Worst motorists

[Gweiloman]

Have been watching a series of car and bike crashes on youtube, mostly from Russia.

Judging from these videos, the Russians must rank as some of the worst motorists in the world. Speeding, reckless driving, cutting across traffic, no idea about the state of the roads, weather, tyres, brakes etc etc.

They put Thai motorists to shame and are definitely way ahead of Thai motorists in the race to the top Darwin awards.

Can anyone point to worse motorists? (video links please).

[Nickymaster]

They do the same thing some Thais do but they do it with big bikes. And some really like to have a drink too.

Edited February 8, 2015 by Nickymaster

[dave_boo]

Russian Federation has 143 million resident. Thailand has 66 million.

Russians keep video cams on their dash to protect themselves in the case of an incident. Thailand but religious amulets instead.

Everything I've ever seen on those Russian dash cams I've seen in Thailand. It's easy to string together a bunch of clips from widely available sources and make things look worst than they are. Much the same as if you wanted to go embarrass a country you'd find the dumbest ones you can and ask questions. Careful editing and bam!, a nation of idiots.

Much better to look at deaths as they are quite telling. Thailand places 4th in road fatalities per capita (38.1 per 100k), 9th in total fatalities, and squeaks in under the world average of 93.3 deaths per 100k vehicles at 92.4. And if you exclude all those countries, especially from Africa, like São Tomé and Príncipe who had 3090.3 deaths per 100K vehicles..but only 34 road related deaths (!), Thailand quickly falls behind the rest of the developed world.

To really drive the point home...Thailand is home to 0.9% of the world's population but counts for 2.1% of the road deaths.

[hansgruber]

Obviously you haven't driven in the middle east.

Makes Thailand and Russia look like Disneyland.

[Shurup]

Russian Federation has 143 million resident. Thailand has 66 million.

Russians keep video cams on their dash to protect themselves in the case of an incident. Thailand but religious amulets instead.

Everything I've ever seen on those Russian dash cams I've seen in Thailand. It's easy to string together a bunch of clips from widely available sources and make things look worst than they are. Much the same as if you wanted to go embarrass a country you'd find the dumbest ones you can and ask questions. Careful editing and bam!, a nation of idiots.

Much better to look at deaths as they are quite telling. Thailand places 4th in road fatalities per capita (38.1 per 100k), 9th in total fatalities, and squeaks in under the world average of 93.3 deaths per 100k vehicles at 92.4. And if you exclude all those countries, especially from Africa, like São Tomé and Príncipe who had 3090.3 deaths per 100K vehicles..but only 34 road related deaths (!), Thailand quickly falls behind the rest of the developed world.

To really drive the point home...Thailand is home to 0.9% of the world's population but counts for 2.1% of the road deaths.

Man you love statistics and numbers crunching... What job do you do?

[WitawatWatawit]

All well and good, Dave, but you have got to admit those Russians kill and maim themselves with style.

(I'll disagree with you on seeing everything in Thailand that you see on these Russian clips. I've got 26 years of experience with bikes and cars here, and I see nothing like these clips - may be coincidental, but I doubt it. Cheers.)

[Shurup]

I work in Bangladesh and see these clowns operating the vehicles every day every 2nd month. Their luck is it's hard to reach any high speeds in Dhaka due to all the rickshaws, who truly make a clausterf*** on the city roads. If allowed to drive faster, there would be a lot of dead people as there are virtually no road rules here.

I also see lots of those youtube video clips from China, not much better than Russia but with scooters instead of the bikes.

[dave_boo]

All well and good, Dave, but you have got to admit those Russians kill and maim themselves with style.

(I'll disagree with you on seeing everything in Thailand that you see on these Russian clips. I've got 26 years of experience with bikes and cars here, and I see nothing like these clips - may be coincidental, but I doubt it. Cheers.)

I did state "that I've seen"...and since I don't like stupidity, and since displays like that are prima facie examples of stupidity I steer clear of them.

