Car Driving the wrong way up a one way street - who cares?

[Chiengmaijoe]

Have I been here too long? A few times in the past I've driven down the likes of Thapae Rd late at night and there's been a car driving up towards me which of course he shouldn't be doing, because it's one way. Since the road is more or less deserted I find myself just ignoring it because it is driving on what is the equivalent of his left hand side and there's no way I'm going to hit him. In the early days I may have been tempted to drive straight at him and let him Know he's in the wrong, or possibly flash my lights and beep the horn or get angry and shout abuse.

My guess is that he knows that it's one way but since it's quiet it doesn't matter. The strange thing is, I'm inclined to agree. I reason that in the past this was a 2 way road anyway, so what's the problem if it is 2 way late at night? The road is well lit, I can see him and he can see me, and the road is certainly wide enough.

I find these days that very little of the bad driving annoys me as it did in the early years. I never beep the horn, I certainly never verbally abuse anyone and about the worse I do is maybe stare at someone that has been driving stupidly. I drive mostly around town so that probably helps because I'm sure it is a lot worse on the highways out to suburbia.

So, I seemed to have come to accept some of the bad habits especially where there is no immediate danger, or at least I don't get angry about them, and that seems to be the way to go, for me. What about you, still getting angry, blasting the horn, or just grinning and bearing it?

[worgeordie]

On the roads Thai's just seem to do whatever they feel like,

whenever I am turning into a one way road,I look both ways,

and sometimes above !,you just don't know which way they

are coming at you.

I had a VERY near miss joining a dual carriageway,just

looking right,road clear ,pulling out, and out the corner

of my eye something blue flashes past,going the wrong

way an old lady and kid on motor bike, must of missed

them by a couple of inches, it shook me up,so now extra

careful.

Really you have to be a mind reader on the roads here

as a lot of drivers don't seem to have a clue what they

are doing,indicate (if at all) when they get TO the turn,

how many motor bikes have you seen right hand light

flashing only for them to turn left !

regards Worgeordie

[Ulysses G.]

What bothers me is when I'm riding my bicycle the "wrong" way on a one way street and someone starts yelling and screaming at me angrily. It happens fairly often and it is always a farang. Many of the main streets downtown have bicycle lanes that go in the opposite direction from cars and they are marked that way. You would think that tourists might realize that the rules here might not be the same as where they come from.

[fcgprg]

I think the main problem is that most Thais do not understand how to drive properly and a lot of them do not have a licence or have just bought one.

[ramrod711]

I agree with the OP, I don't worry about it as much as I used to. Usually i'm so surprised and delighted to get where i'm going without having been run into that the near misses just fade from my memory.

[elektrified]

I find myself getting more and more annoyed as times goes by; especially after a few close calls this last year (including a motorcycle with no lights that drove across the road and over the center divider as I was making a u-turn). I missed him by no more than 2 inches and my heart was pounding out of my chest. The amount of cars and motorcycles driving on the wrong side of the road seems to be increasing. I didn't use to blast my horn at people but now I do.

It is very dangerous out there. I have seen about 6 major accidents with fatalities in the last 2-3 months alone; including one last night where a car in the pouring rain mowed down two!! street lights along the center divider across from Moobaan Tanawan in Sansai. There were about 15-18 rescue workers, police, etc. on scene. Considering the amount of debris on the road and the damage, I doubt anyone survived. I think people need to re-evaluate driving motorcycles in this country. it has become too dangerous.

[Gsxrnz]

Op - "one way" in Thailand means the way that you happen to be going.

Sometimes, expediency is the best alternative and Thais seem to accept and adapt to this. I used to think that the driver reversing 300m because he missed an exit or U-turn to avoid driving 2 klm to the next U-turn were lunatics. And while I'm not saying it's a particularly safe thing to do, when confronted with a similar situation, I chose to do it.

Expediency and adaptability - two things we have lost in the west due to the proliferation of the Nanny State, and the taking away of personal self responsibility over the last 40 years or so.

[haybilly]

What's with 'Roundabouts'--surely the principle is easy enough to grasp?? I realize that the Thais can't accept the common rule that the driver already on the roundabout has priority--but, surely, going round the same clockwise direction isn't that hard to do? I approach every side road leading onto the roundabout ahead of me 'assuming' that Somchai will just charge out.

