Thai are friendly and usually well mannered BUT.....

[louse1953]

Put them behind the wheel of a vehicle and all of a sudden they become very aggressive, confrontational and show no courtesy or consideration?

"Krengjai" ... Not wishing to cause loss of face to another. Usually only happens when Thais are face to face with someone. When hidden behind tinted windows of a vehicle....they don't give a damn.

...and add this to the equation too...

Maybe they are letting off steam built up from a lifetime of "face."

Generally, Thais are cowards. There's your answer.

Generally thats crap.I have seen Thais do many brave things in their day to day lives that i wouldn't attempt.Stupid maybe,but definetly not cowards.

[NoshowJones]

What I've been actually impressed about when driving in Thailand (mostly cities in Isaan, only occasionally in Bangkok) is how patient Thais are with each other. They don't impatiently blast their horns at each other (as in Singapore where I spend a lot of time), and I don't often see deliberately a-hole moves (like in Singapore). They sometimes seem a little clueless/unwise in their driving behaviour, and they will park anywhere they want, but I don't see outright aggressiveness. In Canada, where I'm from, drivers are more likely to give you a chance to enter traffic, and they will signal before making a move. But they're also more likely to give you the finger (the Canadian salute), yell at you, flash you their lights, etc etc if they feel you've done something wrong... they're more polite, but also more aggressive. There's some positive in the Thai way, I think.

You have a good point here, there is no one more critical of Thai drivers than me, but it is true, even in the busiest parts of Bangkok, you hardly ever hear vehicles horns being blasted.

Go to a tourist area where there are van, bus, taxi, tuk tuk young kids on motor bike drivers and you will change your tone quick. They are kings of assholedness. There isnt a day around that I dont let drivers know how much of a buttwipe they are.

I have another post coming to this thread but I need to get my cam out of truck and download the video from yesterday.

Everyone has their own experiences, I am not slow to pump my horn if ie, someone comes out in front of me.

[wowfactor10]

HI

Thais are not only showing low behavior skills while driving their cars.

[louse1953]

....sorry to say ....but........it is a collective mindset.......not 100%.......but who knows.......

....as for 'not seeing it's a farang'........I was told that 'we can be spotted from 50 meters away'.....

And smelt from a 100.

[Borzandy]

"Why is it that when you meet or talk with a Thai they are usually docile in nature, avoid confrontation and/or only smile when faced with a contentious situation?" because they don't understand a simple word of your language, bur they are happy to say yes, yes like some one understand.

[alien365]

I notice some drivers in my area, usually in Mercedes, drive right to the front of the queue of cars waiting to turn right and park it at the front. That way they avoid holding everyone up going straight and are first in line. Although its not the correct thing to do, in your situation I would have probably done that and locked my doors (since I don't have a Mercedes).

[Robert24]

you see such driving behaviours in many countries. I think people do it because of fear of loosing out if you let a car in. Seen this in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia. I think quite normal. you will get used to it after a while.

[gregk0543]

I drive in Bangkok a lot. I find everyone very courteous. Indicate you get let in.

I drive in yangon it is push and shove and playing chicken with oncoming vehicles.

I get someone else to drive for me in India. Way too scary.

Thai driving habits in bkk have improved heaps in the last 30 years.

[lahgon29]

All of this reminds me of a Dave Allen quip...90% of accidents are caused by the 10% of drivers who are drunk...So why don't you 90% of drivers stay of the f#@(ing roads and you won't get hurt!

[Si Thea01]

It's a general excuse to everything these days

I am refused buses because "it is not my country"

I am refused sales because "it is not my country"

etc...

And so we have another Thai bashing thread. A guy has has a traffic dispute and then it becomes a debate on why Thailand is the pits.

The oppressed and the persecuted. Life must be extremely miserable for you in Thailand.

Thai visa the hub of moaners, complainers and wringers. Why anyone would want to stay in a country where they are so unhappy beats me.

Because I never let idiots alter my moods

Maybe you should go back to bed, get out of the other side, and see how much it gives you a more relaxed mood, Not the defensive one you are in at the moment. You will be so much more relaxed.

Edited December 8, 2014 by Si Thea01

[lahgon29]

I can relate to the part in the OP about being cut off by motorbike riders when I am walking on the footpath. It happens all the time. The usual culprits are arrogant foreigners.

Really?

And so there isnt any "arrogant" thai's that do this?

Your showing your true color's!

Can you offer a less vacuous explanation for "showing your true color's"?

When was the last time you were in Udon

I'll start again, foreigners are the usual culprits.

