The most dangerous countries to drive in; Thailand ranks #2

[Sayonarax]

Looking at these figures, Thailand would be the most dangerous for motor/cycle deaths. As about 80% of deaths in Thailand -re road accidents are M/cyclists.

Thailand I would say is number 1 if you ride a M/Cycle.

Only 20% of deaths here are other than m/cyclists and cars are a % of that so make what you like of the figures.

It is reported that Thai deaths stats are ONLY those that die at the scene, so could it be that overall they are number 1 ???

My thoughts exactly.

When are they going to take out all the bikes death and actually make use of some real statistic other than going to wikipedia and writing an opinionated article.

[nonthaburial]

Queue the usual 'Thailand, hub of...' posts and other crap.

I have safely driven maybe three quarters of a million miles in Los between 1977 and now. There's probably some who have done even more.

Sure it would be very risky for someone who had never, driven in LOS to get behind the wheel of a car at Suvarnabhumi and drive to (say) Pai on the pre-Songkran weekend... but who on earth does that?

There's loads of stats on what kills the most foreigners in Thailand but I don't recall it being driving related. Even if we look at the very high risk motorcycle accident victim, outside the tourists spots, you don't see a lot of foreigners on 2-wheels.

According to my calculator, that averages out at 56.3 miles per day, now that's not too impressive a statistic is it.

[Jeremy50]

I've been driving in Thailand for a/b 7+ years. Also road a "chopper" in BKK. I have NEVER seen such antics on the road as here. Up here in Isaan I think it's WORSE, if that is possible. Thais' seem to just do whatever they feel like doing re: operating a motor vehicle. Hell 6 year olds operate motorbikes here.... with a band of friends hanging all over the machine as well.

The most perplexing driving habit that I observe - perhaps - is making a right hand turn from the right hand land and onto the right hand lane of the street/road they turn into. Can this maneuver be explained? I really can not understand why they think this tactic is desirable. To do this is unimaginable (to me); THEN they seem genuinely SHOCKED when a vehicle (traveling in the left lane) nearly hits them.

I could go on but you most likely know the other usual driving infractions. With NO police enforcement it can seem like utter madness/chaos. Wouldn't self preservation prompt individuals to think a/b what might get them killed, and avoid that? I don't get it. Maybe you folks with more experience can clear this up for me. If so thanks in advance.

I agree, the exiting from the wrong lane onto the wrong lane is totally insane. Also done the other way, drive onto the right-hand side of the road 200 meters before your right-hand turn and then enter the smaller road on the wrong side. Also simply driving on the wrong side of the road is very common, as is waiting until it is pitch black before turning your lights on. Kids on motorbikes everywhere, no helmets are worn. The other day I saw a woman was riding her bike across a busy intersection at 50kmh with a naked baby in the front steel basket.

Driving slowly in the fast lane. Sitting in the fast lane preparing to take a U-turn which is 5k's down the road. Cars parking in the motorbike lane. Cars with cuddly toys all over the dash. Totally blind overtaking etc etc etc.............

[ThaiTrav]

2nd place !!!! in the WORLD......You gotta still be happy with that!!! Its a tremendous achievement for THAI!!!

[Renbe]

As the death toll is per capita, surely the amount of cars per capita plays a roll as well. Can't imagine that Nigeria is safer than Thailand, but Nigeria has much less cars per capita, thus also less death per capita. Just got back from 6 months traveling through India, and was relieved to be on the safe and well maintained roads of Thailand again.

[lee b]

I can easily believe this, it is very dangerous to drive here. Maybe it has something to do with the thousands of people driving with no licence, and never had a single driving lesson. But it is on par with alot of countries i have driven in. I passed a driving test in Dubai 10 years back, i was driving for 5 minutes and passed.

Never went around a roundabout, no parking no 3 point turns emergency stops etc.. You can get away with anything for a small some of money changing hands.

[edwinchester]

In nearly 30 years of driving and motorcycling in the UK I saw one dead person, a friend killed in a motorcycle accident.

In 6 years of the same in Thailand I stopped counting at 25 dead bodies seen on the road.

Most sad is that there just does not seem to be any real desire by anyone in a postion to do something to actually reduce the appalling death toll here.

Edited February 21, 2014 by edwinchester

[ramrod711]

I spent 30 years as a professional driver, over 3 million kilometres. Problems i see here, lack of training and enforcement, poor design at a lot of intersections, u-turns on the freeway, and the plethora of different vehicles on the road. I really don't think a motorcycle/restaurant belongs in the fast lane on the freeway.

[kriswillems]

I drive 100km per day on a dangerous road.

In the 2 years I've been doing this I've seen many fatal accidents.

I had one serious accident myself and one small accident.

In 16 years driving in my home country I never had an accident.

I think the statistics are correct. Safety (not only road safety) is my biggest worry in Thailand.

