thequietman Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 hi guys, i've read about it many times on here on tv but never experienced it first hand until today. driving home from town doing 80 km/hr, nice and easy. pickup infront was driving real slow, so had to slow down until an opportunity to pass came. checked the mirror, signalled and began to move out and around. next thing i glance in my mirror again and a school minibus was right behind me ( i thought he was in the back of the pickup, he was that close) he then pulled alongside and was just sitting there. even though advice on here tells you not to do it, i gave him the 'bird'. i know, stupid but i was angry and feeling intimadated. he then pulled in front of me and braked hard trying to get me to stop. i moved around and continued on. he overtook again and sped off. thank christ hes gone i thought. came over the next crest and there he was. mini bus was pulled across the 2 lanes in an attempt to block me. <deleted>. enough space (just) to get around and i continued on. he shouted that i was a dick. sure enough he comes again from behind and speeds past. i am sure he was trying to find another part of the road to swing across again. thankfully my turn was coming up, so i let him speed on and then took it when he was far enough ahead. its true what you read on here. a thai man turns into a really big asshol_e behind the wheel. i have tinted windows so how could he have know that i wasnt thai and maybe a soldier or cop on his way home. he didnt seem to care either way. he just lost it. i was glad i didnt stop as this moron could have had a knife or gun. i am sure this same guy probably brings kids to and from school. god keep them safe if this is the quality of his driving. i regret giving him the finger now and so will take this opportunity to encourage all tv members to just let it slid no matter how stupid the other persom drives. its just not worth going through something as crazy as this. Be careful out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovelomsak Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I had a road rage myself the other day. I rode my motorcycle to another city last week about 150 kilometers away. The way there was fine. On the way back I got tired of on coming pickups and cars pulling out to pass and forcing me just about off the road, or have a head on collision. Finally I had 3 trucks do one right after the otherwithin about 3 minutes. The last one I lost it and opened the throttle and aimed my bike right at the drivers side. If he didnot get out of my way I was going through the windshield and meeting him face to face head on. We got close but he managed to just pull in behind another vehicle and I just kept on going. I hope in the future to handle these situatons better. Could be hazardous to my health. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post 101734 Posted November 23, 2011 Popular Post Share Posted November 23, 2011 If there is one good positive thing that Thailand has taught me is to control my temper especially when driving. In the UK the slightest little thing would set me off like being cut up deliberately by an arsehol_e i would end up driving after them gesturing to pull over with hand signs and the rest of it. That's all gone now here you got keep your head down and put up with a lot of shit your wouldn't do wherever you come from so its a positive thing for me anyway. jai yen yen 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thequietman Posted November 23, 2011 Author Share Posted November 23, 2011 (edited) If there is one good positive thing that Thailand has taught me is to control my temper especially when driving. In the UK the slightest little thing would set me off like being cut up deliberately by an arsehol_e i would end up driving after them gesturing to pull over with hand signs and the rest of it. That's all gone now here you got keep your head down and put up with a lot of shit your wouldn't do wherever you come from so its a positive thing for me anyway. jai yen yen hi, yes good advice and i normally keep the head down. dont know why i reacted like i did. i feel silly now for giving him the finger. sometimes however its really really hard to turn away when someone is clearly putting your life in danger. to make matters worse, i live in a small town so its very likely our paths will cross again. hope he forgets. deep breaths...deep breaths Edited November 23, 2011 by thequietman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarryP Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I find repeating "<deleted>" under my breath very therapeutic and calming. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robblok Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I had a road rage myself the other day. I rode my motorcycle to another city last week about 150 kilometers away. The way there was fine. On the way back I got tired of on coming pickups and cars pulling out to pass and forcing me just about off the road, or have a head on collision. Finally I had 3 trucks do one right after the otherwithin about 3 minutes. The last one I lost it and opened the throttle and aimed my bike right at the drivers side. If he didnot get out of my way I was going through the windshield and meeting him face to face head on. We got close but he managed to just pull in behind another vehicle and I just kept on going. I hope in the future to handle these situatons better. Could be hazardous to my health. Yes its real anoying to see car drivers here thinking that they can take the whole lane your driving on (going the right way) while they pass others going the wrong way. Big <deleted> all of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
