Road Rage In Thailand

[thequietman]

I was driving down a two-lane road, in the passing-lane, and an older farang guy was on my right on a motorcycle, about to make a u-turn. I go to pass him, but with the car on my left lane somewhat close to me, I had to pass the guy on the bike a tad close. Pretty standard, nothing dangerous, no harm, no foul. Anyways, I'm driving away and look back on my rearview mirror, and I can see the old buzzard is yelling and flipping me off! For a moment, I seriously felt like making a u-turn, tracking this guy down, and beating the crap out of him. I was literally that annoyed. I didn't feel like I did anything wrong (and certainly not intentional)...and this a-hole is giving me the finger??!! But my self-control got the best of me and I left it at that.

Moral of the story: You should refrain from giving anyone the finger. You may just run into someone who doesn't have the self-control of yours truly.

Shall we try that Berkshire you cut me off.. I flip the finger and you confront me. My bad flipping the finger, and your bad confronting me. But your initial action triggered it. You already admitted it was closer then you normally do so he probably felt the same.

exactly robblock. i admit flicking the finger was foolish of me but the other persons reckless driving kicked it off. after i had calmed down i immediately realised my error and continued on my way. this guy was messing with me for at least 15 km ! i have been driving in thailand for 9 years, motorbike and pickup and i have yet, in all that time, to get to and from work without incident from an irrational thai driver. i dusted off the bike last night and rode it to work today. i am scared of no man but i know if i put the pickup back on the road too soon that hyped up minibus driver will be gunning for me again. man on man is not an issue for me. if he beats me fair and square i will take it. however i KNOW thai men and i have yet to see a one on one confrontation. a knife, a gun or a herd of friends will appear in any situation. i chose to put time between this incident and let the other guy calm the hell down. i know he wont forget (because of this 'face' crap) but maybe he will just let it slide. lets wait and see.

[Payboy]

Braked perhaps.

In Thailand?

[hehehoho]

Many foreigners brake here.

Oh sorry, that's break.

[chiang mai]

Well, that was a thread killer, just as well, the testosterone was getting to be knee deep.

[robblok]

I was driving down a two-lane road, in the passing-lane, and an older farang guy was on my right on a motorcycle, about to make a u-turn. I go to pass him, but with the car on my left lane somewhat close to me, I had to pass the guy on the bike a tad close. Pretty standard, nothing dangerous, no harm, no foul. Anyways, I'm driving away and look back on my rearview mirror, and I can see the old buzzard is yelling and flipping me off! For a moment, I seriously felt like making a u-turn, tracking this guy down, and beating the crap out of him. I was literally that annoyed. I didn't feel like I did anything wrong (and certainly not intentional)...and this a-hole is giving me the finger??!! But my self-control got the best of me and I left it at that.

Moral of the story: You should refrain from giving anyone the finger. You may just run into someone who doesn't have the self-control of yours truly.

Shall we try that Berkshire you cut me off.. I flip the finger and you confront me. My bad flipping the finger, and your bad confronting me. But your initial action triggered it. You already admitted it was closer then you normally do so he probably felt the same.

Now wait a minute, what did I do wrong, exactly? Should I have side-swiped the car to avoid being, what, too close to the bike? I avoided both. The point being that you don't really know the other guy's intention. But if you think that giving the finger to other drivers is appropriate (deservedly or not), have at it. Do it all day long. I'm with you!

I curse or comment on drivers, i don't give them finger often unless its real bad. But you could have braked instead of the action you did now.

Once i almost got hit by a car doing an illegal U turn. He got the finger and a few honks from the horn of my car. Normal stupidity i don't even bother or get too excited. But the real idiots get to me sometimes. Especially if they have endangered my life. Must say then they must really have done something that stands out because of how dangerous it is.

[Berkshire]

Braked perhaps.

Yeah, slam on the brakes and get rear-ended (in a manner of speaking).

[JohnnyFeelIt]

you Are getting the full story. he was tail gating me and as he pulled alongside i gave him the finger by putting it right up to the glass. however as i said before maybe he didnt see it and was just reacting. i had to break to get in out of his way, which made him break as he was no more than 3 feet from the back of me. i continued on my way at 80 km/hr and he still pulled the bus horizontally across the 2 lanes to get me to stop. does this sound rational to you ? get off your high horse, an asshol_e is an asshol_e (thai or foreigner) if he behaves like this. there is no excuse.

You never mentioned him blocking you in against the central res and getting out of the mini van tho. And it wasn't horizontal, it was more like 75 degrees.

