Road Safety in Thailand – a summary of Perceptions and Reality

[kwilco]

"Oh great, more campfire stories. If swapping ‘idiot driver’ tales made roads safer, Thailand would have zero accidents by now. Try looking at actual data instead of just whining about what you saw last Tuesday." - I think some people need to re-read to OP.

[Briggsy]

@kwilco

 

Completely wrong audience.

 

You are trying to present a viewpoint in a manner that is tending towards an academic style

i) on a forum in which the vast majority of posters have no notion of the subject (road safety management) but are unaware of their ignorance and think they know a great deal about it (because they can drive)

ii) the majority of posts in all topics are superficial or humorous (i.e. not considered or academic)

 

I suggest you take your ideas and present them on a road safety management forum where you will interact with like-minded people. If you continue here, you will become exasperated.

 

[fredwiggy]

8 hours ago, kwilco said:

 

THis means it is unlikely you will ever understand or fit in with road safety in Thailand. Being a good driver regardless of country involves understanding and adapting to the driving environment.

Kreng Jai is an aspect of Thai culture th foreigners frequently grossly underestimate because to them it “just sounds too silly”

While "Kreng Jai" is a deeply ingrained cultural value in Thailand, it's important to note that it doesn't necessarily translate directly into safe or responsible driving habits. In fact, some aspects of "Kreng Jai" might even have unintended negative consequences on the road.

The problem is that whilst Thai people understand this, foreigners, even those who have lived for years in Thailand fail to understand even the basics, let alone how it influences driving.

Kreng jai is a double-edged sword  It can mean that drivers are more patient and there are potentially aggressive road rage incidents compared to some Western countries until the Thai cultural limit is exceeded – which of course foreign drivers can’t gauge.

 There is in general less overt hostility between drivers, reducing direct conflicts but as foreigners don’t react “normally” to Kreng jai as they don’t recognise it they then incur the disrespect of other drivers which foreigner misinterpret as Thai bad manners when in fact their behaviour has inadvertently triggered it.

 

There are negative aspects that foreigners don’t realise either…. Apparently Unpredictable driving behaviour due to politeness or hesitation goes over the heads of foreigners when Thai drivers recognise and expect it.

Seemingly a lack of assertiveness in enforcing traffic laws and road discipline, a reluctance to address unsafe driving habits in social settings.

 

"Being a good driver regardless of country involves understanding and adapting to the driving environment.".Your words from above............This contradicts what you've been saying all along, that it's more the infrastructure, police and roads to blame than the driver. I myself fit in as soon as I started driving in Thailand, even driving on the opposite side, as I knew this was the law here. Fitting in with driving on ANY road in ANY country means you understand the laws BEFORE you drive, and follow them as you drive.

 

Driving isn't a right but a privelege, something taken for granted here because many start on scooters at 8 years old and think they're competent enough when they get a little older, even though they started out with bad habits. Foreigners that come here have been driving in their advanced countries for years, meaning they already know the laws of safe driving. This doesn't mean all of them, as there are idiot drivers everywhere and I make no excuses for them, as they also have no business driving. Being polite and respecting others, Kreng Jai, means you do it everywhere, and I, along with many foreign drivers, already do this. If Thai people, meaning the ones who are causing the accidents, understood this, they would not cut others off and drive recklessly around others. Again your words......."Apparently Unpredictable driving behaviour due to politeness or hesitation goes over the heads of foreigners when Thai drivers recognize and expect it"............If they recognize and expect it, they wouldn't drive like they do and cause so many deaths and accidents daily...

[fredwiggy]

Just now, Briggsy said:

@kwilco

 

Completely wrong audience.

 

You are trying to present a viewpoint in a manner that is tending towards an academic style

i) on a forum in which the vast majority of posters have no notion of the subject (road safety management) but are unaware of their ignorance and think they know a great deal about it (because they can drive)

ii) the majority of posts in all topics are superficial or humorous (i.e. not considered or academic)

 

I suggest you take your ideas and present them on a road safety management forum where you will interact with like-minded people. If you continue here, you will become exasperated.

 

You sound exactly like him, another one who assumes what others here know. What he's been saying all along we agree with, at least as far as some of the reasons why accidents happen here. What he misses is the human equation, where the driver is first responsible for their behavior on the roads. A good driver can adapt to any road conditions, and if they follow the laws already there, a responsibility of all drivers if they are given a license, there won't be the accidents or deaths daily that happen. If they can wear a helmet as a driver, they know all passengers should also, is but one example of thumbing their noses at a law they know about.

[Briggsy]

1 minute ago, fredwiggy said:

You sound exactly like him, another one who assumes what others here know. What he's been saying all along we agree with, at least as far as some of the reasons why accidents happen here. What he misses is the human equation, where the driver is first responsible for their behavior on the roads. A good driver can adapt to any road conditions, and if they follow the laws already there, a responsibility of all drivers if they are given a license, there won't be the accidents or deaths daily that happen. If they can wear a helmet as a driver, they know all passengers should also, is but one example of thumbing their noses at a law they know about.

And you respectfully sound exactly like my group defined in "i)" 😀

 

Touché

[fredwiggy]

5 minutes ago, Briggsy said:

And you respectfully sound exactly like my group defined in "i)" 😀

 

Touché

And you are as ignorant and as much of a skimmer as he. Read ALL of what a person writes BEFORE you comment. I know what he's mentioned about road safety, and have since I was a teenager. It isn't that hard to understand why accidents happen, but failing to understand that it's still on the driver first is what he's missing. In the US, there are much more involved classes on road safety when you go for your license, and you have to pass a bigger test, including a driving test. If those tests were given here, many would fail and not be given a license until they passed, which would mean they had a better understanding of what it takes to be a safe driver. Try your childish sarcasm elsewhere, as you haven't a clue to whom you're commenting about. Assuming is a bad habit.

[KannikaP]

13 hours ago, kwilco said:

"Nowhere else in the world have I seen people consistency take the kinds of chances and risks in the road, "

 

THis is a false syllogism and appears in many other posts on this thread......

Your post is making a false syllogism about road safety and it goes like this  …. faulty reasoning in racial stereotyping for road safety

premise 1: some car accidents involve drivers from group x (Thai people).

Premise 2: I have seen or heard of accidents involving drivers from Group X.(Thai people)

Therefore, Thai people are inherently more dangerous on the road.

 

This is Fallacious because it commits several logical fallacies:

Hasty Generalization: It assumes that the few observed cases apply to all Thai drivers –  you don’t take into account the reality of large numbers.

It ignores the overall accident rates across all groups and doesn’t consider the proportion of drivers from Group X in the population.

And something that is so common on this thread - Confirmation Bias: It selectively remembers instances where Thai drivers were involved in accidents while ignoring counterexamples.

 

 

 

Thank you Chat GPT.

[HuaHinNew]

Re: Many foreigners perceive Thai drivers as incompetent, but the real issue is inadequate enforcement of laws and poor road infrastructure.

 

Thanks for providing all the statistics in regard to this issue.

 

Unfortunately, from someone that have been working here since 1996 and now living here permanently for the last 10 years.

 

It's in Thai's DNA that cause them to act in the selfish, erratic and disregard way they drive on the road systems here.

 

They have no regard for anyone else on the roads, my driving is perfect, me first and the rest of you can go to hell at any or all costs.

 

IMHO Improved policing, road systems, increase in fines and / or driver education and license testing will not solve this problem.

 

My survival attitude is when ever I am out driving, I treat it as all drivers here are trying to kill me and I drive defensively accordingly.