Advice on dealing with crazy taxi drivers?

[JimTripper]

Have you tried urinating in the back seat?

[Farmerslife]

On my visits to Bangkok I often use taxis and have only once had a problem but that was a driver who thought I didn't know my way around and thought he could take me on the 'scenic route'.

 In truth the traffic has always been so heavy that the chances of speeding have been about as remote as my chances of buying a winning lottery ticket. ????

[richard_smith237]

On 3/30/2022 at 6:35 AM, PJ71 said:

On 3/23/2022 at 9:59 PM, richard_smith237 said:

I’ve had to get out a few times, but usually when they want to watch a video on their phone on placed on the instrument display and won’t turn off their phone. 
I just tell them to pull over and get out… it’s usually in the 1st 50m so easier than spotting a nutter driver. 

 

do you pay them when this happens?

No...   . its usually only as I’m getting in or have just started rolling down the road (so the charge has not gone above the basic flag fall).

 

I just ask them to turn off their phone and say its dangerous (in Thai), most are ok and turn off their phone. But, If they don’t I ask them to stop and just get out and walk off (against the flow of traffic). 

 

It has happened a couple of times that I’m halfway home, the driver then got his phone out at traffic lights, balanced it on the dash and started watching something and then left it on. 

Most turn it off again when I ask.

A couple haven’t and I’ve asked him to stop, that usually triggers them to turn off their phone. Sometimes they won’t, I’ve paid what was on the meter and got out... 

 

No need to escalate - They either turn off their phone or I get out. 

If the meter has gone above the starting flag-fall rate I pay, if not, I don’t. 

 

 

Note: This is not a common occurrence, but its happened enough times over the years. 

 

Sometimes, I’m just close enough to home and give up.... I can’t be bothered to deal with !!!... 

 

Thats generally why I prefer to use grab wherever possible - I just can’t be bothered dealing with the idiots and there is a far higher probability of getting an idiot when using a regular taxi - Of course, many are also good (as someone is bound to point out), but there are also number of idiots I’d just prefer to avoid. 

 

 

 

[ChaiyaTH]

On 4/3/2022 at 12:38 PM, LarrySR said:

They all have a self defense weapon under the front seat.

 

Send your complaints via SMS to 1584. Time, date, taxi color, and ID number. 
Best to have a Thai do it in Thai language. 
It will cost him when he renews his permit. 

No sorry, I am not an idiot like that and when attacked it's usually for a good reason. They should report people suggesting things like you do, they make the world today so miserable.

[starfish]

It´s just their solution to higher gasoline prices. They try to reach the destination quickly, saving gas by driving faster . . . ????

 

[richard_smith237]

9 minutes ago, starfish said:

It´s just their solution to higher gasoline prices. They try to reach the destination quickly, saving gas by driving faster . . . ????

 

For the last 25 years ? 

[KhaoNiaw]

Neve had a problem with traffic at 2AM. If you're not drinking why wouldn't you drive?

[JimTripper]

On 4/7/2022 at 10:31 PM, richard_smith237 said:

No...   . its usually only as I’m getting in or have just started rolling down the road (so the charge has not gone above the basic flag fall).

 

I just ask them to turn off their phone and say its dangerous (in Thai), most are ok and turn off their phone. But, If they don’t I ask them to stop and just get out and walk off (against the flow of traffic). 

 

It has happened a couple of times that I’m halfway home, the driver then got his phone out at traffic lights, balanced it on the dash and started watching something and then left it on. 

Most turn it off again when I ask.

A couple haven’t and I’ve asked him to stop, that usually triggers them to turn off their phone. Sometimes they won’t, I’ve paid what was on the meter and got out... 

 

No need to escalate - They either turn off their phone or I get out. 

If the meter has gone above the starting flag-fall rate I pay, if not, I don’t. 

 

 

Note: This is not a common occurrence, but its happened enough times over the years. 

 

Sometimes, I’m just close enough to home and give up.... I can’t be bothered to deal with !!!... 

 

Thats generally why I prefer to use grab wherever possible - I just can’t be bothered dealing with the idiots and there is a far higher probability of getting an idiot when using a regular taxi - Of course, many are also good (as someone is bound to point out), but there are also number of idiots I’d just prefer to avoid. 

 

 

 

What do you do if they don't stop the car when you ask to get out? Or insist on going to an agreed upon destination as part of a contract when you got in?

 

My solution to this was once opening the door while the cab was still moving in traffic.

[VocalNeal]

You could always press the SOS button. ????

 

Or at 2am you could just sit back and wait to get home. 

Or get the last BTS train at midnight-ish.

