Road Rage In Thailand...

[cluezo]

I suffer from road rage. In the U.S., it's almost an epedemic there. Here it's a different animal. I was on my bike on Suk in Rayong trying to make a u-turn. Behind me was a pickup truck blasting it's horn at me to move along faster. There was a slight drizzle and a lot of oncoming traffic. I took my time as the pickup kept blasting it's horn. I gave him the finger - he kept blasting. The rain started to come down hard and I finally made the u-turn and turned into a Shell station for cover until the rain stopped. Much to my dismay, the pick-up pulled up behind me. A tarp unfurled from the back of the pick-up and two Thais who had been under it because of the rain, hopped out along with the driver. To make a long story short, they beat the snot out of me and sped away. I'll keep my road rage under control in Thailand. Lesson learned.

[telaksslave]

I suffer from road rage. In the U.S., it's almost an epedemic there. Here it's a different animal. I was on my bike on Suk in Rayong trying to make a u-turn. Behind me was a pickup truck blasting it's horn at me to move along faster. There was a slight drizzle and a lot of oncoming traffic. I took my time as the pickup kept blasting it's horn. I gave him the finger - he kept blasting. The rain started to come down hard and I finally made the u-turn and turned into a Shell station for cover until the rain stopped. Much to my dismay, the pick-up pulled up behind me. A tarp unfurled from the back of the pick-up and two Thais who had been under it because of the rain, hopped out along with the driver. To make a long story short, they beat the snot out of me and sped away. I'll keep my road rage under control in Thailand. Lesson learned.

its not easy because of the way they drive but be careful some carry a gun

[burman]

You flipped some guy the finger and got beaten up for it. It took you how many years before you learned that lesson?

[cluezo]

I suffer from road rage. In the U.S., it's almost an epedemic there. Here it's a different animal. I was on my bike on Suk in Rayong trying to make a u-turn. Behind me was a pickup truck blasting it's horn at me to move along faster. There was a slight drizzle and a lot of oncoming traffic. I took my time as the pickup kept blasting it's horn. I gave him the finger - he kept blasting. The rain started to come down hard and I finally made the u-turn and turned into a Shell station for cover until the rain stopped. Much to my dismay, the pick-up pulled up behind me. A tarp unfurled from the back of the pick-up and two Thais who had been under it because of the rain, hopped out along with the driver. To make a long story short, they beat the snot out of me and sped away. I'll keep my road rage under control in Thailand. Lesson learned.

its not easy because of the way they drive but be careful some carry a gun

Thanks. Yea, I'm gonna be real careful driving in this country.

[way2muchcoffee]

You flipped some guy the finger and got beaten up for it. It took you how many years before you learned that lesson?

The guy deserved the finger, he was driving negligently and rudely. For the driver and his friends to have responded with violence is a criminal action that cannot be condoned. The OP should have taken a license number down. reported the assault and battery to the police, and paid the 'police fee' to ensure prosecution.

Edited June 9, 2008 by way2muchcoffee

[himachal]

You flipped some guy the finger and got beaten up for it. It took you how many years before you learned that lesson?

Clueso flipped a selfish thug the finger.

It's maybe easy to be lulled into believing that this society is peaceful, but I suspect some Thai drivers get even more selfish than drivers abroad when in their cars because the obligation to 'greng jai' is reduced.

The possibility of firearms does lend a scary dimension.

At least they won't be chatting on a mobile when they lay into you anymore!!!

[boiledegg]

Whether they over reacted or not it isnt worth putting yourself in the position for a fight when you can just pull over and let them past.

Its rule of the biggest on the roads in LOS ie A truck is king and a motorbike isnt.

[burman]

You flipped some guy the finger and got beaten up for it. It took you how many years before you learned that lesson?

Clueso flipped a selfish thug the finger.

It's maybe easy to be lulled into believing that this society is peaceful, but I suspect some Thai drivers get even more selfish than drivers abroad when in their cars because the obligation to 'greng jai' is reduced.

Yes, some guy, a selfish thug, a complete stranger in fact. My point is if you start flipping the finger at strangers in any society you will end up getting beaten up. As the OP told us, lesson learned.

Edited June 9, 2008 by burman

[a2396]

You should have pulled over & let him by, if you could. Of course they were in the wrong, but try to do something about it - 3 to 1. I will have to say where I live in LOS, the drivers are the picture of politeness, compared to what I was used to in USA. I would not dare to ride a motobike there. You would be "dead meat" sooner or later.

