Driving in Thailand - perception versus reality...

[tartempion]

Well just today....

Was driving on 4 lane main road towards Udon Thani, there is an ice cream parlor 25 kms East of Udon, believe it or not...

A guy on a motorbike turned left onto the road heading to Udon also, 100m before me, unfortunately for me he did not stay left on the small strip reserved for them, OK, we get used to idiots, so I moved to the right, was driving with cruise control set at 105 kmh.

Noticed he had no mirrors on his bike and did not look at oncoming traffic, as it often the case.

But he moved more to the right, towards the inner lane, thus I moved more to the right also, but I was getting dam_n close to the guy.

Thus i needed to get heavy on my brakes to avoid colliding with the man and his bike.

Driving a 2.5l V6 Teana for the first time in 15k kms the ABS did its job, I guess because I still was heading away from driving straight on.

Luckily we were alone on that road and i Hit the horn, opened my window at his height and said "Arai na? Pen baba bobo?"

He could not care less.

If i would have hit him dead it would have cost me 100k baht art least, idiot

Edit: unless I would not stop as many Thais do...

Edited November 11, 2013 by tartempion

[CIHUAHUA]

Might is right so get over little scooter. I've noticed that the UK drivers here have learned the Thai way of driving. I'm first unless you are more aggressive. I beep my horn and flash my lights and go gerrrrr like a lion. Sometimes it works and sometimes it gets a laugh. I've been down and got some road rash to prove it but I always wear a helmet so I still have some hair on my head. Its fun but when it is not then I will stop driving and take a tuk-tuk as long as it is not in Poo-ket.

[Travelman868]

Driving in thailand is a ckusterfrack.

Roads are terrible. Drivers are generally uneducated and self absorbed. Another huge problem is the lack of a quality extensive rail shipping network in Thailand whose lack forces far too high a number of heavy vehicles onto poorly built and maintained Thai roads.

Main roads in Thailand are good. The duel carriageways between Cities are as good as the UK. Some of the back roads between villages are

not very good.

Thai drivers are not always uneducated however most are rubbish drivers.

[scotbeve]

Its not neccesarily other drivers either, its the dam_n roads themselves.

You can be hurtling down a carriageway at 70kph and for no apparent reason the road changes from flat blacktop or concrete to an area of pot holes broken road humps bumps etc right out of nowhere, absolutely lethal ! And if that happens after dark, you got no chance because most are not lit either.

The road east from Thaton is full of potholes that go on for miles and miles. Someone got sold a dud when they let that contract!

Yep.... and that road gets re-surfaced every 5 to 7 years.....

[scotbeve]

I'm old now...when I was young I enjoyed driving ...now I dread it...

Basicly...Thailand is no problem ...but you have to take "Defensive Driving" to the max.....BE AWARE ...and to always be aware is stressful...but that's what needed in Thailand....

I term this as "offensively defensive"......

[fletchsmile]

Certain roads can be terrible for driving. Taking the kids to school along Chan road is one of the worst. I let the Mrs drive. On days where traffic is bad I sometimes while a little time away counting traffic related offenses or bad habits. Only takes a couple of minutes though and I'm well into double figures, so the game doesn't last long and soon lose count

- no helmet for motorcycle drivers

- motorcycle drivers driving down payments

- motorcycle drivers driving down your side of the road - cars too for that matter

- block the pavements for whatever purpose you feel like so pedestrains have to walk in the road

- cars don't stop at zebra crossings - then again people just cross anywhere anytime

- driving down the line in the middle of lanes to hedge your bets as to which lane is best and would be most selfish to use

- driving thru red lights

- following other cars driving thru red lights that are turning, knowing the cars on green can't go anywhere if you follow closely and aggressively behind the cars in front in convoy

- parking in no park zones

- stopping in no stopping zones

- both the above plus also ignore whether it's an odd or even day as per the signs and times. No doubt many people don't know the difference between different signs anyway

- Songthaew's stop anywhere any time and pick up people all over the place

- buses don't stop at bus stops and let people on and off anywhere

- lack of use of indicators - or signalling after you've started to turn. Rationale being if you signal people will know what you are going to do, and maybe anticiapte your move to cut you off so keep them guessing

