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

[Doznotdiz]

I've managed to ride a motorcycle 15,000 km around Chiang Mai over 3 years and I am gradually getting used to the atrocious driving. It is no good getting annoyed with people who constantly break the few rules there are, however I am not going to copy their bad habits. I have had a few near misses with vehicles going through red lights and stop signs, but instances like these just make me more cautious. The trouble in Chiang Mai is that the volume of traffic is growing exponentially now, and I can remember my first visit here nearly 20 years ago when I hired a motorcycle and hardly saw another vehicle when travelling to Doi Suthep. Unfortunately the problem now is caused by Bangkok people and their new found wealth coming up here to live or on vacation. Chiang Mai is bursting at the seams and doesn't have the infrastructure to deal with all the new shopping malls and apartment blocks and the massive amount of utility vehicles and people movers. And why do they keep building large roads to nowhere such as the 4 lane highway next to the new Convention centre, that nobody uses? There is a desperate need for a decent public transport system. And a desperate need for proper motorcycle and car driving lessons and standards. But it will never happen and soon Chiang Mai will be like Bangkok with motorcycle taxis, Ping river taxis, traffic jams and pollution. And I will be living somewhere else.

[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.

This is typical thinking for a citizen of a nanny state. If you look at the driving statistics, most of the Thai stats are by youthful motorcycle riders. When you factor those out and look at the stats for four wheeled vehicles, they are not much worst than most countries of the west. But it is different here -- adapt or die -- or leave.

Nanny state (your interpretation)= Responsible country (my interpretation). Less people die, higher quality of life.

Anyway, Thailand is as much a nanny state as anywhere else. If I got caught smoking a joint in the West what would happen? Slap on the wrist? What would happen in Thailand? Jail? deportation? Huge cancerous bribe to a policeman? How many Western countries block internet porn like Thailand does? Or forbids if from being sold in shops? Or alcohol bans all the time. Dont get that in the West. How about criticizing you know who? Cant do that here.

Don't kid yourself. Thailand is as much a nanny state as anywhere else.

But please enlighten us. Apart from reversing into oncoming traffic on highways, what exactly can you do here that you can't do in the west? Nanny state indeed. Blurting out those two words must be some automatic nerve response whenever the amulet wearing, fortuna driving social mistfits get reminded of just how stupid and corrupt Thailand actually is.

[Kananga]

I've managed to ride a motorcycle 15,000 km around Chiang Mai over 3 years and I am gradually getting used to the atrocious driving. It is no good getting annoyed with people who constantly break the few rules there are, however I am not going to copy their bad habits. I have had a few near misses with vehicles going through red lights and stop signs, but instances like these just make me more cautious. The trouble in Chiang Mai is that the volume of traffic is growing exponentially now, and I can remember my first visit here nearly 20 years ago when I hired a motorcycle and hardly saw another vehicle when travelling to Doi Suthep. Unfortunately the problem now is caused by Bangkok people and their new found wealth coming up here to live or on vacation. Chiang Mai is bursting at the seams and doesn't have the infrastructure to deal with all the new shopping malls and apartment blocks and the massive amount of utility vehicles and people movers. And why do they keep building large roads to nowhere such as the 4 lane highway next to the new Convention centre, that nobody uses? There is a desperate need for a decent public transport system. And a desperate need for proper motorcycle and car driving lessons and standards. But it will never happen and soon Chiang Mai will be like Bangkok with motorcycle taxis, Ping river taxis, traffic jams and pollution. And I will be living somewhere else.

Just my opinion of course. But easier to cream 10% off the top of a project like that to line grubby little pockets than a complex public transportation system that would beneft the tax payer.

[Emdog]

i live in Jomtien, and watched the building of the new second road ("Someday this project will be yours, son" says construction manager to his five year old son). I would almost bet that they took a photo of 4 lane US highway with center island and turnouts and just copied it for near my condo. Which would be fine IF the drove on same side as USA, but they don't. So.... leaving both sides of condo, if one wishes to avoid driving 1/4 mile to turn around, one drives at least 50 meters against traffic. And lets not discuss the motorcycles on the sidewalks. When I fell for April fools joke about changing driving side to same as USA, I wondered "Did they know beforehand? Did they get something right?". Naw....

