I've Witnessed 3 Minor Accidents In Three Days

[robblok]

You are just as crazy with imagining things. But even if it 60% on motorcycles then its 5 to 6 times more then in the USA. You should not be opening your mouth without doing a calculation first even at 70% motocycles its still 4 times more then in the USA.

Plus let us not forget how much goes unrecorded over here.

What are you on about? Firstly, you can spout out any sort of number you want. You can piss on the Thai drivers til the cows come home. I simply don't care. I drive in Thailand every single day. Every single day. I don't find it any more dangerous than any other big city I've been in. Obviously, the road conditions, number of vehicles, rules-of-the-road, and so on, is much different here. But even with the lack of enforcement, the Thais generally police themselves pretty well. I'll say again, there are as many stupid drivers in Thailand--both Thai and farang--as anywhere else I've been. So you can keep harping on the Thais with your holier-than-thou attitude, but both you and I know you're full of it.

I spout real numbers, you just have rose tinted glasses on not admitting driving here is far more dangerous as back home. You really should have yourself looked at.

I drive here too its much more dangerous, and like i said before its not because they are Thai its because they haven't been taught right and enforcement lacks here. Its not Thai bashing its the truth, it would be just as bad back home if there was no enforcement.

[loong]

Apart from Thailand, I have only ever driven in the UK and Europe.

If anyone believes that general driving standards in Thailand are not lower than UK and Europe, then they are living in a different Thailand to me.

Driving thousands of miles in the UK was mostly uneventfull.

Drive 20Km here and you will have to take avoiding action at least once.

Extremely rare to see someone jump a red light in the UK

In Thailand, Unless there is no traffic, drivers routinely cross juctions 5 seconds after the light has turned red.

At busy junctions controlled by traffic lights at least one driver will cross on red at every single signal change.

Edited February 7, 2013 by loong

[Berkshire]

Its not Thai bashing its the truth, it would be just as bad back home if there was no enforcement.

That, we can agree on. In fact, I believe it would be grand carnage back home if not for the government's excessive oversight of our driving. I think many westerners coming to Thailand are programmed to believe that's how it needs to be.

Honestly, I prefer driving in Thailand to driving back home (USA). Here, I can actually keep my eyes on the road, as opposed to constantly watching out for cops hiding behind billboards.

[Berkshire]

Driving thousands of miles in the UK was mostly uneventfull.

And you enjoy that?

[StreetCowboy]

Driving thousands of miles in the UK was mostly uneventfull.

And you enjoy that?

I really enjoy uneventful driving. I drove up and down to site on Monday, and it was great. Light traffic, I was able to keep around the speed limit the whole way up and down; marvelous. Managed to get back before the worst of the peak hour traffic as well.

SC

[Berkshire]

Driving thousands of miles in the UK was mostly uneventfull.

And you enjoy that?

I really enjoy uneventful driving. I drove up and down to site on Monday, and it was great. Light traffic, I was able to keep around the speed limit the whole way up and down; marvelous. Managed to get back before the worst of the peak hour traffic as well.

SC

I didn't mean to imply that "eventful" would be near-accidents. "Uneventful" to me is driving in the desert from LA to Vegas and keeping within the speed limit. Close to falling asleep over the wheel many times.

[StreetCowboy]

Driving thousands of miles in the UK was mostly uneventfull.

And you enjoy that?

I really enjoy uneventful driving. I drove up and down to site on Monday, and it was great. Light traffic, I was able to keep around the speed limit the whole way up and down; marvelous. Managed to get back before the worst of the peak hour traffic as well.

SC

I didn't mean to imply that "eventful" would be near-accidents. "Uneventful" to me is driving in the desert from LA to Vegas and keeping within the speed limit. Close to falling asleep over the wheel many times.

Far better falling asleep at 70 than falling asleep at 90.

Tiredness probably kills more drivers than drink, for all I know.

I find that I particularly suffer late in the afternoon, when I'm digesting my lunch, and I try to keep my driving as uneventful as possible at that time.

SC

[Fookhaht]

Driving thousands of miles in the UK was mostly uneventfull.

And you enjoy that?

I really enjoy uneventful driving. I drove up and down to site on Monday, and it was great. Light traffic, I was able to keep around the speed limit the whole way up and down; marvelous. Managed to get back before the worst of the peak hour traffic as well.