- driving in a lane which should go straight on but then stopping to turn as you thought you could save a bit of time over getting in the right lane, never mind making everyone else wait

- 2 lanes each side of the road, but often only 1 each side able to be used, for reasons as above, or someone deciding the road belongs to them, and putting their own cone, cart, plant pot or other item of your choice to mark out that particular part of the road and/ or pavement belongs to you

- general lack of understanding or bothering with road markings, eg box junctions

- anything else that selfishly lets you do whatever you want that may save you a couple of seconds at everyone else's expense

- no right of way rules - bigger vehicle has priority to do whatever they want over a smaller vehicle (not unlike society in general)

did I miss anything?

Cheers Fletch

Edited November 11, 2013 by fletchsmile

[rumbo1]

I've been here on hols a few times and always been a passenger on public transport and it scared the s**t out of me !

Now I'm living here and have got Thai licence for car and bike as I also had in uk.

Let's no get any false illusions here about defensive riding/driving I have ( in my opinion ) a great deal of road sense and have raced bikes in uk so I'm used to speed and reading the road ahead but here you can forget all that logic ! Yes it helps a lot but you just can't anticipate vehicles changing lanes without indicating ( or they're not working ) for no apparent reason when you're overtaking on a dual carriageway , the changes in road surface etc !

I choose to drive because I feel safer when I'm in control and actually enjoy driving/riding but let's not compare it to almost anywhere else , it's damn dangerous regardless of how good you can drive/ride

[bonobo]

after the first paragraph i scrolled to the end;

Been driving in Thailand Cars and Motorcycles for almost 30 years,

no more dangerous than anywhere else as long as u dive offensiely

and

1, turn signals on don't mean there turning

2, your side can be the other persons side as well going with you or against you

I have driven since I arrived, and I am usually the designated driver when I am out with my Thai friends. While I think you must be a little aggressive if you want to cope with Bangkok traffic (getting through u-turns and the like) I think that you should be driving defensively, not offensively. The driving culture in Thailand is such that road regulations do not hold the same sway as in many other countries. Red lights can mean little, driving in the wrong direction into oncoming traffic is common, speed limits are routinely ignored, and so on. If you drive offensively, I think the chance of an accident is higher as you cannot count on the other driver to give way to your aggressiveness.

[khunpa]

I drive a big motorbike around Bangkok and have done so for 3 years now.

Before that, I lived in Vietnam and drove a motorbike there every day to work. The traffic rules in Vietnam compared to Thailand are crazy (meaning NO rules at all). Actually, found it easier and more safe to drive in Vietnam, because here in Thailand you have SOME rules, which makes things more confusing when coming from Vietnams traffic.

Also people drive at much higher speed here, which is more dangerous. But if you take is slow and keep your eyes on the traffic, then I do not find it difficult or too dangerous to drive around here. And I love the freedom the motorbike gives me.

If I was a tourist, I would for sure not drive here...

Edited November 11, 2013 by khunpa

[true blue]

8 years driving a honda city in chiang mai,seen very few if any accidents in city but must be some i suppose,think driving in town is easy,as you dont go very fast,and you dont go to far,

[soomak]

after the first paragraph i scrolled to the end;

Been driving in Thailand Cars and Motorcycles for almost 30 years,

no more dangerous than anywhere else as long as u dive offensiely

and

1, turn signals on don't mean there turning

2, your side can be the other persons side as well going with you or against you

DEAD WRONG. Thailand ranks number 3 in the world for Traffic related Deaths. Up there with completely un-developed, uneducated, war torn nations like Afghanistan and North African Countries. Have lived here 4 years and have seen or come upon accidents where 13 people have died. Yes, I've seen 13 killed in person.

Don't kid yourself. It is extremely dangerous here.

Thanks, you saved me the need of writing exactly the same words...

It is indeed one of the most dangerous places to drive in this planet.