[seajae]

I've been driving in Thailand for a/b 7+ years. Also road a "chopper" in BKK. I have NEVER seen such antics on the road as here. Up here in Isaan I think it's WORSE, if that is possible. Thais' seem to just do whatever they feel like doing re: operating a motor vehicle. Hell 6 year olds operate motorbikes here.... with a band of friends hanging all over the machine as well.

The most perplexing driving habit that I observe - perhaps - is making a right hand turn from the right hand land and onto the right hand lane of the street/road they turn into. Can this maneuver be explained? I really can not understand why they think this tactic is desirable. To do this is unimaginable (to me); THEN they seem genuinely SHOCKED when a vehicle (traveling in the left lane) nearly hits them.

I could go on but you most likely know the other usual driving infractions. With NO police enforcement it can seem like utter madness/chaos. Wouldn't self preservation prompt individuals to think a/b what might get them killed, and avoid that? I don't get it. Maybe you folks with more experience can clear this up for me. If so thanks in advance.

Most of your post is on the ball, but the one thing here is missing, the motor cyclist wanting to turn right. Mostly they stop on the left hand side of the road, turn their heads to see if anything is coming then cut straight across the road to turn. Most of us that were taught would keep to the near side and well before the right turn we check in the mirror/or look round, if clear signal and move to the extreme right before the turn.

This I have rarely seen BECAUSE they are NOT taught correct. look signal turn---is near non existent for most Thai.

thats how I do it and the first time I did I nearly got cleaned up by a car trying to overtake me while I was turning right from the centre of the road, unfortunately thais seem no to know or understand the road rules and just make them up while they drive. Today after watching several idiots trying to kill each other on their bikes and in their cars I wondered why the police do not get out on the roads as they do overseas and book/stop all these idiots. I put it down to refusing to go out in the hot sun(or leaving an airconditioned office) or having to actually do anything that requires some form of physical exertion. It could also be that they are worse drivers than those they would have to book.

[nong38]

TAT will put a good spin on this, ok they are working on it its a toughy.............Driving in Thailand is a joy, the most advanced drivers in the western world come here to learn new driving techniques............how to drive and text.............how to drive and telephone..............how to drive down the middle of the road.............how to avoid stopping at junctions and traffic lights..........how to make an emergency stop at 7-11.........how to reverse into a main road.............how to shop from the comfort of your own car/motorbike..............how fast can my machine go.

Take care out there the report just might be pretty near the mark!

[cloudhopper]

I drive as little as possible here - 140k on the truck in 10 years and 50k on the bike. At night or in bad weather only if unavoidable. On the road in Thailand still scares the crap out of me every time..

[AleG]

1. Namibia - 45

2. Thailand - 44

Well, ain't that wonderful? I'm actually planning a two week road trip around Namibia later this year.

[PaullyW]

I can't believe some of you Phaerrangs trying to explain away these stats. Anyone from a reasonably modern law abiding western country could not deny driving in Thailand is abominable

[simple1]

We all know Thai drivers are given a license (really equivalent to a learners license in our countries) to drive unsupervised and are normally self taught with all the bad habits that creates. Each day I drive for about 2 hours in Pattaya and every day I am forced to brake to avoid a collision. Just this morning a motorbike driven at high speed with two onboard, without helmets, overtook on a corner that forced me to emergency brake to avoid a head on accident. Luckily I was only travelling at 40ks per hour as I have had a number of near misses on this bit of road.

Even with non corrupt, rigorous law enforcement it would probably be a waste of time given the low fines by today's standards.

Edited February 21, 2014 by simple1

[noodle]

I feel safer riding a motor cycle in Thailand, than I would in Australia.

In Thailand most road users appear to be awake and generally pay attention.

In Australia the few motor bikes go unnoticed by the car drivers who drive so slowly to avoid being ticketed by a camera that they are asleep most of the time.

Incidentally trading death for life permanently in a wheelchair or other potentially awful existence never seems to show up in this type of directed statistics.

Edited February 21, 2014 by noodle

[ponchi]

i think thailand is very safe for drive if look the other country.

but ...

have to know how to drive.

[balo]

Every day is a gamble, all you can do is to drive safely and hope everyone else on the road does the same.

Sent from my SM-P601 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[PaullyW]

i think thailand is very safe for drive if look the other country.

but ...

have to know how to drive.

Well, the statistics disagree with you!

What you say is like I say "I think AIDS is not very deadly. You just have to know how to cure it."

Edited February 21, 2014 by PaullyW

[Mister Fixit]

Will the Government do anything about this ???

I think not... would be nice if they did try...

I think what passes for the 'Government' of Thailand have higher priorities at the moment ...

[Mister Fixit]

i think thailand is very safe for drive if look the other country.

but ...

have to know how to drive.

No, you have to know how to drive 'Thai-style', with your head looking elsewhere and ignoring everything around you ...

Most European and North American countries drive safely and properly, with consideration for others on the road and follow the law, but not here ...

[01322521959]

Queue the usual 'Thailand, hub of...' posts and other crap.

I have safely driven maybe three quarters of a million miles in Los between 1977 and now. There's probably some who have done even more.

