Thailand'S Worst Drivers

[Deeral]

An one more thing; posting is a little like driving and if you don't do it right you screw things up for others. Next time Don't add colored text to my quotes, learn how to nest quotes so people can respond without making a mess of the conversation.

Why??

[canuckamuck]

Items #1 and #2 on Thai visas guidelines for posting:

1. Please do not post in all capital letters, bold, unusual fonts, sizes or colors. It can be difficult to read.

2. Please do not modify someone else's post in your quoted reply, either with font or color changes or wording. Such posts will be deleted and the user warned.

[Deeral]

An one more thing; posting is a little like driving and if you don't do it right you screw things up for others. Next time Don't add colored text to my quotes, learn how to nest quotes so people can respond without making a mess of the conversation.

Why??

Why, cos it is a bit confusing for the reader. Somebody added stuff to one of my quotes once and it changed the meaning of my post.

I haven't altered your post or changed the meaningit clearly shows which parts of your UNALTERED POST I'm talking about.

Edited August 25, 2010 by Deeral

[canuckamuck]

Except your words are inside my quote marks and it makes difficult To make a compound reply.

But I see you just like to difficult so I guess you should continue to be yourself.

[MikeyIdea]

Thais are smart enough to try to pay attention to patterns leading up to dangerous situations and watch out for them in the future. They are not succeeding very well, but at least they are trying. I do the same

Correct me if I am wrong please - Deeral seems to be of the opinion that the above process is nonsense and that anyone who applies a process like that should drive properly instead. Did I understand correctly?

Now over to my own experience;

In the early to mid 90's, I drove something like 30,000 km per year in Bangkok on a motorcycle, quite a feat considering that you stand still a lot of the time. That taught me a lot, and I can tell you that I would probably not be alive today had I not identified patterns leading up to dangerous situations and avoided them, or kept them further away from me in the future. I am a father first of all and it is my responsibility to drive as safely as possible always. My personal opinion: I don't think that anyone who does not use this process of safety improvement should drive children around. Please let me know and I will make sure that is isn't my children you drive around with anyway

Someone wrote about Camry / Accords. Agree, more than e.g., Corollas and Mitsus, and I found the Accords to be more selfish = dangerous than Camrys. Someone wrote about taxis – I don't agree, they can be anything from good to very bad but they normally don't get into situations with motorcycles where they leave no way out / to pass. Unlike Accords sometimes did = Accord drivers were more selfish in a dangerous way (deliberately dangerous), taxi drivers were normally not dangerously selfish. Mercedes Benz and the likes seemed to care more about their cars, didn't want accidents = were less dangerous. Now, I talk about motorcycles, note that behaviour is different against cars

I also find that Fortuners tend to drive like they own the road more often than average, I have never found anything out-of-the-ordinary with Volvos

[sillyman99]

I also find that Fortuners tend to drive like they own the road more often than average

You mean we don't ?

[billd766]

I also find that Fortuners tend to drive like they own the road more often than average

You mean we don't ?

Can you expand on that, just for me.

and me

[Kwasaki]

I voted small bikes. This is certainly one I would not want to hit.

It's titled the Bucket seat

Baby not bothered but really has no choice.

Edited August 26, 2010 by Kwasaki

[mca]

Technical college lads on "souped up" bikes and motorcycle and sidecar fruit market traders are my particular "faves"

[nocturn]

Volvos..... The mind set of someone who buys them is already distinctive and then it is applied once on the road.. Always slower and overly cautious...

Volvo T5 estate, 150 MPH and 0 - 60 MPH in under 6 seconds. Think there will be a lot of Scandinavians and me that would argue your assumption .

Not surprising since you'd argue the sky is blue if I quoted it regardless how wrong you'd be or foolish you'd look.. But still the post stands on it's merits since we are talking generally here about Thailand and not specific models offered in other parts of the world. Is that model readily available in Thailand? Or is it mostly older 240/260's get it??

