Almost Died Today

[SiamSuzi]

Well I almost died and the power is off in my building, but "The Pizza Company" is delicious and they're having a 2 for 1 special, so that saves the day.

I was walking down the street, and the "walk" light came on. The asian man in front of me stepped into the street, I looked both ways to make sure all was clear and then stepped into the street. Then out of nowhere came barreling a vehicle which was making a turn onto the street I was crossing. It slowed down when it saw me and then accelerated again! Either the **** was toying with me or having an idiot attack and wasn't sure what to do when he saw a human in front of his car. He barely missed me by inches and I narrowly avoided having a heart attack.

That got me to thinking about something someone said to me about 2 days ago. He said he'd recently had the displeasure of witnessing a vehicle strike and kill a man and woman couple carrying groceries. I also read a news article about some truck accident killing 10 I think and injuring something around 25 more.

So what's the deal here? Is driving school a big joke? Or are there no traffic laws or just a lack of enforcement of them? Seems like a huge problem here and I'd like to be able to step out of my apartment without fearing for my life.

[neverdie]

You must be new here.

Yes the driving school, if you want to call it that is a big joke, money can still buy a licence here....that is if in fact the person had a licence.

There is a pecking order on the road here. Big trucks at the top, then cars, then motorcycles, then bicycles then at the bottom is pedestrians.

There are also classes within the classes, for example if your driving the big merc mate, ur <deleted> aint stink.

Theres some golden rules for surviving on the road here, ive been doing it for over 20 years, but its bed time now so I am sure others will come in and tell you how it is.

First rule you should follow: NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING ABOUT ANYTHING.

I'm not shitttting you, heaps of people die on the roads here, you see some days you can have good luck and some days you can have bad luck, forget about road safety, it doesnt exist. Good luck and take care.

I am sure someone will flame me in due course.

Edited March 8, 2009 by neverdie

[dumball]

Well I almost died and the power is off in my building, but "The Pizza Company" is delicious and they're having a 2 for 1 special, so that saves the day.

I was walking down the street, and the "walk" light came on. The asian man in front of me stepped into the street, I looked both ways to make sure all was clear and then stepped into the street. Then out of nowhere came barreling a vehicle which was making a turn onto the street I was crossing. It slowed down when it saw me and then accelerated again! Either the **** was toying with me or having an idiot attack and wasn't sure what to do when he saw a human in front of his car. He barely missed me by inches and I narrowly avoided having a heart attack.

That got me to thinking about something someone said to me about 2 days ago. He said he'd recently had the displeasure of witnessing a vehicle strike and kill a man and woman couple carrying groceries. I also read a news article about some truck accident killing 10 I think and injuring something around 25 more.

So what's the deal here? Is driving school a big joke? Or are there no traffic laws or just a lack of enforcement of them? Seems like a huge problem here and I'd like to be able to step out of my apartment without fearing for my life.

Newbie eh ? Welcome to the jungle , the concrete jungle that is BKK , no joke , there is no driving school or efficient testing , enforcement is more about "Pay me , I am the law , on your way ". The truck did not have an accident , the driver did , caused by inefficient signeage and a lack of flashing lights .As the saying goes "This is Thailand , enjoy and ignore the vagrencies "

[dave2]

siam suzie.

if you live in pattaya , bangkok , chiang mai or phuket and you dont have your wits about you 100 % of the time ...... repeat 100 % of the time ....you will at some stage ? end up in hospital

100% for sure !

stay awake and look fourteen ways before crossing ANY road , track , pavement ( sidewalks for yanks ) and you might survive thai drunks / drivers !

i hope you do .... dave2 ... chiang mai

[G54]

Have to agree. And if you do not look BOTH ways you will be mown down sooner or later by some driver and they will leave you for dead. If it is a truck that flattens you, watch out, he will reverse back to make sure he did a good job. Dead is cheap, injured is expensive.

[TheWalkingMan]

Too many nutter drivers. Everyone should have the attitude that I am prey and the vehicles the hunters. When crossing streets you have got to be on your toes. Do not become another statistic.

TheWalkingMan

[Moonrakers]

Doh!

I missed. I would have got 20 points for a farang lady.

[Hawaiian]

Have to agree. And if you do not look BOTH ways you will be mown down sooner or later by some driver and they will leave you for dead. If it is a truck that flattens you, watch out, he will reverse back to make sure he did a good job. Dead is cheap, injured is expensive.

Just like the Philippines. Drivers for transportation and construction companies instruct their drivers to make sure the struck down person doesn't survive. Death benefits are cheaper than medical care.

[Hawaiian]

Edit to read: owners of transportation and construction companies.

[wasabi]

Always look both ways no matter what way traffic is supposed to be going. I also always try to cross with a group of people. That probably wouldn't stop one of these maniacs but hopefully the others would take the hit instead of me.