I live in Udon, not in the Soi Samphan area either...No footpaths where i am. Pedestrians, Thai and the rest try to walk to the extreme outside. Makes no difference. Bikes try to get on the inside of the cars and nearly ride over the pedestrians.The riders are 95% Thai..My explanation is not vacuous..It's a fact. I live It.

Where are you? Some quiet estate outside the ringroad, or on the big roads around the centre.?

[dotpoom]

I think this behaviour got worse with the introduction of the darkened windows.

Seemingly some drivers when they are in their car see it as being totally their territory...their domain... and feel they can behave in it any way they wish.....a "do not threaten me in the only area on this planet where I have full control" attitude develops. That is just my opinion.

[slipperx]

The OP did admit that he was in the wrong lane and pulled out, ignoring everyone else who was in the correct lane, and then had the audacity to wind down the window to confront the poor lorry driver. You can't have your cake and eat it, my friend.

Not so. I was trying to get out of the lane that I was in to avoid holding back anyone else wanting to drive straight through when the light suddenly changed to a red light. The vehicles behind me had not yet approached my position and when they did they had to wait for the light to turn green anyway.

The poor lorry driver you so eloquently refer to was one of the vehicles that had not yet approached my position and had to wait also for the light to turn green before being able to proceed. All he had to do was to hold back a little to allow me to complete my lane change but was more interested in advancing one vehicle length instead of being courteous and in the process nudged his vehicle forward so as to be in so close contact to my vehicle that our mirrors touched.

By the tone of your post I can see that I certainly wouldn't want to be driving close to you if it should ever happen one day. I guess it's too much to expect some common courtesy nowadays from fellow drivers as the rush to get to wherever one might be going rises above being a considerate driver knowing that we all have come across similar experiences and appreciate some slack especially when being new to the area and driving on an unfamiliar road.

It is just selfishness which pervades the roads. If you signal to change lanes suddenly the car speeds up so not to let you in. People pushing in queue jumping is what gets me the most probably because I use a busy congested road and no one will queue.

Just selfish inconsiderate people everywhere here. However if you wind your window down and look at the drivers if pulling into traffic then all of a sudden you will be invited to join the lane. I think there is s disconnect between seeing a lump of metal and the person inside. It's weird.

[mogandave]

"I unwound my window and asked why he did not give me space to enter the lane I was so obviously headed in and he replied "This is not your country"."

Seriously?

Well I was peeved and wanted to say something different buy I bit my tongue and this was what came out. There was a male passenger in the front seat and he just smiled at me.

Usually I would not have done or said anything and just put up with it but this guy was so obstinate in his attempt to get in front of me that I lost my composure.

I thought your were trying to get in front of him, no?

So do you think if your were Thail he would have let you in?

I think not.

[Emster23]

Size matters. His truck was bigger than your car, you lose no matter what. The big fish eat the little fish. You should know that by now. That is why pedestrians have no rights regarding sidewalks or highways at all.

[lahgon29]

When you're in Rome, do like the Romans!

"F@^$@ng Romans.What have they ever done for us?"

[Andre0720]

In Thailand, vehicles have priority over pedestrians, and if so, by extennsion, they have priority over other vehicles... Their own logic...

Thais do not walk to go even 200 meters... They take their vehicle...

Vehicles are their symbol of power.... And smoking while driving adds to this feeling of power......

[EmptyHead]

I will agree to an extent, but utimately you are wrong.

They also walk like that. How often has someone just stepped right infront of you and stopped?

They also sell products like that. How often have you been given a horrible look for browsing in a shop without buying?

Yes, i agree their true colours come out more when they can't be seen and ashamed infront of others.

However, you are also contradictoty and have double standards. See below.

What you complain of here:

"In traffic I'm cut off every time unless I literally hug the bumper of the vehicle I'm following and even so they edge closer and closer to my vehicle as if trying to say if you don't let me in I'm going to hit you."

Is pretty much (exactly, lol) what you did here:

"Today I was approaching the corner and realizing I was in the wrong lane for making a right hand turn I gently pulled partly into the turning lane at the last moment as the light had just turned red. Another truck came up from behind and instead of just waiting for the light to turn green and allow me to enter the lane he proceeded to pull up as close as he possibly could to the rear of the vehicle in front so as to not allow me to enter the turning lane."

When you wound down your window to complain, you didn't think for a moment that you pulled out on him just the same way you hate people doing to you. And when you "hug the bumber in front", you are also trying to stop someone getting in front, aren't you? Just like him.

If you didn't force your way out, you would never get out (because people won't let you here). So don't blame other people for doing just as you do.

And the, "it's not your country thing" is probably just his way of saying, "we do things differently in Thailand, than in your country".

Edited December 8, 2014 by EmptyHead

[Kasset Tak]

Thai logic in traffic = biggest goes first, hit what's least expensive and it's never your fault!

