What do you hate most about driving in LOS?

[Ctkong]

16 hours ago, CGW said:

 

Lane discipline - non existent! - selfish drivers - ME, Me, me attitude! todays rant over, be the same tomorrow ???? 

Basically, I have seen Thai drivers quite disciplined on lane driving. Of course there is an odd driver or two on every trip. Especially the utility pickups..... No problem.. can live with it. Tit. 

[mauGR1]

4 minutes ago, Ctkong said:

Doesn’t help matters if you are the passenger. I find myself more tensed up when my wife is driving. ‘Relax’  she said . How can I relax when I can foresee numerous scenarios on every kilometer of road ... I rather be the one driving and am more relax that way. Driving 800 Kms from Bangkok to chiangmai, I always put up a night somewhere in between like phisanulok or tak rather than having my wife replace me and drive the whole trip in a day. Either that or no trip. I guess you would have to make an informed decision and go with that. 

But, but, i've been the passenger with some of my Thai friends and girl friends, and i always found them to be very considerate drivers.

I cannot say the same of many van drivers, unfortunately.

[HAKAPALITA]

6 minutes ago, Ctkong said:

Doesn’t help matters if you are the passenger. I find myself more tensed up when my wife is driving. ‘Relax’  she said . How can I relax when I can foresee numerous scenarios on every kilometer of road ... I rather be the one driving and am more relax that way. Driving 800 Kms from Bangkok to chiangmai, I always put up a night somewhere in between like phisanulok or tak rather than having my wife replace me and drive the whole trip in a day. Either that or no trip. I guess you would have to make an informed decision and go with that. 

Good Drivers make bloody awfull passengers, well said.

[Ctkong]

15 hours ago, dundas said:

Well, I'm aware i can quite easily get killed in my own country by drug crazed drivers (we have more than a few of those) but getting back to the topic, as I ride a Honda Wave mostly when I'm in Thailand, what really irks me is pick up drivers (nearly always pick up drivers) who take calculated risks with my life and miss me (so far, so lucky) by thaaaaat much, I'm talking mm, not cm. Oh, and a while ago there were a lot of Chinese renting motorcycles who would sometimes surprise me by coming around a corner on the wrong side of the road, but that doesn't seem to have been happening so much recently. Generally, I don't like the terrible driving and the lack of effective policing, but on the other hand, I enjoy being able to pay attention to the road and conditions, and not worry that I'm exceeding the speed limit by 2km/h and might be heading for a radar trap and a fine ... 

Good mental attitude on Thailand driving. Take care of your spatial awareness , be always aware you are in Thailand and her driving conditions and most of all, let’s not be picky on the host country. If Thais drive like in Taiwan ,Korea or japan, maybe Thailand has blossomed into a first world country with all the attributes to boot? Would you want that? You gotta have the good as well as the bad. Most importantly, be grateful for what you have got right now and make sure you are well insured. Live and let live. 

[Ctkong]

13 hours ago, dotpoom said:

The total disregard for fellow road users.  The full beam headlights after dark (and in the day too) or no lights at all. The lack of use of  indicators....and of course the pulling out in front of you..

.even though you might have nothing behind you had they just waited another second.

Full beam headlights may be due to the laden vehicle not level or no self adjusting headlights ... could be even be because the driver knew something you don’t? Like unlight vehicle driving at the wrong side of the road, unlight motorcycle, or even animals ..

[Ctkong]

2 hours ago, Bredbury Blue said:

I hate the way turning my indicator on to move lanes makes the car behind, in the lane I'm  about to join, ACCELERATE to stop me moving lanes.

Maybe because the driver has been waiting patiently in a line  and find that your signaling to move lane is not warranted ... I live in Bangkok and find that drivers are generally courteous and accommodating with lane change.. it is normal here. I find Thais better in live and let live. Maybe the fact I drive a fortuner and make a thank you hand signal help? 

[Ctkong]

22 minutes ago, HAKAPALITA said:

British wont adapt, they are like Germans generally, never wrong, self important and so far up their own arse they dont need tinted windows .!. Apart from the Kawasaki attitude here in this post anyone can see thats true. We fit in with them, good or bad and this constant  Thai bashing gets on my tits. F1 has a few crap drivers too. They Must be Thai .

Remember we are guests in the host country... if we ever visit our host, we cannot use our own value system to judge their endeavors. They are after all hosting. Let’s be grateful and not impose our values on them ...O ‘Sahib. 

Let’s accept more of their good and less their bad . Be mindful always. 

Or like some guy said. If you find it disgustingly impossible to live here, there is always a freedom of choice .... 

 

.