I guess that's not a very Buddhist way to look at it.

[sassienie]

You must be new here.

Yes the driving school, if you want to call it that is a big joke, money can still buy a licence here....that is if in fact the person had a licence.

There is a pecking order on the road here. Big trucks at the top, then cars, then motorcycles, then bicycles then at the bottom is pedestrians.

There are also classes within the classes, for example if your driving the big merc mate, ur <deleted> aint stink.

Theres some golden rules for surviving on the road here, ive been doing it for over 20 years, but its bed time now so I am sure others will come in and tell you how it is.

First rule you should follow: NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING ABOUT ANYTHING.

I'm not shitttting you, heaps of people die on the roads here, you see some days you can have good luck and some days you can have bad luck, forget about road safety, it doesnt exist. Good luck and take care.

I am sure someone will flame me in due course.

All what he says, same, same.

[toasted]

My theory when I lived in Thailand was that the less time I spent on the roads, the less chance there was of being involved in an accident. Therefore I always drove as fat as I possibly could.

[SiamSuzi]

I'm glad you find it funny Moonrakers. I hope you feel the same way when your life is nearly taken, or that of your most beloved family member.

[unforgiven]

Well I almost died and the power is off in my building, but "The Pizza Company" is delicious and they're having a 2 for 1 special, so that saves the day.

I was walking down the street, and the "walk" light came on. The asian man in front of me stepped into the street, I looked both ways to make sure all was clear and then stepped into the street. Then out of nowhere came barreling a vehicle which was making a turn onto the street I was crossing. It slowed down when it saw me and then accelerated again! Either the **** was toying with me or having an idiot attack and wasn't sure what to do when he saw a human in front of his car. He barely missed me by inches and I narrowly avoided having a heart attack.

That got me to thinking about something someone said to me about 2 days ago. He said he'd recently had the displeasure of witnessing a vehicle strike and kill a man and woman couple carrying groceries. I also read a news article about some truck accident killing 10 I think and injuring something around 25 more.

So what's the deal here? Is driving school a big joke? Or are there no traffic laws or just a lack of enforcement of them? Seems like a huge problem here and I'd like to be able to step out of my apartment without fearing for my life.

newby ,beware the street!!!!! read the newspapers .Thailand is #2 or3 on deaths on road per capita........................aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh............. they got me

[Mossfinn]

as fat as I possibly could.

Toasted, why has diet got anything to do with driving badly

Moss

[TexasRanger]

I went to get my Thai driving licence in Sakorn last week and while I was waiting I watched my sister in law take her driving test, you would not believe how easy it is, there is a small track where they park next to a kerb, reverse into a parking space and then drive off over a bridge. That's it, she passed!

If yoou treat ALL other road users as idiots you reduce the risk greatly, I apply this in all countries but here I drive very very defensively, in the last 2 months I would have killed 3 people for sure if I hadn't been concentrating, a blast on the horn woke these fools up just before they would have pulled out in front of my car.

Let's be careful out there.....

[freddiefunk]

Always have to be alert, or you will get killed... or kill someone else. Thais use their horn and lights often to warn other cars/motorcycles but this is not enough... you should always look before making any turn! I recently had an occasion where I was on a small secondary road making a right turn. I had my turning signal on and was already in the motion of turning. Despite this, some kids on a motorcycle came blasting by me on the right side, narrowly missing me by inches...you have to look always!!

I have heard other Thais say that Thais drive like they want to die. Many people are killed as a result of the conflicting views in Thailand that the shoulder is both an extension of the road and a parking lot! In other words, Thais are very comfortable in overtaking other vehicles despite on-coming traffic because they assume the on-coming traffic can simply move over towards the shoulder. At the same time, Thais are very comfortable with parking their car right at the edge of the road to go eat at the nearest food vendor. If their is no shoulder... they will often park in the middle of the road.

There is a lot of whining (whinging?) on TV about trivial sh*t, but this subject actually deserves some.

[toybits]

Only difference is that in the Philippines, you get less points for each body.

Have to agree. And if you do not look BOTH ways you will be mown down sooner or later by some driver and they will leave you for dead. If it is a truck that flattens you, watch out, he will reverse back to make sure he did a good job. Dead is cheap, injured is expensive.

Just like the Philippines. Drivers for transportation and construction companies instruct their drivers to make sure the struck down person doesn't survive. Death benefits are cheaper than medical care.

[neverdie]

I forgot to mention to you before OP, YOU ARE NOT SAFE ON THE FOOTPATH EITHER!

Welcome to Thailand!

[Heng]

Still, you have to admit that far too many people/pedestrians don't pay enough respect to moving 2+ ton masses of steel and aluminum. Tourists (particularly Middle Easterners in many areas... they walk 5-6 abreast like they are playing red rover) and locals alike.