101734 Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 hi, yes good advice and i normally keep the head down. dont know why i reacted like i did. i feel silly now for giving him the finger. sometimes however its really really hard to turn away when someone is clearly putting your life in danger. to make matters worse, i live in a small town so its very likely our paths will cross again. hope he forgets. deep breaths...deep breaths Nothing to feel silly about mate its natural to get angry when someone really pisses you off especially when their putting your life in danger. Three years ago a drunk on a motor bike almost smashed into my bike. I stopped and got off and started shouting at him he got off and a few taxi driver boys started to walk over to his side i new then i was out of my depth here and will have to quickly learn to control myself. That's not being a wuss im no mug but you gotta be realistic if you want to live here anyway the main thing is your alright. I find repeating "<deleted>" under my breath very therapeutic and calming. I prefer c**t but each to their own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiang mai Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 The OP posts about a school van that tailgated and that's one thing, giving the van driver the bird takes matters into a totally different league - best to understand those things or live a short life here in LOS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QED Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 So it was all because you gave him the bird, but then you go on to say "i have tinted windows so how could he have know that i wasnt thai and maybe a soldier or cop on his way home. he didnt seem to care either way." How could he see one without the other? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard_smith237 Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 If there is one good positive thing that Thailand has taught me is to control my temper especially when driving. In the UK the slightest little thing would set me off like being cut up deliberately by an arsehol_e i would end up driving after them gesturing to pull over with hand signs and the rest of it. That's all gone now here you got keep your head down and put up with a lot of shit your wouldn't do wherever you come from so its a positive thing for me anyway. jai yen yen hi, yes good advice and i normally keep the head down. dont know why i reacted like i did. i feel silly now for giving him the finger. sometimes however its really really hard to turn away when someone is clearly putting your life in danger. to make matters worse, i live in a small town so its very likely our paths will cross again. hope he forgets. deep breaths...deep breaths Sometimes others force you to become someone you don't like to be.... Ok, so we can all take the moral high ground and avoid these situations, we are also human and sometimes bite back, its difficult not to. Everyone reacts at some point - it would be inhuman not to... Stopping in the middle of the road is excessive though, that just shows exactly what an idiot this guy was. Unfortunately there is no way they will learn. While I try for it not to, I'm sure something similar will happen to me at some point in the future.... I've had other road users get aggressive with me in the past... Once was for changing lanes, when the guy in the other lane accelerated to block me, I simply continued and decided that if he wanted that space so much he was going to have to hit my car... So he changed into the other lane pulled next to me and was shouting at me... I just laughed at him and shook my head, a few minutes later he was still mouthing at me, so I blew him a kiss... that didn't please him either... I think in the end he got bored... The issue there is that if he got out of the van he could've had a knife or a gun so I might have had no choice but to run him over !!! (extreme I know - But as I said earlier, sometimes others force us to become the person we don't want to be...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinscarr Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Compared to the UK, I find Thai drivers generally don't display aggression. Appalling lack of anticipation; total lack of understanding about why tailgating is potentially lethal; out in the country, total lack of road sense; etc etc. But road rage? Occasionally from a BMW driver, but in general Thais seem very accepting of being cut up etc. I put it down to a mixture of Buddhism and 'mai pen rai'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiang mai Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Folks need to say whether they are regular and continuous drivers here in Thailand before making silly comments that relate to somewhere else! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard_smith237 Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Compared to the UK, I find Thai drivers generally don't display aggression. Appalling lack of anticipation; total lack of understanding about why tailgating is potentially lethal; out in the country, total lack of road sense; etc etc. But road rage? Occasionally from a BMW driver, but in general Thais seem very accepting of being cut up etc. I put it down to a mixture of Buddhism and 'mai pen rai'. My suspicion is slightly different: Those who are accepting of being cut up simply haven't noticed !... Really though... Everyone gets annoyed and frustraited on the roads. There is absolutely no need to take it to the next level though. No body gets 'Pedestrian rage' in a busy shopping mall or tube / BTS station ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soutpeel Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 No body gets 'Pedestrian rage' in a busy shopping mall or tube / BTS station ! I dont know, feel like beating the living sh*t of the people who stand in front of the escalators while talking on their phones blocking everyone... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kananga Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Compared to the UK, I find Thai drivers generally don't display aggression. Appalling lack of anticipation; total lack of understanding about why tailgating is potentially lethal; out in the country, total lack of road sense; etc etc. But road rage? Occasionally from a BMW driver, but in general Thais seem very accepting of being cut up etc. I put it down to a mixture of Buddhism and 'mai pen rai'. My suspicion is slightly different: Those who are accepting of being cut up simply haven't noticed !... Really though... Everyone gets annoyed and frustraited on the roads. There is absolutely no need to take it to the next level though. No body gets 'Pedestrian rage' in a busy shopping mall or tube / BTS station ! I do. Especially when people try to get in the elevator/subway/skytrain before I have managed to get out. I just elbow the fuc_kers in the face these days. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiang mai Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Compared to the UK, I find Thai drivers generally don't display aggression. Appalling lack of anticipation; total lack of understanding about why tailgating is potentially lethal; out in the country, total lack of road sense; etc etc. But road rage? Occasionally from a BMW driver, but in general Thais seem very accepting of being cut up etc. I put it down to a mixture of Buddhism and 'mai pen rai'. My suspicion is slightly different: Those who are accepting of being cut up simply haven't noticed !... Really though... Everyone gets annoyed and frustraited on the roads. There is absolutely no need to take it to the next level though. No body gets 'Pedestrian rage' in a busy shopping mall or tube / BTS station ! I do. Especially when people try to get in the elevator/subway/skytrain before I have managed to get out. I just elbow the fuc_kers in the face these days. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thequietman Posted November 23, 2011 Author Share Posted November 23, 2011 If there is one good positive thing that Thailand has taught me is to control my temper especially when driving. In the UK the slightest little thing would set me off like being cut up deliberately by an arsehol_e i would end up driving after them gesturing to pull over with hand signs and the rest of it. That's all gone now here you got keep your head down and put up with a lot of shit your wouldn't do wherever you come from so its a positive thing for me anyway. jai yen yen hi, yes good advice and i normally keep the head down. dont know why i reacted like i did. i feel silly now for giving him the finger. sometimes however its really really hard to turn away when someone is clearly putting your life in danger. to make matters worse, i live in a small town so its very likely our paths will cross again. hope he forgets. deep breaths...deep breaths Sometimes others force you to become someone you don't like to be.... Ok, so we can all take the moral high ground and avoid these situations, we are also human and sometimes bite back, its difficult not to. Everyone reacts at some point - it would be inhuman not to... Stopping in the middle of the road is excessive though, that just shows exactly what an idiot this guy was. Unfortunately there is no way they will learn. While I try for it not to, I'm sure something similar will happen to me at some point in the future.... I've had other road users get aggressive with me in the past... Once was for changing lanes, when the guy in the other lane accelerated to block me, I simply continued and decided that if he wanted that space so much he was going to have to hit my car... So he changed into the other lane pulled next to me and was shouting at me... I just laughed at him and shook my head, a few minutes later he was still mouthing at me, so I blew him a kiss... that didn't please him either... I think in the end he got bored... The issue there is that if he got out of the van he could've had a knife or a gun so I might have had no choice but to run him over !!! (extreme I know - But as I said earlier, sometimes others force us to become the person we don't want to be...) so true. when he pulled the minibus across the 2 lanes, i made up my mind there and then that if he blocked the space left by standing there, then he was going over the roof. thankfully he didnt. i think it was for show as he could have blocked the 2 lanes properly if he wanted to. maybe had a friend in the bus with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiang mai Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Note to self - add names of anger management doctors to medical list for Chiang Mai. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robblok Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Note to self - add names of anger management doctors to medical list for Chiang Mai. Traffic can make you angry especially if your on dual carriage way with your bike and the cars come onto your lane to pass other cars expecting you to move of the road. Just like your not there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiang mai Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Second Note to Self: - having identified anger management centers/doctors, distribute list to all farangs in Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flying Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 So it was all because you gave him the bird, but then you go on to say "i have tinted windows so how could he have know that i wasnt thai and maybe a soldier or cop on his way home. he didnt seem to care either way." How could he see one without the other? Same thought I had Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thequietman Posted November 23, 2011 Author Share Posted November 23, 2011 (edited) So it was all because you gave him the bird, but then you go on to say "i have tinted windows so how could he have know that i wasnt thai and maybe a soldier or cop on his way home. he didnt seem to care either way." How could he see one without the other? hi, i give him the finger by putting it up against the glass on the drivers side. next time when you pass a car or pickup have a look. its hard to make out what the person looks like inside. however he may have seen i was a foreigner on the second occasion when he pulled the minibus across 2 lanes and i had to pass closely by him. if he didnt see me give him the bird and was just reacting to my driving then he is a nucking fut. either way it was a bit extreme to take it this far. if i had to drive into him, how could he explain why his minibus was parked like it was to the police. it was just mindless on his part. i will learn from this experience and hope that i dont bump into this fool again, although he strikes me as a person who holds a grudge. Edited November 23, 2011 by thequietman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tutsiwarrior Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I've had to drive in lots of places and one of the worst is the Middle East as anyone that has lived there will tell you...in the west there is no excuse for inconsiderate driving and the question of 'deliberate disrespect' comes into play and the associated 'road rage'... as a westerner who is used to courtesy from other drivers one of the hardest things to get used to in the third world are the local driving habits which do not incorporate western expectations; people simply are bad drivers, wandering all over the road, not signalling, squeezing in if there is a space (sometimes when there is not)...basic dumbshits...but, one must realise that they do not intend to be deliberately disrespectful or unsafe: they simply don't know any better... on the other hand, there is no question about disrespect when someone gives you the finger...lucky not to get shot... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fookhaht Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 (edited) Using a motorcycle for transportation, as I do, puts you at the low end of the food chain, just above bicyclists and pedestrians. Consequently, it's an especially hazardous situation when road rage becomes an ingredient. It's also my guess that we receive a greater percentage of road rage from vehicles higher up the chain because they are much less intimidated from a two-wheeler. One night I was in front of a guy in a pickup who wanted to pass me. For the moment, he could not because I was dodging dangerous potholes in my lane, and had to hug close to the center line. He laid on his horn and tailgated me within a meter or two. Finally, pissed off, he sped past me, nearly brushing my pant leg, and then purposely, when he swung back into my lane, went over to the dirt and gravel shoulder to spray me with projectiles off his tires. From two especially large rocks, I sustained a cracked helmet face plate and a broken headlight. Thanks to numerous other small rocks, I was left with numerous small bruises on the exposed skin of my arms and shins. Thank God for the face plate which protected me from more serious injury! In another instance, I was at a stop light, and when the light turned green, I was having difficulty shifting my bike into first gear. Being detained for over 10 seconds drove the driver crazy behind me--this time in a big pickup also. He blasted his horn, edged his pickup up to the back of my motorbike, and began aggressively pushing me forward, nearly breaking my ankle under the bike carriage on the opposite side of my starter. It was a surreal situation, especially when happening on a university campus. I was the teacher and there was a 90% chance the driver (behind black-shaded windows, of course) was a student. Thailand Rule of the Road #1: "Don't let ANYONE obstruct your forward movement; and don't you dare let anyone slow you down! If they do, it becomes your license to revert to normally unacceptable behavior. Especially, if I'm going incognito behind darkened windows, my license for maliciousness expands exponentially." So much for the "jai yen yen / mai pben rai" part of the culture. P.S. Unfortunately, some people are not exonerated by the rosy view promulgated by the previous poster that these non-western drivers simply "don't know any better." There are some really, really mean critters out there. Edited November 23, 2011 by Fookhaht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovelomsak Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 If there is one good positive thing that Thailand has taught me is to control my temper especially when driving. In the UK the slightest little thing would set me off like being cut up deliberately by an arsehol_e i would end up driving after them gesturing to pull over with hand signs and the rest of it. That's all gone now here you got keep your head down and put up with a lot of shit your wouldn't do wherever you come from so its a positive thing for me anyway. jai yen yen hi, yes good advice and i normally keep the head down. dont know why i reacted like i did. i feel silly now for giving him the finger. sometimes however its really really hard to turn away when someone is clearly putting your life in danger. to make matters worse, i live in a small town so its very likely our paths will cross again. hope he forgets. deep breaths...deep breaths If your small town is like most Thai small towns, they know the truck and driver by license plate number. So many trucks look the same they memorize the plate numbers. Ask your friends your plate number I bet they can tell you it. Or ask them the plate number of a neighbour see if they know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Payboy Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 however he may have seen i was a foreigner Or was it the size of your finger? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kananga Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Behind every smile is an angry Thai. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travelmann Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I had a road rage myself the other day. I rode my motorcycle to another city last week about 150 kilometers away. The way there was fine. On the way back I got tired of on coming pickups and cars pulling out to pass and forcing me just about off the road, or have a head on collision. Finally I had 3 trucks do one right after the otherwithin about 3 minutes. The last one I lost it and opened the throttle and aimed my bike right at the drivers side. If he didnot get out of my way I was going through the windshield and meeting him face to face head on. We got close but he managed to just pull in behind another vehicle and I just kept on going. I hope in the future to handle these situatons better. Could be hazardous to my health. What you really have to learn to understand is they dont care and they will kill you if it comes to it, make no mistake here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VocalNeal Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 The last one I lost it and opened the throttle and aimed my bike right at the drivers side. If he didnot get out of my way I was going through the windshield and meeting him face to face head on. We got close but he managed to just pull in behind another vehicle and I just kept on going. Not easy on a bike but a handful of marbles works wonders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F1fanatic Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 (edited) Second Note to Self: - having identified anger management centers/doctors, distribute list to all farangs in Thailand. Thank you - the best laugh I've had all day! I agree with a previous poster - since moving here I've learned not to get (so) angry about things that happen on the roads, it could well be detrimental to one's health... Only once have I shown my displeasure on the road, but it was an old Westerner on a motorbike who cut across in front of me (on my motorbike) without even bothering to look. I honestly thought I would be unable to avoid him in time and actually screamed! I was not a happy bunny.... Edited November 23, 2011 by F1fanatic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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