 

 

[Ctkong]

26 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

But, but, i've been the passenger with some of my Thai friends and girl friends, and i always found them to be very considerate drivers.

I cannot say the same of many van drivers, unfortunately.

I understand what you are saying. I was thinking more of being able to take evasive or defensive actions if I am the driver since I have more years (40 years ) of experience driving in ASEAN countries. I would never know my driver’s ability should there be any incident and would not certainly like to be around to find that out. 

Reflex action takes years of experience to achieve. 

[Time Traveller]

1. The road signs - poorly positioned and lack of

2. The lack of street lighting at night time.

 

 

 

[CGW]

32 minutes ago, Ctkong said:

Basically, I have seen Thai drivers quite disciplined on lane driving. Of course there is an odd driver or two on every trip. Especially the utility pickups..... No problem.. can live with it. Tit. 

We drive on different roads! & you obviously dont do a lot of long distance driving! In the thirty years I have been driving here I have had to undertake many, many times more than I overtake! TIT - sure is, makes it far more dangerous, right hand drive cars are designed to overtake, not have to weave their way around someone who is incapable of driving in a safe manner.

[Andrew Dwyer]

British wont adapt, they are like Germans generally, never wrong, self important and so far up their own arse they dont need tinted windows .!. Apart from the Kawasaki attitude here in this post anyone can see thats true. We fit in with them, good or bad and this constant  Thai bashing gets on my tits. F1 has a few crap drivers too. They Must be Thai .

Well I’m a Brit and I’m often wrong ( all the time if you believe my ex-wives).
I’ve adapted to fit in with the lifestyle I’ve chosen here in Thailand, certainly my driving style has changed. That’s the same for every country I’ve driven in , and there are certainly some pretty bad driving practices going on in each and every country.

But, the thread is about driving in Thailand so it’s only reasonable to expect some criticism of driving standards over here.

I’m not claiming to be a world class driver either but I do feel I have a good understanding of what are and what are not good driving practices !!

[mauGR1]

47 minutes ago, HAKAPALITA said:

British wont adapt, they are like Germans generally, never wrong, self important and so far up their own arse they dont need tinted windows .!. Apart from the Kawasaki attitude here in this post anyone can see thats true. We fit in with them, good or bad and this constant  Thai bashing gets on my tits. F1 has a few crap drivers too. They Must be Thai .

I have to agree with you on this, although i would not talk about Brits or Germans, but foreigners.

In the high season here, there are more Farangs than Thais on the roads, except early morning , when the Thais go to their workplaces.

I've seen very dangerous driving from the tourists, appalling stuff.

[vinegarbase]

Road tolls are way too expensive! Traffic wouldn't be so bad on some if they just opened up all roads to everyone. Just create a flat city tax for vehicle owners to contribute to this. 

[smotherb]

9 hours ago, Thian said:

In some neighbourhoods (like Chinatown BKK) there are painted letters on the road which mean that the area is for motocy's while waiting for the red light. They are big area's and iirc they painted the letters M and C on the tarmac.

 

Many times i was the only one in those area's so i still don't know if that place is for motocy's or not...it's in front of red light, can't get more to the front.

 

 

yeah, in my city public works constructed several new pseudo-roundabouts--you know, no circular roadways, just a lump of concrete in the middle of an intersection.  They did place a sign in Thai and English which said to give way to those vehicles already in the circle. I've sat in that circle several times on my bike pointing at the sign as the drivers whizzed-past with no one stopping.

[HAKAPALITA]

Just now, mauGR1 said:

I have to agree with you on this, although i would not talk about Brits or Germans, but foreigners.

In the high season here, there are more Farangs than Thais on the roads, except early morning , when the Thais go to their workplaces.

I've seen very dangerous driving from the tourists, appalling stuff.

I shall speak as ive found here for the last 25 years. You cant include Australians with German and Brits, they just enjoy everything and dont care, and make me cheerful anyway.!!. German Drivers are not unused to speed, but the Brits enjoy 100 in the outside lane, and enjoy playing Policemen,  well my Brit friends do anyway..

[Spidey]

Compared to the UK, I love driving in Thailand. Have been stopped for speeding, 100 baht tea money and on your way. Running a red light, 250 baht tea money and on your way. Even drink driving is only 10k baht tea money and on your way. Also, much less likely to get stopped in the first place.

 

For me it's out on the road, pedal to the metal, weaving from lane to lane to give a crap Thai driver a thrashing in his beloved pickup. It's Destruction Derby at my front door. What's not to love about it?

[mauGR1]

1 minute ago, HAKAPALITA said:

I shall speak as ive found here for the last 25 years. You cant include Australians with German and Brits, they just enjoy everything and dont care, and make me cheerful anyway.!!. German Drivers are not unused to speed, but the Brits enjoy 100 in the outside lane, and enjoy playing Policemen,  well my Brit friends do anyway..