[way2muchcoffee]

You should have pulled over & let him by, if you could. Of course they were in the wrong, but try to do something about it - 3 to 1. I will have to say where I live in LOS, the drivers are the picture of politeness, compared to what I was used to in USA. I would not dare to ride a motobike there. You would be "dead meat" sooner or later.

You must be kidding. Motorcycles anywhere in the USA (except perhaps California) have a full lane to themselves. Safe as can be really. None of this trying to squeeze between cars nonsense.

[telaksslave]

You flipped some guy the finger and got beaten up for it. It took you how many years before you learned that lesson?

The guy deserved the finger, he was driving negligently and rudely. For the driver and his friends to have responded with violence is a criminal action that cannot be condoned. The OP should have taken a license number down. reported the assault and battery to the police, and paid the 'police fee' to ensure prosecution.

ur living up in clouds

[himachal]

You flipped some guy the finger and got beaten up for it. It took you how many years before you learned that lesson?

Clueso flipped a selfish thug the finger.

It's maybe easy to be lulled into believing that this society is peaceful, but I suspect some Thai drivers get even more selfish than drivers abroad when in their cars because the obligation to 'greng jai' is reduced.

Yes, some guy, a selfish thug, a complete stranger in fact. My point is if you start flipping the finger at strangers in any society you will end up getting beaten up. As the OP told us, lesson learned.

Quite true, Burman. Odds are that eventually you'll flip your finger at the wrong person.

All the same, he was beaten up by a thug, not by his finger. Crime = beating. Criminal = thug.

[burman]

You flipped some guy the finger and got beaten up for it. It took you how many years before you learned that lesson?

The guy deserved the finger, he was driving negligently and rudely.

Yes the guy deserved the finger. If only the OP had explained that to the three men as they beat him up...

[way2muchcoffee]

You flipped some guy the finger and got beaten up for it. It took you how many years before you learned that lesson?

The guy deserved the finger, he was driving negligently and rudely. For the driver and his friends to have responded with violence is a criminal action that cannot be condoned. The OP should have taken a license number down. reported the assault and battery to the police, and paid the 'police fee' to ensure prosecution.

ur living up in clouds

Have you ever tried reporting to the police? I have and I guarantee there is nothing 'up in the clouds' here at all. Tourist police will usually do the right thing without any monetary consideration. Regular police just need a little monetary motivator and they'll do their job as well, unless they get a better offer from the guilty party.

Edited June 9, 2008 by way2muchcoffee

[huggybear]

You flipped some guy the finger and got beaten up for it. It took you how many years before you learned that lesson?

The guy deserved the finger, he was driving negligently and rudely.

Yes the guy deserved the finger. If only the OP had explained that to the three men as they beat him up...

Here in Phuket you just have sooooo many terrible drivers, and soooo many people that do not abide by the rules of the road that it is almost impossible not to get upset. Really that's why I prefer the motorbike....

Today I was in the truck, I had a Toyota SUV, one of the bigger ones (Fortuner?) riding my rear bumper at 120, trying to get past but we had trucks and slow moving vehicles in the slow lane. The genius then swerves all the way to the left to pass all in the motorcycle lane and almost kills an old guy on his bike with the side car !!! Just amazing.

I never do anything like road rage, but at times I do like to jam up these a**sholes, box em in or brake a bit when they are tailgating.

Beware of guns though...

[Pushit]

I suffer from road rage. In the U.S., it's almost an epedemic there. Here it's a different animal. I was on my bike on Suk in Rayong trying to make a u-turn. Behind me was a pickup truck blasting it's horn at me to move along faster. There was a slight drizzle and a lot of oncoming traffic. I took my time as the pickup kept blasting it's horn. I gave him the finger - he kept blasting. The rain started to come down hard and I finally made the u-turn and turned into a Shell station for cover until the rain stopped. Much to my dismay, the pick-up pulled up behind me. A tarp unfurled from the back of the pick-up and two Thais who had been under it because of the rain, hopped out along with the driver. To make a long story short, they beat the snot out of me and sped away. I'll keep my road rage under control in Thailand. Lesson learned.

If a Thai motorcyclist flipped the guy the bird he would have got the same, this is a non issue...Behave yourself. You stopped in a gas station and "voila"

[CarlBkk]

"The finger" is a much bigger insult here than it is in the West. People use the finger all the time to cyclists, pub-goers, other drivers, complete strangers walking by in the West and yes, sometimes someone will get so insulted they'll do something about it. Doing that over here where it's much less used and where the suppression of anger is more common and the likelihood of even the most placid of white-collar workers flying into a rage is much higher. The same applies for the universally understood F.U insult.

I would imagine the likelihood of a beating would be similar in Mexico, Brazil, Serbia, Africa and the Philippines for doing the same thing.

