What did we do wrong?

[bbaxter]

The rule of the road is "Me" first. The other driver was pissed because he f**ked up and got caught. It is always some one else's fault. Haven't you noticed they always drive in the middle of the road until they are forced to move back into their own lane.

[Docno]

I can't guess what got up this guy's behind, but I have to say that I've always found Thai drivers surprisingly tolerant. People can pull some really boneheaded moves behind the wheel (and I've made my fair share of stupid mistakes on the road) but I rarely hear a horn blasted in anger or see a rude gesture (much less spitting). Maybe it's just that I originally hail from Canada where, despite our legendary politeness, the Canadian one-fingered salute comes as naturally as a sneeze...

[godden]

i think it wass the morning he found out a falang been banging his missis

[Sam Gold]

Its just a Thai thing IMO.

Often when i'm first in line at a red light and waiting for it to change and then you have the green so cautiously move forward and vehicles are still coming through 5 seconds later i move out into the very very late red light runners and stay there and they need to go around you.

All Thais,.... ladies, guys, bikes, cars ,tuk tuks will give you the evil eye and mouth some words to you...like it was you who is in the wrong..amazing stuff.

Indeed - once they're aboard a vehicle it's ok to be hateful, foul-mouthed, aggressive and intolerant.

Which they would never dream of without the protection of a vehicle in which they can quickly drive away from danger/confrontation/accountability.

And which says a lot about Thai etiquette - not about consideration for others, merely about whether you can get away with it or not.

[Sam Gold]

I can't guess what got up this guy's behind, but I have to say that I've always found Thai drivers surprisingly tolerant. People can pull some really boneheaded moves behind the wheel (and I've made my fair share of stupid mistakes on the road) but I rarely hear a horn blasted in anger or see a rude gesture (much less spitting). Maybe it's just that I originally hail from Canada where, despite our legendary politeness, the Canadian one-fingered salute comes as naturally as a sneeze...

Blimey are we living in the same country?

[Docno]

I can't guess what got up this guy's behind, but I have to say that I've always found Thai drivers surprisingly tolerant. People can pull some really boneheaded moves behind the wheel (and I've made my fair share of stupid mistakes on the road) but I rarely hear a horn blasted in anger or see a rude gesture (much less spitting). Maybe it's just that I originally hail from Canada where, despite our legendary politeness, the Canadian one-fingered salute comes as naturally as a sneeze...

Blimey are we living in the same country?

I mostly drive in Isaan cities/towns ... mostly Ubon. Maybe it's an Isaan thing

[Sam Gold]

I can't guess what got up this guy's behind, but I have to say that I've always found Thai drivers surprisingly tolerant. People can pull some really boneheaded moves behind the wheel (and I've made my fair share of stupid mistakes on the road) but I rarely hear a horn blasted in anger or see a rude gesture (much less spitting). Maybe it's just that I originally hail from Canada where, despite our legendary politeness, the Canadian one-fingered salute comes as naturally as a sneeze...

Blimey are we living in the same country?

I mostly drive in Isaan cities/towns ... mostly Ubon. Maybe it's an Isaan thing

Ah, that'll explain it - yes, my wife's from Ubon and those rural roads are usually not too bad indeed.

[Benmart]

From what you describe, you did as I would have. The man was acting as aggressive people do world-wide. I say a prayer for them and move on with life. It's not worth the energy to worry about. Drive safe.

[Ulic]

Get a dash cam and just drive. Don't worry about slowing down/stopping. Keep your insurance current.

[Paangjang]

The other day I heard a horn honk and had just enough time to pull my 4 year old daughter out of harm's way as a Vigo rumbled past. Before you say what were you doing on the road; we were at a carnival and the road was full of people with kids. Prick never even touched his brakes.

This is exactly the type of anger and hate im talking about. Who in their right mind would want to kill a 4 year old? Agree with me here, a lot of Thai's have a lot of anger built up inside them... No wonder they shoot each other so much, according to statistics more than any other country in the world...

Can you please cite the source of those statistics> I'm sure that this assertion is false.

Many sources for this, have been for years. You could of done a search but i have done it for you

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_gun_vio_hom_hom_wit_fir-crime-gun-violence-homicides-firearms

[bbbbooboo]

Stupid IS what stupid DOES?

[mikebell]

You got off lightly. Thai road rage often involves a gun at the next traffic lights.

