How Good Do We Drive Compared To...a Thai?

[NADTATIDA1]

Was out today driving and was mulling over what do Thais actually think of our driving skills,westerners that is,do you think they appreciate that we go through a proper learning process to drive and do they understand that for most of us it is a life changing experience when we pass our tests?

Obviously as opposed to the Thai way of learning to drive and driving!

Do they think we are more than capable drivers or not?

I wonder if and when they shall ever have to go through rigourous lessons like westerners do.

Business opportunity anyone,imagine that taking young Thais out for lessons,survival comes to mind

Talking 4 wheels here not 2 ok!

[carmine]

This promises to be a very amusing thread...........that is before it is prematurely closed

[Eff1n2ret]

I can't imagine for a minute that their opinion of their driving skills is any different to that of drivers anywhere else in the world. No-one will admit to being a lousy driver, why should they be any different? In any case, whatever their faults, I don't observe in Thailand the self-righteous agression that is ingrained in the majority of UK drivers these days.

[neverdie]

of course the other flaw to this question is....everyone drives differently & has different skill levels of driving, its not based on race, so whilst i have been seated next to some absolutely brillant farang drivers in my time, Ive also sat white knuckled next to some really bad ones.

[SeanMoran]

of course the other flaw to this question is....everyone drives differently & has different skill levels of driving, its not based on race, so whilst i have been seated next to some absolutely brillant farang drivers in my time, Ive also sat white knuckled next to some really bad ones.

All but one Thai car driver I've sat in the passenger seat with have been highly competent behind the wheel, which, when I go for a ride and observe the average standards, makes me feel like I must have been blessed. As for others' opinions on my style, it's a foregone conclusion that I am always drunk, even when I am not.

[neverdie]

^ either drunk or exceeding the speed limit by 1km/h (thats 27.77 centimetres per second)

Edited March 9, 2010 by neverdie

[SeanMoran]

^ either drunk or exceeding the speed limit by 1km/h

Lucky for me that Thailand hasn't caught on with that latter one yet, eh?

[TheVinylMan]

Lets give a Thai a manual gearbox and lets see how they cope then

[Garry9999]

No, most Thais think Farangs can't drive.

[neverdie]

No, most Thais think Farangs can't drive.

Yes, from what I have encountered that is exactly right. My other half put on a DVD of us in Australia, one section featuring me driving a car & it really stuck a chord with the thais in the room, they couldnt believe that I could drive a car (& I didnt appear to be hitting anything either).

Several of them are also the same people that suggested I couldnt and shouldnt ride a motorcycle in Thailand & I will point out that since that time I have covered a large amount of kilometres & out of all of us Im the only one not to have an accident in that time, actually a couple of them have had several accidents in that time .

[NADTATIDA1]

I have seen the attitude of certain drivers here to the emergency services especially an ambulance once when it had its sirens blazing,they just would not move out of the way!

Imagine some young kid starting learning to drive under the driving conditions here,very very scary thought,yet they can do a little test and away they go....Qualified!

[tigerfish]

This promises to be a very amusing thread...........that is before it is prematurely closed

my sentiments exactly!

but for what its worth, here goes.

i think the main issue in a country like this, is making them understand the concept of being aware of whats going on around them. in my personal opinion of seeing thais driving, they seem to have a very blinkered attitude when put behind the wheel of a car.

in this i mean, they dont seem to know what an indicator is for (ie changing lanes and turning). mirrors, whats the point! wing mirrors you might as well not have them as standard issue on most cars, and then the rear view mirror they see its only use as good for looking at ones self in.

parking, id have to put them on a level par with any silly b...h back in the u.k. that drives straight into a space and takes up two bays in your local tescos on a saturday moring.

the theirs the issue of driving whislt on a mobile phone, eating, drinking(under the influence) and having a child sitting on your lap, whislt taking the wheel.

that coupled with a police force that is only interested in enforcing certain things for personal gain(tea money). your onto a no win situation. as i see it they are in their own little world when it comes to driving. cant remember the amount of times ive been stuck up the backside of a 7 series bmw out here, and thought to myself do they actually know where 3rd, 4th and 5th gear is.

what do they think of us and our driving skills and the way we were taught. i doubt they even care, same as most things out here. i know id take the m25 on any day of the week, against what you get over here.

business opputunity, no thanks!

p.s how many of you have been in a car, pick-up or taxi and found yourself, putting your right foot to the floor searching for the brake when a thai has been driving. i bet im not the only one.