[wolf5370]

On just my second visit to LoS, I made a similar mistake. I was on an open Baht bus, it was crowded with school school kids, so I hung on to the back along with a young Thai guy. This large black 4x4 comes up bumper to bumper (step) with the bus trying to nudge him along. All windows are blacked out completely, so I can't see who is in there. The young guy next to me practically climbs the back of the bus to get clear from this manic (bus driver didn't even seem to notice). I shook my head in a 'what a plonker' submissive kind of gesture. The 4x4 pulls back as the bus stops and the kids get off, but the 4x4 does not overtake the parked bus, it just waits. We get going again. Next stop, me and the GF. I get off the bus and head down a side street. The 4x4 is slowly following. I stopped at an ATM and the 4x4 pulls up next to me - all the side windows are black too. He stays for a good few minutes while I pretend not to notice him and take my time with the ATM (not being stupid enought to actually take any cash out!!!). After about 3 minutes or so, the security guard comes out of the bank to which the ATM is attached and eyes the car suspiciously - it is then that it backs up and leaves. I thank my stars that we were going to the bank and the security staff there were alert (and armed). The 4x4 was shinny and new with all black windows - expensive type (can't remember what it was now though). Mrs (then GF) was convinced it was gangsters given the reaction, the way the followed us slowly rather than just screaming out the window or bundling out of it, and the vehicle.

I have since always been careful with such shows of negative feeling towards other drivers - I also have never (and hopefully will never) drive in Thailand!

[tamsin]

You flipped some guy the finger and got beaten up for it. It took you how many years before you learned that lesson?

The guy deserved the finger, he was driving negligently and rudely.

Yes the guy deserved the finger. If only the OP had explained that to the three men as they beat him up...

Here in Phuket you just have sooooo many terrible drivers, and soooo many people that do not abide by the rules of the road that it is almost impossible not to get upset. Really that's why I prefer the motorbike....

Today I was in the truck, I had a Toyota SUV, one of the bigger ones (Fortuner?) riding my rear bumper at 120, trying to get past but we had trucks and slow moving vehicles in the slow lane. The genius then swerves all the way to the left to pass all in the motorcycle lane and almost kills an old guy on his bike with the side car !!! Just amazing.

I never do anything like road rage, but at times I do like to jam up these a**sholes, box em in or brake a bit when they are tailgating.

Beware of guns though...

Yes, I've also had some incredibly rude, not to mention downright dangerous, driving experiences here on Phuket.

But, do you know? After the first time I had someone pull up alongside me forcing me to stop and pointing a gun at me, I had a Thai friend go and buy me a Great Big Gun (we're not allowed to of course). You should see the look on their faces when I stop, or, more effectively in my view, actually reverse back down the the road and stop directly in front of them, and pull it out, the gun that is and point it straight at them:lol:

(This works incredibly well on a certain class of farang on their hols who think they can get away with driving as rudely/badly as the locals, by the way. In fact, you can actually see them shit themselves).

[burman]

So you drive about pulling your gun on tourists?

You sound like a wannabe big man.

[a2396]

You should have pulled over & let him by, if you could. Of course they were in the wrong, but try to do something about it - 3 to 1. I will have to say where I live in LOS, the drivers are the picture of politeness, compared to what I was used to in USA. I would not dare to ride a motobike there. You would be "dead meat" sooner or later.

You must be kidding. Motorcycles anywhere in the USA (except perhaps California) have a full lane to themselves. Safe as can be really. None of this trying to squeeze between cars nonsense.

Safe as can be???? When was the last time you drove in Phoenix or urban Florida, to name a few? If you think the full lane rule is going to protect you or that drivers will necessarily abide by this, you are in for some surprises. Hit & run is also fair game & common with bicycles & pedestrians. The last six years I lived in USA I would usually see at least one accident per day in condidtions not as congested as you find in Thailand. Drivers "flipping off" each other also common. I have never seen this in Thailand.

[way2muchcoffee]

You should have pulled over & let him by, if you could. Of course they were in the wrong, but try to do something about it - 3 to 1. I will have to say where I live in LOS, the drivers are the picture of politeness, compared to what I was used to in USA. I would not dare to ride a motobike there. You would be "dead meat" sooner or later.

You must be kidding. Motorcycles anywhere in the USA (except perhaps California) have a full lane to themselves. Safe as can be really. None of this trying to squeeze between cars nonsense.

