Near miss, again. What is going on?

[taotoo]

Your English is fine - your understanding of the word Hypocrite might be a little off, but I suspect that's not a language-related issue.

I showed my wife your backwards lawnmower. Her reaction: "a disgrace to the chiang mai motoring community".

She then went on a rant about foreigners in Thailand, but I'll spare you the worst of it.

[anto]

>>Thai people ready to kill you if you tell them they do wrong <<

Really ?

[kjhbigv]

I have ridden a bike and car/truck almost every day in Chiang Mai and all over Thailand for maybe 5/6 years. I have had only one car accident (touch wood), which was my fault, well, I stopped, but the bloke behind me did not stop in time, but I view that as a lapse on my part for not leaving enough room while seeing him skidding towards me in my rear view mirror.....normally I would have had an exit plan....you need to think for some most drivers as well....not just your own driving!

As for the bike, a couple of self-induced very slow spills, shall we just say, very late at night.

IMO the key for survival over here is observation and anticipation.....you can not just think about how YOU are riding or driving....you need to anticipate and indeed, expect the unexpected from others and be prepared to take quick/decisive action. No point saying "it was his fault" when you have a car or truck on top of you!

I have seen a few dead bodies, the most shocking was when I first came here, 2 guys lying dead on the 118, had been knocked off by one truck and run over by the next (who both did not stop), I was the 3rd vehicle and had to avoid the bodies and carnage in the road....not nice!

Most recently a few weeks ago helping a fellow "falang" who had been hit on the super highway and was lucky not to get run over and yes. I did stop and help him.Yes, the police did turn up and no, I was not blamed and even rode the police bike to a safe area, while they rode the victims bike (maybe because it was just a "falang")...who knows....but no way could I not stop for someone who was in a potentially fatal situation. Obviously, I can not predict if it would have been the same if it was a Thai I had helped, but I would like to think so and would do the same again.

The scariest thing for me is how you are treated if you are in an accident.........forget trained paramedics, spinal injuries etc etc....literally picked up and put in the back of a truck to the nearest hospital....that's it! No road closure, no investigation, no on-site attention/care.....very scary!

It's a jungle out there, stay safe and wear a helmet! I just don't get why some of "us" don't wear helmets....why? Freedom? Looking cool? I just don't get it! Your head is a melon and ANY protection is better than nothing!

[puukao]

as an avid cyclist, i always look first at the automobile's tires if they are on a side street. if they start to move, i worry much more. if possible i look at them in their eyes and maybe even shake my head if biking rather fast. i've never been hit in about 9-10,000 miles of pedaling away. at night, i try to walk instead. everyday i know i might not make it back, and i never think a car sees me. and, yes, helmet is a must. it's so nice to have doi suthep right here, since you can spend 2 days a week living on that hill. yes, it's dangerous, but i know which areas are more dangerous. another plus is cars here, in the mountains at least, drive much slower than in the states. they may, however, drive all over the road into blind corners.

[Chiengmaijoe]

Last night a friend raised the topic of driving in Chiang Mai and his friend joined in. Both gave stories of near misses and bad driving and as always, none of the stories were beyond the last few days. That is nearly always the case when people start talking about driving here, which is a good indication of how bad most people think it is - there are always so many incidents in the last few days that you don't need to look further back, whereas back home , people would probably be starting their story with 'I was once....' or ' A few months ago .........'.

Edited April 4, 2014 by Chiengmaijoe

[worgeordie]

You just have to drive out of the MooBahn onto main road

go 50 -100 mtrs,and without fail someones nearly taken the

front wing off,cutting in front .

So I bought a couple of those carcams, records the road in

front,maybe need for the rear and sides too!, anyway one

for my car and one for the daughters,it gives you a little more

comfort knowing any accident will be recorded to prove who's

fault it was, but if its my fault i am sure it will not be working.

It is truly amazing there are not a lot more accidents here and

thats all down to luck, not good driving,read that terrible bus

crash with all those deaths,the driver put the bus in neutral

and just let the bus go,when he wanted to slow down,brakes

are red hot,and he cannot get it into gear !

regards Worgeordie

[Merlindxb]

My Thai Wife tells me, “They don’t care” when they are roaring thru a built area, or even passeing near a street market or abandoning (Parking) their cars outside the 7/11. Like most of us I try to drive defendable, but they still “Pop Out”.

As for Thailand being number 3 in the world on road deaths…Not true! Our Thai friends are way way number ONE, you see they do not count as road deaths if they die in ambulance or hospital.

[inthepink]

My Thai Wife tells me, “They don’t care” when they are roaring thru a built area, or even passeing near a street market or abandoning (Parking) their cars outside the 7/11. Like most of us I try to drive defendable, but they still “Pop Out”.

As for Thailand being number 3 in the world on road deaths…Not true! Our Thai friends are way way number ONE, you see they do not count as road deaths if they die in ambulance or hospital.

And you have access to those figures do you?