Thai Driving Lessons.

[richb2004]

Do Thais have driving lessons, or do they just try to pick it up as they go along?

I imagine that if they do have lessons and a test it a case of a couple of hundred Baht bribe to pass. If they do have lessons what the ###### are they taught? A Thai once told me that the test consists of being able to drive seven meters in a straight line. I’ve yet to meet a Thai that drives responsibly. My wife is pretty good, but she drove in UK and had lessons there. Thais don’t even seem to understand the basics of gears and gear changing! The few times I’ve been in multi-story car parks with Thais driving I have found they wiz around and round in a high gear so as to get up the ramps. They didn’t realise that they could drop a few gears and go up the ramps slowly.

How can it not strike them as dangerous to drive in either direction, on either side if the road???

I blame religion. They may believe that everything is preordained in the same fashion as the Muslims believe it’s all in the hands of Allah (no peace be upon him).

Still, it must be said that I see far fewer accidents than I would expect. There is obviously a system somewhere that everyone follows.

Anybody any idea of the figures for road accident in Thailand?

[RooBoy]

Yes there are driving instructors, not easy to find them though, and the good ones are usually booked months in advance. Friends wife knows of one very good man, supposedly very calm and polite and actually teaches something! (forgot to add, he doesnt speak english).

The test is drive forward in a straight line then reverse. I dont think its changed much over the years! U need your own car too. A purple usually solves the problem of this test.

How did your wife go with learning in the UK? Had she ever driven before? One thought that came to mind some time ago was how hard it would be for someone to learn to drive in a western country, when they had grown up without a car, and spent most of their lives never riding in a car with parents etc, maybe on the back of a bike only. We take for granted riding in the family car from a very young age, and the subconcious things we learn by watching our parents drive.

[pianoman]

I would be interested to know if it is possible to find or obtain a Thai Driver's Manual, study guide or rules of road type book in English???

Pianoman

[richb2004]

I was very worryed when my wife first started driving in the UK, and felt sure that sooner or latter she would have a knock. After more than five years of driving alone every day she had a clean sheet. No accidents at all. She had about ten lessons in Uk, but never took her test. She drove a lot in Thailand before she came to UK, as she was a marketing rep. Now she is back in Thailand she uses the best of both driving systems. She now finds the Thai roads frustrating, but still has to adopt some of the Thai methods. My wife is the only person I feel safe driving with in Thailand.

[ThaiGirlTeen]

How did your wife go with learning in the UK? Had she ever driven before? One thought that came to mind some time ago was how hard it would be for someone to learn to drive in a western country, when they had grown up without a car, and spent most of their lives never riding in a car with parents etc, maybe on the back of a bike only. We take for granted riding in the family car from a very young age, and the subconcious things we learn by watching our parents drive.

Can i believe i am seeing such ignorance? Take a good look around when you are on your way from the Airport to your hotel.

Yes, you will see Thai people actually driving cars,(shock horror) i know it may come as some surprise that we are not all on Elephants.

Unbelievable attitude you have.

[ThaiGirlTeen]

Friends wife knows of one very good man, supposedly very calm and polite and actually teaches something! (forgot to add, he doesnt speak english).

Do driving instructors in your country speak Thai?

You are beginning to piss me off!

[RooBoy]

How did your wife go with learning in the UK? Had she ever driven before? One thought that came to mind some time ago was how hard it would be for someone to learn to drive in a western country, when they had grown up without a car, and spent most of their lives never riding in a car with parents etc, maybe on the back of a bike only. We take for granted riding in the family car from a very young age, and the subconcious things we learn by watching our parents drive.

Can i believe i am seeing such ignorance? Take a good look around when you are on your way from the Airport to your hotel.

Yes, you will see Thai people actually driving cars,(shock horror) i know it may come as some surprise that we are not all on Elephants.

Unbelievable attitude you have.

Ecxuse me but you obviously did not read my post and UNDERSTAND it did you. I asked the man if his wife had driven in Thailand before, is this an ignorant question?? Have ALL THAIS driven before??

Then I said; "One thought that came to mind some time ago was how hard it would be for someone to learn to drive in a western country, when they had grown up without a car, and spent most of their lives never riding in a car with parents etc, maybe on the back of a bike only."

If you took this to mean I was saying all thais were like this then AGAIN, you did not read it thoroughly, and your reply to me was uncalled for.