Also just because a car can perform to such heights has no bearing whatsoever on the driver driving it. How many Ferrari, or even Trans Am owners ever use them to their real potential rather then own them just to say they do and show them off?? My vast experience says the majority of owners don't drive them to the performance levels they were designed is the real answer and Volvo owners are high up in that majority, it's more a status car driven to work and with family to the mall or out to dinner.

quit trying so hard, it makes you look silly.

[Kwasaki]

I voted small bikes. This is certainly one I would not want to hit.

It's titled the Bucket seat

Baby not bothered but really has no choice.

Yep, l voted the same, can the guy see where he's going, let alone stopping the thing.

Ohhhhhhhhh careful now !!! we mustn't get back into upgrading brakes again I think it's the best of nine person on a bike I've seen.

[phuketrichard]

Fortuner drivers seem to be the worst here in Phuket. None of the drivers seem to know how wide the truck is so are constantly in the wrong lane. PLus it seems this is the vehical that the farangs buy and let their thai wifes/gf's drive who have no idea what they are doing.

Its a truck trying to pass as a car and it fails at it.

After that is the underpowered minivans and tuk tuks on the hills that never pull over to the slow lane.

[ableguy]

Any of them driven by anybody. Nobody on the road drives as well or carefuly as myself

nellyp you forgot about me,

[islandguy]

The recession has changed the numbers quite a bit, but on Samui the cement (concrete) trucks were what terrified us the most. They are paid by the load and have no fear of the police. Due to the laws of physics they win every time.

[MTH]

I voted small bikes. This is certainly one I would not want to hit.

It's titled the Bucket seat

Baby not bothered but really has no choice.

Funny how tales (and pictures) always get improved as they are passed on.

Last time I saw this family riding around they were "only" 8 on the bike.

[gotlost]

Next time you look in a mirror you are seeing Thailand's worst driver.

[soihok]

This seems to be the correct thread for a slice of forum road rage!

Funny.

My wifes the worst driver in Thailand.

Whilst out in the hills " where the streets have no name" or surface ,it was a case of

small track on a hill + (my)manual Vigo in a high gear = ploughing cassava field + hello big tree

Fortuners....dreadfully driven most of the time.

Edited August 30, 2010 by soihok

[Kwasaki]

I voted small bikes. This is certainly one I would not want to hit.

It's titled the Bucket seat

Baby not bothered but really has no choice.

Funny how tales (and pictures) always get improved as they are passed on.

Last time I saw this family riding around they were "only" 8 on the bike.

No they phoned me later and said they drop the baby off.

[Forethat]

No they phoned me later and said they drop the baby off.

Maybe the little bugger wanted to take a nap so they closed the lid..?

[David006]

Intercity luxury buses....overtake you on a double yellow line, horn blasting then stop for a pickup three or four hundred meters down the road......then speed through a country market ( m/cs/kids trucks, people all over the roadway) horn blasting. One slip and they could wipe out twenty odd people...absolutely crazy. And the police do zip to 'em while they sit by their road cones and florescent lights.

oh yes and the black Fortuner riding in your trunk is a given...lol

ever notice the kids in lowered trucks with fat exhausts and low profile tires seem to drive sedately????

[canuckamuck]

Intercity luxury buses....overtake you on a double yellow line, horn blasting then stop for a pickup three or four hundred meters down the road......then speed through a country market ( m/cs/kids trucks, people all over the roadway) horn blasting. One slip and they could wipe out twenty odd people...absolutely crazy. And the police do zip to 'em while they sit by their road cones and florescent lights.

oh yes and the black Fortuner riding in your trunk is a given...lol

ever notice the kids in lowered trucks with fat exhausts and low profile tires seem to drive sedately????

Yes, that's because they got them so low, any good size bump means a trip to the fiberglass shop. Ever watch them go over speed bumps? Even going slow they crunch.

But hey, it's cool to be low.

[Deeral]

Farangs who think they are inherently better drivers than Thai people.

