First time for a long time the Wife got on a minivan from Hua Hin to BKK her words below just mailed to me as she arrived home ..says it  all..

 

 the bus driver not stop at traffic light, on the right hand lane all the time, across the lane no signal , on the phone , no seat belt .

Without wishing to change the subject, I caught 2 BKK buses on the Bang Na Trat Rd last week and both times feared for my life. Thats not an exaggeration. 

I took one once, six months after arriving in Thailand. He was obviously high on Yabah. 

These guys need tachometers installing and a lot of other things.

Clampdown (noun) - Something usually mentioned in a press release in response to recent negative news reports.

The clampdown will tend to last from two days to a month, depending on the embarrassment factor felt by the authorities at the time.

Once it is deemed to be out of the public eye, the clampdown can safely be forgotten.

 

11 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

Clampdown (noun) - Something usually mentioned in a press release in response to recent negative news reports.

The clampdown will tend to last from two days to a month, depending on the embarrassment factor felt by the authorities at the time.

Once it is deemed to be out of the public eye, the clampdown can safely be forgotten.

 

as  long as  that.........now  i  am surprised??

Saw a Farang in a Ford Ranger near Hatyai a couple of days ago, and he wasnt a happy chappy, as a Van had slammed into his rear end...The Van came off the worst though which was probably a good thing....

No one looked hurt so we didnt stop...Looked like the Van didnt stop for red light, but the Farang in front of him did...

2 minutes ago, weegee said:

Saw a Farang in a Ford Ranger near Hatyai a couple of days ago, and he wasnt a happy chappy, as a Van had slammed into his rear end...The Van came off the worst though which was probably a good thing....

No one looked hurt so we didnt stop...Looked like the Van didnt stop for red light, but the Farang in front of him did...

Aha, the old brake brain failure story.

 

so was it brake failure , or because the farang stopped at a red light ???????

2 minutes ago, kevvy said:

so was it brake failure , or because the farang stopped at a red light ???????

Farang stopped for the red light....The Van kept right on going, as per usual....fair into the back of the Ranger.

Thais dont stop for Red Lights!!!!!!

I have used mini van taxi inly TWICE  never again  the Thai drivers are kamikaze trained  , total idiots and unsafe

Just to repeat what I've said many times before.

If you value your life don't even consider using a minivan, particularly in darkness.

I did once a few years ago, once was enough for me, feared for my life, never used one since.

Neither the wife or I will get on a minivan or bus in Thailand again.  My limit for excitement is boarding a songtaw that never gets above 50 kph. 

Laws in Thailand Don't mean anything  No one Enforces them ,,, The Government is suppose to make Sure that the laws are Policed    ,,,,    They Don't do anything about it  ,,,, No one cares ,,,   ?

18 hours ago, kevvy said:

so was it brake failure , or because the farang stopped at a red light ???????

..if the light turns yellow.. you had better check on what is coming up behind you if you intend to stop!! 

Used to get a mini van from ChaAm to Hua Hin.  The last time convinced me they were a coffin on wheels was when I watched the driver, who was talking into one phone, switch to another phone to relay the conversation.  He then dropped one of the two phones, bent down and picked it up off  the floor, while still driving at around 100kph.

I get the local bus now - slower, not usually crowded and I can get fresh air.

 

when we fly to Bangkok we have a van hire waiting for us, the driver is probably mid to late 20's, van is well fitted out and he is an excellent driver. I think the fact that we pay by the day not the trip makes  a lot of difference as he never speeds or drives erratically, the ones doing runs between regions/cities etc are on a per trip basis so the faster they can do it the better for them, the only way around it is to install speed governors/limiters on all of them plus increase the fines for not obeying the road rules but again that would require the police to actually get out on the roads and do their jobs, will never happen

Edited May 29, 20188 yr by seajae

12 minutes ago, seajae said:

when we fly to Bangkok we have a van hire waiting for us, the driver is probably mid to late 20's, van is well fitted out and he is an excellent driver. I think the fact that we pay by the day not the trip makes  a lot of difference as he never speeds or drives erratically, the ones doing runs between regions/cities etc are on a per trip basis so the faster they can do it the better for them, the only way around it is to install speed governors/limiters on all of them plus increase the fines for not obeying the road rules but again that would require the police to actually get out on the roads and do their jobs, will never happen

Yes.. my wife and I were riding in one a year or so ago.. sitting up front with the driver... he was very agitated .. my wife talked him down.. and got him to slow down.. one of the things he told her was that he got 1 baht per kilometer.. if he could make an extra trip for the day his take home went up..  Renting one for the day is obviously a different proposition.. 

 

I have a number of bachelor students in Bkk who come from a location in Samut Prakan every morning in a standard minivan bus.

 

Most mornings 18 to 20 total passengers, some sitting down, some sitting on the floor and some standing up. The students tell me the drivers are maniacs, many of the students have little choice of transport.

 

Van stops at the uni gate, most mornings there's 1 or 2 policemen standing right where the van stops and 18 - 20 people get out. Not one word ever spoken by the police.

 

This scenario existed before the 'crack down' and still continues. 

 

 

 

20 hours ago, weegee said:

Saw a Farang in a Ford Ranger near Hatyai a couple of days ago, and he wasnt a happy chappy, as a Van had slammed into his rear end...The Van came off the worst though which was probably a good thing....

No one looked hurt so we didnt stop...Looked like the Van didnt stop for red light, but the Farang in front of him did...

 

Not nice but the farang was lucky our family loudmouth aunty wasn't on the road, she breaks every rule in the book every day. Goes through red lights with speed and she's caused several accidents doing this, luckly nobody has been killed.

 

When stopped by a cop she insists that there is a law a that government employees and their relatives have 5 seconds more to keep going after the light has changed to red. She's been held twice in a cell for 24 hours for being abusive to policemen.

 

Nobody from the family will travel in her car and most of the family have banned her from being in their vehicles because she is the mother of all back seats drivers and loud. 

 

 

A couple of times I"ve taken a van between Somdet and Khon Kaen when there has been an hour or two between buses that run the same route to/from Mukdahan. And each time the service has been excellent. Depends on the company perhaps. Some employ careful drivers and some don't care.

On Monday, May 28, 2018 at 7:12 PM, weegee said:

Farang stopped for the red light....The Van kept right on going, as per usual....fair into the back of the Ranger.

Thais dont stop for Red Lights!!!!!!

Indeed no.  Red light is an option over here , I have myself gone through red lights as the vehicle behind has no intention of stopping . They approach a red light , the red mist comes down , the old grey matter is slow today and not a BiB in sight.