Thailand's left-hand traffic 'impedes integration'

[DonaldBattles]

What makes driving like the UK best for the majority of the world that does not?

[I Like Thai]

It's just a little dig at foreigners in reality.

If we drove on the other side, we'd be like the Chinese and the rest and more successful

Who is this we, that you refer to ?

Countries that drive on the left

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-_and_left-hand_traffic#Left-hand_traffic

Alderney

Anguilla

Antigua and Barbuda

Australia

Bahamas

Bangladesh

Barbados

Bermuda

Bhutan

Botswana

Brunei

Cayman Islands

Christmas Island

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Cook Islands

Cyprus[28]

Dominica

East Timor (drove on right 19281976)

Falkland Islands

Fiji

Grenada

Guernsey

Guyana

Hong Kong

India

Indonesia*

Ireland

Isle of Man

Jamaica

Japan (Okinawa 1978)

Jersey

Kenya

Kiribati

Lesotho

Macau

Malawi

Malaysia

Maldives

Malta

Mauritius

Montserrat

Mozambique

Namibia (1918)

Nauru (1918)

Nepal

New Zealand

Niue

Norfolk Island

Pakistan

Papua New Guinea

Pitcairn Islands

Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Samoa (2009)

Seychelles

Singapore

Solomon Islands

South Africa

Sri Lanka

Suriname

Swaziland

Tanzania

Thailand

Tokelau

Tonga

Trinidad and Tobago

Turks and Caicos Islands

Tuvalu

Uganda

United Kingdom

British Virgin Islands

U.S. Virgin Islands

Zambia

Zimbabwe

I think you will find that 80% of those countries are former British colonies or commonwealth.

What does that have to do with your "We" comment

[samran]

What makes driving like the UK best for the majority of the world that does not?

Nothing. But the countries which do have integrated systems. What is the point spending billions rengineering everything just to change sides?

Edited October 17, 2013 by samran

[attrayant]

I'm not sure about this idea, maybe we should test it first. I propose that on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays we drive on the right side. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday we drive on the left side. Sunday we can drive on whichever side we like (same as now). The only potential problem I see with this test is that we might not be able to tell the difference.

[Thaddeus]

What makes driving like the UK best for the majority of the world that does not?

Less deaths.

That is just a bit of a bonus isn't it, or would you care to differ.

[Thai at Heart]

It's just a little dig at foreigners in reality.

If we drove on the other side, we'd be like the Chinese and the rest and more successful

Who is this we, that you refer to ?

Countries that drive on the left

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-_and_left-hand_traffic#Left-hand_traffic

Alderney

Anguilla

Antigua and Barbuda

Australia

Bahamas

Bangladesh

Barbados

Bermuda

Bhutan

Botswana

Brunei

Cayman Islands

Christmas Island

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Cook Islands

Cyprus[28]

Dominica

East Timor (drove on right 19281976)

Falkland Islands

Fiji

Grenada

Guernsey

Guyana

Hong Kong

India

Indonesia*

Ireland

Isle of Man

Jamaica

Japan (Okinawa 1978)

Jersey

Kenya

Kiribati

Lesotho

Macau

Malawi

Malaysia

Maldives

Malta

Mauritius

Montserrat

Mozambique

Namibia (1918)

Nauru (1918)

Nepal

New Zealand

Niue

Norfolk Island

Pakistan

Papua New Guinea

Pitcairn Islands

Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Samoa (2009)

Seychelles

Singapore

Solomon Islands

South Africa

Sri Lanka

Suriname

Swaziland

Tanzania

Thailand

Tokelau

Tonga

Trinidad and Tobago

Turks and Caicos Islands

Tuvalu

Uganda

United Kingdom

British Virgin Islands

U.S. Virgin Islands

Zambia

Zimbabwe

I think you will find that 80% of those countries are former British colonies or commonwealth.

What does that have to do with your "We" comment

We would be the Thais, wishing they could drive on the same side as the Chinese and their neighbours.

The reason those countries listed there drive on the left is because of their association with the UK.

Edited October 17, 2013 by Thai at Heart

[Thai at Heart]

Well I've researched and all I can find is that (and the story might be bs) was that a car was donated from the royal family of the UK to Thailand that was designed to be driven on the left.

Other than that, what is the reason for Thailand being on the left?

[SjaakNL2013]

I think if Thailand change from driving side it 's getting time to polish and wax my second car......

[marquis22]

Who is this nutter? Does he think that India, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and Australia will be changing to fit in with Laos and Cambodia? What a loon!

Yeah but Japan and Australian drivers do not have to worry about driving into another country in their cars.