I've seen motorists clip pedestrians, pull out in front of others, totally lose control and end upside down in ditches, wrapped around trees/utility poles, fallen off of overpasses, etc. So...take that as you may. The numbers don't lie.

[draftvader]

Thai language post removed and posts quoting it/continuing that discussion.

English is the only acceptable language anywhere on ThaiVisa including Classifieds, except within the Thai language forum, where of course using Thai is allowed.

[draftvader]

Have any of your searched youtube for "thailand accidents"? I have to say that, having watched many Russian accident videos, the Thai accidents can be a LOT worse to the point that I couldn't continue watching some of the videos.

I think that one of the posters above has the right point that there is just a larger demographic of cars with dashcams in Russia. I can't imagine how long the videos could be if everybody in India had one!

[taninthai]

There seems to be fair few idiots in America who like to do stunts and reckless riding with the most minimalistic safety gear,can never really work that one out surely if you are gonna practice your stunt riding it'd the time to wear proper gear not jeans trainers and t-shirt

[dave_boo]

There seems to be fair few idiots in America who like to do stunts and reckless riding with the most minimalistic safety gear,can never really work that one out surely if you are gonna practice your stunt riding it'd the time to wear proper gear not jeans trainers and t-shirt

They're everywhere.

[dave_boo]

What's with all the double postings?

Edited February 8, 2015 by dave_boo

[dave_boo]

Have any of your searched youtube for "thailand accidents"? I have to say that, having watched many Russian accident videos, the Thai accidents can be a LOT worse to the point that I couldn't continue watching some of the videos.

I think that one of the posters above has the right point that there is just a larger demographic of cars with dashcams in Russia. I can't imagine how long the videos could be if everybody in India had one!

Ummmh...what's the Thai phrase for that?

I joke.

[Gweiloman]

Russian Federation has 143 million resident. Thailand has 66 million.

Russians keep video cams on their dash to protect themselves in the case of an incident. Thailand but religious amulets instead.

Everything I've ever seen on those Russian dash cams I've seen in Thailand. It's easy to string together a bunch of clips from widely available sources and make things look worst than they are. Much the same as if you wanted to go embarrass a country you'd find the dumbest ones you can and ask questions. Careful editing and bam!, a nation of idiots.

Much better to look at deaths as they are quite telling. Thailand places 4th in road fatalities per capita (38.1 per 100k), 9th in total fatalities, and squeaks in under the world average of 93.3 deaths per 100k vehicles at 92.4. And if you exclude all those countries, especially from Africa, like São Tomé and Príncipe who had 3090.3 deaths per 100K vehicles..but only 34 road related deaths (!), Thailand quickly falls behind the rest of the developed world.

To really drive the point home...Thailand is home to 0.9% of the world's population but counts for 2.1% of the road deaths.

I don't think the number of deaths is actually relevant in this instance. We know that a lot of deaths are due to motorcyclists without helmets, minivan / bus crashes.

What I mean is that in Russia, it seems that even though there are road rules and a large number of the motorists seem to follow them, there's a disproportionately large number who totally ignore them as well. Coupled with poor maintenance of the vehicles, summer tyres during winter time, tailgaiting, running red lights, speeding through intersections, puling out without looking, undertaking at high speeds without being able to see what's on the lane...... I think they are worse drivers in Russia than in Thailand (and Thailand is, imo, already really bad).

[Dutchbike]

An example from a.. well not so usual Thai "roadincident" 3:15 like a pancake

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Um2bnpSEN94#t=198

[Gweiloman]

Have any of your searched youtube for "thailand accidents"? I have to say that, having watched many Russian accident videos, the Thai accidents can be a LOT worse to the point that I couldn't continue watching some of the videos.

I think that one of the posters above has the right point that there is just a larger demographic of cars with dashcams in Russia. I can't imagine how long the videos could be if everybody in India had one!

