Many Thai drivers/riders become aggressive when you overtake them. Why?

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

Nation wide pandemic phenomenon. Understanding Thai psyche about this is not difficult if you understand the Power in the words Sia Na, the role it plays in aggressive to deadly behavior and the toll it has on life and society in this lovely country. Or a deeper Them vs Any Country and you will see their national pride surface. When there is this challenge they will risk dying overtaking you to be able to thus their fists in the air shouting THAILAND!

And just in case you are not a researcher and want to understand Thai psyche then grab a bowl of your favorite cereal and turn on Cartoon Network.

[biker Bob]

I live on the outskirts of Bangkok and have never had a problem with any Thai rider, cars is an other story 5555

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

Thai's overtaking me kind of reminds me of this annoying video Clash Of Clans when I'm playing Contract Killer Sniper except when the clansman is singing substitute "Don't Believe Me Ask My Boar" with Don't Believe Me Ask My Whore"

[jacko45k]

I believe City drivers are more aggressive, I see it here in Pattaya as the Bangkok cars do seem to be selfish, pushy and impatient. They also seem to like to block the smallest of spaces as if in a deliberate attempt to stop the bikes getting through to the front at the lights . I don't suppose Bangkok small bikes come this far much.

I put it down to kids and immaturity, perhaps you are initially passing them a bit too close. The kids seem to like to buzz an old falang on a bike now and again!

Edited April 21, 2015 by jacko45k

[ronwparker]

Many Thai drivers are amongst the worst in the world-both cars and motorbikes.

Ihave lived here 12 years and sadly it is getting worse.

They even fight at the traffic lights-road rage.

[ronwparker]

Cars are much worse than bikes for this.

[Oziex1]

I travel in and around bkk i guess more than most here and have noticed this phenomenon grumpy posts about, I normally dont want to be first away from the lights..fear of red light runners , i tend to let a few pull away in front of me,

If riding the cbr its quite normal that i would be passing the scooters soon after without even revving the bike into the power band, there are a few thais who seem to take this personal and will go to extreme measures to pass regardless of the danger they put themselves in,

Exactly what I'm talking about.

Happens 3 to 4 times on my 20km or so commute from outer BKK to in and vice versa.

2 friends were 2-up on a Honda wave and passed a local on a Phantom along Ratchada, he revved up and genuinely tried to kick them off, then followed them to their condo and said he was police and demanded to see their workpermits and visas. They're chilled out guys and just said sure, we'll go up and get them and left him there.

I ride a CBR500 with proper gear including a reflective vest and open face helmet when in the city for visibility. Cruise past scooters(or a ninja/cbr150/250 or whatever) and it seems to make many of them absolutely furious. Aggression mode seems to go off the scale and they literally attack with their scooter/bike until they are in front and can then gloat. Off course I may be 'around' 30-40 other scooters etc on my ride so it seems to be about 10%.

Why?

Yaba ?

[WitawatWatawit]

It certainly does happen, and more often than you might realise. My old bike, while big, was very manoeuvrable, and I'd often find myself at the head of the pack at lights. Seeing a foreigner on a large bike beside them seemed to be a challenge to the more childish riders. But herein lies the problem and why the OP is not just a Thai bash or an insignificant issue - when the blood rushes to the head, what little rational brain cells are still functioning get pushed aside.

Many times I've experienced a "challenge" at the lights. There is only one way to handle it safely. Just let the pack go and let all of the other riders get ahead of you - I prefer idiots in front of me than behind, anyway. To helll with their "face". There is another way, but not so safe - and that is to accelerate hard to get clear of the pack and then throttle back. While I like to do this because it creates clearer ground and opens up more space for everyone, it does encourage the richardheads.

Wonder if this is a problem in other countries!

[Dannyboy666]

Thailand is a Me - First Society, you haven't been on a one vehicle Soi with a 7/11, and people park the car and go shopping, blocking the whole Soi , Welcome To Thainess...

[Fullstop]

Why?

...and the absolutely most stupid question of the the month award goes to.....

[Just1Voice]

I've had these morons on Clicks, Waves, and whatever, do this crap when I'm on my CBR. I just let them go, then slowly accelerate till they are behind me, with no chance of catching me. And, yes, it's happened to me all over the north and north east of Thailand on my monthly 3-6 day bike trips.

Also, they don't know I'm farang due to jeans, good riding shoes, padded jacket or top kit, full helmet with drop down sun visor inside, and gloves. I usually find it amusing, and just shake my head at their immature kid games and go on with what I'm doing, which is riding for the pure joy of riding.

[The Usual Suspect]

When you take into account that the average Thai male has the mental and emotional maturity of a fourteen year old boy, it makes perfect sense.

[AlQaholic]

I always gloat when I overtake "motocy", being in a car it is rather difficult to put my foot out the window but somehow I manage this almost every time. and Then I make my wife hop up and down in the seat so the defeated "motocy" can see how happy we are that we beat him in this particular race.