I agree though, why change to suit someone else? If people want to visit another country then they have to obey the local traffic laws.

[Thaddeus]

<Snipped all the misformated quotes>

Please inform. Can't find a succinct reason other than the possibility that they copied the layout from the UK.

I looked at a copy of the Thai Highway Code some time back and it looked as if it had been directly lifted from the UK one.

So, yes, if you are going to copy the road signs and the road use instructions from a different country, you pretty much have to drive on the same side of the road that they do, it could get messy otherwise.

[rubl]

Personally I think ASEAN is not ready for the advanced driving style of Thais. That has nothing to do with driving on the right or wrong side of the road, or the pavement for what it matters

[Noistar]

Personally I think ASEAN is not ready for the advanced driving style of Thais. That has nothing to do with driving on the right or wrong side of the road, or the pavement for what it matters

I think you're spot-on. Thai driving technique must be unique in the world.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[apophyss]

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Countries_driving_on_the_left_or_right.svg

[Noistar]

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Countries_driving_on_the_left_or_right.svg

I'm not sure that a distribution of left and right hand driving countries is relevant, especially as Thailand has a noticeable proportion of left&right hand driving.

I'd be more worried about whether traffic was likely to hit me. I don't think drivers from left or right hand drive countries would have any problem realizing very quickly that driving in Thailand is a matter of survival.

Does anybody seriously believe that the Thai economy will be affected either way by which side of the roads Thai traffic (tends to ) drive on?

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[ginjag]

Really, do you expect the vast amount of Thai drivers to go and do a U turn when they can drive the shorter distance on the wrong side of the road.

The answer to Thai changing to the opposite side for driving, beneficial to them they are experienced enough on both sides.

[Credo]

Does anybody seriously believe that the Thai economy will be affected either way by which side of the roads Thai traffic (tends to ) drive on?

When moving large trucks and lots of goods across the borders, it will make a difference.

[Artisi]

Does anybody seriously believe that the Thai economy will be affected either way by which side of the roads Thai traffic (tends to ) drive on?

When moving large trucks and lots of goods across the borders, it will make a difference.

Why?

[taotoo]

Does anybody seriously believe that the Thai economy will be affected either way by which side of the roads Thai traffic (tends to ) drive on?

When moving large trucks and lots of goods across the borders, it will make a difference.

Why?

"as it costs investors extra logistic expenses for having to change the car engines when crossing the border."

For 'car engines' read 'cab'.

[Basil B]

We have no problems in Europe, I have traveled may times across the channel in a right hand drive vehicle and driven in Europe where they drive on the wrong side of the road:

Surely Thais are experienced in driving on the wrong side of the road and any foreign driver driving on the right hand side of the road would not be out of the norm.

[taotoo]

Me too, but according to the deputy-PM the trucks switch cabs at the border here.

[Time Traveller]

Inferior nations like Thailand should get with the program and adopt the same standards of their superior neighbouring countries like Laos and Cambodia. Even the thai officials now admit they are inferior

[soomak]

as it costs investors extra logistic expenses for having to change the car engines when crossing the border.

Obviously the guy knows what he is talking about, makes a lot of sense to change the cars engine! after all a left handed engine works different to a right handed engine, it turns in the opposite direction!!!!!

I think it's just wrong translation. The Nation writers do that a lot, I suspect they use Google translate sometimes.

Obviously they need to change the trucks (the front part of the semi-trailer), not the engines, so that the driver would be located on the right side of the truck when driving on the left lane. Having to do that each time you cross the border is a logistical nightmare.

[paddyjenkins]

Malaysia drives on the left as does Singapore. Malaysia is a key bordering neighbour, the others are Burma, Laos and Cambodia. in Burma and Cambodia they appear to drive on both sides, not sure about Laos but none of these countries are exactly economic powerhouses whereas Malaysia is.. So why would driving on the left in Thailand present particuliar problems with integration? Is this just another dumb Thai government official shooting his or her mouth off with no logic, evidence or facts to back their claim up? The only real impediment to smooth integration that i see is Thai government officials that often seem totally brain dead.

[Artisi]

as it costs investors extra logistic expenses for having to change the car engines when crossing the border.

Obviously the guy knows what he is talking about, makes a lot of sense to change the cars engine! after all a left handed engine works different to a right handed engine, it turns in the opposite direction!!!!!

I think it's just wrong translation. The Nation writers do that a lot, I suspect they use Google translate sometimes.

Obviously they need to change the trucks (the front part of the semi-trailer), not the engines, so that the driver would be located on the right side of the truck when driving on the left lane. Having to do that each time you cross the border is a logistical nightmare.