[Beetlejuice]

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.

Absolutely right.

Better to have just slowed down and let the mini bus pass.

The problem is that many farangs can`t resist making they`re objections known and would rather risk creating an incident rather than just swallowing their pride and having to give way.

Something similar happened to a German tourist on a motorbike in Chiang Mai a few months ago. He ended up dead with a bullet in his head.

I think some farangs are unable to adapt to the way of life and attitudes in Thailand.

[Berkshire]

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.

Absolutely right.

Better to have just slowed down and let the mini bus pass.

The problem is that many farangs can`t resist making they`re objections known and would rather risk creating an incident rather than just swallowing their pride and having to give way.

Something similar happened to a German tourist on a motorbike in Chiang Mai a few months ago. He ended up dead with a bullet in his head.

I think some farangs are unable to adapt to the way of life and attitudes in Thailand.

That was exactly my point. I recall the Chiang Mai incident. A pointless death as a result of giving someone the finger.

[lovelomsak]

I was driving down a two-lane road, in the passing-lane, and an older farang guy was on my right on a motorcycle, about to make a u-turn. I go to pass him, but with the car on my left lane somewhat close to me, I had to pass the guy on the bike a tad close. Pretty standard, nothing dangerous, no harm, no foul. Anyways, I'm driving away and look back on my rearview mirror, and I can see the old buzzard is yelling and flipping me off! For a moment, I seriously felt like making a u-turn, tracking this guy down, and beating the crap out of him. I was literally that annoyed. I didn't feel like I did anything wrong (and certainly not intentional)...and this a-hole is giving me the finger??!! But my self-control got the best of me and I left it at that.

Moral of the story: You should refrain from giving anyone the finger. You may just run into someone who doesn't have the self-control of yours truly.

I am trying to picture what happened. You wanted to pass and old guy on a motorcycle(who of course would be no match for you in a fight). There was an oncoming vehicle. So instead slowing down to let the other guy get through you decide to squeeze between them knowing if anyone gets injured it will be the old guy on the bike. I would have given you the finger too if I was the old guy. I am an old guy too easy picking for guys like you.

As far as the no danger, standard stuff maybe in your eyes but maybe not the guy you came so close to.

I see it as you figure you live a blameless life only others offend.

[hehehoho]

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.

Absolutely right.

Better to have just slowed down and let the mini bus pass.

The problem is that many farangs can`t resist making they`re objections known and would rather risk creating an incident rather than just swallowing their pride and having to give way.

Something similar happened to a German tourist on a motorbike in Chiang Mai a few months ago. He ended up dead with a bullet in his head.

I think some farangs are unable to adapt to the way of life and attitudes in Thailand.

It's a very gentle, patient, caring, Buddhist culture.

[thaiIand]

I was driving down a two-lane road, in the passing-lane, and an older farang guy was on my right on a motorcycle, about to make a u-turn. I go to pass him, but with the car on my left lane somewhat close to me, I had to pass the guy on the bike a tad close. Pretty standard, nothing dangerous, no harm, no foul. Anyways, I'm driving away and look back on my rearview mirror, and I can see the old buzzard is yelling and flipping me off! For a moment, I seriously felt like making a u-turn, tracking this guy down, and beating the crap out of him. I was literally that annoyed. I didn't feel like I did anything wrong (and certainly not intentional)...and this a-hole is giving me the finger??!! But my self-control got the best of me and I left it at that.

Moral of the story: You should refrain from giving anyone the finger. You may just run into someone who doesn't have the self-control of yours truly.

I am trying to picture what happened. You wanted to pass and old guy on a motorcycle(who of course would be no match for you in a fight). There was an oncoming vehicle. So instead slowing down to let the other guy get through you decide to squeeze between them knowing if anyone gets injured it will be the old guy on the bike. I would have given you the finger too if I was the old guy. I am an old guy too easy picking for guys like you.

As far as the no danger, standard stuff maybe in your eyes but maybe not the guy you came so close to.

I see it as you figure you live a blameless life only others offend.

sounds the me the old dumbdumb farang had turned into the fast lane two thousand kilometers before the uturn and was driving at 5km/h taking all the space as most thais do. If farang boy had acceleterated at the same speeds cars were travelling, no problem, if you cant drive faster than 5km per hour then you wait on the left side untill there's no car. This is what i do in uturn spots depending on the speed im doing. Very safe and you do NOT ANNOY CARS.

