Thailand To Change From Left To Right Hand Driving

[Rickster]

Not a very clever April Fools Joke this one.

Apart from the errors in the piece, there are already five out of ten Asean countries driving on the left.

The population of those Asean countries that drive on the left totals 340 million while those that drive on the right number only 250 million.

So, much more likely that the five counties that drive on the right would change to driving on the left.

Not that anyone would notice the change had taken place.

By the way Indonesia changed from driving on the right to the left during the Stamford Raffles administration.

Oh dear...get caught out did you!!!

Lighten up son...... it's supposed to be a bit of fun <deleted>!!!!

[skorchio]

April fools, and it would not make a difference anyway, the Natives are already unaware that one is supposed to be driving on the left. Depends which way ur pointing .....

[esbkk]

Surely, April's Fools day ...

[Rammstein]

Not a very clever April Fools Joke this one.

Apart from the errors in the piece, there are already five out of ten Asean countries driving on the left.

The population of those Asean countries that drive on the left totals 340 million while those that drive on the right number only 250 million.

So, much more likely that the five counties that drive on the right would change to driving on the left.

Not that anyone would notice the change had taken place.

By the way Indonesia changed from driving on the right to the left during the Stamford Raffles administration.

Oh dear...get caught out did you!!!

Lighten up son...... it's supposed to be a bit of fun <deleted>!!!!

april fools joke lol sad thing is i wouldnt put it past the thai government thats why it was so believable to begin with

[Fullstop]

Without reading the whole thread

Has anyone realised what date it is ?????

Yes, many people did, but the moderators removed any posts making that obvious early on ... as they do every year.

you mean, like kids cheating in a game?

[StreetCowboy]

I can see conversion kits being popular; its easy enough to work the steering wheel from the opposite side, but you'll need rodding for the pedals.

SC

[pgrahmm]

It's April 1st - I think we are being had.............................

[Rammstein]

I can see conversion kits being popular; its easy enough to work the steering wheel from the opposite side, but you'll need rodding for the pedals.

SC

your forgetting a little thing called the dash board

[ratcatcher]

For all of you saying this is a good idea and makes sense

must have lived here for toooo long. It is going to be a logistical nightmare,

especially for a country full of people who need a calculator for their 2 times

table. Every sign, every car, every road will need amending. This will cost

billions of dollars to implement safely. Also, know you are wrong, there are no

statistics that say driving on the right is any safer than driving on the left.

Only people who are used to driving on the right will find it safer to drive on

the right and hey guess what the whole driving population of this country is

not used to driving on the right. NO BRAINER. I am actually a little shocked so

many people on here are saying this is a good idea, just goes to show how many

none Thais have thought about this in depth. The death toll will shoot through

the roof, insurance premiums will increase tenfold. Laying down laws forbidding

car owners from selling their cars is dictatorial at best. To end I will say I have

never come across such a pathetic, insane, ludicrous idea in my life. Dumbo

springs to mind.

"Dumbo springs to mind."

Never a truer word spoken in jest.

[asiasurfer]

One second, it's Fool's Day, isn't it?

Always the same same in Thailand anyway...

[mamypoko]

Does this mean they plan to carry their swords on the other side too?

[StreetCowboy]

I can see conversion kits being popular; its easy enough to work the steering wheel from the opposite side, but you'll need rodding for the pedals.

SC

your forgetting a little thing called the dash board

Most of the important controls - radio, air con, are in the middle. You can dispense with the signals, which are optional in Thailand, and the speedo is for information only, anyway.

[gvan]

APRIL FOOLS!!

[F4UCorsair]

F***!! They kill enough with them all attempting to drive on the same side now. Imagine the chaos when there is a transition to them all attempting to change, and they'll all continue to attempt to break the world land speed record in their pickups.

A google search gives number of deaths per 100,000 as 19.6, so at 65 million, that's almost 13,000. A post on TV gave it as about 26,000 a year, so I'm not sure which is correct, but a change to the other side could conceivably double it, whatever it is.

[yourauntbob]

April fools?

[krisb]

It's an April fool's day joke.

[StreetCowboy]

Does this mean they plan to carry their swords on the other side too?

It's the elephants I feel sorry for. they never forget

[ratcatcher]

Not a very clever April Fools Joke this one.

Apart from the errors in the piece, there are already five out of ten Asean countries driving on the left.

The population of those Asean countries that drive on the left totals 340 million while those that drive on the right number only 250 million.

So, much more likely that the five counties that drive on the right would change to driving on the left.

Not that anyone would notice the change had taken place.

By the way Indonesia changed from driving on the right to the left during the Stamford Raffles administration.

Oh dear...get caught out did you!!!

Lighten up son...... it's supposed to be a bit of fun <deleted>!!!!

april fools joke lol sad thing is i wouldnt put it past the thai government thats why it was so believable to begin with

Most April Fools jokes are, but on the other hand, had the headline read,

"Thai Government to buy millions of tons of rice at prices higher than it can sell "

then I suspect many would have thought it a joke?

[jimmybkk]

I enjoy a joke as much as the next man, but MCOT just reported that one of the senior execs at Honda read the first 3 pages of this and jumped to his death from the 23rd floor of their office building in Bangkok...

[Jeffrey346]

It was a good joke. Happy April Fools Day

[devilish]

^ 5 5 5:

I can't imagine this change would be easy nor safe for Thai people. Even for an American like myself, it would be confusing. They claim Taxi drivers, Truck drivers, etc. can still drive w/ the wheel on the right side if they switch to the other side of the road.

Way too complicated of a change for Thailand and Thai people, imo.

[Hunter88]

Don't put any money on this happening. Since when did any Thai like being told what he or she can do? Why do you think the laws are the way they are?

[nofarang]

Oh, is it 1st of April again???

What a joke!

[keemapoot]

One proposal currently under consideration in Thailand is driving in the center like this, which is only slightly more ridiculous than this proposal to change from RHD to LHD:

*good April Fools btw!

Edited April 1, 2013 by keemapoot

[gavinreynolds]

Yes, a very obvious April fool. But I enjoyed it, not so much for the original piece, which was OK, as for the indignant and bewildered replies...

[puyaidon]

Isn't today April Fool's Day? Better than last year.

[Hadrianus]

I wasn't sure if they knew April Fool's Day in Thailand, but apparently they do.

[Pawpcorn]

Happy April Fools Day!!!! 55555555+

[fatgraeme]

what is todays date?

[StefanBBK]

April fools day.! Great joke.!

I initially thought this is another brain fart the government came up with, then I continued reading and finally got it...

Judging by the number of sincere comments, many of us did not get it. I guess we are all too long in Thailand.