Edited March 9, 2010 by tigerfish

[Crossy]

Interesting, both my step-sons would rather I drive if we are together in a vehicle, neither trusts the other to be safe. Wifey is happy for me to drive too

[NADTATIDA1]

This promises to be a very amusing thread...........that is before it is prematurely closed

my sentiments exactly!

but for what its worth, here goes.

i think the main issue in a country like this, is making them understand the concept of being aware of whats going on around them. in my personal opinion of seeing thais driving, they seem to have a very blinkered attitude when put behind the wheel of a car.

in this i mean, they dont seem to know what an indicator is for (ie changing lanes and turning). mirrors, whats the point! wing mirrors you might as well not have them as standard issue on most cars, and then the rear view mirror they see its only use as good for looking at ones self in.

parking, id have to put them on a level par with any silly b...h back in the u.k. that drives straight into a space and takes up two bays in your local tescos on a saturday moring.

the theirs the issue of driving whislt on a mobile phone, eating, drinking(under the influence) and having a child sitting on your lap, whislt taking the wheel.

that coupled with a police force that is only interested in enforcing certain things for personal gain(tea money). your onto a no win situation. as i see it they are in their own little world when it comes to driving. cant remember the amount of times ive been stuck up the backside of a 7 series bmw out here, and thought to myself do they actually know where 3rd, 4th and 5th gear is.

what do they think of us and our driving skills and the way we were taught. i doubt they even care, same as most things out here. i know id take the m25 on any day of the week, against what you get over here.

business opputunity, no thanks!

p.s how many of you have been in a car, pick-up or taxi and found yourself, putting your right foot to the floor searching for the brake when a thai has been driving. i bet im not the only one.

The worst one is when they just oh so slowly edge out of a side soi and you think they have seen you coming ....but just carry on edgeing out regardless,awareness of other motorists seems to be non existance...but taken to the extreme.

Or how many times have you nearly had a bump and you look at them and they just smile and shoot off!

[SeanMoran]

p.s how many of you have been in a car, pick-up or taxi and found yourself, putting your right foot to the floor searching for the brake when a thai has been driving. i bet im not the only one.

Apart from the one exception I omitted the mention of up there,and excluding taxi drivers who I didn't often find out their origins from except on occasion, the people whom I've driven with have all been working-class rural sorts of folk, and they drive as if they were born behind the wheel.

There was one time I grabbed the wheel from Mrs Jai back in 2548 (2005) to avoid her running over a motorcyclist who had moved to the centre before making a right hand turn. It was late at night, not far from Amphur Loei and she'd driven that Isuzu ute with four passengers all the way from Rayong that day, and somehow, it seems she just didn't see the motorbike pull to the centre around 30-40m ahead and most likely would have steamrolled him if I'd not grabbed the wheel and forced us a little leftward, but she'd been driving that pickup loaded fairly fully with someone's furniture and baggage for over twelve hours solo that day, and driving perfectly. Driving tired is an hazard to anyone anywhere, but that was the one occasion similar to what you mention about searching for a brake pedal when you're a passenger.

[IanForbes]

When I took my misses to Canada, we were driving through the Rocky mountains, and she made the comment that "everyone here drives so...organized". I started to laugh, and told her yes, those lines on the road actually mean something here!

That is so VERY true.

On the other hand I've been with some VERY competent drivers who scared the living beejeezus out of me. I used to race vehicles in my younger days and know SOMETHING about driving, but I'm very impressed with the actual SKILL LEVELS of some Thai drivers. However, that does NOT mean I feel safe with them. I see the Thai van drivers passing on blind corners all the time. I see Thai bus drivers backing into tiny parking places or through narrow streets where I didn't think it was possible to get through. I've also seen Thai bus drivers passing slow moving trucks on blind corners in the mountains.

As far as staying within traffic lines on the road is concerned that is only a VERY slight generality in Thailand. When you EXPECT to see drivers and riders coming at you in your lane on narrow roads then lines on the road don't mean a thing.