Every time a stupid ass makes you slowdown you lose money, it's not about pride or owning the lane its about these idiots making you break and accelerate. My comsumption of gas per km is so much higher here because of the constant need to break even on the hghway

[petedk]

I think some farangs are unable to adapt to the way of life and attitudes in Thailand.

I think you have a good point there.

When driving I try to stay calm as my girlfriend always says "you are farang and no one cares if you die" but sometimes I do tend to flip out.

A couple of months ago I was trying to come out of a side road and turn right into the main road. About 50 metres to my right was a taxi coming out of a side road parallel with me and he turned left into my direction. We pulled out at the same time but he sped up and came straight towards me honking his horn. I gave him the finger.

The next thing I know he did a u-turn and followed me. At the next traffic lights he stopped three or four cars behind me, jumped out and started hammering on my window. The girlfriend said it was my fault and then said no more. The lights changed, I sped away and he followed. He overtook me, so I took a quick left turn and raced down a small soi, turned left into an even smaller soi and parked between two cars. I must have stayed there 30 minutes, shaking in my pants, before pulling away.

Funny thing was that just a week or so later my girlfriend was driving and she gave some guy the finger. I reminded her of what happened to me and her reply was "I'm Thai. That's the difference"

[puck2]

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 ......

I agree.

When driving in my home country I was glad when somebody corrected my mistake to avoid an accident. And vice versa. In our Western home countries traffic is controlled by rules and law and - mostly important - regulated and supervised by the police. Consequentially most of the drivers stick to the traffic rules. The drunken, uncontrolled und mental ill drivers lose their licence.

Everybody of you knows what happens on Thailand's streets. One reason of so many accidents and of road rage is a lack of traffic control by the brownies, whose most important duty is catching your money. Protect the people, what's that? They didn't learn.

Here in Thailand the different (driving) cultures collide. But I don't see a big difference between the stupid farang "kings of the streets" and those of Thailand. Driving a car or a motorbike strengthens some "underdogs" self-esteem. That should not be violated. They don't make any mistake and are getting nearly an orgasm when watching and experiencing mistakes of others. … Here is the impeccable king.

Yes, in general Thais are driving more aggressively challenging the Farang-"Kings". On the other hand, Thais are like the taxi drivers in Europe. They stop by green at the traffic light and go on by red. Why? There could be a (taxi) colleague just crossing the other street. And that's the main difference between Thais and Farangs. Thais don't rely on law or rules, they watch the traffic and act intuitively and individually, considering every road user would be a Thai. They correct mistakes without lamenting. The exception proves the rule. Drive on a European highway and you'll see some road rage drivers too.

Reading the comments here, you receive the impression nearly all Thais are such crazy drivers. I like to be driven by the son of my Thai partner, aged below 30 years. He gives me a sense of safety .

BTW, there are as many farang as Thai road rage drivers rushing like idiots with high speed on the main road through our (Thai) village.

Drunken drivers are a different problem.

Talking about driving catches a glimpse on someone's psyche. It's my life experience.

[robblok]

I was driving down a two-lane road, in the passing-lane, and an older farang guy was on my right on a motorcycle, about to make a u-turn. I go to pass him, but with the car on my left lane somewhat close to me, I had to pass the guy on the bike a tad close. Pretty standard, nothing dangerous, no harm, no foul. Anyways, I'm driving away and look back on my rearview mirror, and I can see the old buzzard is yelling and flipping me off! For a moment, I seriously felt like making a u-turn, tracking this guy down, and beating the crap out of him. I was literally that annoyed. I didn't feel like I did anything wrong (and certainly not intentional)...and this a-hole is giving me the finger??!! But my self-control got the best of me and I left it at that.

Moral of the story: You should refrain from giving anyone the finger. You may just run into someone who doesn't have the self-control of yours truly.

I am trying to picture what happened. You wanted to pass and old guy on a motorcycle(who of course would be no match for you in a fight). There was an oncoming vehicle. So instead slowing down to let the other guy get through you decide to squeeze between them knowing if anyone gets injured it will be the old guy on the bike. I would have given you the finger too if I was the old guy. I am an old guy too easy picking for guys like you.

As far as the no danger, standard stuff maybe in your eyes but maybe not the guy you came so close to.