I asked how hard it might be for someone who had grown up without having ridden in a car etc, to learn to drive when they had never had the subconcious teaching you get from riding in a car as a child. Reason I asked is because my wife never rode in a car when she was growing up, a few taxis maybe, and bikes.

Sorry I dont stay in hotels, not cost effective when you LIVE in a country. I have driven here for almost 5 years, all over the country, have stayed in small villages and large cities.

[RooBoy]

Friends wife knows of one very good man, supposedly very calm and polite and actually teaches something! (forgot to add, he doesnt speak english).

Do driving instructors in your country speak Thai?

You are beginning to piss me off!

Ignorant girl, maybe you should learn a bit more English before opening your mouth. Richb2004 seemed to understand my question to him, why can't you??

As for the Thai instructor not speaking English, I would have thought this was a good piece of information if any board reader was thinking of asking for his details, and assumed he would speak English.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND YET???

[ThaiGirlTeen]

Sorry I dont stay in hotels, not cost effective when you LIVE in a country. I have driven here for almost 5 years, all over the country, have stayed in small villages and large cities.

Reading through your critical posts of Thailand and Thai people, why do you stay in such a country? If i had the contempt for the people that you have, i could never punish myself by staying in such an enviroment.

Go Home RooBoy.

[p1p]

OK Girls. Enough of this bickering for now. Both of you are correct, and both misunderstand each other. Lets leave it at that or one of us Mods will have to start deleting things and issuing warnings.

I would be interested to know if it is possible to find or obtain a Thai Driver's Manual, study guide or rules of road type book in English???

Only time I have ever seen one was when I took my driving test. They gave it to me to read for an hour before I sat the written part of the test.

[RooBoy]

Sorry I dont stay in hotels, not cost effective when you LIVE in a country. I have driven here for almost 5 years, all over the country, have stayed in small villages and large cities.

Reading through your critical posts of Thailand and Thai people, why do you stay in such a country? If i had the contempt for the people that you have, i could never punish myself by staying in such an enviroment.

Go Home RooBoy.

Yet another who cannot differentiate between a bit of a rant on a web forum and real life. I dont hold contempt for any one race girl, at the same time I will not become another PC lemming.

[RooBoy]

OK Girls. Enough of this bickering for now. Both of you are correct, and both misunderstand each other. Lets leave it at that or one of us Mods will have to start deleting things and issuing warnings.

I would be interested to know if it is possible to find or obtain a Thai Driver's Manual, study guide or rules of road type book in English???

Only time I have ever seen one was when I took my driving test. They gave it to me to read for an hour before I sat the written part of the test.

I misunderstood her?? where?? if you wana delete a post, then do it, if you wana tell me off, do it, but dont patronise me ok! I posted a serious and easily understandable reply, and she completely misread it and then flamed the shit outa me.

[Begs]

Sorry I dont stay in hotels, not cost effective when you LIVE in a country. I have driven here for almost 5 years, all over the country, have stayed in small villages and large cities.

Reading through your critical posts of Thailand and Thai people, why do you stay in such a country? If i had the contempt for the people that you have, i could never punish myself by staying in such an enviroment.

Go Home RooBoy.

Yet another who cannot differentiate between a bit of a rant on a web forum and real life. I dont hold contempt for any one race girl, at the same time I will not become another PC lemming.

Roo Boy, are you this popular in real life?

[richb2004]

I think the reply was aimed at me.

I understood it completely and was surprised at the reaction from ThaiGirlTeen.

RooBoy was giving out info about a reputable driving instructor, and adding the fact that he wasn’t English just in case someone wanted to use him.

He mentioned the fact that not all Thai’s have regular access to, and daily use of cars. I can’t see how this fact can be argued. Sure there are many, many that do, but there are probably a significant percent of the population that don’t. He was simply trying to explain why some Thai people wouldn’t take to driving safely as naturally as people that are in daily contact with cars. It was just a theory.

I think his comments where taken completely the wrong way. I haven’t read any of his previous posts but he didn’t strike me as having anything against Thailand from this post.

[Ajarn]

Do Thais have driving lessons, or do they just try to pick it up as they go along?