[MrSnrang]

Aggressive drivers don't bother me much. Benzes and Fortuners may try to rule the road, but at least they pay enough attention to their surroundings to drive like that.

Small champagne cars are the ones you have to be worried about. Gold Toyota Vios's, in my experience, are driven by clueless drones. Their faults can apply to a lot of Thai drivers, but I notice these gold subcompacts more frequently.

In slow traffic they only pay attention to the car in front of them, and they end up panic braking and creating a dangerous situation for the flow of traffic. In highway traffic, they often fail to comply with common courtesy. They go low in the passing lane, rarely use their indicators, and will with no apparent reason slow down without looking at their rear view mirror.

I spend my time driving daily from downtown Bangkok to Nakhorn Phatom and back into the city. I spend weekends in suburban East Bangkok.

[Deeral]

Farangs who think they are inherently better drivers than Thai people.

They are, on the whole.

At least farangs have been taught the fundamental common sense stuff that is totally missing from your average native driver.

There's one now; right on cue!

[EbcBrakes]

Aggressive drivers don't bother me much. Benzes and Fortuners may try to rule the road, but at least they pay enough attention to their surroundings to drive like that.

Small champagne cars are the ones you have to be worried about. Gold Toyota Vios's, in my experience, are driven by clueless drones. Their faults can apply to a lot of Thai drivers, but I notice these gold subcompacts more frequently.

In slow traffic they only pay attention to the car in front of them, and they end up panic braking and creating a dangerous situation for the flow of traffic. In highway traffic, they often fail to comply with common courtesy. They go low in the passing lane, rarely use their indicators, and will with no apparent reason slow down without looking at their rear view mirror.

I spend my time driving daily from downtown Bangkok to Nakhorn Phatom and back into the city. I spend weekends in suburban East Bangkok.

Agreed, I hate the ones that pull out from the left and have to directly cross a 3 lane road before possibly accelerating (with no U-turn in sight). Give them a honk or a flash and they have no clue that they nearly caused a multiple pile up with all the cars that had to take avoidance measures.

[canuckamuck]

I would say westerners have to drive more responsibly due to the fact that there is such a thing as traffic law enforcement in western nations, and on top of that they required to attain a certain level of skill before they are allowed to legally drive. I have taken a Thai drivers license test (motorcycle) all I had to do was drive in a straight line, go between two pylons, and stop the motorcycle and get off without falling down. In my country I need to take a course and pass a strict exam. Plus pay exorbitant insurance rates.

Some Thais acquire a high level of driving skill, but they are never required to. And their driver record never comes into account.

Some westerners lose their ability to drive responsible in Thailand, but I would say it is a small minority

Edited September 3, 2010 by canuckamuck

[chav]

Farangs who think they are inherently better drivers than Thai people.

They are, on the whole.

At least farangs have been taught the fundamental common sense stuff that is totally missing from your average native driver.

There's one now; right on cue!

Add me to your list too.

I know some of the best drivers in Thailand and they mostly are Thais, they are racing drivers. The percentage of dexterous Thai drivers on the roads however compared to 'ferangs' is frighteningly low - the standard here is low, therefore by having better driving standards in 'ferangland' we qualify as drivers of a higher standard - arguably not automatically better drivers because road manors may play a role in that definition.

[Deeral]

"At least farangs have been taught the fundamental common sense stuffthat is totally missing from your average native driver. "- this is sadly a rather racist comment and not based on anything butpersonal observation - as you see what you want it can't really betaken seriously.

"I have driven once in BKK " - hardly an experienced stancefor making comments on Thai driving then, is it?

Simply describing and deriding how people drive in Thailand is POINTLESS -especially as most of the descriptions are by incompetent Farangobservers who are only looking for what they perceive as evidence toback up their owen feelings of superiority.

Get used to it!.......

The truth is that Thailand is not fully developed when it comes to a roadsystem - it is really the environment both legal and engineered theydrive in they makes it so challenging. A good standard of trafficengineering and an education process would change a lot of this - aswould a police force that was interested in policing rather thancollecting bribes.

