Thailand’s dangerous van drivers never cease to amaze

[Jonathan Fairfield]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rV9CM-WN0g

[thaipod]

They need to clamp down on these idiots, every time I go up country the vans are speeding and with bad driving manners.

[richard_smith237]

Both the Van and the Truck driver were idiots....

The Truck could have easily yielded to let the Van through, why didn't he? Ego...

The Van could have easily waited behind the Truck for a few KM then passed at a spot with more space, why didn't he? Ego...

For the most part, 90% of drivers in Thailand are fairly normal... however, I see drivers like this in front and behind me all the time on roads in Thailand... its best just to simply keep clear of them.

[inzman]

Truck driver was a Pratt, he could have, should have let the van in. Som nom na, I hate the lorries hogging the fast lane, very unprofessional driver. Haha on him. Shame he will learn nothing from his ignorance.

[Chang_paarp]

Truck driver was a Pratt, he could have, should have let the van in. Som nom na, I hate the lorries hogging the fast lane, very unprofessional driver. Haha on him. Shame he will learn nothing from his ignorance.

Do you really think the truck driver will learn? It is a pity he didn't take out the van as well.

[Happy Grumpy]

I see the usual level of Thai compassion there at the end of the video.

[Pomthai]

The only thing likely to come of this is the truck driver will be more aggressive towards white vans in the future. A recipe for further disaster.

[Mango Bob]

The other thing you see in the picture is people just keep on going. No one stop to check on the truck driver.

[glasswort]

One of the reasons people do not stop is the fear of becoming involved and ending up with a bill.

The truck driver would have done better to have taken out the van!

[mattk1]

I hope I never crash here, it seems if you do you're totally on your own..

[kiwikeith]

Both the Van and the Truck driver were idiots....

The Truck could have easily yielded to let the Van through, why didn't he? Ego...

The Van could have easily waited behind the Truck for a few KM then passed at a spot with more space, why didn't he? Ego...

For the most part, 90% of drivers in Thailand are fairly normal... however, I see drivers like this in front and behind me all the time on roads in Thailand... its best just to simply keep clear of them.

Took the words from my mouth, however the 90% might be a bit generous.

I took a taxi up to BK to pick up a car, nearly killed in the taxi as he drove at full speed towards traffic in the far right lane that was slowing to a stop, he only managed to pull up on the shoulder about 2 meters past the car in front (if no shoulder doomed) and if I hadnt yelled at him to stop.

Then he told my thai partner he had been driving all night and he very sorry, he very sorry almost kill 2 people and young boy.

Then in another cab up to BK a week later and a repeat of the above about ten minutes after leaving Hua Hin driver did almost exactly the same.

He started off fine then bingo he became a speed merchant ducking and diving all over the place.

Trucks are loonies they wander all over the road and try to overtake each other and cars at high speeds, then the loonie van drivers do as in the video, I have been in one that clipped a truck doing the same thing only he got a severe bolicking from me which may have saved all on boards lives.

Why dont the Police get some staff on the roads with some speed cameras and book these Kamakazi lunatics?

When the Police wake up to the MONEY $$$$ they could make as well then the truckies might behave and the van drivers should loose license for more than 2 consecutive speeding offences.

Might make a lot of difference to all drivers as now they dont care about getting booked, its the wild wild west on the roads and the Police should be the ones leading the charge.

[off road pat]

I see the usual level of Thai compassion there at the end of the video.

I guess they went after the Van Driver...! to get him for been responsible of the accident...!

[KhunBENQ]

The other thing you see in the picture is people just keep on going. No one stop to check on the truck driver.

Sad, but true: YOU should not stop too!

[off road pat]

The other thing you see in the picture is people just keep on going. No one stop to check on the truck driver.

My guess is that they went after the van Driver !! to get him face his responsibility ....!!

Edited July 9, 2015 by off road pat

[Doc46]

Both the Van and the Truck driver were idiots....

The Truck could have easily yielded to let the Van through, why didn't he? Ego...

The Van could have easily waited behind the Truck for a few KM then passed at a spot with more space, why didn't he? Ego...

For the most part, 90% of drivers in Thailand are fairly normal... however, I see drivers like this in front and behind me all the time on roads in Thailand... its best just to simply keep clear of them.

No ,the truck had the right away,,What is wrong with you idiots standing up for those Pirate drivers whom should be all in Jail.

[Patanawet]

Are trucks permitted to hog the fast lane?

Even so it was criminally irresponsible driving by the van driver.

[northernphil]

The truck driver was in no way in the wrong ,he was overtaking another vehicle. As for the minibus driver , yet again words fail me. I just showed this to my Thai wife as she gets pissed off at me for shouting at these bastards every time we go out. If I was anywhere near this I would of taken his number and ............ if I had caught him..........As I have said here before White/grey minibuses are the scourge of the road. Phil .take 2 enaril your BP is now up.

[Patanawet]

The truck driver was in no way in the wrong ,he was overtaking another vehicle.

Really? He was taking an awful long time to do it. It looks to me as if he was in the fast lane, simply driving faster than traffic in the left hand lane.

[CrummyJuggler]

After watching it a couple times, the truck driver is the idiot. He's in the fast lane where he should not be, he sped up when he saw the van about to squeeze in, and most baffling is why did he go off the road at all? There was no contact, the van had moved in front of him, he was braking, so why the hard turn to the right and take it off road? He could have killed himself if he hit a tree or others if he crossed the median. I don't see why he swerved at all.

[Lupatria]

The other thing you see in the picture is people just keep on going. No one stop to check on the truck driver.