Two of my Thai friends died 2 weeks ago in a car accident, this is how my other friends taught about it.

1. They where drunk but not drunk enough to NOT drive.

2. The driver of the parked truck they hit as he had not turned on any lights and therefore was responsible.

3. They wore the wrong ammulets or the amulets were copies.

And so on.

And about walking. In the school where I work even the teachers living inside the school takes the car or motorcycle to the office, they don't even walk 20 meters between the buildings!

[ggt]

"This is not your country"...and most of us are unhappy that you are here...

This is the feeling of many if not most Thais...you are an unwelcome visitor here...leave us your money and either stay in your home or go home to your on country...

[Shiver]

My former boss in England used to say (in reference to "white van man" rage, if you can make eye contact with them in their rear view mirror, then they have to acknowledge you as a human being, then there will be no animosity. It worked. Two issues here though - tinted windows and non use of mirrors for rear view.

I remember my mum in the supermarket when I used to take her shopping once a week, and she'd push her trolley down the isle and suddenly see "Oh! Baked beans!" and leave the trolley in the middle of the isle, and I'd be "mum, think of people around you, you're blocking the thoroughfare" - never made a difference, so I was always trailing and managing traffic flow.

I see the same here, it's not just a Thai thing. If I drive a car here I tend to take it easy and go with the flow. If I'm on a bike I tend to duck and dive and do all the wrong things (undertaking, nipping between lanes when traffic is at standstill at lights etc since nobody else is working to the same song sheet...but, these days I've arranged myself so that I can do most of what I want within 15mins walk, but I see the same behaviour in pedestrians as well, with blinkers on, and they transfer that behaviour to the road). This isn't Thai bashing, it's just that people seems to be like that everywhere, except that in some countries you have to prove competence on the road first.

One last thing... I think at least part of the problem is that we have pedestrians, samlaw, tuktuk, trucks, cars, lorries, elephants, sidecars, all of which have different needs and behaviours, and all use the same road space (pedestrians can't always use the sidewalks since it appears that people treat the pavement outside their property as their own and you're forced to walk in the road). Try that on the AutoBahn (eek!).

[mogandave]

If you meet more than one a-hole a week, it's probably not them...

[Beetlejuice]

He did it because that's the way he always drives, he's an everyday moron.

The 'not your country' excuse is just that because there's no way he would have known there was a foreigner driving in your vehicle until you opened the window.

If you were Thai I wonder what his excuse would have been.

One thing Thailand is good at is "making up stories" lets be honest,LYING, the more ridiculous the better, and they have no boundaries on them either.

I refuse to give way to their bullying, Ive been hit twice in the car and i refuse to move over when the aresholes decide to overtake coming the other way with their lights flashing. The result last time was the moron swerved all over the road and rolled his pick up and made my year.

I then got chastised my some member on here for "attempted murder"

I dont care about the car of mine getting damaged anymore..........

The Thai driver also could not know if you had permanent residency and it WAS your country.

Thais I find VERY selfish, dont blather on about that being a generalisation, it seems these are "ok" in TVF if they are "nice" generalisations but not if negative. "ALL Thais are happy n smiling" is acceptable but "all Thais are lazy is not"

Take the title of the post as an example.

Often Ive found when I give a signal the driver will immediately speed up to block access to the lane I have requested to enter even though traffic is slow moving.Nothing would be gained by blocking yet they do it often.

Another funny one is stopping to let a vehicle out...............they just cant believe it and really go into a paralytic state as NO ONE does that here, must upset their me first routine completely.

My God, are you for real?

[David48]

Thai logic in traffic = biggest goes first, <snip>

As a general guide ... it seems a general guide.

[kinmaew]

Product of having ultra right wing nationalism instilled in their brains since birth.

[In Search of Space]

Isn't it the same the world over, people change behind the wheel of a car as they change in a forum !

Having driven in Middle East, Thailand, communist Eastern Europe, USA, Canada and Western Europe, I think the Brits are amongst the most polite drivers, with a few nut cases

[In Search of Space]

Thai logic in traffic = biggest goes first, <snip>

As a general guide ... it seems a general guide.

It's the only guide

[williet98248]

What an absolute thai bashing thread this is turning into.

Your spot on beetle they see some bad driving or have an altercation so that means 66 million Thais are selfish or what was that they remain docile most of the time.

There's bad drivers all over the world and altercations but I guarantee yow these wingers won't bag their own country men.

I have no problem driving I Thailand or anywhere in Asia I just be patient and go with the flow.

Anyway for the thai bashes you are clearly in the wrong country and if a little thing like this sets you off then it's definitely time to rethink you choice of location.