Safe as can be???? When was the last time you drove in Phoenix or urban Florida, to name a few? If you think the full lane rule is going to protect you or that drivers will necessarily abide by this, you are in for some surprises. Hit & run is also fair game & common with bicycles & pedestrians. The last six years I lived in USA I would usually see at least one accident per day in condidtions not as congested as you find in Thailand. Drivers "flipping off" each other also common. I have never seen this in Thailand.

My motorcycle riding was limited to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska. Mostly northern/western states with a lot of open territory and mostly friendly drivers.

Edited June 9, 2008 by way2muchcoffee

[ilyushin]

Most of my problems in Thailand have come from accidents, bad drivers or just the frustration of dealing with 20-30 near misses everyday. Also parking can be another serious issue.

Happy motoring when possible.

[Marvo]

pull it out, the gun that is and point it straight at them:lol:

Until you point it at a guy whose got an even bigger gun. ...Live by the sword, ...you die by the sword. RIP my friend.

[burman]

You'll notice from his post that he only pulls the guns on tourists, knowing of course they are unarmed and he can get his cheap thrill from scaring them.

Edited June 9, 2008 by burman

[khall64au]

You flipped some guy the finger and got beaten up for it. It took you how many years before you learned that lesson?

The guy deserved the finger, he was driving negligently and rudely.

Yes the guy deserved the finger. If only the OP had explained that to the three men as they beat him up...

Here in Phuket you just have sooooo many terrible drivers, and soooo many people that do not abide by the rules of the road that it is almost impossible not to get upset. Really that's why I prefer the motorbike....

Today I was in the truck, I had a Toyota SUV, one of the bigger ones (Fortuner?) riding my rear bumper at 120, trying to get past but we had trucks and slow moving vehicles in the slow lane. The genius then swerves all the way to the left to pass all in the motorcycle lane and almost kills an old guy on his bike with the side car !!! Just amazing.

I never do anything like road rage, but at times I do like to jam up these a**sholes, box em in or brake a bit when they are tailgating.

Beware of guns though...

Yes, I've also had some incredibly rude, not to mention downright dangerous, driving experiences here on Phuket.

But, do you know? After the first time I had someone pull up alongside me forcing me to stop and pointing a gun at me, I had a Thai friend go and buy me a Great Big Gun (we're not allowed to of course). You should see the look on their faces when I stop, or, more effectively in my view, actually reverse back down the the road and stop directly in front of them, and pull it out, the gun that is and point it straight at them:lol:

(This works incredibly well on a certain class of farang on their hols who think they can get away with driving as rudely/badly as the locals, by the way. In fact, you can actually see them shit themselves).

Are you for real? May be only a matter of time before someone pulls an even BIGGER gun on you? A good friend had a gun pulled on him, in broad daylight on Phuket, by a Thai guy in a Mercedes- at a busy intersection in full view of a bus full of tourists - because he dared yell at the guy for almost running his motorbike off the road at high speed. The driver had no qualms about waving the gun in his face - just imagine what he may had done on a not so busy road?!

[Briggsy]

This may be an appropriate point to remind all posters that Thailand has a very high murder rate. Between 5-10 times higher than that of Western Europe. Don't fall in to the trap of thinking this is a peaceful non-violent society because it is Buddhist.

[cluezo]

^ You are soooo right!!!!

[gymshark]

Shit happens, you flip the bird in the UK and you will probably get a slap there as well. I see more road rage in the UK than here. (Usually when I look at myself in the mirror). As for the clown with the gun, Tut Tut, I hope you are prepared to use it, and prepared to take the consequences. Like knife carriers, if you don't know how to use it you will probably die when you pull it on someone who does. You ever shot anyone? Seen what it does?

I hope your post is a joke.

[Pepe']

I suffer from road rage. In the U.S., it's almost an epedemic there. Here it's a different animal. I was on my bike on Suk in Rayong trying to make a u-turn. Behind me was a pickup truck blasting it's horn at me to move along faster. There was a slight drizzle and a lot of oncoming traffic. I took my time as the pickup kept blasting it's horn. I gave him the finger - he kept blasting. The rain started to come down hard and I finally made the u-turn and turned into a Shell station for cover until the rain stopped. Much to my dismay, the pick-up pulled up behind me. A tarp unfurled from the back of the pick-up and two Thais who had been under it because of the rain, hopped out along with the driver. To make a long story short, they beat the snot out of me and sped away. I'll keep my road rage under control in Thailand. Lesson learned.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

It's not epidemic IMHO. I would say it's more random and episodic.

When young and foolish I would flip the bird fairly regularly. In New York it was like saying hello. No big deal really.

Now that I've stopped doing it it seems that I rarely see it now.

Don't forget you're in the LOS Land of Savagery.

What was that murder rate?