In Thailand help or assistance for accident victims ends with a posting of footage on YouTube...

[JeffreyO]

This country seriously needs police that actually PATROL. Not just sitting at a checkpoint or in a box. Get some police to actually do their job.

[Si Thea01]

Travelling from Loei to Udon Thani and back three times a month, 300k round trip, I come across these totally irresponsible drivers on many occasions. The worst ones are those coming from the opposite directions, they over take the trucks flash their lights and if you don't get out of their way, it's all over red rover. They don't give a toss, it's as if they are the only vehicles that are on the road, and heaven help others who get in their way. It's a sorry state of affairs when the coppers see this and do absolutely nothing about. They're mentality too leaves a lot to be desired, and it's clear that many here place little, if any value on their or other's lives.

Yet, two days ago, whilst in Udon, shunted from the rear whilst at traffic lights, the driver of the offending vehicle couldn't have been more apologetic and courteous toward me and my wife, who happened to be the driver at the time. He did not know that I spoke Thai and addressed my wife and told her that he was very scared of the farang, who he thought might fight with him. When I told him mai pen rai, and he realised that I understood, he was even more apologetic. It wasn't a major crash, no cops called, both insurance reps turned up within the hour, paperwork done, and off.

Edited July 9, 2015 by Si Thea01

[NoshowJones]

One of the reasons people do not stop is the fear of becoming involved and ending up with a bill.

The truck driver would have done better to have taken out the van!

Oh! Even if there were passengers in the van?

[jackanapes]

I am in total agreement I wonder if the van driver saw the lorry go off the road again a classic example of dangerous driving if this person is ever caught they should be locked up for life .

[joshstiles]

Both the Van and the Truck driver were idiots....

The Truck could have easily yielded to let the Van through, why didn't he? Ego...

The Van could have easily waited behind the Truck for a few KM then passed at a spot with more space, why didn't he? Ego...

For the most part, 90% of drivers in Thailand are fairly normal... however, I see drivers like this in front and behind me all the time on roads in Thailand... its best just to simply keep clear of them.

YEAH....and the big truck was also in the wrong fricking lane....he got what he deserved.....jackhole

[silcom]

A few facts in defence of the truck driver for those TV posters who know everything about everything.....

It's clear that nobody berating the truck driver has ever driven anything bigger than a family hatchback.

10 seconds into the video the truck is clearly 30-50 feet behind the other truck. By the time the arse in the van makes his ridiculous move there's little more than the van's width between the 2 trucks. This shows without doubt that the truck driver is making a legitimate overtaking manoeuvre and overtaking the slower truck in what should correctly be referred to as 'The Overtaking Lane" not the "fast lane" or the "outside lane", and while this may be inconvenient to cars.vans behind trucks travel at different speeds and some do need to overtake, accept it.

Something the hatchback crew of you will also be blithely unaware of is that in a truck, particularly one partially or fully loaded and weighing up to 44 tons, you can't just drop it a gear and swiftly pull around the chap in front; momentum is required and once you lose that it often takes 10 minutes to get it back again, particularly on an uphill gradient. This would be why the truck was unwilling to slow down I believe. Not to mention that he had the legitimate right of way in any country, even Thailand

While Thailand does indeed have probably the worst drivers in my experience (including working and driving in such places as Morocco, Turkey and India, trucks included) Many truck drivers here are among the few Thai drivers who are competent and courteous. Most minivan drivers on the other hand should all be rounded up shot for the risk they put other people in to satisfy their arrogant egos.

With regards why he swerved, if he felt it necessary to brake heavily to avoid obliterating everyone in the minivan (you know being the courteous type - see above) and his trailer brakes were not as strong or defective (probably not his fault as a driver, not business owner) then the heavy trailer would have continued pushing from behind with considerable force thus creating the swerve witnessed in the video; similar in effect to a jack-knife on a slippery road.

Just thought I'd add an opinion based on knowledge and experience. Now there's a novel idea eh )

[z42]

Appalling driving by all concerned. But with tea money being more important than anything else why would anyone expect the cops to actually enforce laws

[PepperMe]

Truck driver was a Pratt, he could have, should have let the van in. Som nom na, I hate the lorries hogging the fast lane, very unprofessional driver. Haha on him. Shame he will learn nothing from his ignorance.

Well judging by the way the cab hit the tree, I would assume he is an almost certain dead man.

So I suppose a reason for you to be happy.

[Happy Grumpy]

I see the usual level of Thai compassion there at the end of the video.

I guess they went after the Van Driver...! to get him for been responsible of the accident...!

[PepperMe]

After watching it a couple times, the truck driver is the idiot. He's in the fast lane where he should not be, he sped up when he saw the van about to squeeze in, and most baffling is why did he go off the road at all? There was no contact, the van had moved in front of him, he was braking, so why the hard turn to the right and take it off road? He could have killed himself if he hit a tree or others if he crossed the median. I don't see why he swerved at all.

You know nowt about driving on the road do you.... It is not a fast lane. It is an overtaking lane. The truck was driving faster than the truck in the left lane from the first second of the clip. So he was in the middle of his overtaking manouver when the van attempted to cut in front.

The truck driver was completely in the right.... The fact is that the van was undertaking which is actually ilegal.

The van driver was the one in the wrong from the very start and caused an accident that can quite possibly have resulted in the truck driver being crushed to death.

So you watched the clip a few times?..... That is your conclusion..... I find it ironic you are criticising the wrong man here when it is clear you do not have the slightest idea about driving laws and courtesies.