No wonder for car accidents and carnage

[HeijoshinCool]

That accident was caused by brake failure.

Thailand has a death rate over ten times that of the UK one of the safest countries in the world to drive in.

It wan't caused by brake failure. The driver blew the light. It wasn't in the UK. Check the updates.

I'm not defending Thais by any means, they are crap drivers and even worse parkers, but the OP was bizarre, and driving in most countries is a gamble.

Guess I just don't see the point in complaining about something you will never change. I'd rather focus on what I can change.

[culicine]

Yet another HATE THAI DRIVING thread.

I'll contribute my standard reply: in proportion to their respective numbers in Thailand, farang generally drive worse than Thais. If I find myself near a farang on the road, I try to put distance 'tween me and him.

Drive here a long time and you get used to the Thai style, know what to expect, and even adopt it yourself!

Be careful out there.

I've been driving here 12 years over about 300K kms. Never been close to having an accident. When on the road you got to look after number 1 - yourself. I've seen plenty of idiots ofcourse - but I've learned to see them very early on. Thais can be very predictable in an unpredictable way. Expect it when you least expect it, as the saying goes.

As for the OP, driver training is appalling here and explains the large premiums - 22K for my swift!!.....the same as a newbie driver who has probably already had 5 accidents in their first year of driving. A young driver friend turns up to visit occasionally - and usually has some new scratches or dents every time.

[edwinchester]

That accident was caused by brake failure.

Thailand has a death rate over ten times that of the UK one of the safest countries in the world to drive in.

 

 

It wan't caused by brake failure. The driver blew the light. It wasn't in the UK. Check the updates.

 

I'm not defending Thais by any means, they are crap drivers and even worse parkers, but the OP was bizarre, and driving in most countries is a gamble.

 

Guess I just don't see the point in complaining about something you will never change. I'd rather focus on what I can change.

My youtube link said it was caused by brake failure.

You mentioned drivers in the west. UK is in 'the west' so I just pointed out UK roads are about as safe as they can get regards death rate.

Things can be changed even in a ' mai bpen rai' society, it will just take longer.

I have seen the effect an entirely preventable road death has had on my own Thai family and on the family of a close Thai friend only last month. Both deaths were the result of the other driver being drunk and I hope I never give up complaining about their tragic early deaths and wasted years.

[edwinchester]

Last night we went to a local temple with some close friends for the Loy Kratong celebration. It was quiet in the village so one of our friends two sons went into town where there was dancing going on. They are both mid twenties. We just found out they didn't make it home as their pickup ran off the road. One is dead the other in a coma. Drink was briefly mentioned. Utter waste of two very nice young men.

[ThaiTrav]

I am very sad to hear that but what more can be said ! Some have ridiculed me for posting this saying "Another pick on Thai Thread" but where lives are concerned I think it has to be said mine and yours are on the line on these roads too ,this will let others know perhaps in advance.

I know full well nothing will change but as comparison to western standards this is lunacy at its best and thats why its referred to as the 3rd world .

Having just come back from Isan another great thread would be Potholes on main 100klm roads deep and wide and so many do they ever fix them or just wait till someone gets killed again....the bitching just never ends...... sorry!

[GinBoy2]

Well I think I've made this point before in the many and varied threads regarding Thai driving. Yes, driving tests, abilities and the state of a lot of the roads is appalling, but the fact that so many people drive drunk and/or under the influence of yaba I would suggest is one of the main drivers of death. They don't speed like you would see on freeways in the US or Europe, so where as I would always say 'speed kills' in a western context, don't think thats a main driver here. If the cops got the drink and drugs under control, would go a long way to curbing road deaths.

[Ozybear]

They seem to make it hard for ops wife. My wife did tvs 10 hours and the driving test was once around the car park. He said can you reverse park? She said yes so she drove straighbin and he said close enough, herds your licence. I then took her for a drive and at 60 klm tried to go around a 90 deg corner with no braking. Yes we landed in the ditch. We went to oz and it took 1 year of weekly lessons and a lot of study to pass the written test. She now knows how to drive safely.

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[mmh8]

What you need to realize is that it is just like the US, people pay for people to get the license for them, to do that site test, breaking test, drive around the go cart test etc.

For me however this is great fun, the only outrageous thing you can do is hit some one, and even then so long as the person is protected in some way in car or does not fall off bike you can drive off , since there is not evidence ( this is difficult to do in heavy traffic: forewarned).

but where else do you have a minor ding, with someone who is in your way to turn right in heavy traffic, they don't really want to be late for meeting or go home, you don't want to , they hesitate and ............... you're off, no one cares

So if it is advice you want it is easy, just don't kill anyone ( and be careful of the motorbikes cos they are nutters) also

when you see that car in front and you think " oh surely he's not going to pull a u-turn there" or the "we are going over this bridge we are travelling at 80 - 100 kph surely that person has not just decided they want to go up the bridge at 10 ,kph" well its obvious because the most absurd, dangerous thing you can expect a driver to do is what they will do, here,so you can predict it every time, heres another one I'm sure you've experienced

"yes I shall overtake this car on the right hand lane, since I am travelling at a greater speed than them and of course they can see me in their rear view" of course that car will slowly insert itself in front of you as surely as the US will continue to go into greater debt while printing money to dig its way out. Of course you will have to break heavily.

cos you know its gonna happen

Edited November 18, 2013 by mmh8

[GinBoy2]

I taught my wife how to drive before she went for her test. 10 years later, she curses and moans about all the same things we bitter farangs do about Thai drivers!

[ajs500]

The road marking system is not helpful, it appears that double yellow lines indicate that overtaking is imperative.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

It is what it is... Dangerous.

According to a recent Pulitzer organization release Thailand is second only to Dominican Republic for per capita driving fatalities.

http://roadskillmap.com/#17.895114303749143,26.806640624999996,1

[Puyai]

Why didn't you teach her?

[Commander Tamson]

The real wonder is why so many farang stay in thailand when all they seem to do is whinge about how bad everything is!

This guy is amazing! He goes to every thread where there is even the slightest criticism of anything Thai, puts up a post about whinging farangs and how they should go home and then gets Likes from all his apologist mates

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[Ozybear]

Why didn't you teach her? 

No patients and wanted her to be taught correctly, the same reason I don't home school my child.

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