[soomak]

Since traffic statistics are presented in accidents per 100,000 population, or per billion km driven, or per 100 million miles driven, I don't give much weight to my perception of driving here. I can drive all day, every day for 10 years and not make enough distance to be a meaningful data point.

That said, my vehicle stays parked about 28 days a month simply because I hate driving here.

So let me make it easy for you:

5.75% of the people in Thailand die from traffic accidents.

http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/country-health-profile/thailand

6 times higher then my home country, 7.5 times higher then Germany, 8.7 times higher then the UK.

http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/country-health-profile/israel

http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/country-health-profile/germany

http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/country-health-profile/united-kingdom

[Forethat]

after the first paragraph i scrolled to the end;

Been driving in Thailand Cars and Motorcycles for almost 30 years,

no more dangerous than anywhere else as long as u dive offensiely

and

1, turn signals on don't mean there turning

2, your side can be the other persons side as well going with you or against you

DEAD WRONG. Thailand ranks number 3 in the world for Traffic related Deaths. Up there with completely un-developed, uneducated, war torn nations like Afghanistan and North African Countries. Have lived here 4 years and have seen or come upon accidents where 13 people have died. Yes, I've seen 13 killed in person.

Don't kid yourself. It is extremely dangerous here.

I have to agree with this completely.

I have seen so many accidents involving overloaded pickup trucks and truck drivers who fall asleep that I have lost count. Minibuses is over represented in my statistics. I have seen people mauled and spread as mince. Anyone who travels in a minibus outside cities should know they play russian roulette with scary odds...

The most incredible thing is that there are expats who doesn't seem to recognise this risk - they travel happily on minibuses, some of them even with their family - and tend to believe this is a safe way of traveling.

Driving yourself is the only way you can mitigate the risk somehow by focusing like a madman and always expect the unexpected.

As noted by the previous poster; dont kid yourself, the traffic in Thailand is lethally dangerous.

[Forethat]

8 years driving a honda city in chiang mai,seen very few if any accidents in city but must be some i suppose,think driving in town is easy,as you dont go very fast,and you dont go to far,

I have seen very few accidents in Bangkok. When you get OUTSIDE Bangkok, on the other hand...

[NeverSure]

I term this as "offensively defensive"......

Like this:

Edited November 11, 2013 by NeverSure

[wooloomooloo]

I have seen very few accidents in Bangkok. When you get OUTSIDE Bangkok, on the other hand...

I wish I could same the same. I've witnessed many accidents in Bangkok and almost entirely involved motorbikes.

Two wheels are more susceptible and no two ways about it.

[Forethat]

I have seen very few accidents in Bangkok. When you get OUTSIDE Bangkok, on the other hand...

I wish I could same the same. I've witnessed many accidents in Bangkok and almost entirely involved motorbikes.

Two wheels are more susceptible and no two ways about it.

Oh sorry, I was not clear that I meant accidents as in "the victim splashed all over the street as a squashed big mac"...

[jerome2]

On the small roads they destroy the road to set traps ,when enough poeple die they get the credit to make a new job

that's why when you see them work ,beware next time you pass there specialy in byke

the most dangerous thing is the " road repair team "

[PaullyW]

Driving in thailand is a ckusterfrack.

Roads are terrible. Drivers are generally uneducated and self absorbed. Another huge problem is the lack of a quality extensive rail shipping network in Thailand whose lack forces far too high a number of heavy vehicles onto poorly built and maintained Thai roads.

Main roads in Thailand are good. The duel carriageways between Cities are as good as the UK. Some of the back roads between villages are

not very good.

Thai drivers are not always uneducated however most are rubbish drivers.

I'm not sure what is meant by "good" as I suppose it's a relative statement. I have seen no consistently "good" roads here. I have seen portions of roads that are nice (perhaps recently maintenanced) but which suddenly

become potholed,

road lane demarcation lines missing,

absolutely abhorrent signage that is inconsistent, improperly sized (usually too small) or hiding behind trees, shrubs or tall grasses or which is simply entirely absent - like warnings that a 6 lane highway that will shortly become 2 lanes,

road surfaces that completely change in material (asphalt to concrete and visa versa),

lanes which are not wide enough to accommodate the heavy vehicles seen in high number, u-turn points on high speed expressways,

roads in known flood prone areas but which flood entirely too easily during even reasonably light raining.

