the US colonial experiences that made it happen (ditto for smoking and drinking coffee, which, along with the 6 hours of sleep they get [as they get awoken by those "heavy throttlers"] --come to think of it-- might explain the throttling. But that is a wild guess.)

 

My answer ... no sleep, coffee, game addiction,...

 

PS: The HA was for a 555 moment and a dig at those selfish egomaniac and probably abused people.

Edited September 18, 2017 by EnlightenedAtheist

[Dipterocarp]

I know a Korean woman who insists on shifting her automatic minivan into neutral, Everytime she brakes. I explained there is no good reason for this and it actually disables anti-skid (stability control) but not anti-lock in her Mazda. Something about how she was taught to drive and will not listen.

I


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[jossthaifarang]

They do the same when drilling, reaming, grinding, sawing, sewing and driving.. Just the way it is..

 

Get over it, or drill, ream, grind, saw, sew and drive yourself..

[Shiver]

Why farang ask stoopit question?  It's to save power!  Same reason to put 20 baht in the scooter at a time.  Gotta love 'em.

 

I've noticed it with next door drilling (they've been doing 1 or 2 drills per week for about 2 years now, must be a big project...  Whipper snippers, chainsaws they do it  with those for sure also.

 

Curiously, they don't seem to do it with angle grinders.  Maybe it's just a throttle thing and doesn't apply to on/off devices.  Which reminds me, I need to turn off the refrigerator at night to save power too.

 

I say this affectionately (and with resignation).  I did my grumpy old man rant yesterday.

 

[dotpoom]

"Chinese drivers shift into neutral going downhill but that at least has some logic to it if the hill is steep enough to maintain the momentummomentum".

       You can't be serious......I can think of nothing more dangerous. The idea of having the engine in gear going downhill is for it to act as a brake if for some reason your brakes fail.

[PETERTHEEATER]

My usual long-distance taxi driver does this even on expressways. Once up to cruising speed he then starts to 'pump' the accelerator pedal every five seconds or so causing, as the OP said, 'nodding dog' motion. On busy main roads it is not so noticeable as the usual speed variations required to respond to the changing traffic flow disguise it.

[Kwasaki]

2 minutes ago, dotpoom said:

"Chinese drivers shift into neutral going downhill but that at least has some logic to it if the hill is steep enough to maintain the momentummomentum".

       You can't be serious......I can think of nothing more dangerous. The idea of having the engine in gear going downhill is for it to act as a brake if for some reason your brakes fail.

Nothing dangerous about it, you can still use the handbrake. 

[ThaiWai]

How about using an actual lawn mower to cut grass instead of a weed trimmer in ten times the about of time? Lemme guess too efficient? 

[sawadee1947]

Why do Thai drivers continually modulate the throttle?

 

Because they can.................

[richard_smith237]

This 'Binary driving' characteristic is one of many who lack a certain state of awareness or consciousness...  I know people in the UK who also drive in this irritating manner. 

 

I commonly encounter it over here in Taxi's, and in almost every Taxi I take in Singapore... Its worse in the Middle East, the binary driving technique there is accelerate hard / brake hard, there is little coasting - its incredibly tiresome, annoying, uncomfortable and also dangerous. 

 

Here in Thailand when I witness this driving technique I am aware that the driver is not really able to drive very well, he's not really conscious of what he is up to and is on a sort of 'auto-pilot'... 

 

IMO - it simply comes from a lack of conscious thought.

 

[dinsdale]

On 9/16/2017 at 9:38 AM, Kwasaki said:

On 9/15/2017 at 12:26 PM, VocalNeal said:

Chinese drivers shift into neutral going downhill

I'm not Chinese but guilty as charged also knock into neutral when l see lights up ahead turning red.

Not the best way to go. Your engine is also a brake hence the term engine braking. If you're in neutral going down hill you're going to have to ride the brakes. You should let the engine do the work for by dropping down to a lower gear. At lights if you're in an automatic you shouldn't knock it into neutral. Keep your foot on the brake pedal and apply handbrake. Manual, into neutral, apply handbrake. Still each to their own.

[Kwasaki]

9 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

IMO - it simply comes from a lack of conscious thought.

Personally l have ridden in car/trucks with many Thai drivers and just found that they are just different, some are good some bad.

IMO it's the lack of an initial learning experience, some improve some don't. 

[JackGarbo]

5 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Yup, the locals just love blipping the throttle be it pedal or twist grip. Must be a cultural trait but when it comes to trucks, I think it started from having mostly rubbish ability with the clutch pedal on manual gearboxes. They seem unable to work out the optimum, steady clutch pressure and throttle setting when making slow maneuvers, turns, going up a ramp, etc. Tend to let the clutch in and out and keep the revs up by blipping the throttle, catching the clutch and avoiding a stall? Bikers like the sound of that and do it too for no other reason. Thank goodness for automatic transmissions!

Lots of reasons. Bikers do it to keep engine running since the battery's dead (worn out), although most bikes are CDI, which doesn't need to battery; watch for dim headlights.

Taxis do it because the spirit (ผี) in the engine needs amusement or it'll get angry (Thais are Animists).

I guess bus drivers do it to hurry the pax onboard, time being money (?).

HTH

Edited September 18, 2017 by JackGarbo

[Kwasaki]

5 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Not the best way to go. Your engine is also a brake hence the term engine braking. If you're in neutral going down hill you're going to have to ride the brakes. You should let the engine do the work for by dropping down to a lower gear. At lights if you're in an automatic you shouldn't knock it into neutral. Keep your foot on the brake pedal and apply handbrake. Manual, into neutral, apply handbrake. Still each to their own.

Disagree if you have to use your brakes on a downhill with manual don't do it,  some auto's you have to use brakes anyhow.

 

The use of neutral in auto's with handbrake on at long waiting traffic lights is good practice especially in a hot country.

Somebody l guess will say next keep your foot on the clutch and handbrake on & in gear on at long waits and jams,  that's bad driving IMO. 

 

Yes indeed each to their own and each to there use of driver Technics.   

[Juan B Tong]

Because its there and it makes noise.

[JackGarbo]

2 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Disagree if you have to use your brakes on a downhill with manual don't do it,  some auto's you have to use brakes anyhow.

 

The use of neutral in auto's with handbrake on at long waiting traffic lights is good practice especially in a hot country.

Somebody l guess will say next keep your foot on the clutch and handbrake on & in gear on at long waits and jams,  that's bad driving IMO. 

 

Yes indeed each to their own and each to there use of driver Technics.   

Of course ease off the throttle downhill in a manual (becoming rare), though in automatics that's useless unless the transmission has a rear as well as a front pump, also becoming rare. Costs...

Stationary in gear with clutch in wears the clutch release bearing, so neutral with clutch out's better. Riding the clutch on an incline is a sin.

(Sorry, this used to be my profession - transmission & suspension design). 

[AhFarangJa]

2 hours ago, dotpoom said:

"Chinese drivers shift into neutral going downhill but that at least has some logic to it if the hill is steep enough to maintain the momentummomentum".

       You can't be serious......I can think of nothing more dangerous. The idea of having the engine in gear going downhill is for it to act as a brake if for some reason your brakes fail.

Correct Sir, NEVER coast down a hill, you have less control. Also, as you mention, the engine and gearbox act as a brake, so you do not need to step on the brake pedal so mutt......sirry iriots....