I imagine that if they do have lessons and a test it a case of a couple of hundred Baht bribe to pass. If they do have lessons what the ###### are they taught? A Thai once told me that the test consists of being able to drive seven meters in a straight line. I’ve yet to meet a Thai that drives responsibly. My wife is pretty good, but she drove in UK and had lessons there. Thais don’t even seem to understand the basics of gears and gear changing! The few times I’ve been in multi-story car parks with Thais driving I have found they wiz around and round in a high gear so as to get up the ramps. They didn’t realise that they could drop a few gears and go up the ramps slowly.

How can it not strike them as dangerous to drive in either direction, on either side if the road???

I blame religion. They may believe that everything is preordained in the same fashion as the Muslims believe it’s all in the hands of Allah (no peace be upon him).

Still, it must be said that I see far fewer accidents than I would expect. There is obviously a system somewhere that everyone follows.

Anybody any idea of the figures for road accident in Thailand?

Yes, many Thais do take private driving lessons, but not nearly enough, I'd say. Thailand ranks among countries with the highest rates of accidents...

There are many instructers in any town or city. If you can't easily find one, ask a local car rental place for some leads. Most of them advertise in local rags, too, if you can read Thai. Cost in Chiang Mai is about 10 hours of driving instruction for about 1200 baht. Some places also include a license guarantee...

All drivers should be required to take a driving safety course before they can get a license. I took a motorcycle safety course when I was 15, and I'm sure the training has saved my ass on more than one occasion....

Fact is, the vast majority of Thais drive just fine, but the ones that don't can really stand out in your memory, that's for sure. There is a method to the madness, but not all are on the same page, just like anywhere else where people drive. Here, the rule of the road is not based on Law, but on a continuation of society's main rule, Might is Right. Frankly, it makes much more sense on the Thai road than in Thai society.

I've driven here for almost 20 years, surely over a million kilometers, and never an accident...Knock on Wood (my head!)

[john b good]

How did your wife go with learning in the UK? Had she ever driven before? One thought that came to mind some time ago was how hard it would be for someone to learn to drive in a western country, when they had grown up without a car, and spent most of their lives never riding in a car with parents etc, maybe on the back of a bike only. We take for granted riding in the family car from a very young age, and the subconcious things we learn by watching our parents drive.

Can i believe i am seeing such ignorance? Take a good look around when you are on your way from the Airport to your hotel.

Yes, you will see Thai people actually driving cars,(shock horror) i know it may come as some surprise that we are not all on Elephants.

Unbelievable attitude you have.

TGT I can understand where you are coming from but many of the posters have experienced life in many countries so you should listen to what they have to say and not ridicule their comments.

They (the comments) are based on experiences that you have yet to be exposed to.

Please go slowly slowly and you will be the benificiary of their experiences.

I know that it is not nice to see someone rubbishing your country but much of what has been said is absolutely true.

[sendbaht]

My Thai wife drives all over the place here in Los Angeles.

Yes, I prefer driving if we are together in the car, but she does very well,

and remember, we are on the "wrong side" here in the US.

[ThaiGirlTeen]

TGT I can understand where you are coming from but many of the posters have experienced life in many countries so you should listen to what they have to say and not ridicule their comments.

Really! I guessed after reading many posts on this forum that people in fact had very little experience in life.

Rooboy is very narrow minded for a man of such great experience. Just read thropugh some of his Anti Thai posts and smug comments!

[Up2U]

TGT I can understand where you are coming from but many of the posters have experienced life in many countries so you should listen to what they have to say and not ridicule their comments.

Really! I guessed after reading many posts on this forum that people in fact had very little experience in life.

Rooboy is very narrow minded for a man of such great experience. Just read thropugh some of his Anti Thai posts and smug comments!

That is true of several of his posts, but not all. Sometimes he's been quite constructive.

Getting back to driving - there are lessons to be had, usually in your own car. This is not the same as in Western world, where it is the norm to use driving-school cars with dual control, so that the instructor can take over (theoretically) if something goes wrong.

The driving test here is a practical - short - drive and a check-box written exam. But if you have an International licence that is valid for a reasonable time, then you can get a licence issued on the strength of that, plus a long-term visa.

Otherwise, if you are only here for a short stay, bring an international licence with you.

By the way, Thai truck drivers are very sought-after in the Middle East, as being of good quality for large trucks. And the standard of car drivers is far lower than you will find here.

Then again, consider various Saudi friends of mine, where the wife has a British, or French, or German driving licence and drives in Europe, but is not allowed to drive in Saudi. (Some of them are happy about it, having an Indonesian or Pakistani chauffeur, but others resent this very much)