[jcsmith]

I think the big reason for so many poor Thai drivers is just a lack of any real driver education system and pre-license testing. I sent my girlfriend to a driving school a few years ago and her instructor told her not to look in the rear or side view mirrors, which I had taught her to do. He told her all she had to worry about was what was in front of her. When she took her test, she hit a cone and parked sideways. They still gave her a license.

I contrast that to when I was back home. We had six months of driver's education in high school, and most people failed the driving exam the first time.

[inzman]

I was once told by some thais in the village, they dont believe falangs know how to drive a car of motorbike, they seemed astonished that we can even get down the road safely. This is coming from people that have never had any drivers training whatsoever and some didnt even have a driving license....

[manarak]

The worst one is when they just oh so slowly edge out of a side soi and you think they have seen you coming ....but just carry on edgeing out regardless,awareness of other motorists seems to be non existance...but taken to the extreme.

Or how many times have you nearly had a bump and you look at them and they just smile and shoot off!

From observing traffic, I think that the thai driving style is not based on right-of-way, left before right, etc.

While western traffic looks organized and hierarchical, Thai traffic looks more like a flow, like water.

Thais drive very carefully, although often at excessive speeds. This might seem a contradiction, but most Thai drivers have high competency in anticipating what other drivers will do.

I noticed that very often they will let others the way, like in the above example of someone edging slowly out of a soi. They will either slow down to let him pass or change lanes, and while doing the latter rpobably forcing another car to slow down or change lanes.

The western way would rather be "<deleted>, I got the right of way, that other guy better stop now or there will be a bump".

[tigerfish]

The worst one is when they just oh so slowly edge out of a side soi and you think they have seen you coming ....but just carry on edgeing out regardless,awareness of other motorists seems to be non existance...but taken to the extreme.

Or how many times have you nearly had a bump and you look at them and they just smile and shoot off!

From observing traffic, I think that the thai driving style is not based on right-of-way, left before right, etc.

While western traffic looks organized and hierarchical, Thai traffic looks more like a flow, like water.

Thais drive very carefully, although often at excessive speeds. This might seem a contradiction, but most Thai drivers have high competency in anticipating what other drivers will do.

I noticed that very often they will let others the way, like in the above example of someone edging slowly out of a soi. They will either slow down to let him pass or change lanes, and while doing the latter rpobably forcing another car to slow down or change lanes.

The western way would rather be "<deleted>, I got the right of way, that other guy better stop now or there will be a bump".

the problem with that line of thought is.

1. when slowing down you dont know what the guy behind you is doing, could be picking his nose for all you know.

2. seeing that thailand has a large amount of the 2 wheels variety on its roads, and the attitude is to get from a-b by whatever means, ie overtaking on the inside. you run the risk of a car pulling out and the driver of the motorcycle not being sighted. therefore an accident occurs.

3. as you so correctly stated, most highway codes in the world, give the right of way to the driver that is already moving in a direction at a constant speed, and not to someone that is stationary.

hence why there are so many accidents of this kind in thailand.

[Tonto21]

As I’m sure your all too aware (if you’re a driver, In world normal, catching the eye of the other driver, it’s the safe way to know the other guy has seen you) I was told, in all sincerity by a good Thai friend, “not look at others when drive, if other driver see you see him, he can put problem of crash to you” I went out and tried it out, slowly of course.........And you know he was right. I’m not talking about doing 80, 90 or 100 kph, but town driving. So now I still drive, with all round observation, but avoid making eye contact, or even looking to long at a VHE waiting to pull out. In fact I’m a black belt at making that <deleted> who want to cut me up think, that there no way I even know he’s there. I use the magic of peripheral vision. Try it......... Steady to start with a, and remember the golden rule of Thai driving, “Me first.......you no hit me”

[NADTATIDA1]

" Try it......... Steady to start with a, and remember the golden rule of Thai driving, “Me first.......you no hit me”"

I do understand this train of thought and have practised it to some success,but in the back of my mind is always that niggling thought of if i hit someone or they hit me,i am the one who is going to be paying.

[tigerfish]

off topic but, just take a look at a thread that is running in the phuket forum." my mate is looking at jail time, need a good lawyer in bangkok"

it confirms in my mind just how f...... crazy this place is when it comes to matters concerning anything to do with driving, roads and the laws in this country.

unbeleivable, truely amazing thailand!