[KamalaRider]

Is this for real????

It is. It happens every day.

Usually Thai scooterists when I'm on my motorbike. Not just a bit of light and playful competition that doesn't matter to the rider. Very, very aggressive (dangerously aggressive), then often gloating when they have reached an unassailable lead (in their imaginary race)

Why?

It happens a lot to me in Phuket and other parts of Thailand as well and I only have one answer, Thai boys/men (oh that hurt to write) hate when a farang is better than them, of anything, and in their minds, overtaking is the same as being better, hence their stupid driving. Remember, they are all kids.

Since I put very dark film inside on the windows in the car, it doesn't happen that frequent anymore, but when on motorbike a different story.

I just let them and try to stay out of their way, I even slow down most of the times when I realise they are competing with me.

Edited April 21, 2015 by KamalaRider

[Kerryd]

Never seen anyone leg-kicking in all the city/country riding I've been doing, but the roads are full of whacky drivers/riders that you have to watch out for continuously. That's one reason why when we are one the big bikes we try to be out ahead of the rest of the traffic so that if they want to do stupid things, it happens long behind us, not in front (or beside).

Usually when we encounter one of those rare "what, you dare to pass ME ?!?!?!" types, they are in something like a fancy Mercedes or similar car. We pass them at lights and in traffic, they catch up and pass us on the open stretches when the traffic is light. I think they think it's just a game of sorts. Never had any of them act in a hostile manner. Maybe they are thinking the same thing as us (better to have the problems happen behind you than in front of you).

The only time I saw anyone try to do something stupid on a bike (as far as being an ass after we passed him) was in Isaan a few years back. We came of the mountain and hit a long stretch of straight road with light traffic. Cruising along at 120 and we passed a 125cc scooter with 2 guys on it (they were on the far left, we were in the right lane). They decided to try and pass us and kept zipping in and out of our group (2 people on a 125 cc doing 120+ on the highway). We had to pump it up to 140 for about 10 clicks until we finally got far enough ahead of them that we didn't have to worry about it anymore.

I'm actually surprised (and relieved) that I haven't seen more accidents, especially at intersections. The way everyone jumps lights, speeds through stale yellows, keep pushing through long after the lights are red (holding up the people with the green of course) and literally pulling out into the path of oncoming (high speed) traffic so they can get the jump when the light turns green, it's frikken nuts ! (Oh and all the people that never look before pulling out into traffic or changing lanes or making turns, etc.)

No wonder they lose so many people to traffic accidents every year. Traffic enforcement needs to be stepped up a lot and penalties need to be.......bah forget it. What's the point ? They could change things if they wanted to. (Remember how not that long ago nobody, anywhere, wore helmets, ever ?) All it took was some education and enforcement and now most people (but not all) are wearing helmets, even on secondary and side streets. If they started doing the same thing at intersections it would be a major revenue boost (for awhile) and a major traffic nuisance (for quite awhile) but eventually people would learn to use the intersections properly

(Back in British Columbia, traffic offences can result in monetary fines as well as "points" against your license. Accumulate too many points and you can have your licence suspended. Accumulated points "fall off" at a rate of 2 per year. When it comes time to renew your insurance, accumulated points can result in higher insurance costs. As a result, say you run a red light/stop sign. You could get a fine, points on your licence and then have to pay higher insurance premiums next time you renew. It all adds up and can become a very expensive lesson. Of course, back there if you get caught driving without a licence (or with a suspended one), no registration and/or no insurance, your vehicle is impounded right then and there. There is no "pay 200 baht and drive away" option !)

[Fullstop]

........No wonder they lose so many people to traffic accidents every year. Traffic enforcement needs to be stepped up a lot and penalties need to be.......bah forget it. What's the point ? ......

I was wondering when you were going to get to that bit.

[loong]

I never realised that kicking out a leg had a meaning.

It explains one motorbike rider's action recently.

I pulled up alongside a motorbike, beeped my horn and pointed down. I then made this action with my leg, trying to indicate that his side-stand was down. Then I pulled away.

Next thing the bike came screaming past me and cut me up, still with the side_stand down. As he cut across me the stand dug in and he was lucky to stay on the bike.

[mike324]

"Often they will kick out their leg or legs in a victory salute"

That's not a victory salute my man, they must be mad at you, piss people off pretty often?

I do agree sometimes they feel like they need to be faster than you, they would overtake you then slow back down. This happens most when dealing with teenagers on a bike. But based on my experience, it doesn't happen that often though.

[neeray]

Is this for real????

It is. It happens every day.

Usually Thai scooterists when I'm on my motorbike. Not just a bit of light and playful competition that doesn't matter to the rider. Very, very aggressive (dangerously aggressive), then often gloating when they have reached an unassailable lead (in their imaginary race)

Why?