 

[Sparktrader]

On 3/24/2022 at 4:56 AM, vinci said:

taxi driver are like a box of chocolate, you will never know which driver you will get

Or a carton of old eggs

Rotten or bad

[richard_smith237]

51 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

What do you do if they don't stop the car when you ask to get out? Or insist on going to an agreed upon destination as part of a contract when you got in?

Agreed contract ????  seriously ??? - its a taxi.. we can get out whenever we want for whatever reason we want - there is no law which says we have to complete our destination. 

 

But, to deal with the pedantic and silly idea of a contract: ‘perceived' agreement is broken as soon as they don't provide a polite, safe and honest service. 

 

51 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

My solution to this was once opening the door while the cab was still moving in traffic.

Many options from getting more firm, or just getting out when the car eventually stops at lights or in traffic etc. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MrJ2U]

Perhaps you should look into buying a car or motorcycle.

 

Cheaper than hailing a taxi everyday.

 

You can drive at your own pace then.

 

Just a suggestion.

[richard_smith237]

10 minutes ago, MrJ2U said:

Perhaps you should look into buying a car or motorcycle.

 

Cheaper than hailing a taxi everyday.

 

You can drive at your own pace then.

 

Just a suggestion.

A much preferred option for the day time. But it doesn’t work in the evenings if we are having a beer.

 

Ultimately, we have to rely on taxi’s...   in Bangkok its pretty incredible not to have to worry or think about how far we travel because it costs so much to get home. 

 

We now have Grab which cuts out most of the hassle... however, ultimately we may have to ‘hang around' for 10mins for grab to arrive, so we don’t bother and just take a regular ‘flag-fall’ taxi home, depending on the area we are taking the taxi from this can be either trouble free or a hassle right off the bat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MrJ2U]

2 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

if we are having a beer

For sure!

 

Taxi's best option after drinking.

 

Some people have a few consistent drivers.  Prefered and are like personal chafeurs.

 

 

[TheScience]

This almost never happens to me. Try calling the taxi company and booking. It's + 20b.

 

Call Grab - get a taxi lol

 

Biggest problem I have is they use side streets. Even with Google I can't always tell they are on course. Every time I complain their shortcut works and saves time. Everytime I don't they don't know where they're actually going and just looking to avoid traffic and always amounts to getting lost, wasting time and money

[Liverpool Lou]

On 3/23/2022 at 12:37 AM, Mikeheo said:

 

 Well he spoke in thai, saying Play GTA before he started driving over 100mph

"...he started driving over 100mph"

The taxi was being driven at over 160kph?

[Liverpool Lou]

On 3/23/2022 at 2:24 AM, dj230 said:

I've only used grab and never had any issues

 

I never use Grab and have never had the problems that the OP alleges.

[Liverpool Lou]

On 3/24/2022 at 5:32 AM, Hans Johnson said:

What happened to Uber?

They were illegal here.

[Liverpool Lou]

On 3/31/2022 at 2:25 PM, Camala34 said:

you can contact taxi service and tell about the situation. Of course, it won't change your situation, but you can get a refund,

Huh?  How does that work for a taxi hailed on the street?   Who do you contact and who makes the refund!?

[richard_smith237]

3 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

I never use Grab and have never had the problems that the OP alleges.

Well, thats it... End of thread.

 

Never happened to Liverpool Lou everyone....  so those who encounter a poor taxi experience must be telling lies !!!  

 

 

[Liverpool Lou]

On 4/8/2022 at 12:31 PM, richard_smith237 said:

They either turn off their phone or I get out. 

If the meter has gone above the starting flag-fall rate I pay, if not, I don’t. 

How do you justify not paying the flag fall after you accept a ride when it's part of the fare?   If the fare was B37 would you refuse to pay that or just give him B2?

[richard_smith237]

5 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

On 3/24/2022 at 1:32 AM, Hans Johnson said:

What happened to Uber?

They were illegal here.

Yup...   At the time all ride hailing apps were illegal.

 

There was a major underlying issue that UBER was not a Thai entity.

GRAB, a Singapore company, someone sidestepped that issue and then included the option to book regular taxi’s on their app - the inclusivity somehow legitimised. 

 

A lot of this was done to appease the ‘taxi mafia’ who were getting a little out of hand, following and beating up UBER and GRAB drivers / riders. 

 

 

[Liverpool Lou]

9 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

15 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

I never use Grab and have never had the problems that the OP alleges.

Well, thats it... End of thread.

 

Never happened to Liverpool Lou everyone....  so those who encounter a poor taxi experience must be telling lies !!!  

"Well, thats it... End of thread".

Your words, not mine. 