[Emdog]

i live in Jomtien, and watched the building of the new second road ("Someday this project will be yours, son" says construction manager to his five year old son). I would almost bet that they took a photo of 4 lane US highway with center island and turnouts and just copied it for near my condo. Which would be fine IF the drove on same side as USA, but they don't. So.... leaving both sides of condo, if one wishes to avoid driving 1/4 mile to turn around, one drives at least 50 meters against traffic. And lets not discuss the motorcycles on the sidewalks. When I fell for April fools joke about changing driving side to same as USA, I wondered "Did they know beforehand? Did they get something right?". Naw....

[Emdog]

i live in Jomtien, and watched the building of the new second road ("Someday this project will be yours, son" says construction manager to his five year old son). I would almost bet that they took a photo of 4 lane US highway with center island and turnouts and just copied it for near my condo. Which would be fine IF the drove on same side as USA, but they don't. So.... leaving both sides of condo, if one wishes to avoid driving 1/4 mile to turn around, one drives at least 50 meters against traffic. And lets not discuss the motorcycles on the sidewalks. When I fell for April fools joke about changing driving side to same as USA, I wondered "Did they know beforehand? Did they get something right?". Naw....

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

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.

This is typical thinking for a citizen of a nanny state. If you look at the driving statistics, most of the Thai stats are by youthful motorcycle riders. When you factor those out and look at the stats for four wheeled vehicles, they are not much worst than most countries of the west. But it is different here -- adapt or die -- or leave.

Nanny state (your interpretation)= Responsible country (my interpretation). Less people die, higher quality of life.

Anyway, Thailand is as much a nanny state as anywhere else. If I got caught smoking a joint in the West what would happen? Slap on the wrist? What would happen in Thailand? Jail? deportation? Huge cancerous bribe to a policeman? How many Western countries block internet porn like Thailand does? Or forbids if from being sold in shops? Or alcohol bans all the time. Dont get that in the West. How about criticizing you know who? Cant do that here.

Don't kid yourself. Thailand is as much a nanny state as anywhere else.

But please enlighten us. Apart from reversing into oncoming traffic on highways, what exactly can you do here that you can't do in the west? Nanny state indeed. Blurting out those two words must be some automatic nerve response whenever the amulet wearing, fortuna driving social mistfits get reminded of just how stupid and corrupt Thailand actually is.

'Non Nanny state' must be short hand for social engineering incompetence.

Lots of social engineering in Thailand from the culture, religion and govt. The noticeable dissonance(shock) is related to the ineffectiveness and inequality of these engineering efforts.

Case in point helmet use compliance in different countries. Laos and Vietnam have similarly traditional, corrupt, religion dominated systems but can somehow produce very high helmet compliance.

Good social engineering and liberties aren't at all mutually exclusive.

Big time false dichotomy.

[spacebass]

No one.

[junglechef]

Serenity now! Been slowly acting calmer while driving here and long ago gave up trying to teach other drivers on the road when they do things that isn't in the best interest of the community of as a whole. But it is hard when the safety of my family is put at risk so often here. I leave space in between myself and the car in front of me, but not nearly as much as recommended by US safety standards, but if someone can squeeze in, or almost, they often do making me brake quickly and not leaving any room for error or changing traffic conditions ahead. Gave up driving a motorbike besides in the village long ago and now drive one of the bigger passengers vehicles, which is registered as a bus, on the road which makes me feel a bit better along that other drivers abide by the rule of larger rules and they perhaps since they think I'm one of the drugged out van drivers I'm given a bit more leeway now.

Driven in worse, rounding passes in Andean Moutains in Ecaudor and on a two lane two way road and they pass FOUR cars side by side going one way up!

Driving at a sensible speed letting anyone pass who pleases allows me to keep an eye out for all the drivers who aren't as they are texting on thier motorcys with children on back, not even mention helmets, but I can promise that when my boys are of driving age they will abide by my rules of the road!