My Latest Driving Observation

[marshbags]

Thought this deserved a special highlight for possible debate and personal experiences.

Just come down the Udon main road from N.Khai.

Just before the rail crossing at K.M.7 i noticed a pick up with flashing lights escorting what looked like a car being towed.

As i got nearer the observation got somewhat confused relating to my mind set.

I couldn,t believe what i came along side of.

It was escorting a car that had obviously gone side on into a concrete pole or similar.

The middle " driver side on " was completely smashed in and the car was practically V shaped.

Anyhow i was wrong as it wasn,t being towed and yes you may have guessed it was in fact being driven at snail pace to who knows where

HTF he was even able to control it is a miracle.

How i wished i,d had my camera with me on this occasion to download for your amusement / amazement and possibly win candid camera,s moment of the month.

I have seen some things in 15 years out here but this is a first on this scale and beyond anything i,ve set my eyes on.

marshbags

Edited August 3, 2007 by marshbags

[edwinchester]

Thought this deserved a special highlight for possible debate and personal experiences.

Just come down the Udon main road from N.Khai.

Just before the rail crossing at K.M.7 i noticed a pick up with flashing lights escorting what looked like a car being towed.

As i got nearer the observation got somewhat confused relating to my mind set.

I couldn,t believe what i came along side of.

It was escorting a car that had obviously gone side on into a concrete pole or similar.

The middle " driver side on " was completely smashed in and the car was practically V shaped.

Anyhow i was wrong as it wasn,t being towed and yes you may have guessed it was in fact being driven at snail pace to who knows where

HTF he was even able to control it is a miracle.

How i wished i,d had my camera with me on this occasion to download for your amusement / amazement and possibly win candid camera,s moment of the month.

I have seen some things in 15 years out here but this is a first on this scale and beyond anything i,ve set my eyes on.

marshbags

Don't you know Thai drivers are some of the best in the world?

[Farma]

I’ve seen 2 cars over the years being driven like that. Not in Thailand though. It sure opens your eyes when you see it happening. One of them was so bad the driver had problems making a left turn at a wide intersection.

A car that amazed me most was a car being driven that looked like it had a power pole or something big fall on the roof. The driver had to crouch in the driver’s seat and must have had 2 or 3 inches between the dash and the roof to see through.

[Tywais]

Probably the most unusual one I've seen was on a trip back from Bangkok to Chiangmai. Saw a car wrapped around a tree - not unusual except - it was 10 feet off the ground and hanging there!

[wileycoyote]

I once had a ride in a taxi cab in the Big Mango ,and when we were stopped at red lights at a major intersection.

The driver would get out open the bonnet ,tinker with the engine.Hear the other vehicles rev their engines ready for take-off,get back in ,pass me the oily rag and drive off.

5 minutes later,stopped at lights ,reclaim the rag and start the whole performance again...and this happened another twice before I reached my destination.

Needless to say,he never took the buri out of his mouth,nor convey what the problem was ...

I was just glad to get out of the taxi !

Wiley Coyote

[Tony Clifton]

My favorite of all time was while driving down to Krabi just past Hua Hin on the highway, , an overturned and twisted 18 wheeler resting in the grassy mid-section ditch and it's full load of white porcelain toilets, washbasins and urinals, smashed to pieces and scattered over a few hundred meters along with mowed down trees and trailer parts.

It looked like someone had blown up an iceberg.

Unforgettable Thailand.

[JimsKnight]

We think its crazy but to the thais this is normal stuff, no cosy, easy way but only what has to be done to get the job done.

Funny stories guys, never seen too much destruction (touch wood) in LOS. Saw a car with only three wheels remaining being scrape/driven carefully along he main highway in Kosovo though

[qualtrough]

I once saw a convoy of three identical newish tour buses each being towed. Each bus had identical damage to the front right hand side. They looked like triplets, indentical right down to the damage. The first one must have stopped suddenly and then boom, boom, boom!

[Cuban]

I can offer two <deleted> moments:

A fuel taker overturned on the side of Highway 2 leaking fuel (hope diesel but could have been any) with the recovery team collecting the fuel in buckets & bowls etc. With no sign of any fire crew on site in case.

From time to time I drive up behind older trucks that appear to be driving at an angle along the road there being an in-line offset of about a foot or so bewteen the front wheel and the rear axles.

[skippybangkok]

Things are getting better !. I used to have this rule, for every 10s days of long distance i used to see a dead body on the road. Must admit I dont drive that much anymore, but I dont see the horrific stuff i used to see 10 years or more ago.

[jasreeve17]

1) I was driving up the highway from Saraburi to Korat, looked to my right and saw a guy driving a new big thing. It was bare to the elements, no body or any structure really. Just the chasis, wheels and an engine. I presumed it to be a large coach due to it's all in one length. The guy was wearing only a pair of shorts, no shoes, no sun glasses etc. Obviously, he was doing over 120kph.