Just watched through a bunch of Thai accident videos but I have to say that they don't hold a candle to the Russian accidents.

Yes, some of the accidents are really graphic - that's because a lot of them involves motorcyclists who are unprotected in the event of an accident. However, a lot of the accidents are the immediate repercussions of a stupid decision made by (more than likely) an unqualified motorcyclist. In many of the videos, I can't help but feel a sense of som num na.

The other glaring difference is that the one that comes out worse is usually the one that committed the infraction in the first instance. In the Russian videos, very often, it's the innocent that pays the price.

Looking at the videos, I still think that my chances of survival are greater in Thailand than in Russia as I have more control of the situation.

[draftvader]

Have any of your searched youtube for "thailand accidents"? I have to say that, having watched many Russian accident videos, the Thai accidents can be a LOT worse to the point that I couldn't continue watching some of the videos.

I think that one of the posters above has the right point that there is just a larger demographic of cars with dashcams in Russia. I can't imagine how long the videos could be if everybody in India had one!

Just watched through a bunch of Thai accident videos but I have to say that they don't hold a candle to the Russian accidents.

Yes, some of the accidents are really graphic - that's because a lot of them involves motorcyclists who are unprotected in the event of an accident. However, a lot of the accidents are the immediate repercussions of a stupid decision made by (more than likely) an unqualified motorcyclist. In many of the videos, I can't help but feel a sense of som num na.

The other glaring difference is that the one that comes out worse is usually the one that committed the infraction in the first instance. In the Russian videos, very often, it's the innocent that pays the price.

Looking at the videos, I still think that my chances of survival are greater in Thailand than in Russia as I have more control of the situation.

I suppose as a biker I feel that more. What impresses me about the Russian accidents is everybody stopping. Is this a reaction to the dashcams, I wonder?

[Dutchbike]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdHkRkwJvww&feature=player_detailpage

The description quotes Indian traffic but I believe it's actually in Vietnam ( Ho Chi Min city)

[draftvader]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdHkRkwJvww&feature=player_detailpage

The description quotes Indian traffic but I believe it's actually in Vietnam ( Ho Chi Min city)

I'd agree that it's Vietnam. Too many bikes for India (and not enough cows!). Both countries LOVE their horns though!

[greg71]

Here is a dedicated page for bad drivers in Thailand.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Thaidrivers/?ref=br_tf

[Gweiloman]

Have any of your searched youtube for "thailand accidents"? I have to say that, having watched many Russian accident videos, the Thai accidents can be a LOT worse to the point that I couldn't continue watching some of the videos.

I think that one of the posters above has the right point that there is just a larger demographic of cars with dashcams in Russia. I can't imagine how long the videos could be if everybody in India had one!

Just watched through a bunch of Thai accident videos but I have to say that they don't hold a candle to the Russian accidents.

Yes, some of the accidents are really graphic - that's because a lot of them involves motorcyclists who are unprotected in the event of an accident. However, a lot of the accidents are the immediate repercussions of a stupid decision made by (more than likely) an unqualified motorcyclist. In many of the videos, I can't help but feel a sense of som num na.

The other glaring difference is that the one that comes out worse is usually the one that committed the infraction in the first instance. In the Russian videos, very often, it's the innocent that pays the price.

Looking at the videos, I still think that my chances of survival are greater in Thailand than in Russia as I have more control of the situation.

I suppose as a biker I feel that more. What impresses me about the Russian accidents is everybody stopping. Is this a reaction to the dashcams, I wonder?

Having spent quite a bit of time in Russia in recent years, I find the average Russian quite compassionate and always willing to help out. That's not to say that I like them very much, hahahaha.

[dave_boo]

I don't think the number of deaths is actually relevant in this instance. We know that a lot of deaths are due to motorcyclists without helmets, minivan / bus crashes.

