Why Thailand Has Left Traffic When The Country Was Never Colonizing?

carmine · October 14, 2012

So back to my question; Whats a TOM please?

Payboy · October 14, 2012

So back to my question; Whats a TOM please?

In the context of driving you may want to look up Tom Tom.

Travel2003 · October 14, 2012

I've always asked if people drive on the right side of the road - right as in correct, not as in left/right. Didn't one of the Scandinavian countries change the side of the road they drove on when I was a teenager? I'm sure I remember it, maybe Sweden, who now drive on the right (left) side of the road.

In Cambodia, they drive in the shade, no matter what side of the road.

In Sweden, they've driven on the left. 40 years ago they changed it to the right side of the road. Where all of the continental Europe 's driving!

Funny story, after changing the side, the accident rate was rising.

But that is explained by the fact, they kept the wheel where it was: On the left side.

Sweden was the only country, people drove left with wheel on the left, too!

A research showed, this combination made the drivers drive closer to the sidewalk, instead of closer to the meridian strip!

Now they drive like elsewhere, not that close to the side, anymore.

I remember we Norwegians looked at that change with great interest.

In order to make sure it went smooth and without chaos, the Swedes decided to it as follows:

On Friday all puclic transportation changed.

On Saturday all Lorries and other heavy transportation changed over.

And on Sunday, all the private cars, etc, changed over.

So, on Monday, they all had changed over.

Which of course explains all the accidents in the beginning.

noob7 · October 14, 2012

I've always asked if people drive on the right side of the road - right as in correct, not as in left/right. Didn't one of the Scandinavian countries change the side of the road they drove on when I was a teenager? I'm sure I remember it, maybe Sweden, who now drive on the right (left) side of the road.

In Cambodia, they drive in the shade, no matter what side of the road.

In Sweden, they've driven on the left. 40 years ago they changed it to the right side of the road. Where all of the continental Europe 's driving!

Funny story, after changing the side, the accident rate was rising.

But that is explained by the fact, they kept the wheel where it was: On the left side.

Sweden was the only country, people drove left with wheel on the left, too!

A research showed, this combination made the drivers drive closer to the sidewalk, instead of closer to the meridian strip!

Now they drive like elsewhere, not that close to the side, anymore.

I remember we Norwegians looked at that change with great interest.

In order to make sure it went smooth and without chaos, the Swedes decided to it as follows:

On Friday all puclic transportation changed.

On Saturday all Lorries and other heavy transportation changed over.

And on Sunday, all the private cars, etc, changed over.

So, on Monday, they all had changed over.

Which of course explains all the accidents in the beginning.

It's 'till', not 'at'.

The figured out, that the wheel on the left, with driving on the left, kept the people more on the left.

Now, with wheel on the left, but driving on the right (side ), they not be able, to stay so close to the side on the right.

Actually, one reason, that Volvo, also Saab, are having good results in 'little overlap crashes', for decades! They saw, why it happened

The Germans are complaining about this 'new' test for the USA

Edited October 14, 2012 by noob7

VocalNeal · October 14, 2012

http://www.straightd...ive-on-the-left

So the English continued to drive on the left, not realizing that the tide of history was running against them and they would wind up being ridiculed by folks like you with no appreciation of life's little ironies.

What a load of tosh. "History running against them" . Hah! Got more history that the septics that wrote that.

Either way is Ok, just don't mix them.

Edited October 14, 2012 by VocalNeal

ggold · October 14, 2012

Because the first car in Thailand was a gift from the English Queen to the King of Thailand.
In the UK they also happen to drive at the wrong side of the road.

Thats a matter of opinion!

Sent from my GT-P6200 using Thaivisa Connect App

noob7 · October 14, 2012

Because the first car in Thailand was a gift from the English Queen to the King of Thailand.
In the UK they also happen to drive at the wrong side of the road.

Thats a matter of opinion!

Sent from my GT-P6200 using Thaivisa Connect App

Na, a matter of statistics!

Rob8891 · October 14, 2012

Because the first car in Thailand was a gift from the English Queen to the King of Thailand.
In the UK they also happen to drive at the wrong side of the road.

Thats a matter of opinion!

Sent from my GT-P6200 using Thaivisa Connect App

Na, a matter of statistics!