So, there's a great deal more to safe transport than a couple of kilometers of road being up to minimum standard. Traffic engineering, infrastructure AND the pisspoor drivers here make the entire system a clusterfrak

[HeijoshinCool]

I have seen very few accidents in Bangkok. When you get OUTSIDE Bangkok, on the other hand...

I wish I could same the same. I've witnessed many accidents in Bangkok and almost entirely involved motorbikes.

Two wheels are more susceptible and no two ways about it.

Oh sorry, I was not clear that I meant accidents as in "the victim splashed all over the street as a squashed big mac"...

Last statistics I heard was 20 per day have accidents just on motorbikes, in BKK.

That's almost 8000 per year.

About one per day is a fatality.

[maccaroni man]

When I taught me son to drive I told him to picture himself as a snake with a crowd of angry peasants trying to kill him. He has done a fine job of avoiding every attack from every imaginable direction thus far.

[thaibeachlovers]

as many of the above posters say, drive defensively and expect the unexpected.

from my experience drivers in BKK are nowhere near as dangerous as those in abu dhabi. I'm not saying it's anywhere near safe, but you don't have the road bullying and constant threat locals running you off the road because you're in their way.

when I first got my bike I did the dumb thing and watched the video below. it gave me chills and made me wonder how I could have been so stupid as to have made riding a part of my life in BKK. I guess it was good in that it helped me to start by being very aware of how dangerous the roads can be, but my impression a few months later is that there are many places in the world where it's a lot more dangerous to drive..

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGd6pGA2K_M[/media]

What REALLY got me going in the Emirates, was women driving wearing a veil over their eyes. Truly mind boggling .

[kannot]

I term this as "offensively defensive"......

Like this:

That front "attachment" could be very useful in Thailand

[RikDao]

This thread is funny, but serious, too. I might end up retiring here; I've been here three months and I love the place, and if I stay here I'll definitely be getting a car.

So far, I haven't driven, but I've traveled around plenty with my wife's family, with her brother driving. First off, he drives like a bleeding idiot, and doesn't know how (make that WHEN) to shift (due to not understanding the RPM concept, I suppose), thinks it's fine to pass on a curve on a two lane blacktop (after all, he didn't see anyone coming around the curve, did he?), etc etc etc. Couple this with the fact that he doesn't slow down for dogs, and... I think you get the picture.

But I saw a post in this thread that said Thailand is the third most dangerous country in the world for driving, and I found that hard to believe, so I did a little research. What did I find??? Well, Thailand IS one of the most dangerous countries in the world to drive in, with something like 37 deaths per 100,000 anually. Yeah, boring old England has about 3.5 (I'm American but I love England), which is surprising because they drive on the wrong side of the road there, too. (Hahahah all you English, you make fun of us all the time, so I'm just giving you some of your own medicine). But it turns out that fully 75% of Thai driving deaths are on motorcycles! Like, duh? No way I'd ride on one of them anyplace, not just Thailand (or the bloody UK).

So, my main challenge is going to be figuring out how to avoid all these 12 year old kids jetting around on scooters, know what I'm saying? I know I'll survive, it's them I'm worried about.

[connda]

after the first paragraph i scrolled to the end;

Been driving in Thailand Cars and Motorcycles for almost 30 years,

no more dangerous than anywhere else as long as u dive offensiely

and

1, turn signals on don't mean there turning

2, your side can be the other persons side as well going with you or against you

DEAD WRONG. Thailand ranks number 3 in the world for Traffic related Deaths. Up there with completely un-developed, uneducated, war torn nations like Afghanistan and North African Countries. Have lived here 4 years and have seen or come upon accidents where 13 people have died. Yes, I've seen 13 killed in person.

Don't kid yourself. It is extremely dangerous here.