What I mean is that in Russia, it seems that even though there are road rules and a large number of the motorists seem to follow them, there's a disproportionately large number who totally ignore them as well. Coupled with poor maintenance of the vehicles, summer tyres during winter time, tailgaiting, running red lights, speeding through intersections, puling out without looking, undertaking at high speeds without being able to see what's on the lane...... I think they are worse drivers in Russia than in Thailand (and Thailand is, imo, already really bad).

A road death is a road death. In my mind not as bad as a maiming injury, but still bad.

While one could say overall, in regards to respect of law, the Russians may have more rules on the books that are enforced more rigorously, and yet they are deficient, It still boils down to cold hard numbers, not perception. And unfortunately Thailand is worst in that regard than Russia.

[guzzi850m2]

I also saw some of the Russian dash cam clips and they are scary man, many drivers likely fueled up on vodka.

I been riding/driving a lot in Thailand and seldom see accidents, thankfully. Seen many aftermath where the police/paramedics have arrived, one was a scooter rider that went under a cement truck, not a nice sight.

I often gets overtaken by young Thais on scooters around pattaya and I think, holy cow they are riding within centimeters from hitting other motorists. I think many young males gets a kick out of it.

In most parts in EU and US they are watching you like a hawk which make everybody riding/driving following the rules almost 100%. Boring riding, I rather ride here but try to very alert at all times and have eyes in my back too.

[Gweiloman]

I don't think the number of deaths is actually relevant in this instance. We know that a lot of deaths are due to motorcyclists without helmets, minivan / bus crashes.

What I mean is that in Russia, it seems that even though there are road rules and a large number of the motorists seem to follow them, there's a disproportionately large number who totally ignore them as well. Coupled with poor maintenance of the vehicles, summer tyres during winter time, tailgaiting, running red lights, speeding through intersections, puling out without looking, undertaking at high speeds without being able to see what's on the lane...... I think they are worse drivers in Russia than in Thailand (and Thailand is, imo, already really bad).

A road death is a road death. In my mind not as bad as a maiming injury, but still bad.

While one could say overall, in regards to respect of law, the Russians may have more rules on the books that are enforced more rigorously, and yet they are deficient, It still boils down to cold hard numbers, not perception. And unfortunately Thailand is worst in that regard than Russia.

I don't disagree with you that Thailand may have more road deaths per 100,000 of population than Russia. But a stand alone statistic does not mean anything in the more general context of good or bad motoring.

You and I have both driven and ridden tens of thousands of kms in this Kingdom and pretty much North and South, East and West. We have seen our fair share of idiot drivers and motorcyclists, most of them outside of them on secondary roads (3 - 4 digit roads). What amazes me about a lot of the Russian accidents actually take place in town centres, traffic jams, big intersections with traffic lights etc. Lots of rear enders, lots of head on collisions, BETWEEN CARS. I doubt very much that there are the same RELATIVE number of such accidents in Thailand.

Having said that, if it snows in Thailand and if there's ice on unsalted streets, Thailand might well overtake Russia in this respect.

[dave_boo]

I don't think the number of deaths is actually relevant in this instance. We know that a lot of deaths are due to motorcyclists without helmets, minivan / bus crashes.

What I mean is that in Russia, it seems that even though there are road rules and a large number of the motorists seem to follow them, there's a disproportionately large number who totally ignore them as well. Coupled with poor maintenance of the vehicles, summer tyres during winter time, tailgaiting, running red lights, speeding through intersections, puling out without looking, undertaking at high speeds without being able to see what's on the lane...... I think they are worse drivers in Russia than in Thailand (and Thailand is, imo, already really bad).

A road death is a road death. In my mind not as bad as a maiming injury, but still bad.

While one could say overall, in regards to respect of law, the Russians may have more rules on the books that are enforced more rigorously, and yet they are deficient, It still boils down to cold hard numbers, not perception. And unfortunately Thailand is worst in that regard than Russia.

I don't disagree with you that Thailand may have more road deaths per 100,000 of population than Russia. But a stand alone statistic does not mean anything in the more general context of good or bad motoring.