I see it as you figure you live a blameless life only others offend.

sounds the me the old dumbdumb farang had turned into the fast lane two thousand kilometers before the uturn and was driving at 5km/h taking all the space as most thais do. If farang boy had acceleterated at the same speeds cars were travelling, no problem, if you cant drive faster than 5km per hour then you wait on the left side untill there's no car. This is what i do in uturn spots depending on the speed im doing. Very safe and you do NOT ANNOY CARS.

Every time a stupid ass makes you slowdown you lose money, it's not about pride or owning the lane its about these idiots making you break and accelerate. My comsumption of gas per km is so much higher here because of the constant need to break even on the hghway

:D :D

The funniest post i read in a long time if your serious then :blink:

[travelmann]

A much better way to piss off tailgaters is to slow down and then when they try to undertake you ( with no signal to tell you this) you give a signal and doubly piss them off as you move into the lane they want to undertake in, its even more sttisfying if they then get stuck behind you as all other traffic now passes freely in the outside lane.

This involves no finger waving or anything and is nicely effective at winding them up.

[hehehoho]

^ The driving version of closing the door, but leaving it off the latch when a taxi driver rudely refuses your custom.

Don't slam it shut angrily.

Gently close leaving it off the latch.

[Kananga]

A much better way to piss off tailgaters is to slow down and then when they try to undertake you ( with no signal to tell you this) you give a signal and doubly piss them off as you move into the lane they want to undertake in, its even more sttisfying if they then get stuck behind you as all other traffic now passes freely in the outside lane.

This involves no finger waving or anything and is nicely effective at winding them up.

There is one universal technique for tailgating that works the world over, even in Dubai where they make the Thais look like grandparents driving a 30's Buick. When being tailgated gently take your foot off the gas, flick on your hazard lights do a couple of quick left and right tugs on the steering wheel. Then watch them swerve into the next lane almost immediately. Requires no sudden braking on your part and they dont even know you have done it to deliberately wind them up. Works every time.

Edited November 25, 2011 by Kananga

[Payboy]

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.

Absolutely right.

Better to have just slowed down and let the mini bus pass.

The problem is that many farangs can`t resist making they`re objections known and would rather risk creating an incident rather than just swallowing their pride and having to give way.

Something similar happened to a German tourist on a motorbike in Chiang Mai a few months ago. He ended up dead with a bullet in his head.

I think some farangs are unable to adapt to the way of life and attitudes in Thailand.

It's a very gentle, patient, caring, Buddhist culture.

Nah, it's just SMS - Small Man Syndrome.

[Kananga]

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.

Absolutely right.

Better to have just slowed down and let the mini bus pass.

The problem is that many farangs can`t resist making they`re objections known and would rather risk creating an incident rather than just swallowing their pride and having to give way.

Something similar happened to a German tourist on a motorbike in Chiang Mai a few months ago. He ended up dead with a bullet in his head.

I think some farangs are unable to adapt to the way of life and attitudes in Thailand.

You've just contradicted yourself. You accuse foreigners of not being able to swallow their pride and give way (just like the Thais) but then say they are unable to adapt to the way of life and attitudes in Thailand (where the people are unable to swallow their pride and give way - or lose face as its more commonly known).

You can't have it both ways.

[Berkshire]

I was driving down a two-lane road, in the passing-lane, and an older farang guy was on my right on a motorcycle, about to make a u-turn. I go to pass him, but with the car on my left lane somewhat close to me, I had to pass the guy on the bike a tad close. Pretty standard, nothing dangerous, no harm, no foul. Anyways, I'm driving away and look back on my rearview mirror, and I can see the old buzzard is yelling and flipping me off! For a moment, I seriously felt like making a u-turn, tracking this guy down, and beating the crap out of him. I was literally that annoyed. I didn't feel like I did anything wrong (and certainly not intentional)...and this a-hole is giving me the finger??!! But my self-control got the best of me and I left it at that.

Moral of the story: You should refrain from giving anyone the finger. You may just run into someone who doesn't have the self-control of yours truly.

I am trying to picture what happened. You wanted to pass and old guy on a motorcycle(who of course would be no match for you in a fight). There was an oncoming vehicle. So instead slowing down to let the other guy get through you decide to squeeze between them knowing if anyone gets injured it will be the old guy on the bike. I would have given you the finger too if I was the old guy. I am an old guy too easy picking for guys like you.

As far as the no danger, standard stuff maybe in your eyes but maybe not the guy you came so close to.

I see it as you figure you live a blameless life only others offend.

This is pretty rich. First you say you're "trying" to understand what happened. Then you make a bunch of assumptions that are clearly WRONG, and base your conclusions on your wrong assumptions.