SC

My biggest problem when I go back to my home country and drive....is that I cannot stay awake...it's so uneventful! Here, I am on the edge of my seat and white-knuckling the steering wheel or handle bars--not that that's a bad thing!

[driedmango]

Thailand is a late bloomer with traffic laws of a third world country when it isn't.

Driving is its most dangerous activity.

Having been a passenger in three deadly crashed as a kid I am not ignorant to the deadly consequences of bad driving by youth.

But some of if not the worst is drunken tourist on bikes.. idiots on scooters loving it until they crash .. I have seen at least a dozen if them nursing wounds crying for a ticket home from family...

[driedmango]

Driving thousands of miles in the UK was mostly uneventfull.

And you enjoy that?

I really enjoy uneventful driving. I drove up and down to site on Monday, and it was great. Light traffic, I was able to keep around the speed limit the whole way up and down; marvelous. Managed to get back before the worst of the peak hour traffic as well.

SC

I didn't mean to imply that "eventful" would be near-accidents. "Uneventful" to me is driving in the desert from LA to Vegas and keeping within the speed limit. Close to falling asleep over the wheel many times.

Lol that is a great road trip you must not be a music lover... no let them dumb farang crash into poles but is sad they have to take out an innocent sometimes.. I feel like smacking the ones with a female on the back.. we should all punch a drunk driving farang with a young Thai girl on their Bike at least once for good karma

[crisp]

I remeber trying to explain to my wife about stopping distances & to leave a gap between the our car & the car infront.

She said....but another car will go in the gap!!!!!...very true, but i still try to keep some sort of breaking distance even though sometimes i find myself going backwards because the gap gets filled by a Thai ...who dosn't give a S**t about safety...or should i say hasn't been educated about safety.

But then TIT, have to live with it.

[somtampet]

Every country in the world has bad drivers,go to Vietnam for motorbikes,they are more crazy

[funcat]

I think,that everything what have been said here about bad driving is true.....and those,who are defending those bad drivers are probably no better themselves ....

[thaibeachlovers]

Talking of accidents, I just about had one that could have been serious the other day. Tootling along a 2 lane highway, I was coming up on a light controlled intersection that was green for me, so didn't slow down, then I noticed a cop ( blending into the environment very nicely in his brown uniform ) with his hand up, so did a rapid slow down. Had there been anyone tailgating me, they would've been into my rear for sure.

If they are going to have a cop on traffic duty, shouldn't they turn the lights off, and for goodness sake, put up warning signs? Silly me, TiT.

BTW, given the number of cars on the road, I'm not surprised Thais are aggressive when cutting into traffic. Otherwise they would never get out of side roads.

Edited February 14, 2013 by thaibeachlovers

[thaibeachlovers]

I remeber trying to explain to my wife about stopping distances & to leave a gap between the our car & the car infront.

She said....but another car will go in the gap!!!!!...very true, but i still try to keep some sort of breaking distance even though sometimes i find myself going backwards because the gap gets filled by a Thai ...who dosn't give a S**t about safety...or should i say hasn't been educated about safety.

But then TIT, have to live with it.

I always leave a big gap if I can, and yes, it does get filled by another car, so I just drop back further. I'd rather have another car cut in than rear end the one in front.

BTW, that happens in other countries too, even ones where they are supposed to drive properly.

[anon210]

Talking of accidents, I just about had one that could have been serious the other day. Tootling along a 2 lane highway, I was coming up on a light controlled intersection that was green for me, so didn't slow down, then I noticed a cop ( blending into the environment very nicely in his brown uniform ) with his hand up, so did a rapid slow down. Had there been anyone tailgating me, they would've been into my rear for sure.

If they are going to have a cop on traffic duty, shouldn't they turn the lights off, and for goodness sake, put up warning signs? Silly me, TiT.

BTW, given the number of cars on the road, I'm not surprised Thais are aggressive when cutting into traffic. Otherwise they would never get out of side roads.

Traffic rules in any country always indicate that a policeman supersedes any signal even if these are functional.

Furthermore, the other rule is that when you see a signal light or intersection, you should be slowing down, not speeding up. All the more if the light has been green for a long time.

[thaibeachlovers]

Talking of accidents, I just about had one that could have been serious the other day. Tootling along a 2 lane highway, I was coming up on a light controlled intersection that was green for me, so didn't slow down, then I noticed a cop ( blending into the environment very nicely in his brown uniform ) with his hand up, so did a rapid slow down. Had there been anyone tailgating me, they would've been into my rear for sure.