I just recounted my experience of years of Bangkok taxis, if you don't like it, tough.

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

On 4/8/2022 at 8:31 AM, richard_smith237 said:

They either turn off their phone or I get out. 

If the meter has gone above the starting flag-fall rate I pay, if not, I don’t. 

How do you justify not paying the flag fall after you accept a ride when it's part of the fare?   If the fare was B37 would you refuse to pay that or just give him B2?

Yawn.... really... ???? 

 

Your dissection of posts, removal of context and single facet attacks are ridiculous... 

 

You did it with the 100mph comment when it was obvious he meant 100kmh. 

 

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

I never use Grab and have never had the problems that the OP alleges.

alleges....    as if the Op is making allegations rather than stating an experience - the implication is that he is not being truthful as the experience you state is that you have never had a problem with a taxi driver in Thailand.....  

I do call BS on that by the way - Everyone who has lived here has been in the car with a nutty and dangerous taxi driver !!! (except you of course !)... 

 

 

Now to address your question... how do I ‘justify’.... bit of a sanctimonious question really, but I’ll answer....  I accepted a safe ride, when getting in a taxi I do not expect the taxi driver to break the law and risk my safety. IF the driver is not safe and wishes to watch TV on his phone while driving then he is not meeting his end of the ‘unwritten’ agreement.

 

I note that you don’t bring in to question how the taxi driver can justify ‘watching TV while driving’ as providing a reasonable service ??? Why is that ??? - I can answer......., because you only target comments to break down and criticise in an utterly pathetic but also somewhat juvenile and irritating manner. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JimTripper]

7 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Agreed contract ????  seriously ??? - its a taxi.. we can get out whenever we want for whatever reason we want - there is no law which says we have to complete our destination. 

 

But, to deal with the pedantic and silly idea of a contract: ‘perceived' agreement is broken as soon as they don't provide a polite, safe and honest service. 

 

Many options from getting more firm, or just getting out when the car eventually stops at lights or in traffic etc. 

I have had cabbies not want to do a shorter trip after being told a destination when I get in.

 

If I had gotten in and just said 'drive', and he accepted, that's different.

 

I think his reasoning was that he agreed to pickup only because it was worth it for him at that time (for example, the airport to downtown where he could get another customer).

 

Just staying 'stop' anywhere and getting out was a breach of the contract similar to the cabbie just stopping anywhere where there were no other cabs around and simply telling me 'get out'.

 

I did not have this conversation in Thai, it usually just means the guy looks real tense and makes some sort of high pitched vocalization I can't understand. ????‍♂️

[richard_smith237]

17 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

Just staying 'stop' anywhere and getting out was a breach of the contract similar to the cabbie just stopping anywhere where there were no other cabs around and simply telling me 'get out'.

Contract with a taxi driver !!! ????

 

OK... for the sake of discussion, going with this hypothetical and imaginary contract - would it involve delivering a safe service and abiding by the law ????? 

 

So, for those who are suggesting I am in breach of this 'imaginary contract’ by telling a taxi driver to stop and getting out because he wants to watch a video on his phone while driving, why have they (you) not considered that the taxi driver is in breach of this imaginary contract himself ????

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JimTripper]

43 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Contract with a taxi driver !!! ????

 

OK... for the sake of discussion, going with this hypothetical and imaginary contract - would it involve delivering a safe service and abiding by the law ????? 

 

So, for those who are suggesting I am in breach of this 'imaginary contract’ by telling a taxi driver to stop and getting out because he wants to watch a video on his phone while driving, why have they (you) not considered that the taxi driver is in breach of this imaginary contract himself ????

Did you say it was not allowed before you got in?

[Letseng]

On 3/23/2022 at 2:57 PM, JeffersLos said:

How utterly awful. 1st world problems in a 3rd world country eh. 

Then they shouldn't claim to be better than the taxi from the roadside. Plus they charge more. ????

[Lucky Bones]

On 3/23/2022 at 2:28 PM, Regyai said:

Photo'ing their ID card on the dash and then videoing the ride should focus them further

Yup. Got it in one.

Also offer the tourist police number to them on loudspeaker.

These drivers cr@p themselves very quickly.

Not foolproof and only happened to me once in 10 years.

Good Luck with taxis????(Phuket may be different!)

[RamenRaven]

Taxi drivers in Bangkok are either a hit or miss.

 

2/3 are super nice, and 1/3 are rambunctious.

 

Here's what you do:

Look for an older, or more mellow-looking taxi driver.

Go by gut feeling.

 

Also don't act like you're the boss and respect him, speak more softly and respectfully.

Thai-style respect goes a long way.