....but that is not how it is and a competent driver can see this and doesn'tneed to resort to claiming how stupid his fellow road users are - itis a declaration of stupidity in itself.

In these circumstances foreign drivers in general are hopelesslyincapable of assessing or adjusting to the situation - or situationsas they arise - and try to defend their own short-comings by writinginto Thai forums complaining about OTHER road users - when in realitythe fault is THEIRS>

Edited September 3, 2010 by Deeral

[Forethat]

If you'd take 1000 Thai drivers and send them on a drive through the capital of my home country, 999 of them would lose their driving license within the hour, out of which ONE would have a slim chance of getting it back EVER following 300 driving lessons and 6 months of studying basic traffic rules and regulations.

HOWEVER, when I drive in BKK it is obvious that there is an order within the chaos. \And to be honest, if drivers in BKK didn't learn to pay attention they would kill a dozen motorcyclists per day (ehh, what's the stats, maybe I'm on to something here...?)

I think the Thai way of driving only works in an utter chaotic environment like Bangkok; take a Thai driver to a place where order is upheld and people expect you to actually know what you're doing (no Thai driver does), and scary stuff will happen. Farangs probably evaluate Thais driving abilities based on this. I've driven to the NE several times and very rapidly realized I need to think for every driver nearby in order to to avoid sudden and painful death or at least damage to property.

What many Thais fail to understand (apparently) is that upholding the need for a driving license is impossible unless the requirements for getting one is very low, otherwise no one would make an effort to get one in the first place.

To put it simple, Thai people are better drivers than chickens. I'd like to point out I'm not complaining, I'm just stating the obvious.

Edited September 3, 2010 by Forethat

[Deeral]

If you'd take 1000 Thai drivers and send them on a drive through the capital of my home country, 999 of them would lose their driving license within the hour, out of which ONE would have a slim chance of getting it back EVER following 300 driving lessons and 6 months of studying basic traffic rules and regulations.

HOWEVER, when I drive in BKK it is obvious that there is an order within the chaos. \And to be honest, if drivers in BKK didn't learn to pay attention they would kill a dozen motorcyclists per day (ehh, what's the stats, maybe I'm on to something here...?)

I think the Thai way of driving only works in an utter chaotic environment like Bangkok; take a Thai driver to a place where order is upheld and people expect you to actually know what you're doing (no Thai driver does), and scary stuff will happen. Farangs probably evaluate Thais driving abilities based on this. I've driven to the NE several times and very rapidly realized I need to think for every driver nearby in order to to avoid sudden and painful death or at least damage to property.

What many Thais fail to understand (apparently) is that upholding the need for a driving license is impossible unless the requirements for getting one is very low, otherwise no one would make an effort to get one in the first place.

To put it simple, Thai people are better drivers than chickens. I'd like to point out I'm not complaining, I'm just stating the obvious.

I'm not sure it's that obvious because a test of your first premise is impractical and you have drawn conclusions from a source that we can't corroborate.however - not knowing the rules can lead to problems - simply not recognising a no parking sign could lead to problems.......but this is a two way thing - I is my contention that MOST farang drivers are in fact only "average" drivers and they rally don't have the ability or skills to correctly assess the situation on the roads in Thailand which although strange and different requires a foreigner to drive with skills they never would use at home. So their criticism of Thai driving arise not from bad driving by Thais but from their own inability to cope with this new and unregulated environment.

if a 16 or 17 year old in your home country can pass a driving test - are you suggesting that a Thai driver couldn't do this? Why?

a - but are you saying that Thai people are inherently less capable of learning how to drive?

b - less able to drive?

c- Inherently have less deductive or cognitive ability than "Farang" drivers?

d - or drive differently and in fact give the same driving instructions and the same environment they would drive just like any other driver i - e.g. in your home country?

Edited September 3, 2010 by Deeral