There were no oncoming vehicles. Two lanes, going in the same direction, a parade of cars in both lanes going about the same speed, going around a corner, and a guy on a motorbike shows up driving much slower than the cars, and I go to pass him, but had to squeeze by both the car on the left and the bike on the right, while trying to maintain a reasonable flow of traffic with cars behind me. This really is standard routine here as I'm constantly driving close to motorbikes and them to me. Never a problem. If I had it to do over again, I'd do it the same way. But if I saw this same old fart that flipped me off, I may just decide to get a little closer....(being a tad facetious here).

But that's not even the point. Guys like you must think that giving someone the finger somehow empowers you. Makes you feel more like a man, does it? You've convinced yourself that by flipping the bird, you've "shown him a thing or two!" I'm saying it does absolutely nothing and if anything, you're just antagonizing the other guy. I certainly will not change the way I drive because it's perfectly safe, given the situation. So what have you accomplished? Some of you guys are really losing your marbles.

[Kananga]

I was driving down a two-lane road, in the passing-lane, and an older farang guy was on my right on a motorcycle, about to make a u-turn. I go to pass him, but with the car on my left lane somewhat close to me, I had to pass the guy on the bike a tad close. Pretty standard, nothing dangerous, no harm, no foul. Anyways, I'm driving away and look back on my rearview mirror, and I can see the old buzzard is yelling and flipping me off! For a moment, I seriously felt like making a u-turn, tracking this guy down, and beating the crap out of him. I was literally that annoyed. I didn't feel like I did anything wrong (and certainly not intentional)...and this a-hole is giving me the finger??!! But my self-control got the best of me and I left it at that.

Moral of the story: You should refrain from giving anyone the finger. You may just run into someone who doesn't have the self-control of yours truly.

I am trying to picture what happened. You wanted to pass and old guy on a motorcycle(who of course would be no match for you in a fight). There was an oncoming vehicle. So instead slowing down to let the other guy get through you decide to squeeze between them knowing if anyone gets injured it will be the old guy on the bike. I would have given you the finger too if I was the old guy. I am an old guy too easy picking for guys like you.

As far as the no danger, standard stuff maybe in your eyes but maybe not the guy you came so close to.

I see it as you figure you live a blameless life only others offend.

You've convinced yourself that by flipping the bird, you've "shown him a thing or two!" I'm saying it does absolutely nothing and if anything, you're just antagonizing the other guy.

Isn't that the whole point?

[Forkinhades]

A much better way to piss off tailgaters is to slow down and then when they try to undertake you ( with no signal to tell you this) you give a signal and doubly piss them off as you move into the lane they want to undertake in, its even more sttisfying if they then get stuck behind you as all other traffic now passes freely in the outside lane.

This involves no finger waving or anything and is nicely effective at winding them up.

There is one universal technique for tailgating that works the world over, even in Dubai where they make the Thais look like grandparents driving a 30's Buick. When being tailgated gently take your foot off the gas, flick on your hazard lights do a couple of quick left and right tugs on the steering wheel. Then watch them swerve into the next lane almost immediately. Requires no sudden braking on your part and they dont even know you have done it to deliberately wind them up. Works every time.

like this one very much

Normally I just slow down, by taking foot of gas, then move lanes, and then let the idiot pass.

Of course I am going to change now,....right off to the motorway it is then, cya..........

[Berkshire]

You've convinced yourself that by flipping the bird, you've "shown him a thing or two!" I'm saying it does absolutely nothing and if anything, you're just antagonizing the other guy.

Isn't that the whole point?

That's it, isn't it? If your goal is simply to pick a fight with some guy who could be a raging maniac with a gun, then that's all you've accomplished. You're not gaining respect. You're not going to change the other guy's driving habits. You're not going to get any sympathy or an apology. All you're saying is, "hey, I'm a tough guy. You want a piece of me? Well come and get it." Just don't act surprise when he accepts your offer.

[Kananga]

You've convinced yourself that by flipping the bird, you've "shown him a thing or two!" I'm saying it does absolutely nothing and if anything, you're just antagonizing the other guy.

Isn't that the whole point?

That's it, isn't it? If your goal is simply to pick a fight with some guy who could be a raging maniac with a gun, then that's all you've accomplished. You're not gaining respect. You're not going to change the other guy's driving habits. You're not going to get any sympathy or an apology. All you're saying is, "hey, I'm a tough guy. You want a piece of me? Well come and get it." Just don't act surprise when he accepts your offer.