First person to post that there are lies, damned lies and statistics gets flamed, OK?..... Err oooops! ....Let's make that the NEXT person. Anyway, just because the majority do something, that does not them right, right? (even if the do drive on the right, which IMHO is not right. Left is right and right is wrong, as per earlier post)

Edited October 14, 2012 by Rob8891

timbothaivisa · October 14, 2012

It was an observation of your foolishness. Thai Visa is about Thailand despite what you may have heard it is not a forum for bashing US gun laws.

nor is it a forum for Americans to play victim after preaching that the rest of the world resides in the Middle Ages. I know it's tricky but are you getting it yet?

barefoot1988 · October 14, 2012

I've always asked if people drive on the right side of the road - right as in correct, not as in left/right. Didn't one of the Scandinavian countries change the side of the road they drove on when I was a teenager? I'm sure I remember it, maybe Sweden, who now drive on the right (left) side of the road.

In Cambodia, they drive in the shade, no matter what side of the road.

In Sweden, they've driven on the left. 40 years ago they changed it to the right side of the road. Where all of the continental Europe 's driving!

Funny story, after changing the side, the accident rate was rising.

But that is explained by the fact, they kept the wheel where it was: On the left side.

Sweden was the only country, people drove left with wheel on the left, too!

A research showed, this combination made the drivers drive closer to the sidewalk, instead of closer to the meridian strip!

Now they drive like elsewhere, not that close to the side, anymore.

I remember we Norwegians looked at that change with great interest.

In order to make sure it went smooth and without chaos, the Swedes decided to it as follows:

On Friday all puclic transportation changed.

On Saturday all Lorries and other heavy transportation changed over.

And on Sunday, all the private cars, etc, changed over.

So, on Monday, they all had changed over.

Which of course explains all the accidents in the beginning.

It's 'till', not 'at'.

The figured out, that the wheel on the left, with driving on the left, kept the people more on the left.

Now, with wheel on the left, but driving on the right (side ), they not be able, to stay so close to the side on the right.

Actually, one reason, that Volvo, also Saab, are having good results in 'little overlap crashes', for decades! They saw, why it happened

The Germans are complaining about this 'new' test for the USA

dam i knew it. next time i should aim for a full head on instead of glazing it

chiangmaikelly · October 15, 2012

It was an observation of your foolishness. Thai Visa is about Thailand despite what you may have heard it is not a forum for bashing US gun laws.

nor is it a forum for Americans to play victim after preaching that the rest of the world resides in the Middle Ages. I know it's tricky but are you getting it yet?

Please quote where I preached that the rest of the world resides in the Middle Ages. If you can't I expect an apology.

oldsailor35 · October 15, 2012

Because the first car in Thailand was a gift from the English Queen to the King of Thailand.

In the UK they also happen to drive at the wrong side of the road.

OI! I'll have you know the left side is the right side and the right side is the wrong side.

(Do you want a history lesson to explore the facts behind driving on the left?)

Do you want a history lesson to explore the facts behind driving on the left?

Yes, I do.

Doesn't it have something to do with horses and carts. A long time ago I met a Frenchman (in Paris) who said that there is a perfect logic to driving on the left.

It's to do with sword arms.

Since time immorial horses ( the most common form of transport) were always mounted on the left, and still are the world over ! It just means that the Brits are not stupid, there's no way that they would copy the Frogs !

oldsailor35 · October 15, 2012

you mean they moved to the right so that they couldnt say,,

bloody hell that another thing the brits have given us,,,lol

Well, they did need the French to show them how !

oldsailor35 · October 15, 2012

you mean they moved to the right so that they couldnt say,,

bloody hell that another thing the brits have given us,,,lol

Well, they did need the French to show them how !

astral · October 15, 2012

There was a rumour that the Thais were going to change over and drive on the Right

It was to be phased change with the lorries changing to the right first.

Travel2003 · October 15, 2012

There was a rumour that the Thais were going to change over and drive on the Right

It was to be phased change with the lorries changing to the right first.

Like the Swedes I mentioned, in post #93

timbothaivisa · October 15, 2012

nor is it a forum for Americans to play victim after preaching that the rest of the world resides in the Middle Ages. I know it's tricky but are you getting it yet?

Please quote where I preached that the rest of the world resides in the Middle Ages. If you can't I expect an apology.

You're right of course, what I should have written was this:

"nor is it a forum for one particular gun-loving American to play victim"

what I originally wrote was intended as a light-hearted reposte in kind to the person that I was replying to; if you wish to interject and perceive a slight into that then that is your right. though I have to say, you have kind of hijacked the thread with all this, so I'll leave it there and wish you a very nice day.

Edited October 15, 2012 by timbothaivisa

noob7 · October 15, 2012

There was a rumour that the Thais were going to change over and drive on the Right

It was to be phased change with the lorries changing to the right first.