Ok. I don't know where you live, but i've seen awful driving and riding from Russians and Chinese too, among the usual suspects.

[HAKAPALITA]

4 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Ok. I don't know where you live, but i've seen awful driving and riding from Russians and Chinese too, among the usual suspects.

Ive do 25 K PA round Thailand so not area bothered or informed,  but very little in tourist areas where car rent is hi.

[Ctkong]

I think driver quality depends upon where you are in  thailand. Basically appalling driver attitudes are found in the NE area. 

[CLW]

I like driving in Thailand better than driving in Europe, because the driving is more interesting, no danger of falling asleep.
 
What I dislike about driving in Thailand:
- traffic jams
- braindead drivers
 

But on the other hand in Europe you can easily drive 600 km per day but here I get tired before or the slow average speed forces you to stay a night somewhere.
I don't drive here at night... Total mayhem

[ravip]

On 10/2/2018 at 10:23 AM, Spidey said:

Compared to the UK, I love driving in Thailand. Have been stopped for speeding, 100 baht tea money and on your way. Running a red light, 250 baht tea money and on your way. Even drink driving is only 10k baht tea money and on your way. Also, much less likely to get stopped in the first place.

 

For me it's out on the road, pedal to the metal, weaving from lane to lane to give a crap Thai driver a thrashing in his beloved pickup. It's Destruction Derby at my front door. What's not to love about it?

You might not always be so lucky!

Try googling Scavenger killed, hit by Benz driven by Brit in Phuket 

 

[no deal]

On 10/1/2018 at 11:09 AM, MekkOne said:

Foreigner complaining about Thai driving while they are total hogs on the wheel and don't even know how to park properly their huge useless pick up trucks.

555

[no deal]

On 10/1/2018 at 2:39 PM, CLW said:

Speeding and tailgating.
In every civilised country it is the norm to obey speed limits and distance and you will be considered as unsocial or antisocial.
Here you get the flashlights, middle finger or even worse things if you adhere to speed limits (even plus a tolerance of 10 to 15 km/h) or if you keep safety distance with a 95% probability some idiot in a hurry will cut in front of you...

you right!

[no deal]

On 10/1/2018 at 5:36 PM, samsensam said:

 

gave up driving, my gf has a car so she drives.

 

what i hate most about, being a pedestrian, about drivers here people driving/riding on the wrong side of the road - it is dumb and so dangerous, also, and farang included here, it's people using mobile phones while driving.

 

and relax...

smart guy i do the same whit my wife she thai and drive like the thai people,and i really don't car,the only think i care is dont drink and drive!

[no deal]

On 10/2/2018 at 11:14 AM, Ctkong said:

Remember we are guests in the host country... if we ever visit our host, we cannot use our own value system to judge their endeavors. They are after all hosting. Let’s be grateful and not impose our values on them ...O ‘Sahib. 

Let’s accept more of their good and less their bad . Be mindful always. 

Or like some guy said. If you find it disgustingly impossible to live here, there is always a freedom of choice .... 

 

.

 

 

well said!

[camble]

While riding my motorcycle, I had no choice but to ram a pickup truck that turned in front of me.  The driver didn’t check his blind spot or use his directional signal.  Fortunately, I landed in the ditch.

[richard_smith237]

 

 

What do I hate most about driving in LOS? the liberties others take with my safety. 

The taxi driver driving dangerously, the Grab Car Driver barreling through stopped traffic on the inside lane narrowly missing a u-turning car (with me as passenger), the pickup accelerating towards to as you try and cross the road... 

 

 

[transam]

Lack of thought.......But hey, that seems the case with everything in LOS....????

[fredob43]

Sorry haven't read all the posts.

Having driven here for well over 25 years, I find it a real pleasure driving in LOS. But I do drive a tank with good vision.

 

Here having a small lump can be hell as you cant see anything that's about when you are stuck behind all the big lumps that are on the road. Just drive as the road/traffic permits and you'll be fine.

 

If you want to see bad driving go to the UK. Driving there is a real bug bare. One eye on your speedo the other on the other idiots that are about. Road rage every time you go out. Cameras everywhere.

 

N/B the one eye on the speedo refers to the speed limit. 3/4 mph over the top and you will get fined 200 pounds and 3 points on your licence, around 10 and you'll loose it.

Conclusion give me the LOS every time. 

 

  

[Coremouse]

Me never been to any developed country, thus compare to China & Vietnam, I consider Thailand heaven... 

 

Wat I hate most are too many bridges with steep transition, & speed bumps dude they are brutal