If they are going to have a cop on traffic duty, shouldn't they turn the lights off, and for goodness sake, put up warning signs? Silly me, TiT.

BTW, given the number of cars on the road, I'm not surprised Thais are aggressive when cutting into traffic. Otherwise they would never get out of side roads.

Traffic rules in any country always indicate that a policeman supersedes any signal even if these are functional.

Furthermore, the other rule is that when you see a signal light or intersection, you should be slowing down, not speeding up. All the more if the light has been green for a long time.

To be specific, I never said I sped up, I just didn't slow down, as I wasn't going that fast anyway. Tootling isn't going flat out.

My point, which you have ignored, is that because I slowed down rapidly, a tailgater would have rear ended me. I was in fact supporting crisp with his post about stopping distances.

While you may be correct about the cop taking precedence over lights, while a warning sign might not be essential, it certainly would be a good idea, and shouldn't we actually be able to see them, ie wearing decent high visibility clothing?

Someone that rear ends another is ( or should be ) always in the wrong, no exceptions.

[anon210]

To be specific, I never said I sped up, I just didn't slow down, as I wasn't going that fast anyway. Tootling isn't going flat out.

My point, which you have ignored, is that because I slowed down rapidly, a tailgater would have rear ended me. I was in fact supporting crisp with his post about stopping distances.

While you may be correct about the cop taking precedence over lights, while a warning sign might not be essential, it certainly would be a good idea, and shouldn't we actually be able to see them, ie wearing decent high visibility clothing?

Someone that rear ends another is ( or should be ) always in the wrong, no exceptions.

I concur that tailgating is one of the most dangerous habits of thai drivers, indeed. I saw many a chain pileup on the highway caused by this behavior, where people follow each other at very close distances, where reaction time and speed are almost certain to guarantee a collision for any sudden slowdown of the leading vehicle.

Nevertheless, when approaching an intersection or signal lights, you should always slow down (in preparation for a rapid change of lights - here, orange lights last barely 3 seconds).

Normally, police wear some reflective orange signaling vest, but I noticed that unlike the materials used by law enforcement forces in Europe, the local materials seem to be barely visible at night.

[Thereisnoif]

I would happily bet all my money that if you randomly picked 10 Thai drivers and got them to take a proper European level driving test, the failure rate would inevitably be 100%.

[StreetCowboy]

I would happily bet all my money that if you randomly picked 10 Thai drivers and got them to take a proper European level driving test, the failure rate would inevitably be 100%.

That just goes to show the complete contempt in which most Westerners hold the law.

We all know gambling is illegal in Thailand

SC

[watcharacters]

Motorcycle accidents are refining the gene-pool - nature's way of sifting out some of the poor and the stupid

Is there any way to speed up the process? Just kidding.

[watcharacters]

To be specific, I never said I sped up, I just didn't slow down, as I wasn't going that fast anyway. Tootling isn't going flat out.

My point, which you have ignored, is that because I slowed down rapidly, a tailgater would have rear ended me. I was in fact supporting crisp with his post about stopping distances.

While you may be correct about the cop taking precedence over lights, while a warning sign might not be essential, it certainly would be a good idea, and shouldn't we actually be able to see them, ie wearing decent high visibility clothing?

Someone that rear ends another is ( or should be ) always in the wrong, no exceptions.

I concur that tailgating is one of the most dangerous habits of thai drivers, indeed. I saw many a chain pileup on the highway caused by this behavior, where people follow each other at very close distances, where reaction time and speed are almost certain to guarantee a collision for any sudden slowdown of the leading vehicle.

Nevertheless, when approaching an intersection or signal lights, you should always slow down (in preparation for a rapid change of lights - here, orange lights last barely 3 seconds).

Normally, police wear some reflective orange signaling vest, but I noticed that unlike the materials used by law enforcement forces in Europe, the local materials seem to be barely visible at night.

Well said and I also like the advice to never be the first one to enter an intersection when the light turns green.

[funcat]

This may help to understand something about traffic in Thailand....(if posted before,I apologize)

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Warn-tourists-about-Thai-driving-habits-expert-say-30200301.html?fb_comment_id=fbc_466132323442584_4602666_466404843415332

[driedmango]

I live a good relaxing ride without cars on my Ass or stop lights.. otherwise traffic sucks.. Thai traffic is like some sort of hell on earth

[Munger]

I would happily bet all my money that if you randomly picked 10 Thai drivers and got them to take a proper European level driving test, the failure rate would inevitably be 100%.