Like the Swedes I mentioned, in post #93

Nope, no chance! They lost this option, around 15 years ago! Now they building right handed driven cars for their own market in Thailand. And pushing all people, to buy them.

Sweden could do it easily, because they used the 'left handed driven cars', anyway.

Edited October 15, 2012 by noob7

Payboy · October 16, 2012

There was a rumour that the Thais were going to change over and drive on the Right
It was to be phased change with the lorries changing to the right first.

Not a rumour, it's true......I saw several this morning. It seems the speed limit on the right has been raised too.

nong38 · October 16, 2012

Napoleon was left handed which is why the French influenced world used the right, so that Napoleon did not get his sword entangled with a strangers, or worse still the stranger's coat!

Looking at the map earlier its a bit misleading, 1/3rd of the wrold's population drives on the left and as 90% of the world are right handed it makes sense to me have your main ahnd on the contoller of the vehicle.

Coming back to Thailand now I have noticed that many Thais dont seem to know their right hand from their left hand, especially on the roads!

I must declare my interest here in the interests of honesty, I have a right hand drive car for sale ( but it can be driven on either side of the road, perefct for a country like Thailand).

Edited October 16, 2012 by nong38

jbrain · October 16, 2012

I think we can assume that Thailand hasn't made a decision yet as to which side of the road they actually should drive .

Kan Win · October 16, 2012

Because the first car in Thailand was a gift from the English Queen to the King of Thailand.

In the UK they also happen to drive at the wrong side of the road.

OI! I'll have you know the left side is the right side and the right side is the wrong side.

and there was me thinking that driving on the left was correct and driving on the right was right. Ohh well we all have to live and learn.

StreetCowboy · October 16, 2012

I think it was mostly to allow direct competition with the UK, which is why now the UK tuk-tuk industry is so moribund

SC

Mousehound · October 20, 2012

I learned to drive in Germany, on the left. Went to UK - drove on right. Worked in the USA drove on right. Worked in HK drove on left. Drove around Europe - drove on right. Visited Malaysia and then India - drove on left. Went to Venezuela - drove on right. Hired a car last trip in Thailand - drove on left. I now spend a lot of my driving time in the middle of the road in a funk of confusion. Actually, in India either driving on the left or right really is an option.

And then there is the imperial/metric nightmare!

If the "pint" and the standard length (one chain 66ft or, as you know 100 links) of a cricket pitch go, then the world is finished.

StreetCowboy · October 20, 2012

I learned to drive in Germany, on the left. Went to UK - drove on right. Worked in the USA drove on right. Worked in HK drove on left. Drove around Europe - drove on right. Visited Malaysia and then India - drove on left. Went to Venezuela - drove on right. Hired a car last trip in Thailand - drove on left. I now spend a lot of my driving time in the middle of the road in a funk of confusion. Actually, in India either driving on the left or right really is an option.

And then there is the imperial/metric nightmare!

If the "pint" and the standard length (one chain 66ft or, as you know 100 links) of a cricket pitch go, then the world is finished.

You're a brave man, driving on the left in Germany and the right in the UK. The British constabulary might applaud such nonconformist commitment, but I have found Germans generally to have a strong tendency to conformity.

For our transatlantic cousins, I believe they will cope better than us should there beer measures be metricated, since they have always been short-changed in the size of their pints in case, received not even a half-litre in each of their diminutive sixteen ounce glasses

I was in the pub the other night with the family, by the way, and the Magners glasses were scribed with a 570 ml mark slightly below the rim, while my guinness glass was a pint to the brim - I believe a 20 ounce pint, but that was based solely on a visual comparison with the Magners glasses.

SC

Konini · October 20, 2012

I learned to drive in Germany, on the left. Went to UK - drove on right. Worked in the USA drove on right. Worked in HK drove on left. Drove around Europe - drove on right. Visited Malaysia and then India - drove on left. Went to Venezuela - drove on right. Hired a car last trip in Thailand - drove on left. I now spend a lot of my driving time in the middle of the road in a funk of confusion. Actually, in India either driving on the left or right really is an option.

And then there is the imperial/metric nightmare!

If the "pint" and the standard length (one chain 66ft or, as you know 100 links) of a cricket pitch go, then the world is finished.

You're a brave man, driving on the left in Germany and the right in the UK. The British constabulary might applaud such nonconformist commitment, but I have found Germans generally to have a strong tendency to conformity.