Edited March 9, 2010 by tigerfish

[MSingh]

I don't know, i'm in the US t the moment & some of the driving i've seen here in the past few days has been bordering on obscene...

[OZEMADE]

My Thai mother inlaw is a capable driver in her ISUZU ute. However I have given her a serve when she does a U turn where it is quite clearly marked with a slash through the sign NO U TURN. I also asked my wife why I have to drive from Pattaya to Lop Buri to pick her up and bring her here for holidays all year round.

The reply was, she can't read and dosen't know what the highway signs say to come to Pattaya! So she only knows Lop Buri and cant drive out of that city.

I asked how she got her license as she would have had a handbook to read, do a written test and read documents and sign her name etc? The reply was she paid for it and said at least 1/4 of Thai's do not have a drivers license and 1/4 dont know how to read and pay under the table and thats for motor vehicles. She said that she reckons 1/2 the Thai's don't have motorbike licences at all. and yes we are better drivers, although I have learned to push my way out into traffic off the Thai's.

[emsfeld]

I find that Thais are actually pretty good drivers in general. Sure, their adherence to road rules measured by Western standards is appalling. However, in regard to the individuals' driving skills compared to where I am staying now, the Thais' are far more superior!

Edited March 9, 2010 by emsfeld

[tooninthai]

Lets give a Thai a manual gearbox and lets see how they cope then

Most Thai drivers I have seen with a manual gearbox drive very well and I have been in a car with a few of those.

Maybe an auto box makes people cae less and think less of how they drive?

[shamus]

Hope you've all got your international licenses guys.

Only problem I've had was when a pickup reversed over my sports bike in Patt. The guy got out, was 6ft6 (I'm 6,3) built like a tank and was working as a bodyguard in Iraq (looked the part, could have been one of those Pattaya stories tho)...I was still so pleased it wasn't a Thai guy though, I'd have been screwed.

A friend of mine knocked a Thai down and injured them quite badly in Nangrong, while he does regret what happened he said he'd have got off more lightly by murdering someone in the UK.

[witold]

The worst one is when they just oh so slowly edge out of a side soi and you think they have seen you coming ....but just carry on edgeing out regardless,awareness of other motorists seems to be non existance...but taken to the extreme.

Or how many times have you nearly had a bump and you look at them and they just smile and shoot off!

From observing traffic, I think that the thai driving style is not based on right-of-way, left before right, etc.

While western traffic looks organized and hierarchical, Thai traffic looks more like a flow, like water.

Thais drive very carefully, although often at excessive speeds. This might seem a contradiction, but most Thai drivers have high competency in anticipating what other drivers will do.

I noticed that very often they will let others the way, like in the above example of someone edging slowly out of a soi. They will either slow down to let him pass or change lanes, and while doing the latter rpobably forcing another car to slow down or change lanes.

The western way would rather be "<deleted>, I got the right of way, that other guy better stop now or there will be a bump".

On my last trip, I put on about 10,000 miles motorcycling around Thailand.  I have to agree with this.  Thai road rules work quite well for crowded road conditions.  And Western rules work well in non-crowded conditions.  It's just different.  'slow lane' is more of a merging/anything goes lane.  In general, I think Thai people drive quite acceptably.  In US, you often have people getting rear ended at stop lights, etc, because too many people just don't look in front of them and instead hide behind the facade that says 'I had the right of way - I don't need to pay attention' - even though they could've easily avoided an accident by using a little foresight and defensive driving.  In contrast, Thai people are more practical and tend to pay attention more.  Who cares if they disregard some arbitrary line on road and lights?  I don't.  

The biggest problems on Thai roads are the speed discrepancy between various vehicle types, and poorly maintained vehicles (no lights at night, <deleted>.)  But overall, not as bas as people make it out to be.  

[a2396]

Rigerous lessons like westerners do? Maybe where you are from in the Western World. As for my home country, there is no requirement for any formal training to get a drivers license. Of course they have to pass a written and road test. The same as in Thailand. One requirement for driving in America is a quick and adept middle finger, as well as a good vocabulary of expletives. Sadly, Thais are somewhat lacking in these attributes.

Anyone beating on Thai drivers should spend time driving in Los Angles, Phoenix or South Florida, before passing judgment. Compared to those locations, Thai drivers are a picture of politeness and civility.