16 hours ago, BarraMarra said:

If you have lived up in Issan when the suger Cane trucks start hitting the roads you will know all about thinking about pulling out after a second when the light is about to change from Amber to green when one Double wheeler is trying to brake near a set of lights. 

 

Aye then there hosed away when a Suger Cane has ploughed into them.

 

 

I guess if you had included the word lorry I might have twigged

On 8/30/2025 at 10:59 AM, bdenner said:

Effin U turns again!! Wot's with this Thai traffic management  mentality????

OR, one could just use his fricking eyes before cutting into the path of an oncoming vehicle at a u-turn. How about that?! 

23 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Roundabouts are not a joke, at least they slow down traffic to sort out who goes first.

U-Turns mean you turn into the fast lane of the approaching traffic, that's just suicidal

At a U turn you have to stop and make a judgement whether to proceed or not.

At a roundabout nobody wants to stop they see the road ahead is clear and go for it, with no regard for others entering the roundabout.

There's no discipline, even at traffic lights.

On 8/31/2025 at 6:16 PM, bdenner said:

If the country had better traffic management there would be no need for the death trap "U turns"!!!!!

If the BIB did their jobs an enforced the law on speeding, crazy driving, having a license, wearing seat belts, wearing crash helmets and the Government ensured people had a better understanding about driving, correct training of drivers then the deaths on the road would drop.

 

Tourists should only be allowed to hire bikes if they have a motorbike license from their home country, insurance and a International license.

To be honest, driving each morning on the school run is a nightmare, the way Thais drive, come out of side streets without looking, change lanes without looking it is only a matter of time before I hit someone on a bike. Even if they are in the wrong and cause an accident, I will be to blame as I drive a car and going by their thinking I should be the one tio be aware.

U turns and the  " Me first"   attitude of Thai's are both dangerous 

On 9/1/2025 at 7:54 AM, VocalNeal said:

 

Is there an alternative. What If I live on the east side of a North/south highway and am travelling North. U-turns are OK if one is patient. No different really than a right turn. They are simply a gap in the median.

After doing the u-turn you end up in the fast lane in the new direction north. In that lane the speed is maybe +120 km/h and you start from 0 km/h. Sounds dangerous.

I have known Mr G from 1996. May he R.I.P.

There are various things that go into encouraging road safety. Education, prevention, sanctions, and also very important, the engineering aspect of road construction. As a qualified civil engineer that worked in the design and construction of highways and motorways, I can't help noticing: many things just get copied from wherever the engineer got his education abroad, without really understanding why things get done that way, 

I saw how, in Switzerland, road deaths diminished from 1000 a year in the 70's to about 300 in the 90's. This came at the price of intensive police surveillance, radar cameras, heavy fines (also public education, strict rules for getting a driving licence) etc. Do we really want to live in that kind of country? 

I hate to say this, but if you can't adjust to Thai driving, which has improved over the years, then maybe you shouldn't be driving. I drive ca. 25 000Km yearly and had my first accident after 10 years when I kid came out of my blind spot and overtook me as I was turning right at a junction. 

Education: my granddaughter watched and listened to my driving and remarks, and she has turned out to be an excellent driver. Most of the Thais in my village learnt to drive staring at the hindquarters of a buffalo. Most of us learnt from our parents and grandparents.