Yes there are bad drivers all over the world, but Thailand seems to have the majority of them. Not my opinion but research available on the internet that shows Thailand as #2 in the world for bad driving. Yemen is #1. Some research shows Thailand as #4. Here is a copy of an email sent to friends last week.

'Thailand has some of the worst drivers in the world. Not just my opinion but statistics show that Thailand has the second worst drivers in the world after Yemen. Some research puts Thailand at # 4, but ...whatever. I have been here twelve years. I have had twelve accidents on my motorcycle, been rear ended and knocked off my bicycle twice, been brushed four times by cars, and three, four fender benders with my car. Hard to keep track. The things that bug me the most are the tailgaters and the drivers who just move into your lane cutting you off and forcing one to brake to let them in. Also stopping for no reason in front of you, not knowing how to enter traffic, just generally stupid stuff. About a year ago a driver cut off the apex of a corner entering my lane and bent my front fender and broke the headlight. Because I don't speak or read Thai I was found at fault. I found this out later when my Thai friend read the accident report for me. After that I bought a GoPro camera and set it up in my car as a dash cam. Turn it on every time I get in my car.

So last evening on my way home from a wedding a Tuk tuk taxi just forced his way into my lane without even a signal. Just moved on me expecting me to give way. Now...I saw him coming and knew what he was going to do but...sorry about that. Ya gotta have a lot bigger vehicle to intimidate me. He hooked my front bumper and scratched the fender maybe causing several hundred dollars damage. We stopped in the middle of the street in rush hour traffic and argued for a few minutes. I called my insurance agent and he called the police. In Thailand you don't just exchange your insurance info for fenderbenders and let the insurance companies figure it out. Nooooo! you have to sit there and wait for the police to come and the insurance agent to come and take photos and sort it out. So we sat there for about an hour until the cops and the insurance guy did their work. Then off to the local cop shop to make the official report. The driver was vociferously arguing that it was my fault and then I pulled out my dash cam and showed the desk cop my video. Well...the desk cop got a disgusted look on his face and read the riot act to the other driver, essentially told him he was a jerk, clearly in the wrong and to shut up! I just smiled to myself. No gloating. But a few minutes later another guy showed up ( I think the owner of the taxi) gesticulating and shouting that it was my fault. Said he wanted to see the street camera video. The desk cop said "No, we already have the video." Showed him my video and when the guy continued to loudly protest braced him against the wall, told him to shut up and calm down. Again I smiled to myself. No gloating. No gloating because if you cause a Thai person to lose face they will kill you for it.

So... two hours of my time but I haven't had a more enjoyable experience for a while. I really stuck it to the taxi driver and owner and maybe he will improve his driving or at least think twice about doing something stupid. Maybe not. I think I can just rub out the scratch on my fender and push the plastic back into place but even if not and I have to take it to the body shop it was worth it to stick my finger in the eye of a careless, arrogant and incompetent Thai driver.

But back to the twelve accidents on my motorcycle. I have had people just stop in front of me, make a an unexpected turn in front of me, causing me to brake suddenly which cramps the front wheel and puts the bike down. I have had the bike just slip on loose gravel. A few months ago I was driving down a hill and the bike just slipped out from under me and we both slid 150 feet down the hill into the guard rail. A light rain on top of road oil. Sheesh. I haven't ridden my motorcycle since. I am too old for this and I don't heal up like a young man anymore.'

I live and drive in Phuket and it is crazy here. Even worse in High Season. Just driving off the island the traffic calms down and drivers seem more reasonable. As far as 'going with the flow'. That doesn't help and I am tired of it anyway. Some can consider this Thai bashing and whingeing but to me it is just a fact of life. I have a good life here and am happier than I have ever been. That doesn't mean I have to like and accept everything in Thailand.

[hugh2121]

Yesterday I drove highway 7 to the airport and back. I saw many examples of very bad, dangerous and inconsiderate driving. At 7pm there were even black coloured cars, pick-ups and lorries without lights. At 8pm I passed a 3 wheeled motor bike in the outside lane with no lights, travelling at about 30 kph.

The only reason that can possibly be given for their driving habits anywhere, anytime is that they are totally stupid!

Edited December 9, 2014 by hugh2121

[slipperylobster]

A little understanding, on your part should help clear up this dilemma.

Simply put, the people here are trained, since birth, to be passive agressive. However, human nature has a weak gasket on the steam valve. Once that gasket melts, all bets are off. The steam stays in the pot, but when meltdown occurs, a blast of steam escapes, uncontrolled, all at once.

A car is a tool by which a passive agressive person releases the valve himself.....

That is why fights, once the gasket melts down, usually end up being extremely violent.

It is similar to the question...."Why are Catholic Girls so quick to jump in the hay".