For our transatlantic cousins, I believe they will cope better than us should there beer measures be metricated, since they have always been short-changed in the size of their pints in case, received not even a half-litre in each of their diminutive sixteen ounce glasses

I was in the pub the other night with the family, by the way, and the Magners glasses were scribed with a 570 ml mark slightly below the rim, while my guinness glass was a pint to the brim - I believe a 20 ounce pint, but that was based solely on a visual comparison with the Magners glasses.

SC

Oddly, the US and UK pints aren't equal - 20 fl oz (US fl oz) in US, 19.22 fl oz (Imperial fl oz) in UK. A good mouthful difference.

StreetCowboy · October 20, 2012

I learned to drive in Germany, on the left. Went to UK - drove on right. Worked in the USA drove on right. Worked in HK drove on left. Drove around Europe - drove on right. Visited Malaysia and then India - drove on left. Went to Venezuela - drove on right. Hired a car last trip in Thailand - drove on left. I now spend a lot of my driving time in the middle of the road in a funk of confusion. Actually, in India either driving on the left or right really is an option.

And then there is the imperial/metric nightmare!

If the "pint" and the standard length (one chain 66ft or, as you know 100 links) of a cricket pitch go, then the world is finished.

You're a brave man, driving on the left in Germany and the right in the UK. The British constabulary might applaud such nonconformist commitment, but I have found Germans generally to have a strong tendency to conformity.

For our transatlantic cousins, I believe they will cope better than us should there beer measures be metricated, since they have always been short-changed in the size of their pints in case, received not even a half-litre in each of their diminutive sixteen ounce glasses

I was in the pub the other night with the family, by the way, and the Magners glasses were scribed with a 570 ml mark slightly below the rim, while my guinness glass was a pint to the brim - I believe a 20 ounce pint, but that was based solely on a visual comparison with the Magners glasses.

SC

Oddly, the US and UK pints aren't equal - 20 fl oz (US fl oz) in US, 19.22 fl oz (Imperial fl oz) in UK. A good mouthful difference.

Thanks for that! It's misleading, of course. The liquid US pint, which is normally used for fluids such as beer, and petrol, though that is served in only a few pubs draught, is 16 US fluid ounces, compared to 20 imperial ounces for a traditional British pint, of which an outrageous proportion is creamy soap suds.

What is less obvious to the lay reader is that the ounces are different! So the imperial pint is not 25% bigger (20/16 ounces) but only 20% bigger.

Now, of course, if, like Ray French, your favourite tipple is a gargle of gravel and aggregate, to keep the vocal chords in top commentary condition, then you would be using a dry US pint, which is nigh on 97% of an imperial pint. And doesn't come with much of a head on it, either...

For the first time, I am coming round to metrication...*

SC

* as opposed to coming round to medication, which is far from unusual

nong38 · October 20, 2012

I learned to drive in Germany, on the left. Went to UK - drove on right. Worked in the USA drove on right. Worked in HK drove on left. Drove around Europe - drove on right. Visited Malaysia and then India - drove on left. Went to Venezuela - drove on right. Hired a car last trip in Thailand - drove on left. I now spend a lot of my driving time in the middle of the road in a funk of confusion. Actually, in India either driving on the left or right really is an option.

And then there is the imperial/metric nightmare!

If the "pint" and the standard length (one chain 66ft or, as you know 100 links) of a cricket pitch go, then the world is finished.

You're a brave man, driving on the left in Germany and the right in the UK. The British constabulary might applaud such nonconformist commitment, but I have found Germans generally to have a strong tendency to conformity.

For our transatlantic cousins, I believe they will cope better than us should there beer measures be metricated, since they have always been short-changed in the size of their pints in case, received not even a half-litre in each of their diminutive sixteen ounce glasses

I was in the pub the other night with the family, by the way, and the Magners glasses were scribed with a 570 ml mark slightly below the rim, while my guinness glass was a pint to the brim - I believe a 20 ounce pint, but that was based solely on a visual comparison with the Magners glasses.

SC

Visual was the safe option dont drink that Magners stuff, fancy filling the glass with ice then adding the contents, no class and I saw that in Wetherspoons too!

nong38 · October 20, 2012

French Railways ( SNCF) drive on the left just as an aside, learnt their lesson well I'd say!

As for the imperial metric question. British railways are all measured from the buffers in London in miles and chains. Metric is for people who cant add up very well!

aitch52 · October 20, 2012

There are something like 77 countries that drive on the left, as already been said due to British colonial influence. Seemingly the first car into Thailand was a gift to the King from the British, therefore Royal decree, all cars drive on the left.

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