Why a logistic nightmare. Please explain.

Lets assume for a moment an articulated vehicle from country X arrives at the Thai border, the vehicle is marshalled into holding bay, uncoupled and then proceeds to another section of the marshalling yard and recouples to a trailer heading back into country X, the arriving uncoupled trailer is in turn coupled to a prime-mover (left-hand drive for Thailand) and proceeds on its way into Thailand- this is a fairly normal procedure for transport vehicles travelling between England and Europe - in many cases only the trailer is put on the ferry / train for transport across the channel -i.e., dropped on one side and collected on the other side. This is also done in many countries when a trailer is put onto the rail system to be collected at a distant location by an entirely different prime-mover.

It's not rocket science but unfortunately many "experts" haven't a clue regarding freight movements as has been shown here in this thread.

[peterbkk9]

Malaysia drives on the left as does Singapore. Malaysia is a key bordering neighbour, the others are Burma, Laos and Cambodia. in Burma and Cambodia they appear to drive on both sides, not sure about Laos but none of these countries are exactly economic powerhouses whereas Malaysia is.. So why would driving on the left in Thailand present particuliar problems with integration? Is this just another dumb Thai government official shooting his or her mouth off with no logic, evidence or facts to back their claim up? The only real impediment to smooth integration that i see is Thai government officials that often seem totally brain dead.

Is this just another dumb Thai government official shooting his or her mouth off with no logic, evidence or facts to back their claim up?

Yes it is.

[ridkun]

I'm so proud to have a minister who really cares a lot for foreigners' convenience and would sacrifice the whole country of Thai's convenience and billions of taxpayer's money to make it most convenient for foreigners just to enter Thailand.

[Stygge]

Glancing though this topic make me smile a bit. I can´t now what is right (!) and wrong in this matter. But there seem to be a massive support for continuing left side driving.

I would love to know how many of you contributors in favor of left side driving originates from left side driving countries.
Myself from a right hand driving country can see the advantage of right hand driving even in Thailand. I think the massive support here for left hand driving in Thailand more has to do with the majorities background as left side drivers. Left side driving countries like UK and Australia seem to be dominant among the contributors in general in Thai Visa.
So my simple thesis is that if you come from a left side driving country you find argument that support continued left side driving. If you come from a right side driving country you are more open in this question. Background more then the quality of arguments decides.

[naboo]

Glancing though this topic make me smile a bit. I can´t now what is right (!) and wrong in this matter. But there seem to be a massive support for continuing left side driving.

I would love to know how many of you contributors in favor of left side driving originates from left side driving countries.

Myself from a right hand driving country can see the advantage of right hand driving even in Thailand. I think the massive support here for left hand driving in Thailand more has to do with the majorities background as left side drivers. Left side driving countries like UK and Australia seem to be dominant among the contributors in general in Thai Visa.

So my simple thesis is that if you come from a left side driving country you find argument that support continued left side driving. If you come from a right side driving country you are more open in this question. Background more then the quality of arguments decides.

You have magnificently failed to provide a single reason why Thailand should switch.

The most important reason for not switching is that driving on the other side of the road provides Thailand with another opportunity for protectionism. 500B/km tax on any LHD vehicle operating in the country.

And that in turn provides officials all over the country with reason to extort cash.

Beat that one!

[Stygge]

I duck on the issue knowing it´s complexity. My point is you tend to pick the argument that suits your background. This thread attracts mostly bitter arguments from contributors from left side driving countries. The same individual if would have come from a right hand driving country would have seen things differently. You come from a left side driving country, eh? OK, so that´s my point.

[taotoo]

Lets assume for a moment an articulated vehicle from country X arrives at the Thai border, the vehicle is marshalled into holding bay, uncoupled and then proceeds to another section of the marshalling yard and recouples to a trailer heading back into country X, the arriving uncoupled trailer is in turn coupled to a prime-mover (left-hand drive for Thailand) and proceeds on its way into Thailand- this is a fairly normal procedure for transport vehicles travelling between England and Europe - in many cases only the trailer is put on the ferry / train for transport across the channel -i.e., dropped on one side and collected on the other side. This is also done in many countries when a trailer is put onto the rail system to be collected at a distant location by an entirely different prime-mover.

So all that adds no expense? It doesn't involve logistics companies having to buy two fleets, or subcontract half the journey etc?

It's not rocket science but unfortunately many "experts" haven't a clue regarding freight movements as has been shown here in this thread.

Would the Deputy Prime Minister be one of those 'experts'?