What Is It About Thai Van Drivers?

[rene123]

I know this subject has been beaten to death on thaivisa forums, but van drivers here scare the beejaysuz out of me. I just returned from a long motorbike return trip from Chiang Mai to Nan, and the hills surrounding Nan to Bo kluea. At different times on the trip I had to face vehicles coming at me in my lane on corners. I survived because I EXPECTED them to be there. On one occasion, had I been driving a car or truck, I MIGHT have had a head on accident with a van. The stupid driver was passing a bunch of vehicles on a sharp, blind corner and there was no place for him to get back in line. I had to get out of the way. Fortunately, I always expect the worst and was able to move right onto the edge of the road at a speed I could control. It is just an every day common occurance here. And, a group of vans seem to be even worse. If one van passes a slow vehicle the whole group of them will pass at the same time. They EXPECT everyone else to get out of their way.

I understand that it must be frustrating following a slow moving, over loaded truck in the mountains, but some element of safety should be considered. As a group, van drivers are notorious for not being anywhere close to safe. By contrast, the bus drivers I've seen have been pretty good. On one trip from Phrae to Chiang Mai I even complemented the dirver on his fast but safe driving. I think it was a Greenbus line.

I was following a van driver from Nan to Phrae in my recent trip and kept shuddering every time he passed a bunch of cars ahead of me. I had no trouble keeping up on the motorbike because I can slip through narrow gaps in traffic and ride the white line if I have to. But, I just won't go passing on blind corners like Thais do all the time.

[Rob8891]

White van man syndrome is not restricted to white man in van..... (it's international). Once behind the wheel of a van and some folk automatically assume immortality (as well as immediately shedding brain cells).

Glad to hear you made it back OK!

[Banzai99]

There are bigger dangers on the roads, F. I. F.

Farangs in Fortuners.

[arthurwait]

Mainly lo-so drunks. Little education of any sort, virtually no driver education, usually drunk or yabbaed up to stay awake from last nights drinking, never been taught to respect other people ( They do wai of course though ) or responsibility for their actions. They know their employers have paid the police to work the route so won't get stopped and will just run if they cause a crash.

Had one alcoholic bus driver here today so drunk and stupid that thought it was hillarious to scare the ..... out of my one year old son. 10 minutes later he thought it was hillarious to shout drunken ramblings across the forecourt out the bus for 5 minutes. This is often what you'll find working as a driver in Thailand.

[Satcommlee]

My wife complains to me about speeding on the highways and says that next time she would prefer to go and visit her family using one of these Vans..<br /><br />I may be fast on the open stretches of road only, but the sheer stupidity of some of these drivers on blind bends is beyond comprehension..<br /><br />And to see the overtakers overtaking overtakers on these bends on steep inclines is beyond belief..<br /><br />So the Mrs can take one of these vans if she wants, but my Son is staying with me!<br /><br />

[maxme]

The same thing that is wrong with bus- and taxi drivers.

[rattler]

White van man syndrome is not restricted to white man in van..... (it's international). Once behind the wheel of a van and some folk automatically assume immortality (as well as immediately shedding brain cells).

Glad to hear you made it back OK!

I believe thats a myth.............they have no brain cells to shed!!

[macksview]

put a thai idiot in a van, give him a "safari" suit to wear, add 1 bhudda statue, 1 depiction of his favourite monk, put 6 stupid stickers on the van and presto we now have a "professional" van driver.

the "rot tour" drivers to me seem to be the biggest danger on thai roads, they obvously can see round blind corners, can overtake/undertake at any time they see fit and the list goes on.

last time i drove up to CM and nan, my wife asked what i was counting, "just the number of head on collisions i have avoided dear".

inter city bus drivers seem to have in most cases, they own divine right from their god to drive as hard and fast as they can, rich idiots in flash cars i have not had too much trouble with them, after they go past i just expect to see them plowed into a pole of some kind or a rot tour.

heavy vehicle drivers of the mainline freight companies, i seem to have been fairly lucky with them.

the local heavy vehicle drivers very few problems i have found if you treat them as all suicidal fools when they drive.

[samran]

The missed the cut for Top Gun, so spend the remainder of their time trying to prove their worth.

[Radar501]

A Thai driver takes his bus to the mechanic and says "The brakes don't work. Can you fix the horn?"

[topt]

There are bigger dangers on the roads, F. I. F.

Farangs in Fortuners.

put a thai idiot in a van, give him a "safari" suit to wear, add 1 bhudda statue, 1 depiction of his favourite monk, put 6 stupid stickers on the van and presto we now have a "professional" van driver.

the "rot tour" drivers to me seem to be the biggest danger on thai roads, they obvously can see round blind corners, can overtake/undertake at any time they see fit and the list goes on.

last time i drove up to CM and nan, my wife asked what i was counting, "just the number of head on collisions i have avoided dear".

inter city bus drivers seem to have in most cases, they own divine right from their god to drive as hard and fast as they can, rich idiots in flash cars i have not had too much trouble with them, after they go past i just expect to see them plowed into a pole of some kind or a rot tour.

heavy vehicle drivers of the mainline freight companies, i seem to have been fairly lucky with them.

the local heavy vehicle drivers very few problems i have found if you treat them as all suicidal fools when they drive.

Makes you wonder what (or even if?) the Thais think about farang drivers - and are all nations/vehicle types lumped in as one category....

[macksview]

yes, topt, i generalised, i know it is not polite or correct to do that.

my only defence for generalising is, the rot tour drivers i have seen, seem to be thai versions of schumacher but without the talent for driving.

the best thai drivers i have seen are the personal protection officers, for the young lady from a very important family, she works and resides most of the time in the north east, who chooses to drive her mini cooper at break neck speeds when she desires, they were good but they couldnt catch her.

[rene123]

Radar501, on 04 Mar 2013 - 17:13, said:

A Thai driver takes his bus to the mechanic and says "The brakes don't work. Can you fix the horn?"

Thanks for my morning laugh. But now you owe me a coffee for the one I spilled on my keyboard.

I actually enjoy riding in Thai traffic now, and strange as it may seem it seems to work here. Everything flows like water... in all directions at once and you just have to prepare for it. But, there are a few things that are obviously VERY dangerous and you just can't drive like you do in western countries. You have to EXPECT someone coming at you on a blind corner. I see Thais manage to do it all the time even though I cringe when I see all the near misses. Nobody seems to think anything about it. And, I do have to repeat that the bus trips I've been on have been fairly safe and pleasant. But, they are the first rate company busses.

[yourauntbob]

Until people start refusing to use the vans or they change the drivers incentive to get there as quick as possible things will not change. I for one will walk before getting into one of those death traps again.

[VocalNeal]

Same as bus drivers in Indonesia. The more picked up passengers, the more money so they all race to the next stop.

[Semper]

At different times on the trip I had to face vehicles coming at me in my lane on corners. I survived because I EXPECTED them to be there.

I like this part. If only more Farangs would accept that Thai driving style is different than in the West. Good on you rene123 for realizing this, considering your relatively short time in Thailand.