[bbbbooboo]

Actually while I'm thinking of stupidity(usually rampant on the roads here) can someone tell me where you buy these dash cams in the Isaan? Also I think they will be an ideal discouragement to the 100-200 baht tea money seekers

[bitcoinbob]

here you go quidunmc the stats , these guy make south africa look good

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_gun_vio_hom_hom_wit_fir-crime-gun-violence-homicides-firearms

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_gun_vio_hom_fir_hom_rat_per_100_pop-rate-per-100-000-pop

this is to put it in refernce to the u.s. and gun ownership

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_gun_own_gun_per_100_res_2007-guns-per-100-residents-2007

[stuartd1]

Just as well you had your window up!

[arunsakda]

You farang were on the street..

You're joking, but I have in fact heard this line of "reasoning" many times from many Thais.

If the OP could have sat the fellow down and queried him as to the cause of his anger (of course, an impossibility, even if the OP speaks Thai), I'm almost sure the answer would have been something along the lines of "if the farang had never come to Thailand, nobody would have been in that lane, and he could have overtaken the other songthaew with no problem".

This same argument is often used to point the finger at a farang seen to automatically be at fault in any traffic accident (including when the farang is a PASSENGER in a taxi involved in an accident): "if the farang had never come to Thailand, the car containing the farang would not have been occupying that space in the road at that moment, and the accident never would have occurred".

Recently I had just gotten into a cab when it was broadsided at the Victory Monument traffic circle in Bangers.

Very bad damage to right side of Taxi. I was thown violently into the padded back seat, not having seatbelt on.

Left knee had been banged into something hard. Oblivious looking older couple in large SUV had caused the wreck and the poor driver was freaking out at them.

The meter still read 35, I handed the driver 40 baht as he screamed and he did not refuse.

Another stupid Yank tipping 15 percent ? Maybe, but the damage could easily have been 100,000 Baht.

As far as I was concerned those people at least should have paid for a medical visit to check my injuries.

I did not however think it was a good idea to hang around. Fearing a fleecing I hobbled away as quickly as possible.

The truth is this. Yes, If I had not, not gotten too drunk the night before, so as to not have gotten up early to go shopping before flight to CM, on that particular street, alighted

on that particular gentlemen's Taxi at a temporal instance where we would encounter these idiot Hi-So's, it could be argued the accident would not have happened.

I can be blamed because I decided to come to Thailand at all. Nobody even invited me. The problem is this ingrained bias, as Taxi driver get in wrecks

everyday with Thai passengers on board. Nobody makes them targets for extortion.

This is the unfortunate thought pattern here, and the basis for all our problems with dual pricing, scams, and other forms of unfair discrimination.

Edited January 6, 2014 by arunsakda

[Loles]

This is a very easy answer for you.

This monkey was under yaa-ba as usually.

You were lucky with your friend cause you didn't get out from the car. If you did ... we only read here about the next road shooting for nothing.

A few spittle onto window is much better than bullets to your body.

[Stuart21]

Other than that stressed and tired drivers who are using stimulants do tend to fly off the handle and drive erratically and aggresively.

They don't call it 'ya ba' (crazy medicine) for nothing.

[oneday]

Other than that, was it possible your friend could have pulled hard left to allow the red songthaew to pass rather than sitting in the middle of his lane?

Seriously, you have got to be kidding.

Try reading the article again.

[NoshowJones]

Here in Tokyo it is common for cars to go through an intersection a few seconds after the light has turned red. Drivers accustomed to the local scene do not stop on the short yellow lights (you'll be hit from behind) and do not move forward immediately after a light has turned green. Going with the flow makes life more harmonious. So far as the behavior of the Thai driver goes, Ya Ba springs to mind. It's probably best to shrug the incident off for your peace of mind. BTW, have you driven in Los Angeles recently? Talk about impatient drivers!

I have driven in Los Angeles, the 6 lane carriageways, the lanes for cars with two or more people in them, narrow roads etc etc. I never had a problem driving anywhere in America. Contrast that with driving in the UK or Thailand. I will admit though, if I was driving month after month and year after year in America, my views may very well change.

[NoshowJones]

Don't you know that songthew drivers own the roads and make their own rules??

Make up their own rules,yes, that's very common in Thailand, Immigration offices, Banks, Schools etc etc.

[Chiengmaijoe]

Recently I had just gotten into a cab when it was broadsided at the Victory Monument traffic circle in Bangers.