[Loaded]

I was given a parking ticket by a policeman for parking outside the original Kasems and leaving my vehicle unattended for a few minutes on orange/white lines. The policeman, who wasn't wearing a crash helmet, then got on his motorbike, turned around and rode in the opposite direction to the flow of traffic along the one way street in front of Kasems. You need to chose to laugh or shout in Thailand.

[Loaded]

What's with 'Roundabouts'--surely the principle is easy enough to grasp?? I realize that the Thais can't accept the common rule that the driver already on the roundabout has priority--but, surely, going round the same clockwise direction isn't that hard to do? I approach every side road leading onto the roundabout ahead of me 'assuming' that Somchai will just charge out.

According to the question in the Thai driving license written examination, you give way to the right at roundabouts - the same as the UK. However, nobody has ever told this to Thais.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

At least driving the wrong way on a one way street the driver might be able see ahead.

What blows me away is the high number of drivers in the wrong lane around blind corners.

It's almost like this is a rule for driving in Thailand. Forget about training and education.

Isn't that common sense like not jumping out of windows or sticking body parts into fires?

[jackr]

Chaps, if you think CM is messed up, try driving in the South. Fkingh*ll, everyone undercuts at junctions (cars, bikes, trucks)--even the cops--and the propensity for dick-warts to pull little wheelies on their souped up plastic pigs at every opportunity really is mind-numbing.

Like UG, one of the bugbears is annoying farangs getting on their soapbox and pointing fingers.

[deeks]

I just tend to laugh to myself, an old lady on a bicycle comming out of a soi on my left,they never slow down or look to see if its safe to enter traffic, the look on her face when she saw the truck about 2 meters from her and the wobble of the front wheel when she tried to turn while being off balance and then finally the skip skip skip of her left foot on the ground trying to stop and not fall off,priceless. Then not 5 minutes later the same again from a guy on a motocy. And dont you love the trip home at night on the unlit roads with about 1 in ten of them will have a working tail light and 2 in ten will have a working headlight and all dressed in dark clothes so you see them when youre 20 meters from running up their ass.

[Chiengmaijoe]

I just tend to laugh to myself, an old lady on a bicycle comming out of a soi on my left,they never slow down or look to see if its safe to enter traffic, the look on her face when she saw the truck about 2 meters from her and the wobble of the front wheel when she tried to turn while being off balance and then finally the skip skip skip of her left foot on the ground trying to stop and not fall off,priceless. Then not 5 minutes later the same again from a guy on a motocy. And dont you love the trip home at night on the unlit roads with about 1 in ten of them will have a working tail light and 2 in ten will have a working headlight and all dressed in dark clothes so you see them when youre 20 meters from running up their ass.

The best example of how bad the driving is in Thailand is the fact that when people relate their own experiences no one goes beyond the last few days because it happens all day every day. No need to refer to last month and beyond.

[habfan]

I'm with the OP on this one. Nothing surprises me when I'm driving in LOS anymore and I'm certainly not going to let it upset me either. My golden rule..... never ever assume another driver will give you right of way.

[Chiengmaijoe]

At least driving the wrong way on a one way street the driver might be able see ahead.

What blows me away is the high number of drivers in the wrong lane around blind corners.

It's almost like this is a rule for driving in Thailand. Forget about training and education.

Isn't that common sense like not jumping out of windows or sticking body parts into fires?

That's an interesting point. I've often argued that basic animal instincts, like the survival instinct, should stop a lot of the nonsense like pulling out blind onto busy roads without looking. I stop and look because of my survival instinct, not because of rules. How do you overcome that most basic of instincts? That fascinates me.

[daoyai]

Because the surviving members of the fearless, charge ahead male contingent mated more often than the more cautious. So the instinct to procreate often trumps the survival instinct. .... or maybe they are just idiots.

[true blue]

after 10 years driving a car here,you just come to except that anything can happen.and you just have to concentrate 110%,and that means most of the time to ignore any passengers in your car,to the annoyence of them.

[T_Dog]

I think that any type of vehicle can use any part of the paved surface and a bit more to travel in any direction they so choose. Once you realize that, it all makes sense.