And thats a safe bet.

[oops]

In the last two weeks I saw-

A cyclist try and pedal directly across 3 lanes of busy 80km/hr+ traffic without looking-he was collected by the second car in front of me. We 3 cars stopped, everyone else weaved around us.

A motorcycle down and the motorcyclist's body in the back f the Hilux that had just hit him.

A nightime incident with a couple of motorcycles lying on the side of the road and a group standing around discussing the accident

A large truck on its side just off the road in a ditch with a group locals discussing the situation

A rear wheel plus stub axle detach from a truck and spin across the road past oncoming vehicles-missing the lot of them.

About par for the course I reckon.

Me, on a 1600 km back and forth route to Southern Thailand, I managed to see 4 accidents in two days.

- Bike hitting a baht-bus at low speed, both passengers passing over the front;

- Pickup overturned (took a curve at too high a speed;)

- Pickup broken down on the shoulder, in a curve...

- Truck overturned in the central ditch.

And that was just during two days.

On another trip to Hua Hin, I saw a guy on his side car, having got a head wound and lying in the middle of the highway. And I do not count the countless incidences of tailgating-originated accidents (pileups of five pickups because each one of them was tailgating each other in a complex stop and go situation).

Edit: Oh, and a word of warning on the Elevated Boromratchanni road: 3 x on 4, there is a taxi or a van that has broken down on the left lane. It just beats me how there is such a high incidence of mechanical failures on that expressway, but then there it is. Better slow down and not go beyond the speed limit. BTW, I saw a speed cam operating on the northern expressway (the one going towards Ayutthaya) this week-end.

Yes, driving here can be very dangerous.

I love these guys that stop on the blind corners, or park their car at a small store with half the car still in the street. Even funny are these high bridges with the paved street looking like half an octagon. They build a restaurant on one side and some idiot decides nothing about parking in the blind spot. So as you come over the bridge you have to hit your brakes while part of your vehicle is airborne because the bridge has a surface is in the shape of half of a octagon, I especially like it when they do this at night when there aren't any street lights.

[canuckamuck]

To be specific, I never said I sped up, I just didn't slow down, as I wasn't going that fast anyway. Tootling isn't going flat out.

My point, which you have ignored, is that because I slowed down rapidly, a tailgater would have rear ended me. I was in fact supporting crisp with his post about stopping distances.

While you may be correct about the cop taking precedence over lights, while a warning sign might not be essential, it certainly would be a good idea, and shouldn't we actually be able to see them, ie wearing decent high visibility clothing?

Someone that rear ends another is ( or should be ) always in the wrong, no exceptions.

I concur that tailgating is one of the most dangerous habits of thai drivers, indeed. I saw many a chain pileup on the highway caused by this behavior, where people follow each other at very close distances, where reaction time and speed are almost certain to guarantee a collision for any sudden slowdown of the leading vehicle.

Nevertheless, when approaching an intersection or signal lights, you should always slow down (in preparation for a rapid change of lights - here, orange lights last barely 3 seconds).

Normally, police wear some reflective orange signaling vest, but I noticed that unlike the materials used by law enforcement forces in Europe, the local materials seem to be barely visible at night.

Well said and I also like the advice to never be the first one to enter an intersection when the light turns green.

That is silly, of course you need to be in the intersection first. How else can you make a right hand turn?

[BSJ]

It seems that there are many older farang driving in LOS that shouldn't be. At least the Thai's have a Buddha amulet for protection from the oftern hard of hearing, half blind and incompetent Westerners. What have I got? My years of experience riding and my lucky rabbits foot!

[Munger]

It seems that there are many older farang driving in LOS that shouldn't be. At least the Thai's have a Buddha amulet for protection from the oftern hard of hearing, half blind and incompetent Westerners. What have I got? My years of experience riding and my lucky rabbits foot!

WOW , blame the incompetent Westerners, for all the accidents.

[BSJ]

It seems that there are many older farang driving in LOS that shouldn't be. At least the Thai's have a Buddha amulet for protection from the oftern hard of hearing, half blind and incompetent Westerners. What have I got? My years of experience riding and my lucky rabbits foot!

WOW , blame the incompetent Westerners, for all the accidents.

That's not what I said. Stop trying to twist what I say into something completely logical.