Very bad damage to right side of Taxi. I was thown violently into the padded back seat, not having seatbelt on.

Left knee had been banged into something hard. Oblivious looking older couple in large SUV had caused the wreck and the poor driver was freaking out at them.

The meter still read 35, I handed the driver 40 baht as he screamed and he did not refuse.

Another stupid Yank tipping 15 percent ? Maybe, but the damage could easily have been 100,000 Baht.

As far as I was concerned those people at least should have paid for a medical visit to check my injuries.

I did not however think it was a good idea to hang around. Fearing a fleecing I hobbled away as quickly as possible.

The truth is this. Yes, If I had not, not gotten too drunk the night before, so as to not have gotten up early to go shopping before flight to CM, on that particular street, alighted

on that particular gentlemen's Taxi at a temporal instance where we would encounter these idiot Hi-So's, it could be argued the accident would not have happened.

I can be blamed because I decided to come to Thailand at all. Nobody even invited me. The problem is this ingrained bias, as Taxi driver get in wrecks

everyday with Thai passengers on board. Nobody makes them targets for extortion.

This is the unfortunate thought pattern here, and the basis for all our problems with dual pricing, scams, and other forms of unfair discrimination.

The only places I've heard these stories are on Thaivisa and bars. I've never heard of this actually happening and on the few rare occasions that I've had accidents no one ever suggested that it was my fault because I'm a farang, so as far as I'm concerned it is an urban myth. Having said that, I've spent all my time in Chiang Mai so maybe this sort of thing happens in the likes of Pattaya and I never heard of it. Does anyone here have any real evidence of this having happened, other than hearsay?

Did you really give the taxi driver 40 baht for a 35 baht fare, and do you really think that we would think you're stupid for doing so?

[In Search of Space]

In short - he wasn't thinking That is the crux of many of these issues.. stupidity combined with a complete and total lack of thought, a sense of self entitlement and righteousness results in these idiots believing they can do no wrong and when they do, well, they can do no wrong !

You've met my wife ?

[quidnunc]

The other day I heard a horn honk and had just enough time to pull my 4 year old daughter out of harm's way as a Vigo rumbled past. Before you say what were you doing on the road; we were at a carnival and the road was full of people with kids. Prick never even touched his brakes.

This is exactly the type of anger and hate im talking about. Who in their right mind would want to kill a 4 year old? Agree with me here, a lot of Thai's have a lot of anger built up inside them... No wonder they shoot each other so much, according to statistics more than any other country in the world...

Can you please cite the source of those statistics> I'm sure that this assertion is false.

Many sources for this, have been for years. You could of done a search but i have done it for you

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_gun_vio_hom_hom_wit_fir-crime-gun-violence-homicides-firearms

You can find sources for just about anything on the internet. The question is are they valid? So I looked for the sources cited by this website. Claimed to be the united nations. I went to the UN website and downloaded their excel spreadsheet for gun violence in the world. Guess what? They don't even have any figures listed for Thailand.

And of course, if you weren't so blinded by prejudice you might have enough common sense to see the disconnect between Thailand's middling homicide rate and it's so-called number 1 status in gun violence. Obviously that gun violence figure makes no sense. Not only based on the internal contradictions between these 2 sets of statistics but just on the basis of common sense. You really have so little knowledge of how bad things are in so many parts of the globe that you think that Thailand could possibly rank number one in gun violence?

Anyway, here's the UNODC page which can provide you with your very own set of figures to download. Read it and weep. And repent.

http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/homicide.html

[onthedarkside]

Actually while I'm thinking of stupidity(usually rampant on the roads here) can someone tell me where you buy these dash cams in the Isaan? Also I think they will be an ideal discouragement to the 100-200 baht tea money seekers

Bought mine from Lazada. Free deliver, cash on delivery. Never had any problems with the one I bought.

http://www.lazada.co.th/vehicle-black-camera-car-dvr-black-149150.html

990 baht - but you need to buy a memory card too

[Sam Gold]

Never been spat on - yaba might be to blame here. A truck driver recently refused to let me overtake him near Phitsanulok, swerving from one lane to the other erratically. Junkie springs to mind in such cases.

Sent from my GT-S7270 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[arunsakda]

Recently I had just gotten into a cab when it was broadsided at the Victory Monument traffic circle in Bangers.