[MESmith]

My latest near miss was a "tattooed whitey" with "tgf" on the back of his dream or like, driving the wrong way in Big C car park (yes, they have arrows to show which way to drive) concentrating on his smart phone screen rather than the way ahead. The hatred in his face as he screamed abuse through my side window (closed) was hilarious. He didn't have a helmet on, what a <deleted>. Actually, I tell a lie, as that was over a week ago. Every day I have near misses with the locals. But I know how to drive here, expect the unexpected and react accordingly.

Hang on, just recall an even more recent incident with a foreigner, this time a resident one on his big motorbike, pulls along side me at a crossroads on the railway crossing, on my right, occupying the wrong side of the road. As I cross the road, he turns left. Again no helmet in morning rush hour.

[Jose]

1st thing i check on buying a mbike--be sure the horn works--i use it all the time---it is the most important part on my mbike...

Good to see you have your priorities in place.

Must be a hoot watching you buying a new mbike, testing every horn...

[hellodolly]

Well I don't drive or ride a bike but I do check for traffic on the sidewalks where they are wide enough to allow it.

[BB1955]

Best to just laugh and go on. They will use up there 9 lives one day ... Expect anything and be amazed at nothing ....

[thrilled]

Hey your in Thailand. I'm not surprised at anything. I stopped paying attention the way people drive A long time ago

[bristolgeoff]

this is Thailand,nothing will change get used to it

[Ticketmaster]

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Thai driving has NEVER irritated me; I simply took up their habits and blend right in. Those that don't like the driving here should simply not drive here. It's really quite simple concept.

[al007]

I have been here for six years i get very frustrated by the horrific driving here, but have to remember a very high proportion of ther drivers have never been properly taught,

They drive cars like motor bikes, at night at factory shift close or change we choose to stay off the roads and wait because of the swarms of motor bikes with no rear lights

I sent my wife to driving school and she learnt very well, it was worth every penny i spent

A friend sent his step daughter to driving school she came home two days later and said look I have my driving licience, please now buy me a car, my friend took her to a deserted area and asked her to show him her driving she could not reverse or turn a corner but had a driving licience

So far so good some 150,000 plus kilometers

We need to remember be calm, I am not always ! ! ! , if we are involved in an accident we are the ones at fault, as one judge said if we were not here and on the road the accodent would not have happened QED

[Kananga]

Op - "one way" in Thailand means the way that you happen to be going.

Sometimes, expediency is the best alternative and Thais seem to accept and adapt to this. I used to think that the driver reversing 300m because he missed an exit or U-turn to avoid driving 2 klm to the next U-turn were lunatics. And while I'm not saying it's a particularly safe thing to do, when confronted with a similar situation, I chose to do it.

Expediency and adaptability - two things we have lost in the west due to the proliferation of the Nanny State, and the taking away of personal self responsibility over the last 40 years or so.

Expediency and adaptability? Reversing down highways when people are driving towards you at 120KMH? Surely you mean putting the lives of oneself and others at risk to save a few minutes that dont matter because as this is Thailand most people are probably late anyway. You yourself admit that its not a safe thing to do. As for the nanny state comment. You think its better to have 5 times as many people die on the roads than a Western country and an inept, corrupt police force than a safe driving environment just so you can reverse down highways into incoming traffic?

You were right the first time. They are lunatics (I prefer the term cretinous moron). That hasn't changed. You've just become one too.

Darwin in full effect.

[RBOP]

Motorcyclists are the worst offenders. I was crossing Silom Road, waiting for a gap and then stepped off the curb to cross. A motorcycle clipped me at the same second I stepped off the curb who was driving the wrong way. Guess I forgot to look both ways even though its one way. Cop at the corner didn't get even get out of his booth.

[David48]

Have been driving here a while now, but, up to now, on an International Permit.

This week I got my Thai Drivers and Bike license.

I used to be a Motorcycle Courier in London ... so have seen a bit of traffic.

That job also prepares you well of the 'unexpected'.

Where I live at the Farm it is near the Big Canal which drains the Airport (Swampy).

It's 2 lanes one way ... Canal ... 2 lanes the other way ... there are not many cosss-overs.

Driving up the road, around the corner comes 2 'double trucks', the wrong way to my left, and a pick-up truck the wrong way to my right.

I straddle both lanes so the the white line is down my bonnet.

No panic ... motored on.

Mind you ... that 'blind corner' <deleted> scares me. Particularly if there is no escape route for you, the driver.