I never saw any of what you describe in some one thousand km of travelling over 4 weeks in the areas of Surat Thani, Krabi or Hua Hin.

But if it is any solace to you, we experience what you describe here in Canada but worse, it often turns into road rage.

[JonnyF]

I never had it from bikes, had it from cars a few times though. Maybe 10 times in 8 years so not very often, generally involves me overtaking them on the bike and then I assume they took offence or want a race as they tailgate me and occasionally flash the lights to get back past me. Normally a pickup/Fortuner or a medium range sedan (Camry, Accord etc).

Normally I just pin it and keep them a few hundred metres behind, but if I have a passenger with me I'll let them pass, stay within a few car lengths and overtake at the next set of lights.

Funny thing is, they'll drive as fast as they can to get past you, then relax and go back to their normal cruising speed

[samuibeachcomber]

my experience is re thai male drivers/bike riders,scooter riders is that they prone to be aggressive.You should remember they have a child's mentality,lack common sense and any sense of responsibility...keep this in mind and you will have a chance to stay safe on the roads,as long as you too do not become angry,impatient etc etc.

[Just1Voice]

Thinking back a few years, I had a guy pull up beside me at a stoplight on major highway going into Chiang Mai. He was on a KSR

[Lee4Life]

I travel in and around bkk i guess more than most here and have noticed this phenomenon grumpy posts about, I normally dont want to be first away from the lights..fear of red light runners , i tend to let a few pull away in front of me,

If riding the cbr its quite normal that i would be passing the scooters soon after without even revving the bike into the power band, there are a few thais who seem to take this personal and will go to extreme measures to pass regardless of the danger they put themselves in,

They dont seem to realise that i,m not racing them even when i stop beside them at the next traffic light.

I have noticed the same thing riding a Phantom between NongKhai and Udon, often scooter riders pick up their speed when I come up next to them or pass me back and then slow down again. It's also common for scooters to try and race away from the lights, I don't notice these things happening when I ride a scooter.

[RubberSideDown]

The leg kicking isn't so bad- once I was with a group of friends in a van on a mountain road in Japan, and a group of riders on 250cc-400cc (license restricted) bikes passed us, and the last guy in the pack stood up on the pegs, reached forward with one hand on the triple-tree to balance himself, and used the other hand to tug his pants down and moon us- it was an absolutely fantastic maneuver that I'll always remember- no way I could wver manage to do that.

Edited April 21, 2015 by RubberSideDown

[sead]

happens to me everyday in Pattaya. I have a pcx150 and when i overtake a car at night then the drivers speeds up like crazy. He even does suicidal moves just so i cant catch up with him..

[Johnny S]

Is this for real????

It is. It happens every day.

Usually Thai scooterists when I'm on my motorbike. Not just a bit of light and playful competition that doesn't matter to the rider. Very, very aggressive (dangerously aggressive), then often gloating when they have reached an unassailable lead (in their imaginary race)

Why?

Small minded boys pretending they are in FF7 .... ?

[laislica]

OP, are you certain thay are Thais, could they be Itallian, Spanish, French????

To mention just a few who must never be overtaken!

[DLang]

happens to me everyday in Pattaya.

Happens to me everyday in Bangkok too. Sometimes on my PCX or my CBR250R. I use an open faced helmet because of the heat.

It usually happens if I move into a different lane that has less traffic or is more maneuverable and then move past them as they are stuck in the lane that has more traffic or is less maneuverable, I rarely overtake people that are in the same lane unless they are going dangerously slow. I ride the same route everyday so know when to move into which lanes to move smoothly through the traffic.

Just this morning on my PCX I moved into another lane and passed a Forza 300 that was about to become stuck in my lane. I switched lanes, went passed him, then back into the same lane which was now free. 3 minutes later and he came at me like a bowling ball from behind right as I was about to filter between two cars, If I didn't see him and get on the brakes he would have taken me out and blown me straight into the car on my left, or if I had gotten between the cars before he hit he would have hit me from the rear at around 80kph. He was going for me and either getting in front of me again or taking me out. Scary, really.

The difference I see between the PCX and the CBR250R is that the gloating part of it really only happens when I'm on my CBR250R. But yes, what you're talking about happens every day.

I guess I consider it a release of their pent up anger and frustration (Thais seems to have a lot of it imo), the heat of the day, small man syndrome and feeling challenged at the presence of other males in their vicinity (add that it is a foreigner who they consider to have everything much better than them - but would never admit it), and ego. Or a mixed combination. The result: what is being talked about.

[lvr181]

Maybe Thai riders are racing legends in their own lunchtime or own mind! Must not be beaten = loss of face?

As an ex motorcycle and car racer, we had an old saying "when the flag drops the bullshit stops". Most "showing off" riders and drivers would never put themselves to the real test of their skills on a race circuit So let them go to achieve their nirvana at their earliest opportunity.

[bbbbooboo]

Stupid IS what stupid DOES?