Very bad damage to right side of Taxi. I was thown violently into the padded back seat, not having seatbelt on.

Left knee had been banged into something hard. Oblivious looking older couple in large SUV had caused the wreck and the poor driver was freaking out at them.

The meter still read 35, I handed the driver 40 baht as he screamed and he did not refuse.

Another stupid Yank tipping 15 percent ? Maybe, but the damage could easily have been 100,000 Baht.

As far as I was concerned those people at least should have paid for a medical visit to check my injuries.

I did not however think it was a good idea to hang around. Fearing a fleecing I hobbled away as quickly as possible.

The truth is this. Yes, If I had not, not gotten too drunk the night before, so as to not have gotten up early to go shopping before flight to CM, on that particular street, alighted

on that particular gentlemen's Taxi at a temporal instance where we would encounter these idiot Hi-So's, it could be argued the accident would not have happened.

I can be blamed because I decided to come to Thailand at all. Nobody even invited me. The problem is this ingrained bias, as Taxi driver get in wrecks

everyday with Thai passengers on board. Nobody makes them targets for extortion.

This is the unfortunate thought pattern here, and the basis for all our problems with dual pricing, scams, and other forms of unfair discrimination.

The only places I've heard these stories are on Thaivisa and bars. I've never heard of this actually happening and on the few rare occasions that I've had accidents no one ever suggested that it was my fault because I'm a farang, so as far as I'm concerned it is an urban myth. Having said that, I've spent all my time in Chiang Mai so maybe this sort of thing happens in the likes of Pattaya and I never heard of it. Does anyone here have any real evidence of this having happened, other than hearsay?

Did you really give the taxi driver 40 baht for a 35 baht fare, and do you really think that we would think you're stupid for doing so?

Yes I did. Can hardly be expected to ask 5 baht change from a guy in a screaming rage who looks like he is about to burst a blood vessel. There are some here so cheap they would.

See the thread below for a spirited discussion of tipping, for and against.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/470558-the-tipping-westerner-likes-to-stay-in-his-comfort-zone/page-4

Edited January 6, 2014 by arunsakda

[lostmebike]

Are you quite sure it is a 2-way street? And does that operate 24 hours a day?

Other than that, was it possble your friend could have pulled hard left to allow the red songthaew to pass rather than sitting in the middle of his lane?

Other than that stressed and tired drivers who are using stimulants do tend to fly off the handle and drive erratically and aggresively.

tired drivers who are using stimulants do tend to fly off the handle and drive erratically and aggresively.

Are you saying some 'songteaw' drivers use stimulants briggsy?

[lostmebike]

Here in Tokyo it is common for cars to go through an intersection a few seconds after the light has turned red. Drivers accustomed to the local scene do not stop on the short yellow lights (you'll be hit from behind) and do not move forward immediately after a light has turned green. Going with the flow makes life more harmonious. So far as the behavior of the Thai driver goes, Ya Ba springs to mind. It's probably best to shrug the incident off for your peace of mind. BTW, have you driven in Los Angeles recently? Talk about impatient drivers!

I have driven in Los Angeles, the 6 lane carriageways, the lanes for cars with two or more people in them, narrow roads etc etc. I never had a problem driving anywhere in America. Contrast that with driving in the UK or Thailand. I will admit though, if I was driving month after month and year after year in America, my views may very well change.

Are you comparing driving in the UK to driving in Thailand? If so, in your opinion, what are the comparisons?

[NoshowJones]

Here in Tokyo it is common for cars to go through an intersection a few seconds after the light has turned red. Drivers accustomed to the local scene do not stop on the short yellow lights (you'll be hit from behind) and do not move forward immediately after a light has turned green. Going with the flow makes life more harmonious. So far as the behavior of the Thai driver goes, Ya Ba springs to mind. It's probably best to shrug the incident off for your peace of mind. BTW, have you driven in Los Angeles recently? Talk about impatient drivers!

I have driven in Los Angeles, the 6 lane carriageways, the lanes for cars with two or more people in them, narrow roads etc etc. I never had a problem driving anywhere in America. Contrast that with driving in the UK or Thailand. I will admit though, if I was driving month after month and year after year in America, my views may very well change.

Are you comparing driving in the UK to driving in Thailand? If so, in your opinion, what are the comparisons?

No, I am not comparing Thai drivers to UK drivers. Does it sound like that? Your last question. UK drivers have much more common sense than drivers in Thailand.