I've been driving here six years and it scares the hell out of me. I hate driving here, but it's necessity. You have to drive defensively, but some of the stupidity I've seen on the road can't be avoided. I enjoyed driving in the West. Here -- I detest it. You can't relax and enjoy the drive, even in the middle of nowhere. It's incredibly dangerous here and the statistics, as compared to other countries, prove that a fact. It will never change until the BIB start enforcing "moving violations", and I don't ever see that happening, not any time in the near future.

Edited November 14, 2013 by connda

[phuketrichard]

drive and expect the unexpected an its not as bad as many make out,

I have driving around the whole country more than once and as long as u keep ur eyes open and give yourself space, all is well

Only problem i have is i seem to get lost every time i have to go into Bangkok :-)

[EBlair48]

It's a fatalist culture . You were meant to be rear ended, you wouldn't have been there otherwise. Why be safe when you're gonna die , anyway, sometime.

I used to love to drive. Not here, too stressful. Thais are the worst drivers.

Edited November 14, 2013 by EBlair48

[namdocmai]

In BKK i see accidents every week and sometimes every day. Especially the minibus-taxi-bus-motortaxi are very annoying. After that the bad roads, bad trafficsigns, against the traffic riders, streetdogs, podholes, floodings, sand/oil on the road, and of course the lack of using the blinkers the proper way.

Last week my wife was in traffic jam and saw an accident happen at very low speed. A car drove into the other one while changing lane, a young farang came out of the hit car, walked to the other car where another farang opened the window (it was his fault) and then he kept on slapping his face while the old farang was still sitting in his car.

I like to drive motorbike in this chaos but motorcyclists are treated totally different then cardrivers. It seems that a cardriver is much more important then a motordriver and the cardriver has all the rights to cut a motorbike off.

A policeman could make a fortune every day by just writing tickets for: no helmet, no lights, no blinker, stopping on the road, speeding, taking over the wrong side, driving against traffic, wrong parking, dangerous loads, overload, cutting off other vehicles and so on.

The Thai hate to follow any rules, there are always persons that have to go against the flow. We have a very nice park with walkinglane in our moo-baan (around a lake) but the Thai like to bike there or even ride motorcycles. They want you to jump aside while walking there and i just refuse that. One day somebody will ride into me or the dog but that's fine. While walking i am the biggest vehicle so they should stop for me is my thought

[thaibeachlovers]

after the first paragraph i scrolled to the end;

Been driving in Thailand Cars and Motorcycles for almost 30 years,

no more dangerous than anywhere else as long as u dive offensiely

and

1, turn signals on don't mean there turning

2, your side can be the other persons side as well going with you or against you

DEAD WRONG. Thailand ranks number 3 in the world for Traffic related Deaths. Up there with completely un-developed, uneducated, war torn nations like Afghanistan and North African Countries. Have lived here 4 years and have seen or come upon accidents where 13 people have died. Yes, I've seen 13 killed in person.

Don't kid yourself. It is extremely dangerous here.

I've been driving here six years and it scares the hell out of me. I hate driving here, but it's necessity. You have to drive defensively, but some of the stupidity I've seen on the road can't be avoided. I enjoyed driving in the West. Here -- I detest it. You can't relax and enjoy the drive, even in the middle of nowhere. It's incredibly dangerous here and the statistics, as compared to other countries, prove that a fact. It will never change until the BIB start enforcing "moving violations", and I don't ever see that happening, not any time in the near future.

I have often written exactly the same things on this and another forum, but the number of apologists for just plain attrocious driving is amazing.

Today I was behind a couple on a m'bike. They were wearing helmets, but as soon as through the police checkpoint they took them off!!!!!!!!! I am constantly boggled at the outright stupidity here .

[kiwiinasia]

I have driven in Thailand on and off for over a decade, never had an accident.

I try to drive like the locals, and generally keep my eyes wide open.

I find that having loud music playing (techno) keeps me calm and stops me using my horn and middle finger. I usually have a book handy for traffic jams too. Who cares if they toot to move me on?

The worse thing about driving in Thailand is when I have idiots in the car saying "Look at that!", do they really think I am going to?

Never stopped to count bodies so have no idea how many I have passed while driving.