It doesn't come to life in print, but it was a top moment.

2) Going up the Chon Buri highway in a minivan that was travelling way too fast. I looked to my left and saw a ramped-up scooter (doing a good 130kph) under-taking us. The girlfriend was sitting side-saddle reading a book.

[Crossy]

1) I was driving up the highway from Saraburi to Korat, looked to my right and saw a guy driving a new big thing. It was bare to the elements, no body or any structure really. Just the chasis, wheels and an engine. I presumed it to be a large coach due to it's all in one length. The guy was wearing only a pair of shorts, no shoes, no sun glasses etc. Obviously, he was doing over 120kph.

My dad used to drive coach chassis' from the factory in Birmingham up to the coach body works in Wigan, usually had two drivers in a following car to allow a 'thawing out' period every 30 mins or so, not permitted now the chassis' have to ride on a trailer these days (health and safety regs.). In winter (or even summer) in the UK something more than T-shirt and shorts was required

[Lancashirelad]

Agreed Crossy. And many used to be delivered to the Duple coach works in Blackpool near me.

I wonder exactly when & why they ceased to be allowed to be driven?

[elkangorito]

The scenario;

Small country town in NSW Australia. I was about 19 years old, trying to get to sleep on a hot summers night (about midnight). Heard what sounded like an oldish car racing up & down through the gears at it approached & then went through various intersections - about 1 km away when I first heard it (yes, in a small Australian country town at midnight, you can hear a pin drop a km away). I lived at the very end of a deadend street. The street parallel to my street was not a deadend.

Suddenly, this car raced past my place at what must have been about 80kph & continued to plow into a 1 metre high dirt embankment, which caused the car to roll a couple of times. All I heard was this sudden silence (driver off throttle & clutch in) when obviously the driver realised that he was in the wrong street & he was about to collide with a large embankment. The silence was followed by 'thump, wump, boong, sssssssss'.

I quickly went outside to see if anybody was hurt. It was an old EH Holden (Aussies will know this car) on its roof & the 2 occupants were still sitting in their seats (had seatbelts on). They mustn't have realised that they were upside down because when I got there, I heard one say to the other, "Can ya pass another tinnie & put some music on mate". I then heard a 'psht' of a tinnie being cracked followed by some Slim Dusty. Amazingly, the driver then tried to start the engine, which of course, failed to start.

Anyway, me & the bloke next door helped to get them out of the wreck & right the car. I asked them what had happened & they said they thought they were in the parallel street (they were a tad pissed). After a short conversation & a couple of tinnies, these 2 ratbags got into the old EH, managed to start it & drove off - don't know if they got home as the roof was flattened, one front wheel was way out of alignment & the radiator fan was belting the crap out of the radiator.

[nonthaburial]

I can offer two <deleted> moments:

A fuel taker overturned on the side of Highway 2 leaking fuel (hope diesel but could have been any) with the recovery team collecting the fuel in buckets & bowls etc. With no sign of any fire crew on site in case.

From time to time I drive up behind older trucks that appear to be driving at an angle along the road there being an in-line offset of about a foot or so bewteen the front wheel and the rear axles.

Seen this many times myself, professionally known as crabbing due to accident damage.

[jackspratt]

Driving back to Udon Thani yesterday afternoon I was passed by a pretty new Merc doing I estimate 150kph through the centre of Khon Kaen city. Light - medium traffic, so it was weaving across 4 or 5 lanes at a time. Needless to say, I wasn't able to observe it for very long.

My thought at the time was the the f@cking idiot must be related to the other Merc driver who mowed down the bus passengers in Bangkok. Otherwise, it could have been torrenova.

[Thaddeus]

I saw a great one the other day, couldn't believe my eyes.

On my way into town early in the morning, there was the usual seemingly endless parade of motorcys coming towards me, one of them was serving across the road intermittently and then correcting itself. My first thought was 'drunk' even though it was early morning, this is Isaan

As the bike got closer I could see what it was and why it was doing it. Yamaha Mio, automatic, doesn't require use of the feet. Two kids riding, both of them side-saddle so they could have a good chat.

I'm constantly amazed that there aren't more accidents than there are.

[samran]

Driving back to Udon Thani yesterday afternoon I was passed by a pretty new Merc doing I estimate 150kph through the centre of Khon Kaen city. Light - medium traffic, so it was weaving across 4 or 5 lanes at a time. Needless to say, I wasn't able to observe it for very long.

My thought at the time was the the f@cking idiot must be related to the other Merc driver who mowed down the bus passengers in Bangkok. Otherwise, it could have been torrenova.

Saw the same thing a few years ago on the expressway down to Pattaya out of Bangkok. Moron in a Beemer pased me at 160 at least swerving dangerously in and out of traffic. Caught up to him a few mins later, as he had rammed the dividing wall and then managed to flip his car.

Served the idiot right. I continued driving.

[stingray]

You have to see this:

http://www.wreckedexotics.com/