Been said so many times

[CharlieH]

Its NOT your driving its those around you that cause the problem.

Just a reminder how easy it can happen.

 

https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSJRWYN3g/

[Andrew Dwyer]

Double whammy !!

 

Yes, expect the unexpected is an often used cliche but sums up driving in Thailand perfectly.

Some points to remember:

Use of indicators is optional but when used give the driver right of way to pull out in front of you !!

Motorbikes, and cars , driving on the hard shoulder towards you have every right to do so and you should deviate to avoid a collision ( even if that means a head on with a car to your right ).

When turning right into a soi don’t be surprised to see a mc , from way back, taking advantage of the stopped traffic and overtaking you.

Likewise , when pulling out onto a larger road going left don’t be surprised to see a mc heading towards you and cutting the corner by a huge radius, whether he passes you on the left or right side is “ up to him “.

Leaving a safe stopping distance on the highway, while probably advisable in your home country , means the car undertaking you has somewhere to pull in on his quest to get to the front of the line.

Likewise, a straight line is preferable on turning a corner , while on the highway using as many lanes as possible at high speed is the preferred action to get where you are going in the shortest amount of time.

 

etc.....etc......etc

 

 

Edited March 2, 2021 by Andrew Dwyer

[greenhornfarang]

So would you recommend learning how to drive a scooter for the first time in Pattaya or not?

 

[Kwasaki]

Firstly driving too fast I would say.

Secondly the bike didn't act quick enough.

[richard_smith237]

11 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Firstly driving too fast I would say.

Secondly the bike didn't act quick enough.

 

Before seeing the video I was thinking.... here we go another accident where ThaiVisa. forum members postulate their driving prowess and comment on how they would have easily avoid such accidents... 

 

Then I watched the video and realised it summed up Thailand driving perfectly. 

 

1) Overtaking the lorry - driver perhaps going too quickly while over taking on a road with lots of off-roads... typical here, driving without any consideration from the consequences (typical driving example 1)

2) Car pulling out in front of lorry, couldn’t wait until he had a better vision on the road (typical driving example 2)

3) Motorbike - was he not even looking in the direction he was going? (typical riding example 3)

 

How did the motorbike even ‘not’ manage to avoid that accident?  Object fixation? not looking? inexperience / couldn’t swerve at speed? 

 

Surely upon seeing the accident unfold infront of him the motorcyclist had enough time to stop.

[ChaiyaTH]

That's how I got hit on my bike too and police yet tried to frame me being wrong lol.

Edited March 2, 2021 by ChaiyaTH

[scubascuba3]

Could have been avoided if the driver had been going slower, he was going twice the speed of the lorry

[Ralf001]

20 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Could have been avoided if the driver had been going slower, he was going twice the speed of the lorry

 

What speed was the pickup doing ?

[gunderhill]

I  just  assume all of them are brain dead, few  days  ago  close to my  house, no signal  no warning they spot the somtam shop and just aim for it, mirrors , signal ,manouevre, why waste  time, maybe next time  it  will be his  last manouevre as I'm fairly  sure a local Thai driver would  not be watching the  road as closely  as I do.

[Natai Beach]

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Could have been avoided if the driver had been going slower, he was going twice the speed of the lorry

Why was she pulling out from a side street in front of the ten wheeler anyway?
 

 

[Kwasaki]

7 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Before seeing the video I was thinking.... here we go another accident where ThaiVisa. forum members postulate their driving prowess and comment on how they would have easily avoid such accidents... 

 

Then I watched the video and realised it summed up Thailand driving perfectly. 

 

1) Overtaking the lorry - driver perhaps going too quickly while over taking on a road with lots of off-roads... typical here, driving without any consideration from the consequences (typical driving example 1)

2) Car pulling out in front of lorry, couldn’t wait until he had a better vision on the road (typical driving example 2)

3) Motorbike - was he not even looking in the direction he was going? (typical riding example 3)

 

How did the motorbike even ‘not’ manage to avoid that accident?  Object fixation? not looking? inexperience / couldn’t swerve at speed? 

 

Surely upon seeing the accident unfold infront of him the motorcyclist had enough time to stop.

A thoughtful observation.

 

A similar thing happened to me on my motorbike, I was on single 2 way road coming up to a blind hill, my riding instinct is to keep left in this situation,  sure enough an on coming car was overtaking and came over the hill facing me, again instinct was swerving left more and nearly ended up off road down into some trees. 

 

My friend behind witnessed it saying  he thought the drivers wing mirror has touch the arm of my jacket it was so close, a car wouldn't of got away with it. 

 

When we go off for ride outs we always say  " Right let's go battle with the devil ". ???? ????

[scubascuba3]

3 hours ago, Natai Beach said:

Why was she pulling out from a side street in front of the ten wheeler anyway?
 

 

of course they shouldn't have done but Thais often pull out before ensuring it's clear. That's why you have to check before fully overtaking 

[Yellowtail]

Everyone always says it's the other guy, but half the time it's not...

 

 

[NanLaew]

On 3/3/2021 at 7:17 AM, Natai Beach said:

On 3/3/2021 at 4:58 AM, scubascuba3 said:

Could have been avoided if the driver had been going slower, he was going twice the speed of the lorry

Why was she pulling out from a side street in front of the ten wheeler anyway?

 

Why was the dashcam car overtaking on a double-yellow line? Shooting the gap rather than wait.

 

Why did the pickup pull out in front of the slow-moving tractor trailer? Shooting the gap rather than wait.

 

As for the motorbike being clipped, I guess that's possibly down to the infamous Asian lack of spatial awareness? Shooting the gap is doubly precarious for the locals. When they typically takes several attempts to align those white poles in the depth-perception test for their driving license, it's not too surprising they get it wrong on the highway.

 

How many times have we seen the car driver following us who is too impatient to wait for you to complete your overtaking and move to the left and thinks they can undertake on your left when that gap between you and the car that you are overtaking is already decreasing rapidly.

 

Or the first car in a convoy stuck behind a slow truck on two-way road who, when seeing break in the oncoming traffic, simply eases their foot down on the accelerator and crawls past the truck? Maybe the simple technique of quickly forcing a down-shift in an automatic transmission isn't taught here or it's not advised because someone thinks it may damage the transmission.

 

We could be here all day but as the OP says, it is the unexpected that someone else does that may cause us grief no matter how cautious, observant and speed aware we try to be.

[Yellowtail]

It does seem like the guy on the bike might have noticed a car spinning out in front of them....