[Ricardo]

There is a pecking order on the road here. Big trucks at the top, then cars, then motorcycles, then bicycles then at the bottom is pedestrians.

I would add, everybody stops for tanks, in my experience.

[neverdie]

There is a pecking order on the road here. Big trucks at the top, then cars, then motorcycles, then bicycles then at the bottom is pedestrians.

I would add, everybody stops for tanks, in my experience.

Mate, everybody stops for neverdie too....but at 7'2 and 165kg, I'm worth stopping for

[patklang]

I stepped onto the pavement from a 7-11 and nearly got mown down by a motorbike taxi driver doing about 40k.Never thought to look if there were any mad drivers on the pavement,silly me.

[mrbojangles]

I drive very very defensively, in the last 2 months I would have killed 3 people for sure if I hadn't been concentrating, a blast on the horn woke these fools up just before they would have pulled out in front of my car.

Wise words. Have to do exactly the same here in Saudi

[chiangmaibruce]

Always look both ways no matter what way traffic is supposed to be going.

I second that motion. I was hit coz I only looked the one way when crossing a one way street. It will only happen once. The only good thing was the motorbike roader hit the tar and I didn't - but I still have the scar.

I have seen things on the road here that I would never imagine seeing in Australia - and I thought there were many poor drivers there! Especially overtaking on the left while I am turning left - even if it means driving on the footpath. Incredible

Most farang (with any brains) would see a personal and communal responsibility to be the best driver they can be, including paying for lessons at some stage. Talked it over with Thais and they just don't seem to see improving their driving skills as any kind of priority. Sort of an attitude that "unless I want to be a professional racing car driver, why bother?". Driving is just something they do, like eating or watching the soaps, and deserving only of the same amount of focus (or probably less).

Edited March 9, 2009 by chiangmaibruce

[lawling]

What I find interesting about your experience is that you admit to almost having a heart attack. I would have felt the same way - or at least have been heading back home to change my underwear!

But practically every day I see Thai people - usually walking or on motorbikes - coming within millimetres of being killed and they continue on their way with a blank, bored expression as if nothing had happened.

Are they really as detached as they look and if so how do they do it? Is it because they have had close calls so often before that they are no longer remarkable or is it some dhamma thing?

[toptuan]

I stepped onto the pavement from a 7-11 and nearly got mown down by a motorbike taxi driver doing about 40k.Never thought to look if there were any mad drivers on the pavement,silly me.

For our non-British readers, he means "SIDEWALK." Makes sense now, eh?

[LeungKen]

Have to agree. And if you do not look BOTH ways you will be mown down sooner or later by some driver and they will leave you for dead. If it is a truck that flattens you, watch out, he will reverse back to make sure he did a good job. Dead is cheap, injured is expensive.

Beware the drivers reversing forwards........

[loong]

Still, you have to admit that far too many people/pedestrians don't pay enough respect to moving 2+ ton masses of steel and aluminum. Tourists (particularly Middle Easterners in many areas... they walk 5-6 abreast like they are playing red rover) and locals alike.

Tourists (particularly Middle Easterners in many areas... they walk 5-6 abreast

I can't believe the arrogance of these people. I see them in Soi BhuaKhow, Pattaya, taking up half the road as if they owned the road.

[craig]

Anyone living here for any length of time will have numerous horror stories to pass on about Thai drivers...I certainly do...I'm a retired school teacher from Washington state and one of my extracurricular jobs was to teach Driver's Education, which I did for a dozen years. First, I was appalled at the driving here and now generally just expect any driver to do the utter ridiculous and dangerous at any time...I've always been a defensive driver, having ridden motorcyles my entire life (I'm now 64)..

Just yesterday with my wife sitting behind me I was heading south on the new road along the railroad heading to Huay Yai when...WHOOSH, a car came screaming by the motorbike inches away and my wife yelled...fuc_k you...to the car (She is usually quiet as she knows it is possible to be shot for just looking at someone). The roadway was clear and no other vehicles were in sight and this driver chose to do this...go figure.

It is not just Thais but farangs who drive like this...I've seen white skinned idiots behaving just as badly...I'm not talking about the loutish morons on motorbikes but expats in cars not giving a care to others.

Why does this exist? Lots of reasons have been advanced. The rapid switch to driving by those with no training...ease of getting a license...police concerned with checking for correct papers or no helmets, while looking at dangerous infractions and not responding..the police could make a fortune if they would inforce the traffic rules...but those with money or connections have no fear of police or of conviction...Some have linked this mai pen rai attitude toward driving to Buddhism, some to the repression of anger in everyday life coming out in behaving like a king on the road...

My Thai wife says most of it is the Thais just don't care about other people...

Whatever, the reason...the roadway (and footpaths) are dangerous and lethal..You take your life into your own hands everytime you go out of your house...so be aware of your surroundings and take nothing for granted...

Sorry for the rant.

Craig