Sure it would be very risky for someone who had never, driven in LOS to get behind the wheel of a car at Suvarnabhumi and drive to (say) Pai on the pre-Songkran weekend... but who on earth does that?

There's loads of stats on what kills the most foreigners in Thailand but I don't recall it being driving related.

DID the topic state it was only stats for foreigners ?????------I didn't read it that way.

I have driven maybe the same kilometers as you but as a rule we are not so much involved in these stats % as we are more aware of the dangers, so think Thai driving are what makes up the figures rather than farrangs.

Agreed. I ride a motorbike in BKK and am always aware of whats going on around me, and if I make a bad mistake whilst riding, I tend to run it through my mind and try not to make that same mistake. The difference between Foreigners and Thai riders is that the Thai is NOT even AWARE that he/she has made the mistake in the first place. Let's face it, driving is the pits here, therefore I have an immediate advantage when on the road here..

[Boycie]

Gosh, Thailand missed the 1st place. Make no mistake they work hard to be gold medalist in next edition!

They've started already!

Mister Fixit got it about right 'No, you have to know how to drive 'Thai-style', with your head looking elsewhere and ignoring everything around you ...'

[01322521959]

I've been driving in Thailand for a/b 7+ years. Also road a "chopper" in BKK. I have NEVER seen such antics on the road as here. Up here in Isaan I think it's WORSE, if that is possible. Thais' seem to just do whatever they feel like doing re: operating a motor vehicle. Hell 6 year olds operate motorbikes here.... with a band of friends hanging all over the machine as well.

The most perplexing driving habit that I observe - perhaps - is making a right hand turn from the right hand land and onto the right hand lane of the street/road they turn into. Can this maneuver be explained? I really can not understand why they think this tactic is desirable. To do this is unimaginable (to me); THEN they seem genuinely SHOCKED when a vehicle (traveling in the left lane) nearly hits them.

I could go on but you most likely know the other usual driving infractions. With NO police enforcement it can seem like utter madness/chaos. Wouldn't self preservation prompt individuals to think a/b what might get them killed, and avoid that? I don't get it. Maybe you folks with more experience can clear this up for me. If so thanks in advance.

Most of your post is on the ball, but the one thing here is missing, the motor cyclist wanting to turn right. Mostly they stop on the left hand side of the road, turn their heads to see if anything is coming then cut straight across the road to turn. Most of us that were taught would keep to the near side and well before the right turn we check in the mirror/or look round, if clear signal and move to the extreme right before the turn.

This I have rarely seen BECAUSE they are NOT taught correct. look signal turn---is near non existent for most Thai.

They quite often do look, signal, turn, but not necessarily in that order.

I rarely see them signal, but they often turn and then look... actually that's wrong - they almost always signal when going straight ahead through a 4 way intersection - using the hazard warning lights...

No! No! No! yes, Thais always signal, either left and turn right, right and turn left or right or left and go straight on!

[Farma]

Like all statistics it depends if the parameters are the same.

For example some countries include deaths in or on the way to hospital. Others only count death at the scene.

Personally I found Egypt to be the most dangerous country i've driven in. On my first visit i saw 5 serious accidents of which 2 had fatalities in just the short trip from the airport to Giza.

Saudi prior to the introduction of speed cameras was bad too.

Driving in Thailand is a breeze compared to a lot of other countries.

[Barney R]

Try taking the buses and driving in Bolivia that is way scarier than here .

[Munger]

I can't believe some of you Phaerrangs trying to explain away these stats. Anyone from a reasonably modern law abiding western country could not deny driving in Thailand is abominable

The usual thai apologists WILL deny it ,period. Look at some of the pathetic replys, ie, " try driving in Nigeria, or Bolivia"

[moradave]

I've driven a number of years in Vietnam, Iran and Thailand. I'll take Thailand to be the safest in my car and now my wheelchair. The car and taxi drivers here in Bangkok are quite cautious and courteous compared to the other 2 countries. Can't say that much for motorcyclists. But they are bad everywhere.

[Barney R]

I can't believe some of you Phaerrangs trying to explain away these stats. Anyone from a reasonably modern law abiding western country could not deny driving in Thailand is abominable

The usual thai apologists WILL deny it ,period. Look at some of the pathetic replys, ie, " try driving in Nigeria, or Bolivia"

Whose apologising ? Driving is bad here but from my experience Bolivia is way more dangerous . Maybe if you were to visit the other countries that are mentioned you would know first hand instead of trying to belittle anyone that disagrees with your point of view . Now that is pathetic

[Phatcharanan]

Yes, that is about right....

With all the MORONs who drive drunk on Songkran, I am not surprised... people drunk falling out of trucks while they spray water at people standing on the side of the street with water hoses....

I guess Thais are really VIOLENT... Songkran is suppose to be s non-violent festival.. But Thais knack for violence, killing and beating each other up, that is just a dream!

No violence or drunks in your country I guess.