You and I have both driven and ridden tens of thousands of kms in this Kingdom and pretty much North and South, East and West. We have seen our fair share of idiot drivers and motorcyclists, most of them outside of them on secondary roads (3 - 4 digit roads). What amazes me about a lot of the Russian accidents actually take place in town centres, traffic jams, big intersections with traffic lights etc. Lots of rear enders, lots of head on collisions, BETWEEN CARS. I doubt very much that there are the same RELATIVE number of such accidents in Thailand.

Having said that, if it snows in Thailand and if there's ice on unsalted streets, Thailand might well overtake Russia in this respect.

A smattering of rain and it's full panic mode here.

Next time you are out and about...look for the spray painted outlines of accidents and see just how prevalent they are in the city.

[Gweiloman]

I don't think the number of deaths is actually relevant in this instance. We know that a lot of deaths are due to motorcyclists without helmets, minivan / bus crashes.

What I mean is that in Russia, it seems that even though there are road rules and a large number of the motorists seem to follow them, there's a disproportionately large number who totally ignore them as well. Coupled with poor maintenance of the vehicles, summer tyres during winter time, tailgaiting, running red lights, speeding through intersections, puling out without looking, undertaking at high speeds without being able to see what's on the lane...... I think they are worse drivers in Russia than in Thailand (and Thailand is, imo, already really bad).

A road death is a road death. In my mind not as bad as a maiming injury, but still bad.

While one could say overall, in regards to respect of law, the Russians may have more rules on the books that are enforced more rigorously, and yet they are deficient, It still boils down to cold hard numbers, not perception. And unfortunately Thailand is worst in that regard than Russia.

I don't disagree with you that Thailand may have more road deaths per 100,000 of population than Russia. But a stand alone statistic does not mean anything in the more general context of good or bad motoring.

You and I have both driven and ridden tens of thousands of kms in this Kingdom and pretty much North and South, East and West. We have seen our fair share of idiot drivers and motorcyclists, most of them outside of them on secondary roads (3 - 4 digit roads). What amazes me about a lot of the Russian accidents actually take place in town centres, traffic jams, big intersections with traffic lights etc. Lots of rear enders, lots of head on collisions, BETWEEN CARS. I doubt very much that there are the same RELATIVE number of such accidents in Thailand.

Having said that, if it snows in Thailand and if there's ice on unsalted streets, Thailand might well overtake Russia in this respect.

A smattering of rain and it's full panic mode here.

Next time you are out and about...look for the spray painted outlines of accidents and see just how prevalent they are in the city.

I live on top of Asoke / Sukhumvit junction. My daily jaunts (work commute, dinner outings etc) include Sukhumvit down to Thong Lo / Ekkamai, Asoke / Ratchadapisek down to Petchaburi junction and Huay Kwang and Rama 9 to Ramkhamheng and Lat Krabang. These are some of the busiest roads in Bkk, at all hours of the day.

There are very few painted outlines of accidents on these roads.

[dave_boo]

I live on top of Asoke / Sukhumvit junction. My daily jaunts (work commute, dinner outings etc) include Sukhumvit down to Thong Lo / Ekkamai, Asoke / Ratchadapisek down to Petchaburi junction and Huay Kwang and Rama 9 to Ramkhamheng and Lat Krabang. These are some of the busiest roads in Bkk, at all hours of the day.

There are very few painted outlines of accidents on these roads.

Check out, for example, the road that connects Seri Thai to Ramkhamhaeng...there's always 2 or 3 outlines there.

[Gonsalviz]

There seems to be fair few idiots in America who like to do stunts and reckless riding with the most minimalistic safety gear,can never really work that one out surely if you are gonna practice your stunt riding it'd the time to wear proper gear not jeans trainers and t-shirt

They're everywhere.

Safety gear was invented because of idiots.

[Gonsalviz]

What's with all the double postings?

Slow internet. It seems to be contagious.