Just out of interest, is it your intent to repeatedly state the obvious?

[Gers1873]

The total lack of courtesy and consideration for others is what really infuriates me. No road manners and a total lack of common sense. How many time do you encounter 'grid lock' due to people blocking intersections??? Meanwhile you are surrounded by impatient people on motorcycles squeezing through gaps that dont exist!!!

Glad I read this thread -- I can show my wife I am not the only 'angry farang' on the roads.

Deep breath, deep breath.......

[cardholder]

I find repeating "<deleted>" under my breath very therapeutic and calming.

Regrettably, my missus has now picked up the use of this word - which I only use whilst driving

[travelmann]

I find repeating "<deleted>" under my breath very therapeutic and calming.

Regrettably, my missus has now picked up the use of this word - which I only use whilst driving

I taught my wife wan*er but she keeps saying "that man is a wan*ing" oh well it takes yer mind off the moron most of the time

[lovelomsak]

I was driving down a two-lane road, in the passing-lane, and an older farang guy was on my right on a motorcycle, about to make a u-turn. I go to pass him, but with the car on my left lane somewhat close to me, I had to pass the guy on the bike a tad close. Pretty standard, nothing dangerous, no harm, no foul. Anyways, I'm driving away and look back on my rearview mirror, and I can see the old buzzard is yelling and flipping me off! For a moment, I seriously felt like making a u-turn, tracking this guy down, and beating the crap out of him. I was literally that annoyed. I didn't feel like I did anything wrong (and certainly not intentional)...and this a-hole is giving me the finger??!! But my self-control got the best of me and I left it at that.

Moral of the story: You should refrain from giving anyone the finger. You may just run into someone who doesn't have the self-control of yours truly.

I am trying to picture what happened. You wanted to pass and old guy on a motorcycle(who of course would be no match for you in a fight). There was an oncoming vehicle. So instead slowing down to let the other guy get through you decide to squeeze between them knowing if anyone gets injured it will be the old guy on the bike. I would have given you the finger too if I was the old guy. I am an old guy too easy picking for guys like you.

As far as the no danger, standard stuff maybe in your eyes but maybe not the guy you came so close to.

I see it as you figure you live a blameless life only others offend.

This is pretty rich. First you say you're "trying" to understand what happened. Then you make a bunch of assumptions that are clearly WRONG, and base your conclusions on your wrong assumptions.

There were no oncoming vehicles. Two lanes, going in the same direction, a parade of cars in both lanes going about the same speed, going around a corner, and a guy on a motorbike shows up driving much slower than the cars, and I go to pass him, but had to squeeze by both the car on the left and the bike on the right, while trying to maintain a reasonable flow of traffic with cars behind me. This really is standard routine here as I'm constantly driving close to motorbikes and them to me. Never a problem. If I had it to do over again, I'd do it the same way. But if I saw this same old fart that flipped me off, I may just decide to get a little closer....(being a tad facetious here).

But that's not even the point. Guys like you must think that giving someone the finger somehow empowers you. Makes you feel more like a man, does it? You've convinced yourself that by flipping the bird, you've "shown him a thing or two!" I'm saying it does absolutely nothing and if anything, you're just antagonizing the other guy. I certainly will not change the way I drive because it's perfectly safe, given the situation. So what have you accomplished? Some of you guys are really losing your marbles.

I tought I should reply one last time to clear up what I said in my post.

Where I come from anyone mentions 2 lane road it automatically means 2 lanes each one going in a different direction. A four lane has 2 lanes going in the same direction.A 4 lane can be undivided or divided as most are in Thailand. Now I understand what you meant by 2 lane it is clearer to me what happened and as I mentioned I was trying to picture it. Where I am from the road would have been describe as 4 lane divided. Now i see it as everyone is going in the same direction so changes things a lot. So I see your point now as to the passing. It is common here. We all do it.

As far as getting the finger. Well most of the time I would look at it as someone who is just giving an opinion and leave it at that. I allow people that.

[Gers1873]

I find repeating "<deleted>" under my breath very therapeutic and calming.

Regrettably, my missus has now picked up the use of this word - which I only use whilst driving

I taught my wife wan*er but she keeps saying "that man is a wan*ing" oh well it takes yer mind off the moron most of the time

I remember criticising a motorbike rider in fairly subdued terms. When a little voice from the backseat pops in with "f**ing wan**er".... one really has to watch what we say in front of our children....... mines was three at the time.:jap: